Top Items:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Counterstrike: Murdoch, DeWolfe Announce MySpace Platform and New Privacy Controls — Rupert Murdoch and MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe announced some of their plans around the MySpace Platform (rumored since last week) this evening at the Web 2.0 conference during a Q&A with John Battelle.
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Dean Takahashi / Tech Talk with Dean Takahashi:
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg opens the Web 2.0 conference in Q&A with John Batelle — John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly opened the Web 2.0 asking a question, "Is this a bubble?" Few folks raised their hands in the ballroom of the Palace Hotel. But this is the land of the faithful.
Matt / Gravatar Blog:
Automattic Acquires Gravatar — The best ideas are often the simplest. (At least in hindsight.) The idea of globally-recognized avatar, or Gravatar, struck me from the first time I heard it. Of course I should be able to have my avatar wherever I go! Of course email is a great way to key it!
Discussion:
Rev2.org, TechCrunch, Blogcosm, The Marketing Technology Blog, Neomeme, Forever Geek, CenterNetworks, Read/WriteWeb, Mashable! and Digg
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Om Malik / GigaOM:
Startups Should Team Up to Grow — Earlier this week, MeeVee, an online television guide, decided to acquire Top Ten Sources, a Boston-based social news and information site. Last night, Next New Networks bought BarelyPolitical.com, the production company responsible for Obama Girl, for an undisclosed amount of money.
Bruce Meyerson / Business Week:
Skype Goes Mobile — Skype's new cell phone will deliver mobile access to its service. The beleaguered carrier hopes to jump-start revenues overseas — Bit by bit, big names in the computing world are barging into the cell-phone business. First came Apple's (AAPL) game-changing iPhone.
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Alex Pham / Los Angeles Times:
EBay posts $936-million loss — Its $936 million in red ink stems largely from a write-down of the online calling service. — EBay Inc. dialed up a steep third-quarter loss Wednesday, as the accounting effect of paying too much for the Skype Internet calling service offset strong growth …
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Scott Gilbertson / Wired News:
Review: Ubuntu's New 'Gutsy Gibbon' Brings Linux Out of the Jungle — The familiar old script that Linux is only for geeks has been largely rewritten recently with the arrival of Ubuntu, a version of Linux for the average user. In its three years on the scene, Ubuntu has quickly gained …
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Tom Yager / InfoWorld:
Apple OS X Leopard: A beautiful upgrade — Finally, a PC Unix that everyone can love. OS X Leopard is a triumph of customer-focused engineering — Apple's announcement of the impending delivery of OS X Leopard (release 10.5 of Mac and Xserve operating systems) marks the public debut …
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Verizon lays out upcoming smartphone lineup; Samsung i760 comes first — No surprises in the mix here, but we're delighted to see that Verizon is finally getting official with four smart devices that have been rumored to be in its pipeline for ages. Of the four, only the i760 from Samsung's …
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Karen Wickre: Mother Of The Google Blog On Google's Official Blogging — When Google launched the Official Google Blog back in 2004, it started as sort of a ho-hum event. There wasn't anything particularly gripping, and some wondered if the company should be more edgy with its posts.
Discussion:
Google Blogoscoped
BBC:
Mobile use backed on planes — Passengers could soon be using their mobile phones on planes flying through European airspace. — Plans have been developed across EU countries to introduce technology which permits mobile calls without risk of interference with aircraft systems.
Discussion:
SMS Text News
Marshall Kirkpatrick / Read/WriteWeb:
Screenshots Out for Microsoft Office Live Workspace — Microsoft has been sharing with bloggers today some screenshots of the forthcoming Microsoft Office Live Workspace. The company made its most recent major announcement about the online collaboration suite that integrates with Office at the end of last month.
Discussion:
CNET News.com, Bink.nu, The Universal Desktop, WebProNews, All about Microsoft, The Last Podcast and Mashable!
Reuters:
Sony to sell new 40GB PlayStation 3 in U.S. — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) will launch a cheaper model of its PlayStation 3 in the United States, hoping to attract more buyers as it goes up against rival game consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo this holiday.
Bloomberg:
AT&T May Buy EchoStar Within Year, Citi Analyst Says — Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) — AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. phone company, may buy satellite-television provider EchoStar Communications Corp. for $29.1 billion to take on cable companies, Citi Investment Research said.
