Top Items:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Bill Gates On The Future Of DRM — Microsoft convened a small group of bloggers today at their Redmond headquarters to discuss the upcoming Mix Conference in Las Vegas. Highlights of the day included: — The receipt of a Zune as a gift (the third I've received from Microsoft - I now have all three colors)
Discussion:
Techdirt, Forever Geek, Mathew Ingram, Apple Gazette, eHomeUpgrade, JD on EP, Smalltalk Tidbits …, Rex Hammock's weblog and digg
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Steve Rubel / Micro Persuasion:
Our Sixty Minutes with Bill Gates — A group of bloggers and online influencers, myself included, got to sit down today with Bill Gates as part of Microsoft's special Mix n' Mash 07 event. The day's participants included an eclectic group of individuals. Some were bloggers …
Liz Gannes / GigaOM:
Bill Gates on the Future of Web Apps — I'm up at Microsoft HQ with a group dubbed "leaders in various aspects of the web community" for a day that closed with an hour-long conversation with Bill Gates. Gates opened with remarks about recent products, as well as the coming ascension …
Niall Kennedy / Niall Kennedy's Weblog:
Talking Linux IP with Bill Gates — If you could ask Bill Gates one question, what would you ask? I spent an hour today with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the company's Redmond campus. I chose to ask Bill about Microsoft's intellectual property stance against Linux and its open source developers …
Eric Auchard / Reuters:
Start-up Jaxtr lets friends phone you on your blog — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Silicon Valley start-up is gearing up to embed free, Web-based telephone services on a variety of popular social networking and blogging services, including MySpace, Friendster and Blogger.
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Steve / The Tomorrow Times:
How to login to an expired Windows — Microsoft has a neat little way to prevent software piracy of their Windows operating system. "Windows Genuine Advantage"[edit: I stand corrected, it has nothing to do with WGA] with its "Product Activation" requirement.
Discussion:
All about Microsoft, Bink.nu, InsideMicrosoft, InformationWeek Weblog, Lifehacker, UNEASYsilence and digg
Eric Bangeman / Ars Technica:
Debate over iTunes sales direction: what's going on? — A couple of days ago, Infinite Loop reported on a research note from Forrester Research which said that Apple's music sales were slowing and that sales of the company's venerable iPod were failing to drive downloads from the iTunes Store.
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Fred / A VC:
MyBlogLog's Growth — I wrote in my Social Networking Interconnects post the other day: … Well maybe Eric read that. Or maybe not. But he wrote a post on the MyBlogLog blog yesterday outlining exactly how fast MyBlogLog is taking off. Here's my favorite chart.
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Kevin J. Delaney / Wall Street Journal:
Google Tests New Ad Offerings — But Will Advertisers Follow? — Google Inc. has been racing to extend its reach on the Internet and in traditional media. Now it needs advertisers to follow. — Among those it is wooing is Alan Cohen, chief marketing officer of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. Early …
Glenn Fleishman / New York Times:
Marrying the Cellphone to Cheap Internet Calling — MATTHEW MILLER wanted to cut the cost of his cellphone plan. He and his wife, Dayna, had regularly exceeded their 2,000-minute-per-month T-Mobile family plan, incurring extra-use charges that reached $60 some months.
David Pogue / New York Times:
Vista Wins on Looks. As for Lacks ... After five years of starts, stops, executive shuffling, feature rethinks and delays, Windows Vista is finally complete. It's available to corporations already, and starting Jan. 30, it's what you'll get on any new PC.
Schneier / Schneier on Security:
Real-World Passwords — How good are the passwords people are choosing to protect their computers and online accounts? — It's a hard question to answer because data is scarce. But recently, a colleague sent me some spoils from a MySpace phishing attack: 34,000 actual user names and passwords.
Scott Ferguson / eWEEK.com:
Analyst: Look for Apple to Gain Market Share in 2007 — With its conversion to Intel processors, the so-called "halo effect" of the iPod and the availability of the Boot Camp software, Apple Computer's Macintosh will gain market share in 2007, according to one analyst.
Mike / Techdirt:
But How Will Mozart Have Incentive To Write New Music With All His Works Available For Free? — from the just-wondering dept — Last year, when the BBC decided to record and then give away free downloads of all nine of Beethoven's symphonies, some classical music record label execs complained …
BBC:
Skype users to get lie detectors — Callers using internet phone system Skype who might be tempted to tell a few porkies should beware - the user on the other end may have a lie detector. — Skype is to offer the KishKish Lie Detector, which is made by BATM, as an add-on for customers.
Discussion:
Gear Factor
Stuart Elliott / New York Times:
Online, P.& G. Gets a Little Crazy — A MARKETER once known as much for its moral rectitude as its soaps and detergents is pushing further into the brave world of new media with a provocative effort asserting that men can suffer from menstrual cramps. — Not long ago, the company …
