Techmeme: Barnes & Noble's Nook gets a brief and early hands-on (Ross Miller/Engadget)

2:50 PM ET, December 5, 2009

Top Items:

Apple Strikes Deal to Buy the Music Start-Up Lala — SAN FRANCISCO — In the most recent sign that Apple is looking at alternative ways for people to store and play their digital music, the company has agreed to buy Lala, a four-year-old start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Confirmed: Apple Buys Music Service Lala, at a Fire Sale Price — Apple has purchased online music service Lala, I've confirmed with a source familiar with the transaction. Both Bloomberg and CNET reported the chats earlier today. If you'd like other confirmation, New York Times also reports that the deal has closed.

Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:

The rise and fall of MySpace — In summer 2005, having spent the best part of four decades building a newspaper, film and television empire, Rupert Murdoch decided that the time had come to get serious about the internet. As founder and chairman of News Corporation …

Discussion: Beet.TV

Ross Miller / Engadget:

Barnes & Noble's Nook gets a brief and early hands-on — Thanks to a very generous anonymous tipster, we've gotten a number of hands-on pics of Barnes & Noble's soon to be released (for some) Nook e-reader. The impressions we've been given, however, weave a tale of a laggy Android interface …

Discussion: Kindle Review, GottaBeMobile.com, Gear Diary and TeleRead

David / TmoNews:

Google Phone To T-Mobile? — Let me just preface this post with a total rumor disclaimer, to be read only with serious grains of salt. — That being said, information has been passed along to me in a very James Bond type way from a trusty ninja who has yet to lead me astray.

Discussion: I4U News, Android Phone Fans and Android and Me

Stephen Baker / Business Week:

Beware Social Media Snake Oil — Hordes of marketing “experts” are promoting the value of wikis, social networks, and blogs. All the hype may obscure the real potential of these online tools — For business, the rising popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media Web sites presents a tantalizing opportunity.

Discussion: broadstuff and Glass House, Thanks:atul

Matthew Rivera / Digits:

Spot 10 Balloons, Win $40,000 — If you look up and see red weather balloons this weekend, take note. You've unwittingly entered into a social experiment. … The Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, launched 10 balloons, each eight feet wide …

Discussion: TechCrunch, 10 Red Balloons, Joe Duck, Gizmodo, ReadWriteWeb, dailywireless.org and Technologizer

Kevin Kelleher / GigaOM:

Does Google Even Understand What News Is? — The art of verbal self-defense can be tricky. Ramble on while defending yourself against critics, and you can expose yourself to new criticisms. For a recent and clear case study in this misstep, look no further than Google's own Eric Schmidt.

Thanks:atul

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

CrunchPad Litigation Imminent — It has been a busy week for our former partners on the CrunchPad. The company has deleted their corporate blog, taken the time to hire a PR firm and schedule an event Monday morning to “give their side of the story.” — They still have not returned our calls or emails.

Discussion: TeleRead, Digital Trends and bizjournals

Rita Chang / AdAge:

Don't Create an IPhone App for the Online Buzz Factor — App Chatter Doesn't Build Brands, Long-term Engagement Does — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — For all the love that marketers show iPhone apps, these micro-utilities and tools actually generate surprisingly little buzz in return.

Google Public Policy Blog:

When sources disagree: borders and place names in Google Earth and Maps — Collecting and sharing the most accurate information about place names and borders is a tough task that every map maker faces. The first sources are the nations themselves, but when neighboring countries claim overlapping territories …

Discussion: Softpedia News and The Precursor Blog

Chris Kanaracus / Computerworld:

Study: MySQL use to drop under Oracle ownership — Survey finds that Oracle ownership would blunt demand for Sun's open source database — IDG News Service - Usage of the open-source MySQL database is set to decline if Oracle succeeds in buying the software's owner, Sun Microsystems …

Discussion: New York Post and The Register

The EtherPad Blog:

Google Acquires AppJet — We are happy to announce that AppJet Inc. has been acquired by Google. The EtherPad team will continue its work on realtime collaboration by joining the Google Wave team. — For Current Users and Customers: — What will happen to my account? Will I still be able to use EtherPad?

Glenn Fleishman / TidBITS:
EtherPad Shuts Down after Google Acquisition

Discussion: TechCrunch

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