Top Items:
Marshall Kirkpatrick / TechCrunch:
Google Reader steps it up with new version — The Google Reader team unveiled a revamped version of their online feed reader today and no one can say it's not a real RSS reader anymore. They even took Robert Scoble's advice and made a demonstration video!
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Ben Darnell / Official Google Reader Blog:
Something looks... different. — As of today, Google Reader has a new look — and even more important, a lot of new features that we think you'll like. We've listened to your feedback, done usability research, and examined all the ways that people consume content on the web, from feed readers to email clients.
Richard MacManus / Read/WriteWeb:
New-look Google Reader Is Stunning! — Google Reader, Google's web-based RSS Aggregator, has had a re-design and I am impressed. It now has a look n' feel very much like Gmail, which I believe is a pointer to this product being prepped for mainstream promotion - and/or merged with Gmail.
Niall Kennedy / Niall Kennedy's Weblog:
Google Reader courts the Gmail crowd — Google Reader has launched a major update to its web front-end about a year after its initial launch, redesigning its online feed aggregator to create a feed reading experience that should feel natural to users of Gmail.
Microsoft:
Microsoft to Put Zune Experience in Consumers' Hands on Nov. 14 — Zune device to retail for $249.99. — Microsoft Corp. is putting the social into digital music, starting this holiday. Today the company announced that the Zune™ digital media player and online service will be available …
Discussion:
Engadget, Wi-Fi Networking News, Anything But iPod, michael parekh on IT, Gizmodo, paidContent.org, InsideMicrosoft, Guardian Unlimited, Coolfer, CrunchGear, The Digital Music Weblog, Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog, The Tech Report, SCI FI Tech, jkOnTheRun, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, Microsoft News Tracker, Change Is Good, I4U News, Tom Raftery's I.T. views, broadbandreports.com, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check and dailywireless.org
Reuters:
MySpace could be worth $15 bln in 3 years-analyst —Text+SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - MySpace, the social networking Web site, could be worth around $15 billion within three years, measured in terms of the value created for shareholders of parent company News Corp. (NWSa.N: Quote …
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Mike Shields / mediaweek.com:
Facebook Creates Sponsored Stories Ad Unit — Facebook plans to unveil a new ad unit in the coming weeks that the company says uniquely harness the site's social networking dynamic. — The new placement, dubbed Sponsored Stories, appears within Facebook's News Feed platform.
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Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
PodShow raises $15M more for....podcasting. Yikes! — Podshow, a company that promotes podcasts and finds sponsors for them, has raised $15 million more in a second round of venture capital from its big-name investors, following up on $8.85 million in a first round last summer. — Dan Primack has the scoop.
Phil Windley's Technometria:
Leo Laporte on Monetizing Podcasts — Leo LaPorte, the host of TWiT gave the closing keynote at Podcast Academy. This was one of those talks that's pretty fun to listen to, but hard to blog. — Leo mentions that TWiT has started to take ads. Interestingly he gets quite a bit of pushback …
PR Newswire:
Local Search Continues to Gain Momentum, According to comScore — Google and Yahoo! Sites Lead in Local Search Market Share in the U.S. — RESTON, Va., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ — comScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, today released the results of an analysis revealing …
Paul Roberts / InfoWorld Tech Watch:
MS antisphishing tool wins MS bakeoff — Microsoft sponsored a study comparing the effectiveness of antiphishing technologies and, surprise surprise, the company's IE 7 anti-phishing technology came out on top, according to a post on the IE Blog. — The study, which was conducted by 3Sharp …
Daniel Gross / Slate:
$1 Billion for Facebook? LOL! — IS THE SOCIAL-NETWORKING BOOM A REPLAY OF THE '90S DOTCOM BUBBLE? — The "social-networking" gold rush continues. Last year, MySpace was acquired by News Corp. for $580 million in cash. Now the other big social-networking sites are the subject of rumors, deals, and transactions.
Ken Belson / New York Times:
Rural Areas Left in Slow Lane of High-Speed Data Highway — CANAAN, Vt. — For most businesses, the goal is to attract as many customers as possible. But in the fast-changing telephone industry, companies are increasingly trying to get rid of many of theirs. — Bill and Ursula Johnson are among the unwanted.
Discussion:
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James / MocoNews.net:
It's Official: Mobile ESPN To Cease MVNO Ops Dec. 31; Will Seek Licensing — The announcement we told you last night was on the way just came out ... Mobile ESPN will cease operations as an MVNO Dec. 31 and will refund the purchase price of all Mobile ESPN handsets. Sales are discontinued effective immediately.
Discussion:
Tech Confidential Blog, IP Democracy, Engadget, CrunchGear, Good Morning Silicon Valley and VoIP & Gadgets Blog
www-307.ibm.com:
Battery recall — Select your preferred language from the list below: — Dear Lenovo Customer, — Lenovo and IBM Corporation, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies, have announced the voluntary recall of certain lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Sony Corporation.
Brian Krebs / Washington Post:
ID Thieves Turn Sights on Smaller E-Businesses — For Online Shoppers, Security Seals No Guarantee That Hackers Aren't Watching — Schuyler Cole needed an accessory for his Palm Treo 600 smartphone, so the Haleiwa, Hawaii, resident fired up his Web browser last month and ran a Google search.
Kenji Hall / Business Week:
Nintendo Gives Design Power to the Player — The console and game-making giant is taking on a Web 2.0 glow by allowing gamers to create characters and mess around with content — Wielding a wand-like remote controller, Nintendo (NTDOY) exec Bill Trinen created a digital likeness of the actor Samuel L. Jackson.
New York Times:
H.P. Counsel Resigns as Hearings Open — Hewlett-Packard's general counsel, Ann O. Baskins, has resigned from the company, and her lawyer said she will not answer questions at the Congressional hearing scheduled for today. — As Hewlett-Packard's chief in-house lawyer …
Discussion:
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