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6:55 AM ET, May 21, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Todd Bishop / Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft to lure search users with cash  —  Microsoft isn't talking yet about the big search initiative it's expected to announce Wednesday, but I was able to figure out details with a little digging today.  Here's an advance look at the story I wrote for the paper. — tb
RELATED:
Kevin Heisler / Search Engine Watch Blog:
Microsoft to Launch “Live Search Cash Back” Tomorrow  —  The major Microsoft Live Search announcement scheduled for tomorrow will be the official launch of a new product: Microsoft Live Search Cash Back.  —  The program in partnership with eBay and its PayPal unit will offer cash back to consumers …
Discussion: LiveSide and Payments News
Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
Microsoft looks to buy way into search (again)
Discussion: Windows Connected
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:   Microsoft To Offer Cash Back To Search Engine Users In Effort To Fight Google
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Twitter: Something Is Technically Wrong  —  Their words, not mine.  —  I've mostly stopped bothering to post when Twitter is down like it is now and like it was yesterday (honestly, it's news when they keep the site live for 24 hours at this point).  But, seriously, they need to get their act together.
RELATED:
BIZ / Twitter Blog:
Not True  —  Downtime is not good.  We caused a database to fail during a routine update early this afternoon.  We switched to a replica and expect this recovery to take place quickly.  We're all working on it and watching right now as Twitter gets back up to speed.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Twitter's New VC Round: Red Hot  —  Love it or hate it, Twitter, a service that embodies our narcissism, is one that we can't stop talking about.  Even though it is still a tool of the tech-elite, the San Francisco-based start-up that came out of Ev Williams Odeo has become a favorite among the chattering classes.
Discussion: VentureBeat
Jason Kaneshiro / Webomatica:
Twitter Is Down Again: Quit Twitter For The Twit-Out
BBC:
Design revamp for ‘$100 laptop’  —  The wraps have been taken off the new version of the XO laptop designed for schoolchildren in developing countries.  —  The revamped machine created by the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project looks like an e-book and has had its price slashed to $75 per device.
RELATED:
Joanna Stern / LAPTOP Magazine:
First Look: OLPC XO-2  —  I am here this morning in Cambridge, Mass., at OLPC's Global Country Workshop.  Opening the conference this morning was OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte, who announced the second generation of the OLPC XO laptop, which will be called the XO-2.
Official Google Blog:
Introduction to Google Search Quality  —  Search Quality is the name of the team responsible for the ranking of Google search results.  Our job is clear: A few hundreds of millions of times a day people will ask Google questions, and within a fraction of a second Google needs to decide …
Discussion: Matt Cutts, Joe Duck and ben barren
Michael Learmonth / Silicon Alley Insider:
Party's Over, Bloggers: CBS, NBC, Fox Threaten Free Clip Service Redlasso  —  Redlasso, a TV clip service favored by bloggers everywhere, is being threatened with legal action by three of the major media conglomerates: Fox (NWS), CBS (CBS) and NBC (GE).  The three companies have sent …
Techmeme News:
Techmeme listens: 32 months in the making, search arrives!  —  Hours after Techmeme launched in 2005, search uberblogger Danny Sullivan remarked “there's no keyword search facility that I can see.  I want that, and soon!”  Nobody wants to let Danny down, so I got right to work and 32 months later, a search box now sits atop the site.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Who's About To Get Fired From Google?  —  We've been getting a number of tips that say Grandcentral.com has been down for some users, and that their domain name is set to expire today.  —  We've done our best to confirm, and we believe that these rumors have some merit:
Olga Kharif / Business Week:
Mobile Providers, Can You Hear Us Now?  —  Angry consumers are filing lawsuits against wireless companies, reflecting a wave of discontent with new, mostly Web-focused, services  —  Consumer grievances against wireless companies are taking on a new dimension.
Discussion: WinExtra
RELATED:
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News.com:   Exclusive cell phone deals called into question
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Robert Scoble Working on Show with Rev3  —  Robert Scoble, the tech commentator who took his interview show from PodTech to Fast Company earlier this year, is working on a new show with online video studio Revision3, he disclosed today at a conference and later confirmed on Twitter.
RELATED:
Allen Stern / CenterNetworks:
Video: Robert Scoble on the “Worldwide Talk Show”
Saul Hansell / Bits:
Why the Roku Netflix Player is the First Shot of the Revolution  —  In the small, generic plastic box that is the new Netflix Player made by Roku, I think you can see the future of video.  —  I'm not saying that this product itself is going to take the world by storm, even though …
Christina Passariello / Wall Street Journal:
New Dior Phone Targets China, Russia  —  Luxury-Goods Retailer Seeks Brand-Hungry In Growing Markets  —  PARIS — French luxury-goods company Christian Dior SA Wednesday will unveil a line of mobile phones, extending beyond its traditional fashion business to boost sales …
Alistair Croll / GigaOM:
Why Small Really Is Beautiful  —  Five years ago, Michael McDerment built an invoicing system for his web design business.  Today, FreshBooks lets nearly 400,000 users invoice their clients, track time and manage expenses electronically.  Not all are paying — the service is free for users …
Discussion: ben barren
TechCrunch:
Anatomy Of A Failure: Lessons Learned  —  This post was written by guest contributor Paul Bragiel, founder of Meetro, a location-aware instant messaging platform that was DeadPooled last month.  Bragiel is also the founder hosted forum solution Lefora.  See our coverage of these two companies here …
 
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 More Items: 
Brad Stone / Bits:
Tracking Hate 2.0 on the Web
Samantha Loveday / Licensing Industry:
Hello Kitty goes mobile
Discussion: The Register
Chris Kohler / Game|Life:
Microsoft's Shane Kim: First to 100 Million Wins
Wall Street Journal:
Icahn Gains New Support in Yahoo Push
PR Newswire:
Friendster Launches New Mobile Site, the First in a Series …
Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
James Cameron: 3D heading beyond movies
Owen Thomas / Valleywag:
Sheriff's deputies evict Red Herring from Belmont office
Brian Krebs / Washington Post:
TVA Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds
 Earlier Items: 
Allan Leinwand / GigaOM:
99.999....The Quest for Reliability on the Internet
Discussion: diversity.net.nz
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Refurbished iPhones are an excellent source of previous users' data
Michael Hatamoto / BetaNews:
Sprint confirms it's implementing data usage caps
Brandon Badger / Google LatLong:
Extra! Extra! Discover the world's news in Google Earth
Reuters:
Russia's Yandex plans up to $2 bln NY IPO - source
Lawrence Lessig / New York Times:
Little Orphan Artworks
Danielle Sacks / Fast Company:
Can Alex Bogusky help Microsoft Beat Apple?
Slash Lane / AppleInsider:
Apple's Mac sales up 50 percent in April