Top Items:
CmdrTaco / Slashdot:
Fifth Cable Cut To Middle East — You may have noticed a number of stories recently about undersea cables getting cut around the world. Apparently the total is now up to 5, but the scariest part of this is that Iran is now offline. You can also read Schneier's comments on this coincidence.
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Asma Ali Zain / Khaleej Times:
Cable damage hits 1.7m Internet users in UAE — DUBAI — An estimated 1.7 million Internet users in the UAE have been affected by the recent undersea cable damage, an expert said yesterday, quoting recent figures published by TeleGeography, an international research Web site.
Discussion:
Business Technology, DSLreports, I Love Bonnie.net, Gizmodo, CrunchGear, securosis.com, Boing Boing and Schneier on Security
Paul Miller / Engadget:
Cut four undersea cables, shame on you, cut a fifth, also shame on you — If you're reading Engadget today because your favorite Iranian gadget blog is offline, here's why: a fifth undersea cable has now been reported as cut, responsible for [knocking Iran] and a few other million people mostly off the interwebs.
Shane McGlaun / DailyTech:Bad to Worse: Fifth Undersea Cable Cut in Middle East
Discussion:
Good Morning Silicon Valley
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Bid for Yahoo Drops To $29.50 a Share — As Yahoo waits in vain for other bidders or deal alternatives to emerge, the dissatisfaction of Microsoft investors with the Yahoo bid has reduced the value of Microsoft's offer to $29.50 a share. — Why? — The bid is half-cash / half-stock,
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Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
No spin: Ars reviews the MacBook Air with solid state drive — The MacBook Air's high-end model comes with 200 extra MHz and a solid state drive. Is it worth the extra $1,300 to upgrade? We compare the two Airs directly to find out whether the price is worth paying.
Discussion:
Engadget, Gizmodo, Forever Geek, The Mac Observer, Macsimum News, Insanely Great Mac and Digg
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Elizabeth Woyke / Forbes:
Google Likely Out, And Happy — After dominating the U.S. wireless spectrum auction for months, from influencing the terms of the auction to bidding, it looks like Google is off the hook. — Nine days into the closely watched Federal Communications Commission auction …
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
AOL revenue continues to slide; Who are these 9.3 million AOL access subscribers? — AOL's revenue and operating income continued to slide as the parent Time Warner focuses on advertising. For the fourth quarter, AOL reported operating income of $274 million on revenue of $1.25 billion.
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Mathew / mathewingram.com/work:Time-Warner to AOL: I just can't quit you
Discussion:
Smalltalk Tidbits …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Ex-Googlers Launch Instructional Video Site Howcast, Raise $8 Million A Round — A New York City startup called Howcast is launching today that wants to be the YouTube of instructional videos. In fact, the three founders—Jason Liebman, Daniel Blackman and Sanjay Raman …
Discussion:
HipMojo.com, The Technology Chronicles, Techland, Contentinople, Screenwerk, VentureBeat, paidContent.org, NewTeeVee, Rev2.org and Silicon Alley Insider
Greg Sandoval / CNET News.com:
Video site Revver shopping itself for a song — Revver, a YouTube competitor that made a name for itself by paying video producers, has fallen on hard times. — The company's staff has dwindled to less than half the size it was 18 months ago, according to former employees.
Discussion:
WebProNews, HipMojo.com, NewTeeVee, mathewingram.com/work, Mashable!, Bloggers Blog, TechCrunch, Gawker, paidContent.org and Silicon Alley Insider
Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
“BigNews”: Ask's Digg Project Revealed (IACI) — Here's the Ask.com/Digg collaboration we'd heard about earlier this week, but it may be less than we'd advertised: “BigNews” is actually more of an attempt to create a new spin on Techmeme/Google News than a ripoff of Digg's social news site.
Brad Linder / Download Squad:
Why Windows 7 looks so much like Vista — Last month we posted a video and screenshots of what may or may not be Windows 7, the next version of Microsoft's flagship operating system. The company hasn't confirmed or denied the authenticity of these images, but many readers have been a bit... vocal about their doubts.
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Josh Bernoff / Groundswell:
Why Social Applications Will Thrive In A Recession — Is a recession coming? Don't ask me — I'm not an economist, and even the economists don't really know. But if it's anything like the last recession, advertising will plummet and experimental media will crater.
Ryan Naraine / eWeek:
Adobe Ships Silent Fix for Critical PDF Reader Flaw — Adobe patched a gaping code execution hole in Reader but, inexplicably, has issued no public documentation on the risk severity. — Adobe has released a software fix for what's described simply as “security vulnerabilities” …
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
Get Yer Free Calls While They Last — Everyone loves a free lunch, so just about everyone should love ooVoo, at least until the end of the month. — The video conferencing company has just launched its new VoIP to landline/mobile phone service and is kicking things off with a month of free calls to the United States and Canada.
Major Nelson / Xbox Live's Major Nelson:
Xbox 360 HD DVD Player price drop (now US $129.99) — This just in: The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player price has dropped from $179.99 to $129.99 (U.S. MSRP.) This new price is effective immediately in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Combine the new price with the 5 free HD DVD offer and it's a pretty good deal.
Discussion:
ParisLemon, Engadget, DailyTech, Variety, Gizmodo, Xbox 360 Fanboy, Kotaku, CrunchGear, Opposable Thumbs and Hacking NetFlix
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
MySpace's San Francisco Debut in Living Color! — Last night, BoomTown checked out the new space MySpace is renovating for its soon-to-open San Francisco office. The occasion was a party the social-networking site held for developers as part of its recent platform launch.
