Techmeme: RIM To Launch Touch-Screen BlackBerry in Q3 (Wojtek Dabrowski/eWeek)

1:25 PM ET, May 16, 2008

Top Items:

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Data Portability: It's The New Walled Garden — The scuffle today between Facebook and Google has very little to do with user privacy and everything to do with user control. A huge battle is underway between Google, MySpace and Facebook around control of user profiles and, therefore, users themselves.

Discussion: The Social Times, Marc's Voice, Darren Herman and Collaborative Thinking

Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:

Facebook has a point where it comes to your privacy — My ex-boss, John Furrier, goes after Facebook after Facebook blocked Google's Friend Connect from using its API to inport friends from Facebook into Google's Friend Connect. — I saw Dave Morin, who runs Facebook's developer platform, at Google's event Monday night.

Discussion: InformationWeek, Search Engine Watch Blog, eWeek, Between the Lines, mathewingram.com/work, Regular Geek, Compiler, Collaborative Thinking, Furrier.org, Smalltalk Tidbits …, STARTUP CHATTER and Valleywag

Dawn Kawamoto / CNET News.com:

Jerry Yang prepares troops for proxy battle — Editors note: This post was updated Friday, May 16, at 5:50 a.m. to include a letter sent to Yahoo executives concerning the proxy fight. — With billionaire investor Carl Icahn launching a proxy fight Thursday to unseat Yahoo's board of directors …

Discussion: Between the Lines, Tech Beat, Digital Daily, Silicon Alley Insider, Mashable!, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Business Week and TG Daily

Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
Jerry To Yahoos: Please Keep Working! Jerry To Bosses: Here's What To Say (YHOO)

Discussion: Valleywag

Business Wire:
Yahoo! Responds to Carl Icahn's Intention to Nominate Candidates …

Associated Press:

France's Orange signs new iPhone deal with Apple — France's Orange to sell iPhone in Middle East, Africa and other European countries — PARIS (AP) — French wireless operator Orange said Friday it has signed a deal with Apple Inc. to sell its iPhone in the Middle East, Africa and several European countries.

Discussion: Infinite Loop and Between the Lines

Euronext:

FRANCE TELECOM : Orange brings the iPhone to customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa — Orange brings the iPhone to customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa — Orange today announced a new agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Orange customers in Austria, Belgium …

Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider and AppleInsider

Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
France Telecom to carry Apple's iPhone to Africa and beyond

Discussion: AppleInsider, Gizmodo, The Inquisitr and 9 to 5 Mac

Jonathan Fildes / BBC:

‘$100 laptop’ platform moves on — An independent effort to develop the software originally designed for the $100 laptop has been launched. — Sugar Labs will take the laptop's innovative interface, known as Sugar, to the “next level of usability and utility”, according to its founders.

Wade Roush / Xconomy:

Bender Creates Sugar Labs—New Foundation to Adapt OLPC's Laptop Interface for Other Machines — Wade Roush wrote: — Walter Bender, the former president of software and content for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, contacted Xconomy this morning to alert us to the creation of Sugar Labs …

Discussion: Engadget

Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Microsoft Joins Effort for Laptops for Children

Vodafone:

Vodafone Announces the Acquisition of ZYB — Vodafone* today announces that it has agreed to acquire 100% of ZYB, a privately-owned company based in Denmark which operates a social networking and online management tool enabling mobile phone users to back-up and share their handsets' contact and calendar information online.

Discussion: GigaOM, localmobilesearch.net, paidContent and mocoNews.net

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Danish Mobile Social Network ZYB Acquired By Vodafone For €31.5 million

Discussion: The Inquisitr, Mashable!, SMS Text News and Silicon Alley Insider

Andy Space / 9 to 5 Mac:

MacBook upgrade set for Q3 — Apple is moving toward the release of a redesigned MacBook, a new report emanating from the company's Asian Mac manufacturers claims. — AU Optronics Corp. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. have been signed-up to produce flat-panel screens for the new MacBook models …

Discussion: Electronista

New York Post:

YAHOO! SEEKING OPEN ALLIANCE WITH GOOGLE — Yahoo! executives are scrambling to finalize a search-advertising pact with Google in the face of a fresh challenge to its independence from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, The Post has learned. — According to two sources close to the situation …

Discussion: Digital Daily, MediaFile, Portfolio, Silicon Alley Insider, MarketingVOX and Tech Ticker

Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:

Yahoo and WPP in Partnership — YAHOO plans to announce Friday that it has formed a partnership with the WPP Group, the advertising holding company, that will give WPP's clients a broader swath of Web sites where they can aim their messages. — Under the deal, the thousands of Web publishers …

Discussion: WebProNews, Valleywag, MarketingVOX and 24/7 Wall St.

Umair Haque:

Facebook and The Future of Competition — Last week, I discussed Facebook's relentless evil, how that was a profound strategic error, and why the costs of evil are starting to outweigh the benefits - for everyone, not just Facebook. — Now, that's a pretty unorthodox argument, and I took a lot of heat for it: what is evil, anyways?

Discussion: Leigh's Blitherings

Ben Kuchera / Ars Technica:

Nintendo Wii outsells 360, PS3, PS2, PSP combined in April — The NPD console sales numbers have been released for April, stuffed with fascinating content. How did the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Grand Theft Auto stack up against each other? Did Mario Kart Wii sell as many copies as expected?

Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, Voices and Opposable Thumbs

Shadowmite.com Blog:

Treo 800 Prototype picture — Someone stopped into our chat room today with this to show us: — Its a CDMA WM Treo 800, but according to our source in the Ukraine it is also known as the Palm Zeppelin. More details will follow, as we are unsure of the pixel count on the screen as well as several other important details.

Discussion: PalmAddicts, Treonauts, PalmInfocenter, Gizmodo, SlashPhone, The Mobile Gadgeteer, WMExperts, Unwired View, CrunchGear, PHONE Magazine, Gadgetell, IntoMobile, Engadget and Tech Blog

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