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11:20 PM ET, February 12, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
CNET News.com:
Yahoo pink slips arrive  —  As expected, Yahoo lays off more than 1,000, but details are not disclosed.  —  Senate shields phone companies from spy lawsuits  —  update Civil liberties groups bash vote as “get-out-of-jail-free card” for AT&T and others accused of illegally opening their networks to the feds.
Discussion: HipMojo.com and Tech Beat
RELATED:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Brickhouse Head Leaves Yahoo  —  Salim Ismail, who has led Yahoo Brickhouse since since March 2007, left the company today as part of broader layoffs at Yahoo.  Layoff packages were being offered, he said, and he left voluntarily.  —  Brickhouse is based in San Francisco and shares office space …
Susan Mernit / Susan Mernit's Blog:
Just got laid off at Yahoo  —  Well, the law of continuous revolution just gave me a good shove.  —  Today is my last day at Yahoo and the start of something new.  —  What?  No idea, yet.  —  I'm definitely interested in hearing about both short term and longer term consulting opportunities …
Salim / You've Got Ismail!:
Hoo-Ya - I take the package  —  Well, after a bunch of soul-searching, I'm leaving Yahoo.  I have a couple of startups that I want to look at and I took the opportunity to take a decent package.  The folks at Yahoo have been fabulous and I've got a very nice and very gracious goodbye.
Vacuum:
Yahoo Alumni Association  —  Quite a few people got laid off at Yahoo today; reports are trickling in from Twitter.  —  CNET reports 1000 (but “no details"). … Some news coverage:  —  Yahoo Layoffs Happening Now - Search Engine Land roundup.  —  Some people by name:  —  Susan Mernit (Personals)
Miguel Helft / Bits:   Layoffs Across Yahoo — Finally
Om Malik / GigaOM:
How Much Did Microsoft Pay For Danger?  —  Microsoft is in some of kind of spending mood.  First they offered up $45 billion for Yahoo (not enough for some!).  And then there was that Danger acquisition.  But how much did they spend on the Palo Alto-based company started by Android leader Andy Rubin?
RELATED:
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
Microsoft paid $500 million for Danger, and there's got to be a reason  —  Software giant Microsoft reportedly spent $500 million to acquire Danger, the company that developed software to power the youngster-popular Sidekick.  —  The figure, while not officially announced, was dug up in reporting by GigaOm's Om Malik.
Ryan Naraine / Ryan Naraine's Security Watch:
Security Features High in Firefox 3 Beta 3 Release  —  Mozilla is inching closer to delivering the next major refresh of its flagship Firefox Web browser.  —  Late this evening, the open-source group shipped Firefox 3 Beta 3, an update that features approximately 1300 individual changes …
RELATED:
Mozilla:
Firefox 3 Beta 3 Release Notes  —  Firefox 3 Beta 3 is a developer preview release of Mozilla's next generation Firefox browser and is being made available for testing purposes only.  —  These beta releases are targeted to Web developers and our testing community to gain feedback before advancing …
Discussion: Zero Day, Compiler and Mozilla Links
Beltzner / Mozilla Developer News:
Firefox 3 Beta 3 now available for download  —  Please note: We do not recommend that anyone other than developers and testers download the Firefox 3 Beta 3 milestone release.  It is intended for testing purposes only.  —  Firefox 3 Beta 3 is now available for download.
Ryan Block / Engadget:
Apple TV (take 2), take two  —  We got some good time in with Apple's take 2 (i.e. v2.0) software update at Macworld this year, but now that it's out we had to put the spurs to it.  We'll be updating with more as we go, but for right now here's what you need to know:
Discussion: NewTeeVee and Paul Colligan's …
RELATED:
Dawn Kawamoto / Webware.com:
Yahoo's second-largest shareholder says Microsoft will need to up ante  —  Yahoo's second-largest shareholder is offering this assessment of Microsoft's proposed acquisition: Microsoft will need to “enhance its offer” to complete the deal; Yahoo will be in a “tough spot” if it wants to remain independent.
Discussion: TechSpot News
RELATED:
Bob Sullivan / MSNBC:
A lost laptop, a $54 million lawsuit  —  How much compensation does a consumer deserve for the loss of a laptop computer loaded with personal information?  Raelyn Campbell figures it's $54 million — if you throw in a little extra for lost time and frustration.
RELATED:
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Victim: $54 million Best Buy lawsuit stupid, but necessary
Discussion: Digg
Skrentablog:
Amazon is the Google of buying stuff  —  I went into a little corner non-chain convenience store by my house (the “Devonshire Little Store") for some milk and noticed a big plastic tub of Dubble Bubble at the cash register.  —  Folks I've worked with know that I have a thing for gum.
Nick White / Windows Vista Team Blog:
Windows Vista SP1 Prerequisites & Non-Security Update coming via Windows Update  —  Today we have a non-security update scheduled for distribution via Windows Update that you may find of some interest.  The non-security update KB947172, a Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista …
RELATED:
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0:   Some systems showing incredible SP1 performance boost - Day 6
Sonia Zjawinski / Wired News:
How Google Got Its Colorful Logo  —  In just a few short years, Google's logo has become as recognizable as Nike's swoosh and NBC's peacock.  Ruth Kedar, the graphic designer who developed the now-famous logo, shows the iterations that led to the instantly recognizable primary colors and Catull typeface that define the Google brand.
Google Earth Blog:
Twelve New Cities With Google Street View Available  —  [UPDATE: Ok...according to Google - there are 12 new cities in the collection (they counted the Raleigh area as 3 cities).  Originally, I said only six.  I've updated the list below.]  —  Google has not announced it yet …
Adam Pash / Lifehacker:
DVD Rip Automates One-Click DVD Ripping  —  Windows only: Rip and back up any DVD to your hard drive with DVD Rip, a freeware Windows application that automates the entire DVD-to-hard-drive backup process.  All you need to do is insert your DVD, run DVD Rip, and let it take care of the rest.  Why?
Discussion: Download Squad and Digg
Tina Wood / Channel 10:
Life At Microsoft - The Truth Revealed  —  People often stop me in the streets to ask “Hey Tina, what's life “really” like at Microsoft?  Sometimes I can't even walk outside my house without somebody standing there with a giant neon sign that blinks “What is life “really” like at Microsoft”?
 
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 More Items: 
Dylan Tweney / Wired News:
15th Anniversary: Gawker's Nick Denton on the State of Blogdom
Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
New business models for news
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
T-Mobile HotSpot users will get five years of Starbucks WiFi access …
Declan McCullagh / CNET News.com:
Net neutrality bill expected this week
Greg Sandoval / CNET News.com:
Viacom's MTV unveils digital strategy
Discussion: HipMojo.com and NewTeeVee
Glenn Fleishman / Wi-Fi Networking News:
Starbucks Switches to AT&T, the Next Day
smvgroup.com:
New Study Shows that Heavy Clickers Distort Reality of Display …
Discussion: Slashdot and The Last Podcast
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Yahoo's oneConnect: One Mobile App to Rule Them All
 Earlier Items: 
Vincent Nguyen / PHONE Magazine:
E28 show working Android cellphone: Video from MWC
Nicholas Carlson / Valleywag:
CFO and three VPs quit Helio, chairman to follow
Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
Microsoft's acquisition track record
Rafat Ali / paidContent.org:
How Audible Sold Itself To Amazon; No Competing Bids; Price Came …
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Twittershare Brings File Sharing to Twitter
Discussion: Download Squad
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
MacBook Air demand trails that of original Intel-based MacBook
Patricia Cohen / New York Times:
At Harvard, a Proposal to Publish Free on Web