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About the Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update — The Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update is recommended for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard versions 10.5, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, 10.5.3, 10.5.4, and 10.5.5. It includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. — Installation recommendations
Discussion:
TheAppleBlog, AppleInsider, Macworld, Infinite Loop, TidBITS, CNET News, Gizmodo, InformationWeek, Gear Live, Ubergizmo, blogs.chron.com, I4U News and TechSpot
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10.5.6 here...snappieness™ ensues — 10.5.6 is out, go grab it from Software update (377mb here!) or via the standalone installer. — Here are the details or check below. It looks like there are many performance improvements in this one! Yes, we are feeling the snappieness™, are you?


Warning: Mac Update 10.5.6 Breaks DFU Mode For iPhone, iPod Touch — in - news - DFU mode - hacking - iPhone Dev Team - iTunes - Mac - PwnageTool - QuickPwn - Software Updates - unlocking — Mac users with a hacked iPhone or iPod touch should beware: Apple released update 10.5.6 for Mac OS X over the weekend.


Rumor: New Mac Mini Coming to Macworld 2009 — Apple will launch an upgrade to its low-end desktop, the Mac Mini, at January's Macworld Expo in San Francisco, according to an Apple corporate employee who contacted Wired.com. — The source, who wished to remain anonymous (to keep his job) …
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Steve Jobs Will MAY Be At MacWorld Expo, Event Manager Says — Apple CEO Steve Jobs will give his usual keynote address at the MacWorld Expo next month, says the show's general manager. — Paul Kent, VP at IDG World Expo and the general manager of the MacWorld show, set to start on Jan. 5 …

Mac mini makeover considered likely for Macworld
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac


Yahoo Announces Next Steps in Open Strategy — Yahoo has invited the press to an event in San Francisco today where it will announce the next steps in its open strategy (details found here). — As GigaOm speculated over the weekend, we should be hearing details about the deployment of applications on Yahoo Mail.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, eWeek, InfoWorld, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Search Engine Land, Lifehacker, Business Technology, Digital Daily, Webware.com and GigaOM
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Yahoo! Mail rolls out a smarter inbox — You may have seen today's news announcing the next generation of Yahoo! Mail — rolling out a “smarter inbox"experience to users. One way to make an inbox smarter: make applications that can work within it, opening up Yahoo! Mail to content and services built outside the Yahoo! network.

@Twitter: Welcome to Google Friend Connect — We know many of you enjoy using Twitter to see what people are talking about and to let others know what you've been up to, whether it's sharing a YouTube video or checking in on your friend's tweets. To help you and your Twitter network stay connected …
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Google off list of 20 most trusted companies — (12-14) 16:40 PST SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, Verizon and FedEx for the first time have made an annual ranking of the top 20 most trusted companies in the United States. — Google, however, dropped off the list …

Revealed: Amazon staff punished for being ill — Amazon, Britain's most popular website for Christmas shopping, is making its staff work seven days a week and threatening them with the sack if they take time off sick. — The company charges among the lowest prices for products ranging …

Hasbro dropping suit against makers of Facebook game Scrabulous — NEW YORK — Hasbro is dropping its lawsuit against the makers of a popular online version of board game Scrabble. — According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in New York, Hasbro dropped the lawsuit Friday.
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The Future of the Internet III — A survey of internet leaders, activists and analysts shows they expect major tech advances as the phone becomes a primary device for online access, voice-recognition improves, artificial and virtual reality become more embedded in everyday life, and the architecture of the internet itself improves.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Local Mobile Search, Yahoo! Developer Network Blog, Technologizer and Digital Daily


The Extraordinary Happenings At BitTorrent — “I have never seen anything like this” said a corporate law partner at a large silicon valley law firm. He was referring to the undoing of a $17 million venture round at BitTorrent and subsequent recapitalization that we reported yesterday.


Facebook's new value: $1.3 billion? — With more than 120 million users, Mark Zuckerberg's social network continues to grow, kudzu-like. And yet it is worth far less today than the $15 billion it commanded a year ago. Why is that? — One could talk about Facebook's fast-growing headcount …
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider


The myth of the 99-cent killer app — Stung by criticism from frustrated developers, Apple (AAPL) redesigned its increasingly crowded iPhone App Store last Friday to showcase the most popular paid applications in each category — Books, Business, Games, etc. (See here.)


Amazon's MP3 Store, One Year In: No iTunes Killer; Probably Won't Be — Amazon has been selling digital music from all the big music labels for nearly a year now. It's the first major challenge to Apple's hammer lock on that business. So how did it do? — If you view Amazon's MP3 store …
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog, Technologizer, TechFlash, VentureBeat, Electronista, AppleInsider, Lucas Gonze' blog and Silicon Alley Insider


Ex-Vodafone chief set to rule out Yahoo move — By Andrew Parker in London and Chris Nuttall in San Francisco — Arun Sarin, the former head of Vodafone (pictured left) has decided not to pursue the possibility of becoming the next chief executive of Yahoo.


New highly critical Facebook XSS vulnerabilities pose serious privacy risks — Facebook users are susceptible to phishing attacks and ID theft due to some new highly critical cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. — Security researchers Zeitjak, David Wharton, Daimon and p3lo …
Discussion:
Zero Day


Apple Loses Shine as Mac Sales Slow — PC Maker Eschews Discounts Even as Rivals Slash Prices and Consumers Pull Back; Worries for 2009 — Even Apple Inc. is beginning to suffer in this year's dismal holiday season, and worries are mounting the recession will weigh on its business next year.
Discussion:
Edible Apple


Portland Gets WiMAX Service — Web surfers in the Pacific Northwest will soon join the denizens of Baltimore, Md., in their ability to get WiMAX service. Although those in Baltimore are still surfing under the old Xohm brand offered by Sprint, Clearwire plans to launch …
Discussion:
Brier Dudley's blog


2008 Crunchies Tickets Now On Sale — The nominations for The Crunchies 2008 (startup Oscars) are in. The Award Ceremony will take place at 7:30 PM at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco on Friday, January 9. Get your tickets here. — The tickets will likely sell out quickly, even in this crappy environment, so get them now.


Windows Live Essentials Beta Released! — I know we told you the Windows Live Essentials would be released last week, it really was planned like that, but sometimes things just don't work out as planned. You had to wait a little longer, but now it's finally here!

Your Maps in Your Hands for the Holidays — Just in time for the holidays I'm proud to present to you My Maps Editor by Google, now available for download in Android Market! In just four months of my 20% time and with a little help from the 20% time of my coworkers this application has gone …
Discussion:
Unwired View