Top Items:
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Apple Denies Steve Jobs Heart Attack Report: “It Is Not True” — “Citizen journalism” apparently just failed its first significant test. A CNN iReport poster reported this morning that Steve Jobs had been rushed to the ER after a severe heart attack (story and screenshot below).
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Epicenter, 9 to 5 Mac, Between the Lines, CNET News, Byte of the Apple, Valleywag, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Tech Check with Jim Goldman, Industry Standard, Irregular Enterprise, AppleInsider, Feeds, Cult of Mac, iPhone Savior, MacUser, PSFK, Tech Trader Daily, Gawker, CloudAve, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, BloggingStocks, Yahoo! Finance, blackrimglasses, CrunchGear, Hardware 2.0, Insanely Great Mac and Zoli's Blog
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Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Steve Jobs Had No Heart Attack...And Citizen Journalism Just Failed — What could possibly be bigger news than the supposed heart attack suffered by Apple CEO Steve Jobs? The fact that it's simply not true. The rumor which spread like wildfire across the internet this morning was based …
John Markoff / Bits:
Apple Denies ‘Citizen Journalist Report’ — Apple's stock took a brief roller coaster ride this morning after a CNN “citizen journalist” wrote that an “insider” reported that Steve Jobs had been rushed to the hospital with chest pains. — Apple immediately said that the rumor was false.
Apple:
Apple TV: About Apple TV software updates — Products Affected — Apple TV — Refer the table below for Apple TV Software Update 2.2 features: — How To — HD TV shows — Purchase the leading HD TV shows directly from the iTunes Store. (US only) — Movie browsing by actor and director
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Jacqui Cheng / Infinite Loop:
Apple TV 2.2 adds music video, Genius, On-the-Go Playlists — Apple TV owners also got some love after last night's iTunes 8.0.1 update—in fact, I would say that the Apple TV got more love than iTunes this time around. Apple TV 2.2 has been unleashed, and it adds a number of new features …
Discussion:
Crave
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
Sony goes after Kindle with new, touchscreen eBook reader — In a press event in New York City, Sony introduced a new model in its Reader line that it hopes will catch the attention of a public and electronics press that might be forgiven for thinking that Amazon's Kindle is the only game in the eBook town.
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Owen Thomas / Valleywag:
Valleywag cuts 60 percent of staff — We would never sugarcoat someone else's layoffs. Why ours? Gawker Media, our publisher, has told me to cut Valleywag's costs, in anticipation of an advertising recession. In response, I have laid off associate editors Nicholas Carlson and Jackson West and reporter Melissa Gira Grant.
Justin Scheck / Wall Street Journal:
H-P Plans to Unveil Smart Phone — Hewlett-Packard Co., aiming to grow its device business beyond corporate users, is preparing to release a new smart phone that will also be marketed to consumers, according to people briefed on the plan. The device will debut in Europe, these people say …
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Latest iPhone Software supports full-screen Web apps — One unpublicized feature introduced by Apple's latest iPhone software updates is the ability save Web apps to the home screen and have them launch in full-screen mode without the Safari wrapper, essentially mimicking the experience of a native app.
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
First Royalty Rates Set for Digital Music — In a decision closely watched by the music industry, a panel of federal judges who determine royalty rates for recordings ruled on Thursday to renew the current royalty rate for CDs and other physical recordings, while setting rates …
Discussion:
Bits, Digital Daily, Gadgetell, FierceMobileContent, MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer, Billboard.Biz and Wall Street Journal
Lei Zhang / Google Photos Blog:
Picasa 3 (beta) for Linux — We're proud to announce the public beta of Picasa 3.0 for Linux (just a few days past the end of summer :-) — With version 3, Picasa adds improved Linux desktop integration. For instance, it now uses your preferred file manager, and you can use …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
What's Your Tweet Worth? Um, . . . Nothing. — A month ago, I wrote about a company called TwittAd that lets you auction off ads on your Twitter page. Now, the company is sponsoring WhatsYourTweetWorth?, a vanity site where you enter your Twitter name, and it tells you how much your Tweets …
Caroline McCarthy / The Social:
Bank robber hires decoys on Craigslist, fools cops — In an elaborate robbery scheme that's one part The Thomas Crowne Affair and one part Pineapple Express, a crook robbed an armored truck outside a Bank of America branch in Monroe, Wash., by hiring decoys through Craigslist to deter authorities.
Lacy Kemp / The Real Story:
My Name is KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID ROCK! — Ever since Internet music became the norm and wildly popular over the last decade, artists have flocked to get their music up on iTunes, Rhapsody, the legal Napster, and all of the latest social networking sites. After all, with physical CD sales on the decline, artists need the digital avenue.
Matt McGee / Search Engine Land:
Google Maps: #1 In Features, Market Share Rising — As Google Maps continues to roll out new features that competing map services don't have, web users are rewarding it with big gains in traffic. A recent analyst report says Google is the number one maps site in terms of features and usability …
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Zune services on Win Mobile = ‘Pink’ — CEO Steve Ballmer reiterated this week that Microsoft has decided against building its own Zune phone. (Chairman Bill Gates said the same thing back in January 2008, for those keeping score at home.) — Ballmer also noted this week that Microsoft …
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch UK:
As eBay preps layoffs, startup investment crashes - it's going to be a cold winter people — It looks like Monday will be when we find out if how many staff go from eBay's offices globally and the UK/European offices specifically. Last month reports started to emerge that eBay was poised to cut 1,500 jobs …
Staska / Unwired View:
Samsung i7110 specs leaked — The live pictures of upcoming Samsung i7110 candybar appeared on the net in the beginning of August. — However, not much has been known about the device then. — Pictures told us that i7110 should have 5 megapixel camera, FM radio and microSD memory card support.
Frank Caron / Ars Technica:
Allstate testing video games to identify safe, older drivers — Games and virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular tools for training both mental and physical. VR simulations and games are already in use by the army, various police forces, and even in certain medical areans as well.
Discussion:
PSFK
Heather Dougherty / Hitwise Intelligence:
MSN Cashback successfully attracting visitors — This week MSN announced the launch of SearchPerks!, a new promotion that rewards visitors that use Live Search with tickets redeemable for various prizes. The latest endeavor is separate from the Live Search Cashback rebate program launched a few months ago …
beu blog:
Google No Longer Suggests Directory Submission — While Google has condemned buying and selling links that pass PageRank, they've encouraged listing in paid directories like Yahoo for years. It seems that era may have come to an end earlier today. The following bullet points have been removed …
Discussion:
Google Blogoscoped, Search Engine Land, Valleywag, WebProNews and Search Engine Roundtable
Long Tran / Yanko Design:
Hanging Hard Drives — Portable hard drives are not really THAT portable if you have to tote around another peripheral but maybe you should have bought a laptop with a bigger hard drive! OOO Zing! No I didn't! Yes, yes I did just go there. Kidding aside, the Hang it On hard drive encloser lets …
Maggie Shiels / BBC:
Obama uses iPhone to win support — US Democratic candidate Barack Obama is set to turn the iPhone into a political recruiting tool with an application aimed at getting the vote out. — The most notable feature is a “Call Friends” option to help organise contacts in swing states.
