Check out Mini-Techmeme for simple mobiles or Techmeme Mobile for modern smartphones.
8:20 AM ET, January 8, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Google Mobile Blog:
Finding places “Near me now” is easier and faster than ever on Google.com  —  Last month, Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering, demonstrated at the Computer History Museum the ability to search by using your location as the query.  Starting today, you can try this yourself by going to Google.com …
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus first hands-on (video)!  —  We just had a chance to play around with the new Palm Pre Plus (and Palm Pixi Plus), and we must say — they've made some solid improvements to these devices.  We're going to focus on the Pre, since it's really had the bulk of the changes.
RELATED:
Jason Chen / Gizmodo:
Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus Are Coming to Verizon Exclusively January 25
Avner Ronen / Boxee Blog:
Boxee Beta Goes Public, Download Now  —  The Boxee Beta is officially out.  You can grab it here.  —  The Beta is available for Mac, Windows and Ubuntu (including 64bit.. ).  The version is still not available for Apple TV, yet, but we are working with the atv-creator community, and look forward to having news on this front.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Apple Seizes 16 Domain Names From A Guy In One Fell Swoop  —  When you own domain names associated with the trademarks of a large company, more often than not, they're going to file a complaint with the ICANN UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy).  And more often than not, they're going to win control of the name.
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Surprise, surprise: HTC's Euro-spec Nexus One does multitouch  —  Alright, Google, we get it: you hate America.  That's the only conclusion we can reach for why the company's last two Android version hero devices — the Droid for 2. and the Nexus One for 2.1 — have mysteriously opted …
SciTeDaily:
Google's Book Scanning Technology Revealed  —  Google was awarded a patent for a device to rapidly scan high-quality of images of books last March, as reported by NPR and CNet.  However, no one has been able to get a glimpse of how the system works in practice, until now.
Discussion: Beyond Search and Slashdot
David / Wolfire Games Blog:
Why you should use OpenGL and not DirectX  —  Often, when we meet other game developers and say that we use OpenGL for our game Overgrowth, we're met with stares of disbelief — why would anyone use OpenGL?  DirectX is the future.  When we tell graphics card representatives that we use OpenGL …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
The Other HP Slate Runs On Android  —  Last night, during his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off a prototype for a new HP Slate computer running on Windows 7.  It was supposed to be an Apple-stealing moment and it was Microsoft's moment …
Svetlana Gladkova / Profy:
Russia Considers Banning Sex Online in the Daytime  —  Can you imagine going to YouTube following a link on Twitter to watch some video recommended by a friend as a funny one (though NSFW) and since you are not at work, you feel perfectly safe clicking the link to watch it as this is exactly …
Dina Bass / Bloomberg:
Microsoft: Google's Phone Plan ‘Very Difficult’  —  Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp.'s Robbie Bach, head of the division that makes mobile-phone programs, said Google Inc. will have a hard time attracting partners to its wireless software after introducing its own handset.
Timothy B. Hurst / ecopolitology:
USGS Develops Twitter-Based Earthquake Detection System  —  Seismologists say Twitter is the fastest way to get information out of an earthquake area, especially in those less densely populated.  —  People love to tweet about what's going on around them, especially when that something is exciting or otherwise newsworthy.
Agam Shah / Computerworld:
Intel CEO shows first Moorestown smartphone  —  IDG News Service - Intel on Thursday showed the first smartphone based on its upcoming Moorestown platform for mobile devices.  —  The GW990 smartphone will be made by LG Electronics and ship during the second half of the year …
Tom Krazit / CNET News:
Google muses about ads in Street View  —  It might have been just a trial balloon, but last year Google floated the idea of putting ads in Street View.  —  Could virtual billboards one day show up in Google Street View?  —  A few months ago, Google gave a presentation to marketing …
Discussion: Softpedia News
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 8X72 chipset due by end of 2010  —  Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset may only now be turning up in any real number of mobile devices - you'll find its 1GHz thrumming away in the HTD HD2, Google Nexus One and various Smartbooks announced at CES 2010 this week …
Discussion: Phone Arena and Liliputing
Brian Womack / Bloomberg:
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz Gives Herself B-Minus Grade for First Year on Job  —  Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — Carol Bartz gives herself a B-minus in her first year as chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc., saying she could have moved faster to reorganize the company and strike a Web-search agreement with Microsoft Corp.
Bloomberg:
Lenovo Says Windows 7 Will Drive Computer Demand for the Next Three Years  —  Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — Lenovo Group Ltd., China's biggest personal-computer maker, said Windows 7 will boost demand for its products for the next three years as companies and consumers adopt Microsoft Corp.'s new operating system.
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Greenpeace ranks Apple as greenest electronics maker  —  After falling prey to harsh criticism from Greenpeace over its use of toxic chemicals in products for years on end, Apple was honored this week with the environmental advocacy group's top ranking as the greenest electronics maker.
Richard Barley / TweetDeck's posterous:
TweetDeck For iPhone Gets A New-Year Update  —  Happy New Year TweetDeckers!  We hope you all had a great festive season and that 2010 is off to a good start for you.  —  We are kicking our new year off in fine form with a feature-packed update to the TweetDeck iPhone app, which is available now from the App Store.
Discussion: Google Maps Mania and The Next Web
Devindra Hardawar / Royal Pingdom:
Why Twitter is Digg's biggest threat  —  The launch of the social news site Digg in 2004 was the perfect example of a good idea at the right time.  That was the year the term “Web 2.0″ started being thrown about to describe the rise of new web technologies that allowed for more interactive sites …
Thanks:atul
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Intel announces AppUp, an app store for netbooks and beyond  —  It seems like the app store model popularized by Apple's iPhone is on its way from smartphones to other devices.  Today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, chip-maker Intel announced that a beta test version of the AppUpCenter …
Ben Drawbaugh / Engadget:
Blu-ray's 3D spec isn't what it could be  —  While 3D is all the rage at CES this year, we learned today from the BDA that one of the biggest sources of 3D content isn't what it could be.  The first thing that could, should, be better is the limited support for frame rates.
Discussion: Download Squad
Mmpc / Microsoft Malware Protection Center:
Some Observations on Rootkits  —  Getting hit by a live rootkit infection is among the more unfortunate fates that can befall an unsuspecting computer user.  A rootkit burrows deep into the system, modifying it at a low-level in order to hide itself and other malware, and from there fights off attempts at deactivation and removal.
Discussion: Donna's SecurityFlash and PC World
Darren Murph / Engadget:
HP updates Envy 13 and Envy 15 laptops, lowers prices significantly  —  HP's Envy lineup was introduced way back in the dark ages of last decade, so it's clearly due for a significant update.  In all seriousness, the refresh that popped up today for both rigs probably has a lot …
Arn / MacRumors:
CES 2010: NVIDIA Tegra 2 to Power Tablets in 2010  —  Amongst the tablet hype at CES, NVIDIA made a major announcement on Thursday introducing their latest Tegra 2 mobile chipset.  The Tegra 2 chipset incorporates 8 independent processors to handle web browsing, HD video encoding/decoding as well as mobile gaming.
Discussion: DigiTimes, CNN and Liliputing
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Yahoo BOSS To Survive Microsoft Deal In Some Form; Details Still Hazy  —  After months of silence, Yahoo's BOSS team is opening up to frustrated third party developers about the future of the powerful search platform.  A few hours ago, Yahoo's Ashim Chhabra left a post on the BOSS group forum …
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
768-bit RSA cracked, 1024-bit safe (for now)  —  With the increasing computing power available to even casual users, the security-conscious have had to move on to increasingly robust encryption, lest they find their information vulnerable to brute-force attacks.
Discussion: The Register
Joanna Stern / Engadget:
Toshiba Satelitte E205 is first laptop with Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) technology  —  Toshiba seems to be the first out the door with Intel's just announced Wireless Display technology.  Actually the $999 Satellite E205 seems like one big group hug between Intel, Toshiba and Best Buy.
Tyler Tschida / App Advice:
EA Reveals The Sims 3 World Adventures Details And Screenshots  —  It looks as if EA is going to try and ride the Sims brand all the way to the bank on the iPhone and iPod touch just as they have on the PC.  The company has revealed a brand new iPhone and iPod touch Sims game titled …
Discussion: PC World and IntoMobile
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Techmeme at 8:20 AM ET, January 8, 2010.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 Techmeme Sponsor Posts: 
Tribe AI:
Is AI just hype?  —  Find out how top enterprises use Tribe to get real business results.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
The key to implementation success: Nurturing customer and tech partner engagement  —  Companies, whether large or small, often encounter two significant challenges with new technologies: selecting the appropriate tools and implementing them efficiently.
Comprehensive.io:
Browse salary data from 3,000 startups for free  —  Click for FREE, immediate access to real-time compensation benchmarking data.  Paid version helps HR automate comp reviews and communicate total compensation to employees.
Sponsor Techmeme
 
 See Also: 
Techmeme: site main
Techmeme River: reverse chronological Techmeme
Techmeme Mobile: for phones
Techmeme Leaderboard: Techmeme's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Techmeme RSS feed
Techmeme on X
Techmeme on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Stuart Pfeifer / Los Angeles Times:
Prosecutors seek to dismiss drug charges against Broadcom's Henry T. Nicholas III
Joelle Tessler / Associated Press:
Comcast, FCC take net neutrality dispute to court
Matthew Casperson / ProgrammableWeb:
Napster Opens API: Puts Music on Your TV, iPhone and Web Site
Phil Wahba / Reuters:
Borders in deal with Alex e-reader for e-books
Discussion: Engadget and jkOnTheRun, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:
@ CES: Silverman's Electus Has First Deal—Yahoo
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider and BoomTown
Derek Kerton / Techdirt:
Embedded Wireless: A Step Towards Dumb Pipes?
 Earlier Items: 
Philip Willan / PC World:
Italian Suit Over Preinstalled Windows Likely Next Week
David Dahlquist / Macworld:
Security Cam app turns iPhone into a security camera
Discussion: CNET News and PC World
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Is the YouTube Case Finally Ready to Start Moving Again?
Discussion: CNET News
Phone Arena:
French President receiving a new encrypted phone after a BlackBerry ban
Discussion: The Register
Ryan Lawler / NewTeeVee:
Forget TV Everywhere, How About Netflix Everywhere?
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com:
Dell confirms Android-powered tablet device