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5:40 PM ET, January 4, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Catherine Holahan / Business Week:
Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM  —  The last major label will throw in the towel on digital rights management and prepare to fight Apple for valuable download revenues  —  In a move that would mark the end of a digital music era, Sony BMG Music Entertainment is finalizing plans to sell songs without …
RELATED:
Ken Fisher / Ars Technica:
Lone holdout in DRMed music recommends DRM circumvention  —  With three of the big four music labels abandoning DRM, that leaves Sony as the big holdout.  That's right, the same company that brought you the Sony rootkit scandal is also the last of the major labels to repent and abandon their DRMed ways.
Discussion: Podcasting News and MacUser
Robert Andrews / paidContent.org:
Sony BMG Joining Amazon Music Store; Final Major To Try DRM-Free: Report
Discussion: p2pnet and Byte of the Apple
Fury.com:
Today is My Last Day at Google  —  After a life-changing four and a half years of working with the most talented group of people I have ever met, I've decided to take the plunge and do it all over again, working for a very small start-up.  Today is my last day at the Big G.
RELATED:
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google's User Experience Expert, Kevin Fox, Joins New Start-up Company
Discussion: TechCrunch, techno.blog and WebProNews
Ben Edelman:
Sears Exposes Customer Purchase History in Violation of Its Privacy Policy  —  Want to know what a given customer has purchased from Sears?  It's surprisingly easy to find out.  Here's the procedure:  —  1) Go to the Sears “Manage My Home” site, www.managemyhome.com .  Create an account and sign in.
Discussion: Zero Day, Techdirt and Computerworld
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Warner goes Blu-ray exclusive  —  We've all been wondering what to make of those whispers that Warner was indeed going Blu-ray exclusive, and apparently, those rumblings are true.  Based on a breaking release, Warner Bros.  Entertainment will be releasing its high-definition titles …
RELATED:
TimeWarner:
Warner Bros.  Entertainment to Release its High-Definition DVD …
Discussion: TECH.BLORGE.com
Greg Linden / Geeking with Greg:
The coming 2008 dot-com crash  —  Early January is the time we see many predictions for 2008.  I have not played this game since 2006, but I want to chime in this year.  —  I am only going to make one prediction, but one with broad impact.  We will see a dot-com crash in 2008.
Thomas Claburn / InformationWeek:
Google Patent Imagines Robots Indexing The Grocery Aisle  —  The two computer scientists behind “recognizing text in images” search technology also worked on Google Street View and Google Book Search.  —  A patent application filed by Google with the World Intellectual Property Organization …
RELATED:
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Will fans pay?  Reznor opens books on 'Net music experiment  —  Radiohead isn't talking numbers, but Trent Reznor is.  After producing Saul Williams' The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust and offering it to fans online, Reznor yesterday laid out the numbers from his experiment.
John Biggs / CrunchGear:
Sennheiser releases first untethered Kleer wireless earbuds  —  I pray that Kleer actually takes off but after seeing ideas like this try and fail to gain traction — Zigbee, anyone?  — I'm a little dubious.  Anyway, Sennheiser just launched the first Kleer compatible headphones which allow …
Discussion: Engadget and Gizmodo
RELATED:
Gizmodo:
Sennheiser Wireless Earphones Utilize Kleer Technology Instead of Bluetooth
Discussion: Electronista
Business Wire:
Gefen and Pulse~LINK Introduce the World's First Consumer HDMI Over Coax Product for High Definition Video Connectivity Throughout the Home  —  LAS VEGAS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Gefen, a leader in innovative audio/video solutions and Pulse~LINK, the UWB semiconductor performance leader …
Discussion: Engadget HD and SlashGear
RELATED:
Karl / DSLreports:
HDMI Over Coaxial - Another option for home networking
Discussion: Electronista
Troll Tracker / Patent Troll Tracker:
4 Interesting New Cases From Last 2 Weeks of December  —  Well, what do we have for you today?  How about the Rothschild family investing in a Eurotroll, and suing in Marshall, Texas?  How about an ex-Fish & Richardson associate buying patents for millions of dollars (while an associate) …
RELATED:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Digg And Others Sued For Infringing Infamous Computer Solitaire Patent
Elizabeth Woyke / Forbes:
Imagine A Web Site For Your Toaster  —  Judging from the buzz surrounding this year's Consumer Electronics Show, every device in our homes may soon go online, right down to the toaster.  The Las Vegas show, which kicks off on Sunday evening, will be stuffed with products meant to tap the Internet on the go …
Discussion: larry borsato
Arik Hesseldahl / Business Week:
A Little ‘Intel’ on Apple's Next Move  —  Wondering what Steve Jobs will announce in his Macworld keynote on Jan. 15?  The newest chips from Apple's sole supplier offer some intriguing hints  —  With Macworld Expo just days away, the pre-"Stevenote" buzz is building fast.
Discussion: localmobilesearch.net
Tim O'Reilly / O'Reilly Radar:
Human vs. Machine: The Great Challenge of Our Time  —  In an email conversation with Bill Janeway about our upcoming Money:Tech Conference, he said something really profound: … I've written quite a bit about “bionic software,” the idea that one of the distinguishing characteristics of Web 2 …
Discussion: Paul Kedrosky's …
Joseph Weisenthal / paidContent.org:
Monster Acquires Affinity Labs, Developer Of Vertical Career Sites, For $61 Million  —  Online jobs firm Monster Worldwide has acquired SF-based Affinity Labs, a developer of community sites centered around various vocations, for $61 million in cash.  Examples of its portfolio include Policelink.com …
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / HipMojo.com:
Web Starting to Surpass TV Advertising in Europe: Sweden First, then UK, then...  Every time I think I am being bullish on Web and online video growth rates, something comes along that makes me realize I am actually being conservative.  Case in point: … This is pretty impressive and actually in line with two analysis I did:
Discussion: WebProNews and Conversion Rater
 
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 More Items: 
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
iLuv announces a slew of new iPod accessories, including the i399
Discussion: Gizmodo
Electronista:
iLuv reveals iPod/DVD combo, Bluetooth docks
Discussion: Gizmodo
Stephen Shankland / CNET News.com:
Q&A: Red Hat CEO believes Delta past isn't a liability
Jim Irwin / Associated Press:
Purported Spammer Accused of Stock Fraud
Discussion: WebProNews and Techdirt
Juliette Garside / Telegraph:
Tiscali to rebrand Toucan for launch of mobile service
Discussion: The Register and paidContent
Megan McCarthy / Epicenter:
Kleiner Perkins Adds Facebook-Savvy General Partner
Discussion: VentureBeat
Mathew / mathewingram.com/work:
The RIAA: Possibly right, still weasels
 Earlier Items: 
Mark Wilson / Gizmodo:
CompactFlash Meets SATA Speeds
Discussion: Engadget
Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
NY Google Vet Hirsch Leaving For Startups
Discussion: WebProNews
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
BiTMICRO introduces 832GB SSD for CES 2008
Discussion: DailyTech
I, Cringely . The Pulpit | PBS:
Always Certain, Sometimes Correct
Discussion: The Mac Observer
Todd Bishop / Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog:
Pre-CES: A glimpse inside a real Microsoft home
Discussion: CNET News.com
Charlie White / Gizmodo:
Fujifilm FinePix Z100fd, So Thin It's Anorexic
Discussion: Engadget and Electronista
Associated Press:
U.S. Album Sales Fell 9.5% in 2007
Discussion: Coolfer, CrunchGear, TechCrunch and Digg
Mary Kathleen Flynn / Behind The Money Blog:
Leah Culver, 25, writes the code that powers Pownce
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

 
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