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4:50 PM ET, November 20, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Randall C. Kennedy / InfoWorld:
Why Chrome OS will fail — big time  —  A lack of flexibility will doom Google's latest ego trip to the dustbin of history  —  The Chrome OS is here — sort of.  This week, Google was kind of enough to give the world a sneak peek at its nascent desktop operating system.
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Want To Try Out Google Chrome OS For Yourself?  Here's How.  —  The public debut of Google Chrome OS today has the press abuzz over the potential of the new web-based operating system.  And now that it's open sourced, you have the chance to try it out for yourself.
Vladislav Savov / Engadget:
Google Chrome OS available as free VMWare download (update: first impressions)  —  Seriously, how awesome have the past few hours been?  Engadget turns the design stakes up to 11, Google finally dishes the dirt on Chrome OS, and now you can even download the forthcoming software to have a fiddle with yourself.
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:   Why Google Chrome OS has already won
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Brizzly Opens To All.  And Snatches Someone From Facebook.  —  Brizzly was first unveiled in private beta at our first CrunchUp event in July, so it's only appropriate that today, the day of our next CrunchUp, it's being opened to the public.  Now, to be clear, the product is still technically in beta …
Discussion: CNET News, bub.blicio.us and Mashable!, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
Brad Stone / Bits:
Barnes & Noble's Nook Sold Out for the Holidays  —  It's shaping up to a be very merry holiday season for Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader.  —  Earlier this week, we reported that Sony could not guarantee that its new Daily Edition Reader would reach online buyers in time for Christmas.
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Twitter to turn on advertising “you will love” (here's how: SuperTweet)  —  Twitter's COO, Dick Costolo, today, at the TechCrunch Real Time Crunchup (live video of the conference is live now on building43, there will be lots of news all day long from this event), told the audience that Twitter is …
RELATED:
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
YouTube pulls a Hulu — yanking API access from Popcorn Hour (Update: Google responds)  —  Hope you weren't enjoying watching YouTube on the television screen via Popcorn Hour and other set-top boxes, as they have been given notice by the newly 1080p and network TV-friendly website that they are no longer welcome to access its content.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Seesmic Ventures Into Mobile With Powerful New Apps For Android And BlackBerry  —  Seesmic is having a huge week.  The startup that develops Twitter and Facebook clients for the web and desktop just unveiled a native Windows client at Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference earlier this week.
Discussion: Mashable!
Kevin Michaluk / CrackBerry.com blogs:
Live Images of the New 3G BlackBerry Pearl 9100!!  —  First Live Photos of the new BlackBerry Pearl 9100!!  —  OoohHHH BaBy!!  Any BlackBerry Pearl fans out there?  I know there are.  And I know so many of you have been waiting for Research in Motion to release an updated version …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Hot Potato Organizes The Stream Around What's Really Happening Now  —  Yesterday, Twitter changed its organizing question from “What Are You Doing?” to “What's Happening?”  But if you want to know what's really happening now, check out Hot Potato, a startup launching right now at our Realtime CrunchUp.
Discussion: VentureBeat
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Mozilla: Still too dependent on Google for revenue; Can it diversify?  —  Mozilla reported its 2008 audited financials and the organization behind the Firefox browser delivered consolidated revenue of $78.6 million, up 5 percent from 2007.  And the revenue picture looks even better if you exclude …
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Microsoft denies it built ‘backdoor’ in Windows 7  —  Don't worry, company tells users; NSA involved only in security compliance standards  —  Computerworld - Microsoft today denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency …
Lauren Hansen / BBC:
What happened to Second Life?  —  Some shops opened with a fanfare then quietly closed  —  Not long ago Second Life was everywhere, with businesses opening branches and bands playing gigs in this virtual world.  Today you'd be forgiven for asking if it's still going.
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Verizon's Samsung Omnia II launching December 2 for $200  —  It may no longer be the first to launch in North America (that distinct honor now belongs to Bell), but we can finally say with some confidence that Verizon's version of the Samsung Omnia II isn't that far off.
Carolyn Duffy Marsan / Network World:
Google adding IPv6 to YouTube  —  Internet search giant says it's easier to design, operate an IPv6 network  —  Google plans to upgrade its YouTube video streaming Web site to provide support for IPv6, a long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol.
CBC News:
Depressed woman loses benefits over Facebook photos  —  A Quebec woman on long-term sick leave is fighting to have her benefits reinstated after her employer's insurance company cut them, she says, because of photos posted on Facebook.  —  Nathalie Blanchard, 29, has been on leave from her job …
Poornima Gupta / Reuters:
U.S. electric carmaker Tesla preparing IPO-sources  —  * IPO timing capitalizes on environmental enthusiasm  —  * Filing is near but exact date not clear  —  Silicon Valley electric sports car maker Tesla Motors is planning to go public soon, two people familiar with the situation said …
Jaikumar Vijayan / Computerworld:
Teen gets prison term for attack on Scientology Web site  —  Dmitriy Guzner also order to pay $37,500 to church DDOS attack in early 2008  —  Computerworld - A 19-year-old New Jersey man this week was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for hacking into the Church of Scientology's Web site in January 2008.
Electronista:
T-Mobile looking to team up with other US carrier?  —  T-Mobile's US branch may land a deal with another carrier to grow its network much more rapidly, a rumor maintained on Friday.  Sources for the German paper Handelsblatt claimed that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent, is in the …
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
Verizon Droids already dropping in price.  Dell sells for $120  —  You might be able to find a refurbished iPhone for $49 off...but only if if it is refurbished.  Even chain discounter Walmart only takes $2 off the price of the iPhone and there are never sales.
Discussion: Daring Fireball
Sharon Gaudin / Computerworld:
Intel: Chips in brains will control computers by 2020  —  Brain waves will replace keyboard and mouse, dial phones and change TV channels  —  Computerworld - By the year 2020, you won't need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers.
Sebastian Anthony / Download Squad:
Proper web browsing on a console: Firefox coming to the Sony PS3?  —  It seems the age of humdrum, crippled browsers on consoles might finally be coming to an end!  Though the details are very slim, with the only source being an unnamed insider very close to Sony, it is exciting news indeed if it turns out to true.
Discussion: psinsider.e-mpire.com and Erictric
 
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 More Items: 
Wang Xing / CHINAdaily:
iPhone to seize 10% of 3G market
Discussion: AppleInsider and iPhone Buzz
Mark Hattersley / Computerworld:
CloudMade pushing open-source alternative to Google Maps
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Facebook Sends Cease And Desist To USocial
Discussion: BBC
Lance Whitney / CNET News:
Report: How risky is cloud computing?
Discussion: enisa.europa.eu and ITworld.com
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Infoaxe Launches Real-Time Search Engine Based On Web History Platform
Rafat Ali / paidContent:
Online Marketing/Media Firm Quinstreet Files for $250 Million IPO
Mark Walsh / MediaPost:
Most Mobile Users Indifferent To Or Don't Want Ads
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google's News Experiments & The Quest To Solve The “Read State” Issue
 Earlier Items: 
John Leyden / The Register:
MS discovers flaw in Google plug-in for IE
Discussion: Ryan Naraine and Ars Technica
Aaron Ricadela / Business Week:
Can Adobe Beat Back the Hackers?
Discussion: jd/adobe
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
What Twitter's New Geolocation Makes Possible
Kenji Hall / Business Week:
Sony Unveils Its Answer to Apple's iTunes
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Authentic Brands licenses Sports Illustrated's publishing rights to The Players' Tribune owner Minute Media for 10 years, with plans to keep the print edition

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom rules that five GB News programs presented by Conservative politicians have broken its due impartiality rules and puts the channel “on notice”

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTuber MrBeast announces a deal with Prime Video for Beast Games, a reality-competition show with 1,000 contestants, promising the winner a $5M cash prize

 
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