Top Items:
Yochai Benkler / New York Times:
Ending the Internet's Trench Warfare — IMAGINE that for $33 a month you could buy Internet service twice as fast as what you get from Verizon or Comcast, bundled with digital high-definition television, unlimited long distance and international calling to 70 countries and wireless Internet connectivity …
Financial Times:
Skype founders raise $165m for new fund — Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype, have raised a new venture capital fund for investing in so-called “disruptive” early-stage European technology. — Atomico Ventures, the London-based group established by the pair in 2006 …
Tim Carmody / Snarkmarket:
Why books on the iPad just might work … In the past month or so, since Apple's iPad was announced, there's been an increasing pushback against the idea that the tablet will be a meaningful stand-in for a dedicated e-reader. In particular, it seems to have really disappointed folks …
Discussion:
TeleRead
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
Another SJobs@apple.com email, this time dissing Google's Picassa — A UK reader writes in to say that Steve Jobs has replied to his email regarding Picasa Albums on the iPad. — Instead of just telling him that Apple (obviously) wouldn't support Google's Picassa library format …
Discussion:
EverythingiCafe, Pulse2, App Advice, TiPb, Mashable!, iPad News Hub, Edible Apple and Silicon Alley Insider
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Stat Rant: Does Facebook Trump Google For News & Can't We Measure Twitter Correctly? — Earlier this week, Hitwise put out stats suggesting that Facebook is beating Google and Twitter when it comes to driving traffic to news sites. I dug a little deeper, and I beg to differ.
Thanks:mrinaldesai
Paul Carr / TechCrunch:
NSFW: Jimmy Wales Wants Me Dead (The Neutrality Of This Article Is Disputed) — Some weeks, writing this column is easy. All it takes is for an influential person - a politician, a business person, perhaps even a fellow columnist - to say something dumb and I get to spend a thousand words or so explaining precisely why they're wrong.
Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:
Who will buy Palm? — If you're in a hurry: no one. — If you have more time, here is the sad story: in one day, this past Friday March 19th, Palm shares collapsed, -29% in one Nasdaq session, closing at $4. The obvious question is why? But a second query immediately comes up: why $4, why not zero?
Sam Gustin / DailyFinance:
Chinese Media: Google Is Tied to U.S. Intelligence — Chinese media organs lashed out at Google (GOOG) in an apparently coordinated assault on Saturday — with one paper suggesting Google is linked to the U.S. intelligence agencies — just days before the Web giant may announce plans to close its Chinese-language search engine.
RELATED:
Ken Wills / Reuters:
China state media accuses Google of political agenda
Discussion:
english.cri.cn
Eric Slivka / MacRumors Page 2:
Apple Offering Discounted iPad 10-Packs to Educational Institutions — Apple has begun promoting 10-pack iPad bundles for educational institutions, offering minor discounts while also reducing packaging by eliminating separate retail boxing for the devices.
Discussion:
The Readers Eye, Brainstorm Tech, CrunchGear, App Advice, SlipperyBrick.com, Distorted-Loop.com, iPad News Hub, Gizmodo and TUAW
Robert Quigley / Geekosystem:
Ben Folds Performs Live on Chatroulette at Charlotte Concert [Video] — Last night, Ben Folds honored his acolyte Merton, of “Chatroulette Improv” fame, by improvising different piano songs for every person he came across on Chatroulette. Only Folds wasn't performing from the comfort of his bedroom …
Soren Johnson / DESIGNER NOTES:
“Fear and Loathing in Farmville” — GDC 2010 is now in the books, and it will be a hard one to forget because the whole conference seemed to be obsessed with one thing, which I summed up in this tweet. Or, as Sirlin puts it here: “Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook, Facebook.”
Discussion:
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Ben Parfitt / mcvuk.com:
Switzerland passes violent games ban — Government preparing to outline the specifics of new legislation that will illegalise violent games — Just a month after the proposals were first outlined in full, the Swiss National Council has now officially passed a law that will ultimately lead …
