Top Items:
Matthew Karnitschnig / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft, Yahoo Hold Meetings — Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. senior executives met this week to discuss Microsoft's proposal to acquire the Internet company but failed to resolve any of their differences, according to people familiar with the matter. — The meeting, which took place …
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Jim Goldman / Tech Check with Jim Goldman:
Yahoo's Foot Dragging On Deal Could Cost Them Plenty — What is the problem? I mean, seriously. Yahoo! has been sitting on a $42 billion unsolicited offer on the table from Microsoft for two months, and other than a bunch of caterwauling since, Yahoo hasn't done much one way or the other.
Discussion:
Between the Lines
Yi-Wyn Yen / Techland:
Microsoft and Yahoo meet again, then walk away
Microsoft and Yahoo meet again, then walk away
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider
Hank Williams / Silicon Alley Insider:
“Free” is Killing Us—Blame The VCs — I believe it should be possible to start a small business and to have a small number of profitable customers, and to earn a living. From there, it should be possible to work hard, and to grow your business into something substantial.
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Mathew / mathewingram.com/work:
Free 2.0: Don't blame the VCs — A New York-based entrepreneur named Hank Williams has a guest post over at Silicon Alley Insider about how the tech economy is being ruined by the “freetards” (although he doesn't use that term). In a nutshell, Hank believes all the venture-backed startups …
Om Malik / GigaOM:
AT&T's 700 MHz Strategy: LTE — The open access restrictions mandated by the Federal Communications Commission on portions of the recently auctioned 700 MHz spectrum were among the main reasons AT&T chose not to bid for that spectrum but opted instead to pay more for that of the B-Block …
Discussion:
InfoWorld, Between the Lines, eWeek, DSLreports, PR Newswire, RCR Wireless News, Gizmodo, Engadget, TG Daily and Silicon Alley Insider
RELATED:
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
An Auction That Google Was Content to Lose — SAN FRANCISCO — Google had little desire to own a premium slice of the nation's airwaves, but a week into a federal auction for wireless licenses, it found itself at risk of being the winning bidder for the coveted spectrum.
Discussion:
Wi-Fi Networking News, Digital Daily, Tech Watch, BloggingStocks, Valleywag and Official Google Blog
Om Malik / GigaOM:
21st (and Real) Reason Why Seesmic Bought Twhirl — Seesmic founder Loic Le Meur outlines 20 reasons why his company bought Twhirl, an Adobe AIR-based Twitter client that is preferred by the self-obsessed net-set (including yours truly). Some see it as a future-of-the-web move.
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Loïc Le Meur / Loic Le Meur Blog:
20 reasons why Seesmic acquired Twhirl
20 reasons why Seesmic acquired Twhirl
Discussion:
mathewingram.com/work, Irregular Enterprise, Cartoon Barry Blog, The Social Times, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Download Squad, ReadWriteWeb, WebProNews, TechCrunch, Search Engine Watch Blog, Ross Mayfield's Weblog, TechWinter, Pro Blogging News, The Blog Herald, The Universal Desktop, Podcasting News, NewTeeVee, VentureBeat, Webware.com, ProgrammableWeb, bub.blicio.us, paidContent.org, Mashable! and The Last Podcast
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Gates: Windows 7 may come ‘in the next year’ — MIAMI—Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday indicated that Windows 7, the next major version of Windows, could come within the next year, far ahead of the development schedule previously indicated by the software maker.
Discussion:
Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog, All about Microsoft, CrunchGear, Gizmodo, TG Daily, Electronista and Download Squad
Ashish Thapliyal / Ashish Thapliyal's Blog:
Silverlight Roadmap questions — Silverlight is about 7 month old kid but it is already making such a big buzz. One of my colleague Rahul did excellent job in terms of putting up a FAQ regarding the roadmap — 1. When exactly will Silverlight support all the codecs that a standard Windows Media Player support?
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Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Microsoft blogger publishes Silverlight 2.0 timetable
Microsoft blogger publishes Silverlight 2.0 timetable
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb
Fred / A VC:
Something Important Is On The Horizon In The Music Business — Having ceded the file based music opportunity (mp3s and drm'd file formats) to Apple, the recorded labels are now getting hip to the much bigger opportunity, streaming music. — Yes, it's true that listeners will still want to own files for a few more years.
Daniel Jacobs / International Business Times:
Apple iPhone Users Do All but Talk — SAN FRANCISCO - Users of Apple's iPhone are using the device to do everything but talk on the phone, according to a new study, transforming the product into a mobile entertainment platform rather than just a cellular phone.
Discussion:
iLounge
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Mike Shields / Mediaweek:
Microsoft Unveils Web Series Slate — Microsoft unveiled an ambitious slate of original programming created for its multiple Web platforms, including the MSN portal, MSNBC.com and Xbox Live — Microsoft sent a direct message to the ad buying community on Thursday—everyone's software company is a hit-making digital media leader.
The Smoking Gun:
Couple Sues Google Over “Street View” — Pittsburgh pair claims privacy invaded by posting of home photo — A Pittsburgh couple is suing Google for invasion of privacy, claiming that the web giant's popular “Street View” mapping feature has made a photo of their home available to online searchers.
Elinor Mills / CNET News.com:
Yahoo news guru Budde joins DailyMe start-up — Neil Budde, editor-in-chief of news, finance, and sports at Yahoo, has joined a news aggregation start-up called DailyMe where he will be president and chief product officer. — Budde left Yahoo on December 12, 2007.