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Ballmer: Facebook risks being 'a fad' — The Microsoft chief says that Facebook's appeal could fade - after being linked to an investment that would value the site at $10 billion — Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft chief executive, believes that the craze for individual social networks …
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Steve Ballmer still doesn't understand social networking — A few years ago I wrote to Microsoft's leadership and asked them why they weren't involved in the new Web 2.0 space. I got an answer back that was about 2,000 words long and included the words "business value" 13 times.

Microsoft's chief executive has seen the future - and the future is advertising — Steve Ballmer's plans for the computer software giant include taking on Yahoo! and Google in their own internet territory — Steve Ballmer doesn't do half-measures. The veteran Microsoft chief executive …

Adobe expands online services, woos designers with Thermo — Attendees at Adobe's Max developer conference check out Thermo, the code name for a design tool that enables designers to construct Web applications without writing code. — (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)
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CNET News.com
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Adobe eyes real-time collaboration with new services
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Computerworld

Microsoft: Yep, New Zunes. And DRM-Free Music? — Our spy in Seattle (actually, 20 minutes or so out of Bellevue) tells us that Microsoft did indeed show off three new Zunes today - a $149, 4 gig version and a $199, 8 gig model, both of which use flash memory, and an $249, 80 gig version that uses a hard drive.
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Tom Thinks that he doesn't know what an iPhone Extreme is... I'm working on making this site more appealing. I was looking to see if I could automatically submit the bugs/enhancement requests directly to Apple by clicking a button. While looking through their source on the feedback site, I noticed something really odd.
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First RIAA trial gets under way with jury selection, opening statements — Duluth, Minnesota — Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas (the name of the suit changed after the RIAA dropped the sole Virgin recording from the case) got under way this morning in Courtroom One of the Federal Building in Duluth.


Redmond Install Fair later this month — The Windows Vista SP1 Deployment Team wanted me to pass along notice of an upcoming Install Fair being held here in Redmond at month's end; we've held events like this before and they've always been well received. You're welcome to drop by if you qualify and you're in the neighborhood.
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Google to $2,000 a Share? — A reader complained that we've been nothing but negative of late—recession, Microsoft, Yahoo, newspapers, music, dying TV ads, etc.—so we'll brighten your afternoon with some rip-roaring positivity. — Remember a couple years back when some analyst floated …

The stupidest idea ever? — VENTURE CAPITALIST WAS DISSATISFIED WORKING ON SMART IDEAS, SO HE WENT THE OTHER WAY — As managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki funded all the really smart ideas he could find. None hit it big. — So earlier this year the guru …


Scientists Invent 30 Year Continuous Power Laptop Battery — Your next laptop could have a continuous power battery that lasts for 30 years without a single recharge thanks to work being funded by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The breakthrough betavoltaic power cells are constructed …
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Engadget, ZDNet, Newlaunches.com, Gadget Lab, Christopher Null, Boing Boing Gadgets and Gizmodo

You Don't Create A Silicon Valley By Government Fiat — from the takes-a-bit-more-than-that dept — Two separate articles came out in two separate newspapers based 3,000 miles away from each other this past weekend — but together they demonstrate exactly why so many places …
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How To Split An Atom


Sony's $399 PS3 confirmed by Best Buy? — Thanks to a helpful tipster, we have a couple of Best Buy documents showing a $399 Playstation 3 with 40GB disk and Spiderman 3 (yes, Blu-ray) bundle with an "In Stock Date" of October 28. However, the more important "Street Date" field is unfortunately empty at the moment.
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CrunchGear, Opposable Thumbs, CNET News.com, Joystiq, The Boy Genius Report, Kotaku, TiVo Lovers Blog, GamesIndustry.biz, Gadgetell and Forever Geek

Microsoft to Increase Ad Business — Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, vowing that the company's $6 billion plunge into the ad business two months ago was not just an experiment, said today that advertising would become 25 percent of the company's business within a few years.


From "To Do" to "Done" in One Search — That sums up Yahoo! Search in a nutshell; the whole point is we want to get you from "to do" to "done." Whatever it is you want to do: research a topic, find a website, plan a vacation, research a medical condition, view a funny video …
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