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7:20 PM ET, March 20, 2007

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Andy Beal / Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim:
Google's Launches Pay-Per-Action; a Threat to Affiliate Networks?  —  If you're reading this post, then you can expect a flurry of news covering Google's beta launch of its Pay-Per-Action (PPA) product for AdWords.  Yep, after years of hinting, Google is finally ready to let us test their platform on a CPA (cost per action) model.
RELATED:
Inside AdWords:
Pay-per-action beta test  —  Is there a specific action on your site that you want visitors to complete?  Do you know how much that action is worth to your business?  If so, you may be interested in our pay-per-action beta test.  Here's Rob K., Product Manager for Pay-Per-Action, to tell us more:
Inside AdSense:
Now accepting applications for new referrals beta  —  Many of you already use referrals to direct users to your favorite Google products.  Now, with our new referrals beta, you can select products and services from our base of AdWords advertisers.  This is good news for those of you who have wanted …
Kotaku:
Game Mag Says Black Xbox 360 Is Coming  —  Always get an iffy feeling posting black Xbox 360 stories — Especially ones that pop up in April.  Yes, we know that the debug unit is black.  And yet, the rumor continues to surface.  This month's Game Informer says that a black Xbox 360 …
RELATED:
Ryan Block / Engadget:
Xbox 360 Elite: new, black limited edition Xbox with HDMI and 120GB drive  —  We've confirmed with trusted sources that the black Xbox 360 is indeed coming (the image above is of the original 360 dev kit, FYI), and will be dubbed the Xbox 360 Elite.  Here's what you need to know about it:
Valleywag:
BUBBLE: Alexa error triggers crisis of confidence  —  Web 2.0 may indeed be waning as a meme, as Crosslink Capital's Peter Rip suggests.  Technology evangelists and journalists have probably vented all there is to say about dynamic web pages and online social behavior, the two key ingredients of this round of internet projects.
Discussion: HipMojo.com and CrunchNotes
RELATED:
Peter Rip / EarlyStageVC:
Web 2.0 - Over and Out  —  Many of us in the VC community …
Unstrung:
Palm Deal in the Final Stretch  —  A Palm Inc. buyout could be finalized by Thursday this week, demanding $20 or more per share, according to sources close to the situation.  Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - message board) is seen as the leading vendor bidder; while Palm's management is said to prefer a private equity buyer.
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
John W. Backus, 82, Fortran Developer, Dies  —  John W. Backus, who assembled and led the I.B.M. team that created Fortran, the first widely used programming language, which helped open the door to modern computing, died on Saturday at his home in Ashland, Ore. He was 82.
Brad Stone / New York Times:
MySpace Restrictions Upset Some Users  —  Some users of MySpace feel as if their space is being invaded.  —  MySpace, the Web's largest social network, has gradually been imposing limits on the software tools that users can embed in their pages, like music and video players that also deliver advertising or enable transactions.
CNNMoney.com:
PlayStation 3 price cut may be ahead  —  Sony game console's hefty price tag has drawn criticism; Goldman Sachs analyst expects worldwide price reduction of $100 later this year.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Japanese electronics giant Sony may cut the price of its PlayStation 3 by $100 worldwide …
Karen / Official Google Blog:
Personality goes a long way  —  Whenever I get a new cell phone, the first thing I do is change the background theme.  It seems like such a small thing, but for whatever reason adding a beach or a dancing pig or something else makes me feel like it's my own.
RELATED:
Harry McCracken / PC World: Techlog:
Google Personal Homepage Gets Skinnable
Discussion: Valleywag
CNET News.com:
Who exactly wrote the first blog  —  Someone, somewhere created the very first Web log.  It's just not quite clear who.  —  It may not be one of the Internet's grandest accomplishments, but with the number of active bloggers hovering somewhere around 100 million, according to one estimate …
BBC:
Virtual worlds are 'worth $1bn'  —  Millions of people are flocking to inhabit virtual online worlds, says research by analysts Screen Digest.  —  The market for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) in the West is now worth more than $1bn (£511m)
Kasper Jade / AppleInsider:
Apple's next-generation iMacs to add a touch of grace  —  AppleInsider has learned that Apple's popular line of iMac personal computers are about to undergo a substantial facelift that will showcase striking new industrial designs aimed at leaving both competitors and onlookers smitten.
Tim O'Reilly / O'Reilly Radar:
Twittering your Home  —  I had no sooner got finished writing "don't discount twitter.  I'll lay odds that it gets hacked into a really useful service before long" in the comments on Nat's twittervision post, in response to the various people saying that twitter was drivel, and who cares …
Discussion: B.L. Ochman's weblog
 
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 More Items: 
Seth Sutel / Associated Press:
Online broadcasters challenge price hike
Discussion: Tech Beat and PaidContent
Mark Gibbs / Computerworld Malaysia:
Verizon's weird antispam science
Discussion: Techdirt
Molly Graham / Official Google Blog:
More than meets the eye  —  Posted by Ardan Arac …
Brian Caulfield / Forbes:
How To Spy On Google  —  Is Google working on a phone?
Valleywag:
ADOBE: Scoble's favorites
Discussion: Ryan Stewart
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
NFL fumbles DMCA takedown battle, could face sanctions
Discussion: Techdirt, PlagiarismToday and digg
Financial Times:
Google searches for European lobbyists
Scott McNulty / The Unofficial Apple Weblog:
VMware Fusion Beta 2 now available
 Earlier Items: 
Paul Kapustka / NewTeeVee:
An Appreciation: Ze Frank's Genius
Discussion: Common Craft
Judi Sohn / Web Worker Daily:
RSS ON THE GO: A LOOK AT WEB-BASED MOBILE AGGREGATORS
Simon Carless / Gamasutra:
Microsoft's Kim: Sony 'Helped Us With Their Own Missteps'
Eric Bangeman / Ars Technica:
Infringing videos on iFilm could cause problems for Viacom
Discussion: Gizmodo, Slashdot and digg
Pete Cashmore / Mashable!:
37signals Launches Highrise
MediaShift:
DOOMSAYERS DEBUNKED Serious Journalism Won't Die as Newsprint Fades
Julio / iinnovate:
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Peter White / Deadline:
Fox and Hulu extend their content partnership, including in-season streaming rights for Fox's programming; sources: the deal is worth $1.5B over four years

Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
A Q&A with Chris Balfe, CEO of Red Seat Ventures, which has helped Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly set up their podcast and streaming businesses and sell ads

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

 
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