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7:50 PM ET, August 7, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Benwilson / iPhone Atlas:
iPhone can phone home and kill apps?  —  Apple has apparently included a blacklisting mechanism in iPhone OS 2.x via which the device can phone home, check for unauthorized applications, and disable them.  The OS includes a URL that points to a page containing a list of unauthorized applications, specifically:
RELATED:
Tom Krazit / One More Thing:
Much ado about the iPhone's ‘kill switch’  —  The discovery of a “kill switch” inside the iPhone 2.0 software prompted much consternation and little fact-finding.  —  (Credit: Apple)  —  Apple's iPhone “kill switch” has prompted much hand-wringing, despite the fact that no one knows exactly what it does.
Discussion: Forbes, PC World and CNET News.com
Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:
The myth of the creative class  —  As I near the end of writing my book, one lesson that has struck me is about the will of most people to create, and the new possibilities the Google age brings us.  —  One survey I quote says that 81 percent of us say we have a book in us.
Discussion: PSFK and ben barren
Wired News:
Watch the Olympics Online  —  The 2008 Beijing Olympics will happen while most Americans are sleeping.  While NBC, the games' official media outlet in the United States, will be providing thousands of hours of content on the web, the only way to truly ensure you won't miss too many record-breaking moments …
Discussion: BroadDev, Furrier.org, Lifehacker and PSFK
RELATED:
Tom Espiner / CNET News.com:
At Black Hat, Kaminsky details DNS flaw  —  Security researcher Dan Kaminsky has offered more details about a fundamental flaw in the Domain Name System and the extent of the vulnerability.  —  In a presentation at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday …
RELATED:
Robert Vamosi / CNET News.com:
Wall of Sheep comes to Black Hat
Discussion: DSLreports, CNET News.com and TG Daily
Kim Zetter / Threat Level:
Black Hat: DNS Flaw Much Worse Than Previously Reported
Discussion: BroadDev
Christina Clark / Download Squad:
SlingPlayer 2.0 released today  —  Slingbox from SlingMedia is one of my favorite things to use.  Being rather addicted to watching the Food Network and TLC's What Not to Wear it's great to just grab my laptop and check out what's on wherever I am.  My favorite time to use Slingbox?
Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
Web Video Producers: We're Pretty Sure There's A Business Here, Somewhere  —  Can anybody make any money in Web video?  This is a recurring question for us, one we've been asking in different forms for much of the last year.  Today's answer, via Web analytics firm TubeMogul: Yes, maybe.
Discussion: Podcasting News and MediaFlect
RELATED:
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
TubeMogul: Average Video Ad CPM Is $12.39
Discussion: HipMojo.com
Bill Tancer / Hitwise Intelligence:
How Cuil is This?  —  We received numerous requests to update the daily chart from our last post on Cuil.  As expected, as the initial media hype subsided, traffic to the upstart search engine has declined precipitously.  —  As of this Tuesday, August 5th, Cuil.com ranked as the #1034 …
Juan Carlos Perez / PC World:
Google Apps Hit by Prolonged Gmail Access Problem  —  A technical problem hit an undetermined number of Gmail users, including paying subscribers to the Google Apps hosted software suite, locking them out of their accounts for about 15 hours on Wednesday and early Thursday.
InfoWorld:
IBM exec predicts the future of Linux, open source  —  With LinuxWorld showcasing the popularity of the open source operating system, and with open source in general finding its legs in the enterprise, Bob Sutor, IBM's vice president of open source and standards, made a slate of predictions …
Discussion: PC World, eWeek and Law & Life
Rajas Moonka / The Official Google Blog:
New enhancements on the Google content network  —  Today we're announcing some key enhancements on the Google content network (partner sites for which we provide advertising) that will offer a better experience for users and better value for advertisers and publishers.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Some Mashups Harnessing The Power Of Yahoo's BOSS  —  Yahoo's Search Blog has posted a list of some of the most promising new web apps being built using its BOSS search platform.  BOSS is a radically open API that launched last month that allows developers to utilize much of Yahoo's core search data without …
Jack Buser / PlayStation.Blog:
Want into the PlayStation Home Closed Beta test?  Here's How to Apply  —  Today we're announcing the expansion of our closed beta test for PlayStation Home to begin at the end of the month.  —  Later today, the PLAYSTATION Store will be updated with a PlayStation Home theme.
Juan Carlos Perez / PC World:
Malicious Hackers Use Facebook Wall for Malware Attack  —  Facebook users are being targeted by malicious hackers through postings on the popular Wall section of the social-networking site, security company  —  Sophos said Thursday.  —  The Wall, a core feature of Facebook profile pages …
Discussion: Sophos, Zero Day and Washington Post
Eliot Phillips / Hack a Day:
Black Hat 2008: FasTrak toll system completely broken  —  FasTrak is the electronic toll collection system used by the state of California.  Motorists can purchase a toll transponder for ~$26 and link the serial number with a debit account to have their tolls deducted automatically.
Discussion: Gizmodo and Switched
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Most iPhone Apps Are Failing To Leverage The Network Effect  —  I'm seeing a trend as I continue to download and test many of the 1,500+ and growing iPhone applications currently available on iTunes: Few of them are really taking advantage of the network effect to build any kind of competitive barrier to entry.
 
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 More Items: 
Rafat Ali / paidContent.org:
Did Facebook Try to Buy German Clone StudiVZ? All Stock Offer
Discussion: Valleywag
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
New software would let iPhones access iTunes libraries from anywhere
Rodney Rumford / FaceReviews:
New Facebook App Visualization
Joseph Menn / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Social networking sites attract friends, but also enemies
Nick / Rough Type:
“Is Google Making Us Stupid?”: sources and notes
Thomas Mennecke / Slyck:
BitTorrent, Inc. Addresses Downsizing, Refutes Rumors
Discussion: Valleywag, NewTeeVee and BetaNews
Austin Modine / The Register:
US Patent Office rains on Dell's ‘cloud computing’ trademark
Discussion: eWeek
Jeff Bakalar / Crave: The gadget blog:
Asus Eee Stick looks very familiar
Discussion: CrunchGear and Kotaku
 Earlier Items: 
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Glam's Not-So-Pretty, BFF Approach To Pushing Its ComScore Numbers Higher
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Warner Music to rhythm games: pay up or the music gets it!
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Twitterfone Releases Full Audio Interface For Twitter
David Chartier / Ars Technica:
Mozilla's “Snowl” hunts Twitter, RSS, and (soon) e-mail
Bobbie Johnson / Guardian:
When selling up becomes selling out  —  What's the difference …
Discussion: The Open Road
Jacqui Cheng / Infinite Loop:
Two weeks until iPhone 3G Launch v2.0
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft searching for Olympic medals
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple poised for special event this September
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Analyzing Comcast's spinoff of cable networks, purposefully structured with low debt: the move might be a signal to the industry that it's time to consolidate

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Tubi launches Scenes, a mobile feature that lets viewers watch 60-to-90-second trailer-style clips from its library to help with content discovery

 
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