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8:55 AM ET, August 18, 2006

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Boeing Boeing .... Gone  —  Is it a case of don't trust the early adopters?  Boeing's Connexion "broadband in the sky" service received rave reviews from most of the early adopters who wrote long paeans about the service, and how they could Skype and work in the sky.  —  The mass market thought otherwise.
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International Herald Tribune:
Boeing: In-flight Internet didn't fly on low demand  —  PARIS Maybe it was the Internet bubble in the sky, or perhaps the business plan that just couldn't fly.  —  Boeing on Thursday scrapped its in- flight Internet service, saying there was insufficient demand.  —  Don't tell that to the customers.
Discussion: Ed Brill and InfoWorld Tech Watch
BBC:
Boeing exits in-flight broadband  —  Boeing is scrapping its in-flight high speed broadband service because of lack of interest from leading airlines.  —  The discontinuation of its Connexion service will cost the plane maker $320m (£169m) in one-off charges.
Discussion: Vacuum and Bradley Horowitz's Blog
Jeremy Horwitz / iLounge:
Zune interface, features detailed  —  If you've been wondering how the Zune's user interface will compare with the iPod's, we have some real answers for you this morning: the similarities are significant, but Microsoft has made a number of changes that range from cool to not so cool.
RELATED ITEMS:
Gizmodo:
Exclusive Microsoft Zune Details  —  After lots of quality time groping the Zune like blind man on his wedding night, our people give us the lowdown on the player's functionality.  Get the scoop after the jump!  —  First off, that scroll wheel you see?  That's not a wheel.
David Berlind / Between the Lines:
The skinny on desktop Linux pros, cons and adoption  —  There are all sorts of stories whirling around the Internet regarding the pros and cons of desktop Linux as well as its chances of adoption (or track record so far) that I thought I'd try to connect the dots to form a more coherent picture (well, perhaps a confusing picture).
Discussion: The Register
RELATED ITEMS:
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Linux' achilles heel: fonts
ongoing:
Back to the Mac  —  It took nearly two weeks to get the PowerBook fixed …
apple.com:
Report on iPod Manufacturing  —  Like many of you, we were concerned by reports in the press a few weeks ago alleging poor working and living conditions at a manufacturing facility in China where iPods are assembled.  Our Supplier Code of Conduct mandates that suppliers of Apple products …
Jkan / jkanstyle:
Actual lessons from Kiko  —  Today I listed the main asset of our startup, our web calendar Kiko, on eBay (see the auction).  Since we put the eBay post up, there has been much buzz on techcrunch, reddit, etc about Kiko going under.  Many people have speculated heavily on why we failed …
RELATED ITEMS:
Dharmesh Shah / OnStartups.com:
Hindsight 2.0: Lessons From A Failed Web 2.0 Startup
Don Dodge / Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing:
Hindsight 2.0, Lessons from a Failed Web 2.0 startup
Marshall Kirkpatrick / TechCrunch:
Google's Writely released; will another sector be squashed?  —  Online ajax-rich word processor Writely began accepting new accounts today after closing registration when the company was acquired by Google in March.  A number of startups who used to compete with Writely will now have to challenge Google.
RELATED ITEMS:
Om Malik / GigaOM:
The Great Cable Bandwidth Debate  —  The Wall Street Journal got hold of a secret Cable Labs report, that essentially says that CableCos will not be able to withstand a bandwidth challenge from Verizon's fiber network.  They will have to spend money to upgrade and keep up with fiber.
RELATED ITEMS:
Andrew Schmitt / Nyquist Capital:   The Cablecos are Waking Up to Reality
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Why I don't write about video games  —  My brother, Alex, writes for Computer World.  Now, you'd think that his obscure little blog would be safe from 14-year-olds everywhere.  But, he posted his thoughts about Xbox vs. Play Station 3 and the kiddies show up and start bashing him.
anandtech.com:
Search AnandTech  —  Apple's Mac Pro - A True PowerMac Successor  —  It's here, it's quiet and it's fast; we got our Mac Pro on Friday and spent every day since taking it apart, using it and benchmarking it.  There's far too much to include in one review, so we're breaking it up into three parts.
RELATED ITEMS:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Regarding the Hardware Announcements at WWDC 2006
Discussion: MacUser, TechSpot and digg
Anders Bylund / Ars Technica:
MPAA push-polling the public to change copyright views  —  The MPAA seems to be employing tried-and-true political campaign tactics to sway public opinion of piracy and file sharing toward its own worldview.  A few weeks ago, the association announced MyMovieMuse.com, a research forum …
Discussion: Techdirt
Business Wire:
EchoStar Asks Federal Court to Stay Texas Injunction  —  ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 18, 2006—EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) issued the following statement regarding recent developments in the Tivo Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corp. lawsuit:
Gizmodo:
Microsoft Viral Marketing: Gaming Hardware?  —  Another day, another sad attempt by Microsoft for a viral marketing campaigh.  Yeah, that I Love Bees campaign worked really well for them, but since then they have a new gig every damn week.  This one can be found at www.notfornoobs.com.
David / Blogging Pro:
CSS Optimization: Make Your Sites Load Faster for Free  —  While a lot of people are out to optimize their sites/blogs, most everyone seems to skip over CSS.  —  I have been spending some time looking at CSS Optimization tools today.  I wanted something free, online, and easy to use.
Discussion: ProBlogger Blog Tips and digg
Darren Murph / Engadget:
DigiGear unveils EZ3D Photo Print picture frame  —  While anything remotely related to 3D always has to be inspected further before taking it seriously, the gimmicky optical illusion that adds depth to an otherwise flat object has suckered people in for years.
Discussion: MobileWhack.com
 
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 More Items: 
Nate Mook / BetaNews:
Google Starts Tracking Music Trends
Jordan Running / Download Squad:
New features for YouTube  —  Tonight YouTube went down for a few hours …
Discussion: Mashable!
Anne Broache / CNET News.com:
Anticrime group calls for laws to curb 'cyberbullying'
Richard MacManus / Read/WriteWeb:
Top Spanish Web 2.0 Apps
Scott Beale / Laughing Squid:
LinuxWorld 2006 is in now full swing at the Moscone Center …
Discussion: MAKE Magazine and digg
Cameron Olthuis / Pronet Advertising:
10 things you should be monitoring
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
HelloWorld to take on YouTube? Nope says "BlinkTest"
 Earlier Items: 
David Chartier / The Unofficial Apple Weblog:
Mac OS X Leopard tidbits roundup part 3
Paul Thurrott / SuperSite for Windows:
Internet Explorer 7: Flawed or Misunderstood?
Discussion: Read/WriteWeb
Shel Israel / Naked Conversations:
An Open Letter to Nick Carr
Jo Best / silicon.com:
dotMobi to auction top-drawer names
Discussion: Techdirt and MocoNews.net
Marshall Kirkpatrick / TechCrunch:
Create an API for any site with Dapper
Discussion: David Galbraith
Robert L. Mitchell / Computerworld Blogs blogs:
Oracle's future: What's a yacht got to do with it?
Tony Smith / The Register:
Linux-based HandyPC to challenge Nokia Communicator
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
DirecTV terminates its Dish acquisition after a group of Dish creditors rejected a modified bond exchange offer

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A growing number of podcasters, including Tim Ferriss, are moving away from interviews to monologues or co-hosts, as some well-known guests can be overexposed

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

 
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