Top Items:
Josh Quittner / Techland:
Will someone please start a Facebook group to save Scrabulous? — I can't tell if Hasbro (HAS), the maker of Scrabble, is the smartest company in the world or the dumbest. Over 100 million sets of the game have been sold in 121 countries, in 29 different languages, according to everyone's favorite source.
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John Biggs / CrunchGear:
On Gizmodo's douchery and blogging — I didn't want to weigh in on this because I know all the parties involved, I used to run Gizmodo, and I understand the impetus behind this prank. This is a nasty hack performed by punchy, hungover kids that, as we see, got the CE world's attention.
Discussion:
George Ou, Pogue's Posts, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, GottaBeMobile, Technovia and mathewingram.com/work
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Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Gizmodogate: Get a sense of humor folks — Gizmodo turns off a bunch of TVs at CES to liven the joint up and you'd think that their scribes lit Bill Gates on fire for the page views. — The angst over Gizmodo's hilarious prank is borderline ridiculous: — Judie Lipsett at Gear Diary calls the prank “total and utter crap.”
I, Cringely . The Pulpit | PBS:
End Game — With CES over and the San Francisco Macworld Expo set to begin on Monday, we pundits are turning our attention to Apple, the big technology business success of not only 2007, but of the entire decade. Steve Jobs has his Macworld keynote address coming and will no doubt deliver …
Discussion:
All about Microsoft, IT Project Failures, Between the Lines and Oliver Thylmann's Thoughts
Charles Jade / Infinite Loop:
Macworld.Ars: First banner up at Moscone Center — Appleologists, train your furrowed brows on the first banners up at Macworld 2008. As the work crews set up this morning, Moscone South has the first hint of what is to come. — What could be in the air in 2008? A MacBook Pro so light it floats?
Discussion:
CrunchGear, iLounge, Gadget Lab, MacMegasite, Webomatica, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Insanely Great Mac and MacUser
Wall Street Journal:
Showdown Looms Over Pirated-Media Directory — Swedish Prosecutors Target Organizers of Pirate Bay, A Huge File-Sharing Guide — One of Hollywood's biggest foes is about to be called on the carpet. After years of steering Web surfers to free entertainment, the organizers of a massive directory …
Business Week:
Steve Jobs' Video Dreams — His magic has not extended to visual entertainment. Hollywood and cable companies aim to keep it that way — At last year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, most of the 140,000 attendees were buzzing about the future of the cell phone—and how Apple Inc. …
Peter Sayer / InfoWorld:
UK gov't report: Don't upgrade to Vista — San Francisco - British schools should not upgrade to Microsoft's Vista operating system and Office 2007 productivity suite, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) said in a report on the software.
Discussion:
Electronista
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Saul Hansell / Bits:
Yahoo's Core Value Is Falling — The market is taking stock of still more rumors that Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo. (This would be a great deal, if it weren't for management, strategic and cultural differences that would probably sink any combination.)
RELATED:
Joseph Weisenthal / paidContent.org:Yahoo Operations Worth Less Than Its Assets; MSFT Buy Unlikely: Analyst
Discussion:
Mashable!
Podcasting News:
Dave Winer Says We're Full Of Sh** — It looks like podcasting pioneer Dave Winer took issue with Mashable's rant about their inability to get advertisers interested in their podcast ideas. — Winer also took issue with our response. We said that if you want to podcast professionally …
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BBC:
Warning on stealthy Windows virus — Security experts are warning about a stealthy Windows virus that steals login details for online bank accounts. — In the last month, the malicious program has racked up about 5,000 victims - most of whom are in Europe.
Discussion:
PalmAddicts
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Why Google, Yahoo and Microsoft should worry about Countrywide's takeover — Update: Countrywide Financial is being acquired by Bank of America and when the deal closes the second largest Web advertiser will disappear. It's highly unlikely that Bank of America will spend so lavishly on online advertising.
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Rumor: Microsoft to Buy Limelight Networks (LLNW/MSFT) — Lots of “Microsoft to buy...” rumors banging around these days, and here's another one: Microsoft is interested in buying content-delivery-network Limelight Networks. A CDN industry insider (not at Limelight) tells us he has heard …
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, GigaOM, Data Center Knowledge, Tech Trader Daily, CNET News.com and Mashable!
Simon Thiel / Bloomberg:
Yell Shares Rise on Renewed Speculation About Bid by Google — Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Yell Group Plc, the publisher of the U.K.'s Yellow Pages phone books, had its biggest gain in London trading in a month on speculation about a bid from Google Inc. — Yell rose as much as 4.4 percent, the biggest increase since Dec. 10.
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:
Chairman Waxman Releases Report on Information Security Breach at TSA's Traveler Redress Website — In October 2006, the Transportation Security Administration launched a website to help travelers whose names were erroneously listed on airline watch lists. This redress website …
Tom Krazit / CNET News.com:
Macworld leads tech out of the desert — Apple has the third week of January all to itself this year, and although it probably won't top last year's Macworld, the company will likely make everyone forget about the Consumer Electronics Show. — Trade shows are a necessary evil in the tech industry.
Discussion:
Tech Check with Jim Goldman, Gear Diary, Telegraph Blogs, The Mac Observer and Technology Live
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
When Will Advertising Recession Hit? This Quarter — Most major Wall Street firms are now predicting a recession (or saying we're in one). Financial services firms, retailers, cable companies, and phone companies are hurting. Credit card companies are suddenly seeing a slowdown …
Discussion:
Don Dodge on The Next …
