Top Items:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Contains Spoilers — Engadget just posted the first real picture and accurate description I've seen in public of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro, set to be announced later today. It's the real deal. Major visible changes from the previous MacBook Pros: — A new iMac-style black border around the display.
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Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Mr. Blurrycam reveals the updated MacBook Pro, $899 laptop model shows up in Apple inventory systems (Updated) — Well, maybe — we're not calling it official until Steve pulls the cloth off himself tomorrow morning . Still, there's no denying the similarities between this image …
John R. Wilke / Wall Street Journal:
Google, Yahoo Seek to Avoid Antitrust Suit Over Ad Deal — Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are in talks with the Justice Department in an effort to head off an antitrust challenge to their proposed advertising agreement. — The settlement negotiations are at an early stage and it isn't clear whether …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Silicon Alley Insider, Search Engine Watch, Digital Daily, Epicenter, ClickZ and BloggingStocks
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Andy Space / 9 to 5 Mac:
Microsoft declares war on the ‘Apple tax’ — Microsoft is on the warpath once again, with some Redmond executive slamming Apple for putting a tax on Macs and suggesting (in a kind of roundabout way) that Macs aren't really more secure than Windows. (Yeah, right)...
Discussion:
Infinite Loop
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Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:Microsoft: Mac buyers pay Apple tax
Discussion:
Industry Standard, PC World, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, Hardware 2.0, The Open Road and Profy
BlackBerry Storm Mobile Phone Reviews:
Video Of The BlackBerry Storm 9500 Mobile Phone In Action — We have another exclusive video of the new BlackBerry Storm 9500 mobile phone! The video shows us the best views yet of key features in action such as web browsing, camera , email, instant messaging, GPS maps, video and even a glimpse of the Vodafone music store.
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Troy D. Brown / BlackBerryNews.com:Verizon Offers The Storm Hands On In Select Markets
Discussion:
IntoMobile
Mike Nash / Windows Vista Team Blog:
Introducing Windows 7 — Hi there, Mike Nash here. — For me, one of the most exciting times in the release of a new product is right before we show it to the world for the first time. And that time is right now. — In a few weeks we are going to be talking about the details of this release at the PDC and at WinHEC.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Mint Leaves Beta, Brings A Bunch Of New Features With It — Mint, the personal finance startup that won last year's TechCrunch 40, has launched a host of new features including investment tracking, 401k managment, and more flexible budget sheets. CEO Aaron Patzer says that the new features finally …
Wagner James Au / GigaOM:
Confirmed: Obama Is Campaigning on Xbox 360! — Last week we noted unconfirmed sightings of an “Obama for President” billboard in the Xbox 360 racing game Burnout Paradise. Today we're able to report that it is, in fact, an official advertisement placed by the senator's campaign team.
Matt Cutts / Gadgets, Google, and SEO:
Free links to your site — I can't believe a new feature from Google isn't getting more notice, because it converts already-existing links to your site into much higher quality links, for free. The Google webmaster blog just announced that you can find the pages that link to 404 pages on your site.
Discussion:
Google Blogoscoped
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Yahoo! Search Blog:
Yahoo! Search Hits the Airwaves — A little over four years ago, we launched our own search engine and became a principal in the search business. Our focus since then has been the same - building the best search experience to give users a fast, easy and intuitive way to get straight to their answers.
Microsoft:
Microsoft Unveils Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 — Update builds on momentum behind software-powered unified communications and voice. — Today, Microsoft Corp. debuted Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Release 2 (R2), an update to the award-winning Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
JS-Kit, the widget company for dummies, gets boost — JS-Kit, the Silicon Valley company that makes it easy for bloggers to add comments, polls, product reviews or ratings system to their website, has gotten a boost when it most needs it. — It has raised $3.6 million in a second round …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Download Squad, JS-Kit Blog, The Social, Mashable!, Paying Attention, The Next Web, InformationWeek and Pulse 2.0
Ben Jones / TorrentFreak:
Bush Signs Draconian Anti-Piracy Law — Over in California, champagne corks are popping. In the offices of the MPAA and RIAA, lawyers turned lobbyists are dancing jigs. In houses all around the US however, people are left dumbfounded by the passage of a bill based on appeasement to big money …
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
AOL - Yahoo Merger A Done Deal, Says Source — Yahoo's acquisition of AOL is now a done deal, a source close to AOL tells us. The source expects a formal announcement tomorrow and reports the amusing sighting of a full-length Yahoo 18-wheeler semi-truck near AOL's Dulles campus.
Steve O'Hear / The Social Web:
Top Digger helps launch Tip'd, a Digg clone for financial news — Tip'd, which launched today, describes itself as “a place for investors... to meet, share, discuss, comment, and vote on what's happening on both Wall Street and Main Street.” Essentially, it's another Digg clone targeting a particular vertical.
Emily / textually.org:
SOFTWARE PREVENTS MOBILE PHONE CHATTING WHILE DRIVING — Aegis Mobility has developed DriveAssist , software that offers parents and corporations the ability to stay in touch with their teens or employees, while ensuring responsible mobile phone use while driving.
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Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
BillShrink Grows By $8 Million With Plans To Expand To New Markets — BillShrink, a startup that aims to help users save money across a variety of vertical markets, has closed an $8 million Series B funding round led by Trinity Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Peter Kafka / Silicon Alley Insider:
More Competition For Steve Jobs: Samsung Entering US PC Market — This is timed nicely to today's Apple event — news that Samsung is entering the American PC market. Samsung's PCs are big in South Korea (duh) but not really anywhere else, so it would be easy to discount their chances …
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Wi-Fi Gets a Boost With Quantenna Chips — If you're like me and believe that Wi-Fi is going to rule the home networking environment, then a means to ensure reliable and fast Wi-Fi connectivity to all corners of the home becomes essential. That's where chipsets from Quantenna Communications …
