Top Items:
David Pogue / New York Times:
Apple Offers New Goodies in Leopard System — If you're a computer company, what on earth do you add to the sixth annual version of your operating system? — It's not as though there are any glaring holes left. Nobody is still crying out for a better way to organize photos.
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Walter S. Mossberg / Wall Street Journal:
Leopard: Faster, Easier Than Vista — Upgrade of Apple's OS — Isn't Revolutionary, — But It Beats Microsoft's — The Mac is on a roll. Apple Inc.'s perennially praised but slow-selling Macintosh computers have surged in popularity in the past few years, with sales growing …
Discussion:
eWEEK.com, Michael Gartenberg, GottaBeMobile.com, FORTUNE: Apple 2.0, Wired News, MacDailyNews, The Mac Observer and Digg
Steve / The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs:
Oh snap! Faceberg raises another $500 million — Word up. Hot on the heels of the big investment by the Borg only a few hours ago, Facebook has now landed another $500 million from two hedge funds in New York. At the same $15 billion valuation. It is on, people.
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Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
Facebook Raises Another $500 Milion — Forbes' Elizabeth Corcoran, reporting from the magazine's MEET Conference in L.A., says Facebook raised another $500 million yesterday in addition to Microsoft's $240 million. The money is supposed to have come from two NYC-based hedge funds …
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Reports of PodTech's demise are bull#### — It's amazing. A fake blogger, Fake Steve Jobs, reports that PodTech is closing down. This is total, 100% bull####. Not even deserving of a response. I'm not leaving PodTech. When, er if, I am you'll read it here on my blog.
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Steve / The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs:
PodTech: RIP — Well, they've had a good run but apparently the Casa de Scoble is heading for the big sleep. Or is it the dirt nap? I can never remember. No announcement yet but we hear it's imminent. Word is that Scoble was planning to bail in January anyway but now he won't have to.
Discussion:
Read/WriteWeb, franticindustries, JD on EP, Valleywag, WinExtra, The Last Podcast, GracefulFlavor and Mashable!
Duncan Riley / TechCrunch:
PodTech Heading Towards The Deadpool? — Fake Steve Jobs aka Daniel Lyons has written that he's heard that PodTech will be closing up shop with an announcement imminent. — We can't confirm the rumor although I have pinged Robert Scoble asking him to comment. If we get a response we'll publish it.
Discussion:
TechFold
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Perspective: Facebook Is Now 5th Most Valuable U.S. Internet Company — Yesterday came news that Microsoft invested $240 million into Facebook, valuing the company at $15 billion. — How much is $15 billion? It's hard to understand how much money that really is.
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Brad Stone / New York Times:
Microsoft to Pay $240 Million for Stake in Facebook — Microsoft has won a high-profile technology industry battle with Google and Yahoo to invest in the social networking upstart Facebook. — The two companies said on Wednesday that Microsoft would invest $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook.
Discussion:
Don Dodge on The Next …, CNET News.com, Web Strategy, The Mac Observer, Los Angeles Times, Mark Evans, Associated Press, Techdirt, Tom Raftery's Social Media, BloggingStocks, Search Engine Roundtable, MarketingVOX, Soaring on Ridgelift, TechSpot News, Geek Speaker, Tech Talk with Dean Takahashi, Joe Duck, Todd Watson, Nate Elliott, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, Download Squad, TechCrunch, Online Dating Insider, Innovation in Software, Silicon Alley Insider, HipMojo.com, iMedia Connection, Bloggers Blog, TechBlog, rexblog.com, Clickety Clack, VentureBeat, Business Week, Wikinomics, InsideMicrosoft, Slashdot, 901am, Digital Daily, Search Engine Watch Blog, Bloomberg, paidContent.org, The Last Podcast and Wall Street Journal
Terrence Russell / Epicenter:
Three Reasons Microsoft Underpaid For Facebook — It's official — the truth is less profitable than fiction. Facebook has secured the cornerstone of its $15 billion valuation with today's Microsoft alliance. But at $240 million, that's only a 1.6% slice of a much larger pie.
Dan Goodin / The Register:
More gnashing of teeth after Microsoft update brings PCs to a standstill — Resource-hogging search app sprung on reluctant admins — Something seems to have gone horribly wrong in an untold number of IT departments on Wednesday after Microsoft installed a resource-hogging search application …
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Business Wire:
BEA Board Sets $21.00 Per Share Value Position — SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—The Board of Directors of BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS - News) today issued the following statement: — "We continue to believe that Oracle's unsolicited proposal to acquire BEA at $17.00 per share significantly …
Discussion:
Tech Trader Daily
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Sue Polinsky / Download Squad:
At the Top of Google — I haven't met two small business owners in a meeting where one doesn't ask how to get his or her site to the top of the Google search results list. There are transparent reasons for wanting to be first: you get more clicks, your business seems important …
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Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Live Search Almost Certainly Coming To Facebook — During this afternoon's Microsoft-Facebook conference call, the question was asked whether the new deal would include paid search. Microsoft's Kevin Johnson and Facebook's Owen Van Natta declined to directly answer the question …
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Brad Stone / New York Times:
Microsoft Buys Stake in Facebook
Microsoft Buys Stake in Facebook
Discussion:
Profy.Com, CNNMoney.com, Business Week, ContentBlogger, MediaBytes with Shelly …, CNET News.com, Lost Remote and Macsimum News
Dominic Kennedy / Times of London:
Labour 'conspired with phone companies to keep prices high' — Labour conspired with mobile-phone companies to let them impose high bills on consumers for international calls, according to documents obtained by The Times. — Frank messages involving civil servants and a minister detail …
Discussion:
The Register
BBC:
Virtual worlds threaten 'values' — The growing number of toy-themed virtual worlds aimed at young people risks undermining the basic human values we wish to instill in children. — So said industry veteran Lord Puttnam opening a London conference devoted to discussing virtual worlds.
Discussion:
Wonderland
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
Friendster Announces Developer Platform; Can You Say "Commodity"? — Good thing we launched the CrunchBase widget, because you may need it to refresh your memory about a certain social networking company called Friendster that's announcing its own developer platform today (okay okay …
Discussion:
Mashable!, All Facebook, Performancing.com, Today @ PC World, Liberate Media and Digital Trends