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Google and Creator of ‘Family Guy’ Strike a Deal — LOS ANGELES — Google is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the Web, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed. — In September, Seth MacFarlane, creator of …
Discussion:
NewTeeVee, Silicon Alley Insider, Google Blogoscoped, VentureBeat, Search Engine Journal, Googling Google, HipMojo.com, TECH.BLORGE.com, WebProNews, Blogging Pro, metarand, Startup Meme, John Battelle's Searchblog, Mashable!, paidContent.org, Search Engine Watch Blog, Clickety Clack, blackrimglasses.com and WinExtra
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Marc Andreessen Joins Facebook's Board Of Directors — Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, Opsware and Ning and the former CTO of AOL, is adding a new notch in his belt: he has joined the board of directors of Facebook, two sources close to the company confirmed to us …

Back to Microsoft — Last week I left Google to go back to Microsoft, where I started this Monday (and so not surprisingly, I was too busy to blog about it). — I think I am the first person in the Seattle/Kirkland area to do so, so this merits an explanation. Isn't Google an insanely cool place to work for?
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The GOOG->MSFT Exodus: Working at Google vs. Working at Microsoft — Recently I've been bumping into more and more people who've either left Google to come to Microsoft or got offers from both companies and picked Microsoft over Google. I believe this is part of a larger trend especially …


OpenTable seats 3M diners a month, releases mobile version — OpenTable, the San Francisco company that lets you make online reservations at any of 8,500 restaurants, said it it is seating three million diners a month, which means it's making some serious cash — in the multiple millions of dollars a month …
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Bits
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Book Restaurant Reservations On The Go With OpenTable
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Darla Mack


Rhapsody's new MP3 store offers full song previews — Today, Real Networks has announced several improvements to their Rhapsody music service, including a new online music store and integration with Verizon's VCAST mobile phone music service. — Taking a cue from competitors such as Amazon and Napster …
Discussion:
offer.rhapsody.com, Engadget, TECH.BLORGE.com, Associated Press, hypebot and mocoNews.net
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Rhapsody Agrees DRM Is Dead; Launches MP3 Store
Discussion:
CNET News.com, Silicon Alley Insider, Business Week, Mashable!, Bit Player, Michael Gartenberg and Gizmodo


A Movie on Your TV at Home, Before You Can Rent It — The very future of how we consume media rests on the movie star shoulders of Will Smith. That is Hollywood hyperbole — but it contains a speck of truth. — In an industry first, Sony Pictures' hoped-for blockbuster “Hancock,” …


25 reasons users STOP using your product: An analysis of customer lifecycle — Churn from a customer lifecycle perspective — As much as I blog about viral marketing, it can't be avoided that having healthy product retention is an equally (and incredibly) important part about having a successful product.

Tech Giants Join Together To Head Off Patent Suits — Several tech-industry heavyweights are banding together to defend themselves against patent-infringement lawsuits. Their plan: to buy up key intellectual property before it falls into the hands of parties that could use it against them, say people familiar with the matter.


Microsoft to stop selling Windows XP on Monday — REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to stop selling its Windows XP operating system to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista.


LinkedIn quietly launches Research Network and DirectAds...let the monetization begin. — LinkedIn DirectAds — LinkedIn has quietly launched a beta version of a dynamic CPM text advertising platform called LinkedIn DirectAds. No formal announcement of the launch was made on the LinkedIn blog or elsewhere.

Merchants asked to secure their sites — Today is the deadline for any business that accepts credit cards over the Internet to meet new security standards for their Web sites. — But not all businesses are expected to make the deadline, and for those that do, it's not clear how much more secure their sites will be.