Top Items:
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
A Google Package Challenges Microsoft — Google is taking aim at one of Microsoft's most lucrative franchises. — On Thursday, Google, the Internet search giant, will unveil a package of communications and productivity software aimed at businesses, which overwhelmingly rely on Microsoft products for those functions.
Discussion:
Geeking with Greg, JD on EP, The Digital Edge Blog, Global Nerdy, Screenwerk and kottke.org
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Google:
Google Introduces New Business Version of Popular Hosted Applications — Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) - today introduced Google Apps Premier Edition, a new version of Google's hosted services for communication and collaboration designed for businesses of all sizes.
Discussion:
David Card, Jason Blogs, Paul Mooney, The Radioactive Yak, WebProNews, franticindustries and SearchViews
Marshall Kirkpatrick / TechCrunch:
It's G-Day: Google Launches Apps Premier — The day that everyone knew was coming has arrived with the announcement that Google has launched Google Apps Premier, its subscription package of premium, hosted business applications in direct competition with Microsoft.
Paul McDougall / InformationWeek:
Google Targets Microsoft With Launch Of Business Applications — The search engine giant adopts a subscription model with its corporate software bundle to counter Microsoft Office and Windows Live. — Having won over millions of consumers with its online search and productivity tools …
Discussion:
Webware.com, Don Dodge on The Next …, John Battelle's Searchblog, All about Microsoft, Between the Lines, CNET News.com, reddevnews.com, Good Morning Silicon Valley, Tech Beat, Digital Markets, Techdirt, TechCrunch, GartenBlog, The Universal Desktop, Tom Raftery's I.T. views, mathewingram.com/work, Valleywag, Search Engine Land, Mark Evans, A View from the Isle, CenterNetworks, Blackfriars' Marketing, GottaBeMobile.com, Incremental Blogger, Alec Saunders .LOG, theWHIR.com Blogs, Basement.org, WebProNews, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, gSpy, Epicenter, 901am, Microsoft News Tracker, Googling Google, Micro Persuasion and Rex Hammock's weblog
BBC:
Google charges for web programs — Google has introduced a paid-for version of its web applications it hopes will be popular with small firms. — The paid version adds more storage, phone help and guarantees of availability to the Gmail, calendar, word processing and messaging package.
Rick / Burning Questions:
FeedBurner's View of the Feed Market — Prompted by widespread buzz from many FeedBurner publishers who blogged about notable increases in feed subscribers over the weekend, we thought now was a good time to step back and talk about media consumption drivers, and how to accurately assess adoption …
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Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Skype asks FCC to open up cellular networks — Skype yesterday petitioned the FCC to lay the smack down on wireless phone carriers who "limit subscribers' right to run software communications applications of their choosing" (read: Skype software). Skype wants the agency to more stringently apply …
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Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
Microsoft hit with $1.5 billion patent verdict — A federal jury in San Diego has ordered Microsoft to pay $1.5 billion to Alcatel-Lucent in a patent dispute over MP3 audio technology used in Windows. — In its verdict, the jury assessed damages based on each Windows PC sold since May 2003.
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Malika Zouhali-Worrall / Financial Times:
Ad-supported online video 'losing ground' — The market for film and television internet downloads is expected to grow dramatically over the next five years, with revenues from paid downloads far exceeding earnings from advertising placed on free programming, according to a new industry study.
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Eric Bangeman / Ars Technica:
RIAA appeals attorneys' fees award — The cartel of record companies in Capitol v. Foster have filed a motion for reconsideration of US District Court Judge Lee R. West's decision to award the defendant Debbie Foster attorneys' fees. In it, the plaintiffs lay out their disagreement …
Discussion:
Slashdot
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Getty Images may buy research firm Jupitermedia — Shares of Jupitermedia Corp., a provider of research on technology, closed up 26 percent Wednesday after the New York Post reported that the company is in talks to be bought by Getty Images Inc. of Seattle — The stock gained $2.05 to close …
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Rachel Konrad / Associated Press:
Missing laptop found in ET hunt … SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, has signed up more than 1 million volunteers worldwide in a search for extraterrestrial intelligence. They've found no aliens yet, but they have at least turned up one missing laptop.
Andrew Wallenstein / Hollywood Reporter:
Yahoo! news to tilt to a lilt — Yahoo! is hoping a quirky take on the news will strike a chord as its next original programming effort. — The Web giant confirmed Wednesday that it will launch a new initiative before the end of this quarter that will feature a journalist-cum-crooner who will sing the news.
Staci D. Kramer / PaidContent:
FIM Acquires Interactive Ad Tech Company Strategic Data Corp. — Fox Interactive Media has made what the company calls its first "major" acquisition since low-profile Peter Levinsohn took over late last year, picking up interactive ad technology firm Strategic Data Corp.. The company's home page …
Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed:
Updated: Google's Transferable Stock Option Program Begins — Google has submitted filings (prospectus plus supplement) about its initial test of its transferable stock option (TSO) program. The idea, you'll recall, is to give employees with vested stock options a new alternative with respect to making money from vested options.
MacScoop:
Tons of Mac hardware releases for Q2, black iMac on the way? — While the release of Microsoft's Vista earlier this month is said to be seriously challenging Apple on its recent PC market share catch-up, tipsters well placed at Apple informed MacScoop that the company is preparing …
Elinor Mills / CNET News.com:
Flickr shows a little too much skin — Alida Saxon knew something was wrong last weekend when she saw that a thumbnail image on her blog that gets automatically fed from her Flickr page wasn't one of her own photos. — She clicked on the link for the image—a shot of a swimming pool …
Greg Sandoval / CNET News.com:
Microsoft kicks the tires on Revver — Don't expect Microsoft to stand pat in a video-sharing sector dominated by Google's YouTube. — A week after a test version of Microsoft's video site, Soapbox, went live, the company sized up at least one potential acquisition target, sources say.
Discussion:
alarm:clock, NewTeeVee, HipMojo.com, Tech Confidential Blog, Mashable!, WebProNews, Valleywag, Profy.Com and Lost Remote
Chris Anderson / The Long Tail:
BUILDING OUT THE WIRED BLOG NETWORK — At Wired we're working hard on a technology platform shift that will let us relaunch the site with loads of bells and whistles in June. This involves engineers, "QA" and "release candidates", all of which is exactly as exasperating as it sounds.
Discussion:
Wisdump, One By One Media, Glass House, Bloggers Blog, Rex Hammock's weblog, PSFK Trend: PSFK and Random Culture
Peter Nowak / National Post:
Puretracks takes lead in rights fight — Canadian download store Puretracks is turning up the volume on the free-the-music movement by selling songs online without copy protection. — Toronto-based Puretracks Inc. yesterday announced it was selling MP3 files from independent labels …
