Top Items:
Andy Ihnatko / Chicago Sun Times:
Need a last-minute gift? Go get yourself an eBook reader — It's the week before Christmas. You were hoping to find a gift that would be so thoughtful and such an emotionally-compelling statement about your relationship that your loved one would never intellectually work out just how little you spent on it.
Discussion:
TeleRead
Jennifer Van Grove / Mashable!:
Bing! Ballmer Says You're Fired [VIDEO] — Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is known for his antics, but — if a video recently uploaded to YouTube is to be believed — this incident takes the cake. Apparently, Ballmer fired a Microsoft employee for not being enthusiastic enough about Bing.
Paul Bradshaw / E-Media Tidbits:
In the E-mail Era, Who Owns the Interview? — Some time ago I was interviewed via e-mail for an article and, as I often do, after providing answers to the nine questions, I asked the following: “Mind if I republish these answers in full on my blog after the piece goes live?”
Discussion:
TeleRead
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google To Acquire DocVerse; Office War Heats Up — Google, which is currently on one heck of a spending spree, is closing an acquisition of San Francisco based DocVerse, a service that lets users collaborate around Microsoft Office documents, we've heard from a source with knowledge of the deal.
Popular Mechanics:
How James Cameron's Innovative New 3D Tech Created Avatar — Director James Cameron is known for his innovations in movie technology and ambitions to make CG look and feel real. His next film, Avatar, will put his reputation to the test. Can Cameron make blue, alien creature look real on the big screen?
David Chartier / Macworld:
Twitter client Kiwi lets you style, hide, organize tweets — PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ALSO READ: — You would be right in many ways if you said that Twitter clients figuratively cost ten cents for every twelve apps you can round up. They typically compete in terms of redesigning …
Discussion:
Mashable!
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
David Pogue Weighs In On Ebook DRM: Non-DRM'd Ebook Increased His Sales — Mark Rosedale (an employee of O'Reilly) was the first of a few to send in David Pogue's recent column in which he discusses the question of ebook DRM. Remember, just recently a Sony exec claimed that you couldn't make money on ebooks without DRM.
Discussion:
TeleRead
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Smart Customer Service Lessons: Responding Faster To Complaints About Your Competitors — This post is part of the IT Innovation series, sponsored by Sun & Intel. Read more at ITInnovation.com. Of course, the content of this post consists entirely of the thoughts and opinions of the author.
The Steve Rubel Lifestream:
Search the Live Web with Two Simple Bookmarklets — I have become addicted to Google's new real-time search feature. It's an incredible window onto the world's psyche. However, it's somewhat lacking in one small way. — By default, Google doesn't serve up real-time results for most searches.
Discussion:
Marshall Kirkpatrick …
Kevin Kelleher / GigaOM:
For Palm, Yet Another Wrenching Crisis — Palm is the Jack Bauer of the mobile industry. Its story is one of high-tension drama in which it lurches from one crisis to another, saving itself from the jaws of despair only to face some new and more daunting threat, all while the clock ominously ticks away.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Etsy Buys Retail Product Ad Platform Adtuitive, Gains Five New Programmers — Handmade item marketplace and community website operator Etsy, which is backed by $31.6 million in venture capital funding, has acquired New York-based advertising startup Adtuitive for an undisclosed sum.
Matt Asay / The Open Road:
Hungary votes for open standards — Many governments, particularly those in developing nations, are increasingly legislating preferences for open-source software. A much smarter approach may be that recently adopted by Hungary, however, which has mandated the use of open standards.
