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6:00 PM ET, December 19, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
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.
Discussion: TechFlash and The EtherPad Blog, Thanks:atul
Associated Press:
Stock windfall for Google employees  —  NEW YORK — Google's employees couldn't have timed the stock market's turn any better.  —  A day before stocks bottomed in March, Google let almost 16,000 of its workers exchange their stock options.  It turned out to be the deal of a lifetime.
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.
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft patent: Sorry, fatso, no more hiding behind that avatar  —  For many people, half the fun of avatars is aspirational — the ability to make them look like you wish you did in real life.  But apparently that's not the case for some Microsoft researchers, who have applied for a patent …
Discussion: The Microsoft Blog, Thanks:loyals
Chip Chick:
Re Accessory Transforms your iPhone into a Universal Remote Control  —  attaches to the base of your iPhone and using its accompanying app, the device transforms your iPhone into a fully functional universal remote control.  We're talking about an advanced remote control with an extensive built …
Matt Asay / CNET News:
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.
Kim-Mai Cutler / VentureBeat:
MyWebWill prepares your final tweet, Facebook update upon death  —  One rather morbid consequence of sharing our lives online is the digital trail we leave behind when we die.  —  It's not an idea that comes readily to the Facebook generation, but managing the profiles and blog posts left behind upon death …
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.
Venture Capital Dispatch:
Indiana University Fights Back Against Start-Up Funding Shortage  —  The recent financial meltdown has crippled many universities' efforts to spin out early-stage start-ups, which in turn have had difficulty attracting capital from venture firms.  Looking to give its own companies a leg up …
WordPress:
WordPress 2.9, oh so fine  —  Filed under Releases.  —  I want to make you mine, all the time... oh wait.  Hello.  I'm here on behalf of the entire WordPress development team and community to announce the immediate availability of WordPress version 2.9 “Carmen” named in honor …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google Experimenting With Browser Login For Chrome OS  —  Google has made a change to Chrome OS to move the user login from the machine to the browser.  Our guess is Google is, or will eventually use, Google Friend Connect to facilitate login.  —  The feature was first mentioned on October 13 …
Louis Gray:
Growing Grumblings on Tech News Don't Address Incentives  —  If you are the subject of the news, people will judge your actions and how you react to being in the spotlight.  If you are the distributor of the news, how you message that news, and how accurately you report that news, will also be dissected.
 
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 More Items: 
Christine Chen / Google Public Policy Blog:
Google's approach to privacy
Discussion: BayNewser
Kdawson / Slashdot:
Yes, Google Does De-List Pages; But When?
Eric Eldon / Inside Social Games:
With Hit Social Game Happy Farm, Chinese Developer 5 Minutes …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Quicktime Vets Bring Mobile Video And Photo Sharing With Thwapr (Beta Launch)
Philip Willan / PC World:
Italy contemplates Web restrictions after Berlusconi attack
 Earlier Items: 
Brian Wheeler / BBC:
Chinese plan to meter net traffic
Discussion: p2pnet
Brad Feld / Feld Thoughts:
Score Two Wins Against Software Patents
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Russian ISP Blocking Political Opposition Websites
Anil Dash:
The Twitter API is Finished. Now What?
Discussion: Workbench and A VC, Thanks:atul
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Memo: ESPN's Jimmy Pitaro announces layoffs, mostly due to the NFL Network acquisition; sources: on-air personalities Karl Ravech and Ryan Clark are affected

Dan Shanoff / The Athletic:
Nielsen: the World Cup final drew 38.9M viewers on Fox, and 22M+ on Telemundo; taken together, the US audience size rivaled that of NFL playoff games

MJ Franklin / New York Times:
How publishers are cashing in on surging public interest in The Odyssey through splashy reissues; Circana BookScan says sales of The Odyssey rose by 76% YoY

 
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