Top Items:
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
Why Microsoft will buy Facebook and keep it closed — It no longer is about Data Portability or Social Graph Portability, if you will. — I'm hearing these rumors too that John Furrier (my ex-boss) is reporting. That Microsoft will buy Yahoo's search and then buy Facebook for $15 to $20 billion.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, Mini-Microsoft, All Facebook, Wired News, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, TechCrunch, Tech Trader Daily, Webomatica, I4U News, Adrants and Zoli's Blog
RELATED:
John Furrier / Furrier.org:
Silicon Valley Rumor: Microsoft to Buy Yahoo Search and Then Facebook — My sources say that the Yahoo and Microsoft teams are bunkered down in a Palo Alto hotel hammering out the final stages of a transaction that will have Microsoft picking up the Yahoo search business. Word is that this deal will be done this week.
Discussion:
Download Squad, Between the Lines, Search Engine Journal, Outside the Lines, STARTUP CHATTER, The Inquisitr, InformationWeek Weblog, Deal Journal, Silicon Alley Insider, Tech Trader Daily, Geek.com, Search Engine Land, The 463, SarahLacy.com, TECH.BLORGE.com, Contentinople, ReadWriteWeb, Searchviews, Windows Connected, I'm Not Actually a Geek, Microsoft News Tracker, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Valleywag, Yahoo!, DealBook, Tech Ticker, Electronista, WebProNews, BetaNews, The Register and metarand
Rajas Moonka / Official Google Blog:
Opening our content network to third parties — Today, we're announcing that Google is accepting third-party advertising tags on the Google content network in North America. This will empower advertisers to work with approved third parties to serve and track display ads, including rich media ads …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Microsoft Needs To Do Something. But Combining Facebook With Yahoo Search Ain't It. — As Microsoft toys with Yahoo over the possibility of a resumed deal to buy only its search business, is it also thinking of throwing Facebook into the mix? That's the latest rumor making the rounds.
Umair Haque:
The Microsoft vs Google Endgame — Today, something really interesting happened. Both Google and Microsoft are making fairly dramatic strategic moves. But the moves they're making are polar, extreme opposites: the contrast between them couldn't be sharper or starker.
Discussion:
Furrier.org
Mariko Katsumura / Reuters:
Facebook stresses independence amid Microsoft talk
Facebook stresses independence amid Microsoft talk
Discussion:
Digital Daily
Alexander van Elsas / Alexander van Elsas's Weblog …:
Microsoft and Facebook will never succeed in locking down part of the web
Microsoft and Facebook will never succeed in locking down part of the web
Discussion:
mathewingram.com/work
InfoWorld:
Facebook CEO wants to talk with Google on Friend Connect — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to sit down with Google and work out the privacy issues that caused Facebook to block Google's Friend Connect last week, he said Monday. — “We want to talk to Google about this and see if there's …
Discussion:
eWeek, BetaNews, Search Engine Journal, BuzzMachine, CNET News.com, My Blog Posts and Got Ads?
RELATED:
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
Live: Google Health Launching At Factory Tour of Search — Google has invited the press to its headquarters in Mountain View today for some presentations on a variety of search-related projects. — The so-called “Factory Tour of Search” event will proceed until about 1pm PT today.
RELATED:
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Google Factory Tour: Google Health Launched — Today starting at 9:30am Californian time, Google is holding a press event in their Mountain View headquarters lasting until noon (another factory tour was held in 2005). Google announced they will give insights into search, with Google's R.J. Pittman …
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider
Saul Hansell / Bits:
Apple Wants More Mobile Music From Labels — As part of Apple's efforts to improve on the shortcomings of its popular iPhone, the company has approached some of the major music labels to try to expand the variety of ringtones and other musical features available on the device, several label executives said last week.
RELATED:
Dianne See Morrison / paidContent.org: Apple Needs More Mobile Music; UMG Demanding Nokia-style Comes With Music Deal?
Ken Fisher / Ars Technica:
Ars Technica acquired by Condé Nast: the low-down — In less than a month, Ars Technica will be 10 years old. In 10 years time we've accomplished much, but uncovered far more work we want to do. For the past six months, we've been obsessed internally with the question …
Matthew Miller / The Mobile Gadgeteer:
Mobile software Monday: Opera Mobile 9.5 — One of the primary functions I perform on my mobile devices is web browsing, but until now there have always been limitations with these browsers. The iPhone had the best current browser for strictly browsing, but didn't allow you to do much else …
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Will Gmail Get Themes? — A source is telling me that Gmail will get themes - custom layouts to personalize Google's web mail client. According to the source, the launch of this may happen within the next months. There will be 12 themes to pick from, according to this information …
Brad Linder / Download Squad:
Galeon: It's like Firefox for Spartans — A few weeks ago we looked at K-Meleon, a light-weight browser for Windows that uses the same rendering engine as Firefox 2. The result is a browser that loads any page you can open in Firefox, which uses significantly less RAM than Firefox.
Daniel Terdiman / Geek Gestalt:
EA losing its credibility on Take-Two offer extensions — Electronic Arts said Monday that it is once again extending its $2 billion offer for ‘Grand Theft Auto’ publisher Take-Two. Take-Two retorted by rejecting the offer. — “If you don't clean up your room today, you're going to be in trouble,” yells Dad.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Report: Apple's market share of PCs over $1,000 hits 66% — Here's a new way to slice Apple's growing share of the computer market. — Last March, the NPD Group reported that Apple's retail market share — its cut of the computers sold in brick-and-mortar stores — had climbed to 14% …
Discussion:
Infinite Loop, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, The Apple Blog, 9 to 5 Mac, MacUser, Macsimum News, MacDailyNews and Insanely Great Mac