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12:15 PM ET, November 17, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines:
Verizon to AT&T: “Our ads are true and the truth hurts”  —  Verizon Wireless responded today to a lawsuit filed by AT&T earlier this month that accused Verizon's “There's a map for that” marketing campaign of misleading consumers about AT&T's 3G coverage in the United States.
RELATED:
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Verizon responds to AT&T's Map For That lawsuit: ‘the truth hurts’  —  Sure, Verizon's doubled down on the 3G map ads in response to AT&T's false advertising lawsuit, but eventually the company's lawyers had to file a response and, well, ain't nobody backing down in this one.  Here's the freaking introduction:
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Online Petition Demands Apple Approve iPhone Apps  —  Three iPhone application developers are cited in an online petition which asks Apple to approve their apps, all of which have been sitting in limbo for months on end.  The developers are awaiting word about their new DJ applications …
Discussion: Sonorasaurus and iLounge
RELATED:
Chris Foresman / Ars Technica:
Respected developers begin fleeing from App Store platform  —  Apple's control over the App Store—which seems arbitrary at times—still frustrates developers.  That much isn't a surprise, but some developers have become frustrated to the point that they have decided to simply halt iPhone development altogether.
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
The Pirate Bay Tracker Shuts Down for Good  —  In the fall of 2003, a group of friends from Sweden decided to launch a BitTorrent tracker named ‘The Pirate Bay’.  It soon became one of the largest BitTorrent trackers on the Internet, coordinating the downloads of more than 25 million peers at its height.
Boy Genius Report:
Apple's Black Friday deals leaked?  —  One of our connects just hit us up with some intriguing Apple information.  According to them, what you see detailed above is a shot of Apple's yearly Black Friday deals.  It's reported to be something Apple will email out shortly.
Kevinthau / Twitter Blog:
Another First in the UK  —  The UK has had an outsized cultural impact on the world.  From music to sports to literature... and now - MMS with Twitter.  —  Today, not only has Orange UK turned on Twitter SMS, but it has added a first-of-its-kind special enhancement.
RELATED:
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
Orange strikes Twitter TV deal
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Adobe Releases Flash Player 10.1 And AIR 2.0 - Both Include Multi-touch Support  —  A mere week after Adobe Systems reported that it would be shedding nearly 700 employees or 9% of its total worldwide workforce, the company is releasing two highly anticipated new products that have been in the works …
RELATED:
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
See Adobe AIR 2's Best New Features Demoed in 9 Sample Apps
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
MySpace Close To Acquiring iMeem  —  MySpace is in late stage negotiations to acquire music streaming service iMeem, we've confirmed from multiple sources.  MySpace is on a bit of an acquisition spree - they acquired iLike, another music service, three months ago.
Awaneesh Verma / The Official Google Blog:
A new look for Google Translate  —  Today, we've launched three new features as well as a new look and feel for Google Translate — a service that helps people access information throughout the world by enabling them to automatically translate text and and web pages into their own language.
Vladislav Savov / Engadget:
Motorola Droid camera autofocus fixed in secrecy?  —  While we were busy looking into external speaker problems on the Droid, it would seem Moto was itself hard at work remedying a separate issue with the device.  A number of users on support forums have complained of the Droid's camera failing …
Matt Peckham / PC World:
360 Facebook and Twitter Today, PS3 Integration Incoming  —  Fire up your Xbox 360 later today and you'll discover your social network just broadened by a factor of two.  Microsoft teased Xbox 360 Facebook and Twitter integration at E3 this summer and rolled it out to beta testers several weeks ago …
RELATED:
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
The great Belgian iPhone robbery  —  Burglars in Antwerp make off with $3 million worth of smartphones  —  Over the weekend, someone used a fire ladder to climb to the roof of a huge warehouse in Willebroek, a Dutch-speaking municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp, cut a hole in the roof …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
RockYou Raises A Whopper - $50 Million In Venture Capital  —  Social Network application developer and advertising platform RockYou has raised a whopping $50 million in a Series D round of financing from existing investor Softbank, we've confirmed with the company.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Google's Sample Chrome Extensions Are Already Working  —  As we noted last night, Google looks to be on the verge of unleashing Chrome extension support in a major way.  Not only does the home tab page on the new builds of Chromium (and the dev builds of Chrome) feature not-yet-turned-on links …
Peter Birch / Google LatLong:
An update to Google Earth for the iPhone  —  Just over one year ago, we unveiled Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod touch.  Google Earth quickly became one of the most popular applications in the App Store, and after only six months, was the second most-downloaded free application overall.
Chris Tryhorn / Guardian:
Times editor outlines plans for online charging  —  Micro-payments dismissed in favour of charging for 24-hour access to day's edition of the paper  —  James Harding, the editor of the Times, today gave the clearest indication yet of how News International is going to start charging for its journalism online.
Discussion: TechCrunch and paidContent
Marc Flores / Boy Genius Report:
BlackBerry Internet Service hit with data outages worldwide  —  We've been receiving multiple reports that BlackBerry Internet Service, or BIS, is down for many people — possibly worldwide.  Initially, we thought the outages were only affecting certain carriers, but users from multiple carriers …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Seesmic Launches Native Twitter Client For Windows  —  Today brings good news for PC users everywhere.  Seesmic is launching a native desktop client for Windows.  Seesmic's founder and CEO Loic Le Meur made the announcement today at Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles.
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb and Mashable!
IPTV News:
AT&T intros two new TV apps  —  AT&T has launched two new TV applications for customers of its IPTV service ‘U-verse TV’: ‘Offers On Demand’ and ‘Caller ID on TV’.  —  The new ‘Offers On Demand’ application allows users to redeem a coupon code on-screen for discounts on movie rentals …
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions  —  SAN FRANCISCO — They don't know it, but people who use Google's online maps may be getting directions from Richard Hintz.  —  Mr. Hintz, a 62-year-old engineer who lives in Berkeley, Calif., has tweaked the locations of more than 200 business listings …
The Official Google Blog:
New site hierarchies display in search results  —  Google usually shows a green web address, or URL, at the bottom of each search result to let you know where you're headed.  Today we're rolling out an improvement that replaces the URL in some search results with a hierarchy showing the precise location of the page on the website.
Thanks:atul
AT&T:
AT&T Invests Nearly $65 Million Through 2009 to Strengthen 3G Wireless Coverage in SF Bay Area  —  Deployment of 850 Mhz Spectrum for 3G in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Improves In-Building Wireless Coverage, Adds Capacity to Support Surging Demand for Mobile Broadband
Discussion: PR Newswire
Scott Johnston / The Official Google Blog:
Templates now available in Google Sites  —  I'm pleased to announce we just added a stocked gallery of site templates in Google Sites.  Anyone can browse the public template gallery, and businesses using Google Apps each have a private area where employees can share site templates with coworkers.
Lance Whitney / CNET News:
AdMob brings interactive video ads to iPhone  —  While it's waiting to be gobbled up by Google, AdMob isn't sitting still.  —  The mobile ad company announced Tuesday that it will deliver interactive video ads to the iPhone and iPod Touch devices.  The ads, set to run this week …
Eric Eldon / Inside Facebook:
Hallmark Greets SocialCalendar with Funding, Co-Branding Deal  —  Hallmark SocialCalendar on Facebook-1Hallmark, the greeting card empire, already offers e-cards on its own web site and it even has a tiny Facebook application — but now it's getting a much larger presence on Facebook through …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Zynga raises more venture capital for social gaming expansion  —  Zynga has become the hottest social gaming company with more than 196 million users on Facebook alone.  Today, the San Francisco company has raised $15.18 million in an extension to its second round of funding, according to a regulatory filing.
Discussion: AdAge and Venture Capital Dispatch
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Lost My Phone, Give Me Your Number!!  Groups On Facebook Are A Spammer's Paradise  —  “LOST MY PHONE!!!  GIVE ME YOUR DIGITS!”  —  Sound familiar?  For years, many people who have recently lost their phones have turned to Facebook to reunite with their friends.
Discussion: The Web Life
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Bettiol / Boy Genius Report:
Amazon's Kindle now available to Canadians
Discussion: Digits and Electronista
Yoni Heisler / Network World:
Palm gives up.  Latest WebOS update for the Palm Pre lacks iTunes support
Jonny Evans / 9 to 5 Mac:
Spotify catching up to iTunes in UK as US launch delayed
Discussion: T3.com News and Pocket-lint.com
Alex Williams / ReadWriteWeb:
Rackspace Adds More Cloud-Based Services, Moves Down the Collaboration Path
Asavin Wattanajantra / IT PRO - Today:
Smartphones hacked through insecure Wi-Fi
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac
Stephanie N. Mehta / Brainstorm Tech:
Smart phones. Smart networks. Smart packages?
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Kodak Hooks Up With TweetPhoto For Realtime Photo Sharing Lovefest
 Earlier Items: 
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google Backs Out Of NewsHour Debate With Open Book Alliance, And I Don't Blame Them
Steve Myers / poynter.org:
Jimmy Wales: AP's ‘Landing Pages’ a Good, if Late, Idea
Discussion: ContentBlogger
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat:
How about that new Twoffice?  (Photo slideshow of Twitter's new headquarters)
AdAge:
Why News Corp. and Murdoch Won't Quit Google
John Cook / TechFlash:
Paul Allen diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount Global's board is considering replacing CEO Bob Bakish with an “Office of the CEO” made up of division heads on an interim basis

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
The New York Times is broken, shown by its entitled, petulant reaction to Politico's report on its tense relationship with Biden

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: Amazon Prime Video has a framework deal for NBA broadcast rights for at least a decade, starting in 2025-26; ESPN/ABC is expected to keep the finals

 
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