Top Items:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's Full Memo to the Troops About New Reorg — Here is the full memo Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent out to the troops about the big changes in its organization, including the departure of Platforms and Services Division President Kevin Johnson, in which he addresses Apple, Yahoo, Google and more:
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Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Microsoft's Latest Web Stumble: Kevin Johnson Out — Kevin Johnson (pictured here), the point person for Microsoft's failed bid to buy Yahoo, is leaving the company to run Juniper Networks. — As the president of its Platforms and Services Division, the smooth Johnson has been trying …
Microsoft:
Microsoft Announces Reorganization of Windows and Online Services Business — Platforms & Services Division to Split Into Two Groups and Report to CEO Steve Ballmer. — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Platforms & Services Division (PSD) will be split into two groups …
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:Ballmer does Windows; Johnson joins Juniper
Discussion:
Tech Tracks
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Why Facebook Connect Matters & Why It Will Win — Facebook kicked off their second annual developer conference in San Francisco this afternoon with a keynote by founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The overproduced keynote, with too many words repeatedly incessantly, seemed like a lullaby sung by a nanny in a language alien to yours.
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Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Facebook Takes The Fast Lane To Boring — I agree with Sam Gustin when he says that yesterday's Facebook Developer Conference in San Francisco was in the end a snoozer, but not because CEO Mark Zuckerberg failed on stage. — First of all, saying the event itself was sleep-inducing is just factually incorrect.
Discussion:
Portfolio.com, Silicon Alley Insider, Tech Beat, L.A. Times Tech Blog and The Equity Kicker
Dick / Identity 2.0:
Facebook Connect - fatal blow for OpenID? — At F8 today, Facebook rolled out their Facebook Connect platform. With a small amount of code, other sites can integrate the Facebook identity system into their site. The keynote reminded me of early days of Microsoft as they rallied developers …
Jeremiah Owyang / Web Strategy:What ‘Facebook Connect’ Means for Corporate Websites
Discussion:
Startup Meme, WebProNews, TechCrunch, Facebook Press Releases and John Cook's Venture Blog
Nigel Morris / The Independent:
Music industry to tax downloaders — £30 ‘licence fee’ set to revolutionise illegal file-sharing — Internet users could face an annual charge of up to £30 to download music, under plans to be unveiled today that aim to tackle illegal file-sharing.
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Don Reisinger / CNET News.com:
Should the music industry tax you to use the Web? — There are times when I read the news in the morning and I can't help but wonder what some people are thinking when they announce something new. Usually, that amazement revolves around weird products or dumb deals.
Discussion:
WebProNews
BBC:Net firms in music pirates deal
Discussion:
TorrentFreak, broadstuff, The Register, Tech Confidential, Listening Post and ringtonia.com
PR Newswire:
XM and SIRIUS Confirm Discussions to Settle FCC Enforcement Matters — XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XMSR - News) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI - News) today confirmed that the companies are in discussions with the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission …
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Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:
FCC Commissioners Set To Approve XM-Sirius Deal — Satellite-Radio Merger Would Pass After Firms Pay $20 Million in Fines — WASHINGTON - A majority of commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission have reached a deal to approve Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s long-pending purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:XM, Sirius: Settling Enforcement Issues; FCC OK Nears
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog
Walter S. Mossberg / Personal Technology:
Apple's MobileMe Is Far Too Flawed To Be Reliable — People who work for large corporations are used to having their email, contacts and calendar appointments synchronized instantly among their various computers and smart phones. But average consumers haven't had an easy way to do that.
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Robert Vamosi / CNET News.com:
DNS exploit code is in the wild — As of Wednesday, an exploit code allowing someone to attack the domain name system (DNS) was available in various places on the Internet. — On July 8, IOActive researcher Dan Kaminsky disclosed a flaw in the DNS but would not provide the details until …
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Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
AdMob Makes Mobile Ads Suck Less. Will Give Away One Million Dollars Worth of Ads To iPhone App Developers. — On the iPhone, even the ads are cool. Mobile advertising network AdMob is launching a whole new set of customized ads for iPhone apps. As CEO Omar Hamoui explains in the video above …
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Top Muffin:
3G iPhone Availability — DISCLAIMER: This page uses data from Apple's site that is retrieved every 15 minutes. — However, it does appear that Apple only updates the data every night at midnight PDT. — I strongly advise calling your local Apple store to check inventory before visiting said store.
Dave / MacBlogz:
iPhone 3G going RED for the holiday season? — While rumors of the salt and pepper colored iPhone 3G pair reigned true, it is now time to look toward the emergence of yet another addition to the team. MacBlogz has learned through an unconfirmed source that a possible red iPhone 3G may be slated …
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Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:
Sprint to Sell Cellphone Towers, Use Money to Pay Down Debt — Sprint Nextel Corp. agreed to sell nearly all its cellphone towers to a private-equity-backed firm called TowerCo in a deal that will generate about $670 million in cash for the struggling wireless carrier.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
A Xobni Executive Leaves The Red-Hot Startup. But Why? — Xobni, the Y Combinator email startup that turned down an acquisition offer from Microsoft earlier this year, has just lost its VP Engineering and first employee, Gabor Cselle. Cselle joined the company in March 2007 …
Discussion:
Startup Meme
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Don Clark / Wall Street Journal:
Qualcomm, Nokia Reach Deal to End Fight Over Patents — Qualcomm Inc. and Nokia Corp. said they agreed to end their legal battles, a deal that could bring big benefits to both companies and affect other players in the cellphone industry. — The companies didn't disclose financial details of the settlement.
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Creative:
CREATIVE INTRODUCES THE UNIQUELY DESIGNED ZEN® MOZAIC MUSIC, PHOTOS AND VIDEO PLAYER WITH IMPRESSIVE BUILT-IN SPEAKER — Bold Design and Attractive Pricing Make ZEN® Mozaic a Must Have For an Avid Digital Lifestyle — Creative Technology Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products …
Discussion:
Nothing But Creative, Anything But iPod, Boing Boing Gadgets, Crave, Ubergizmo and Engadget
