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12:45 AM ET, October 20, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
OMG Britney!  On Twitter!  —  This is perhaps the most exciting news since the May launch of TomCruise.com: I'd like to welcome Britney Spears to our world.  She (or rather her people) have launched both a Twitter account and a bloggy sort of site with near constant updates on her fascinating life.
RELATED:
gary vaynerchuk:
Britney Spears is on Twitter....kinda
Discussion: Mashable!
Jessica E. Vascellaro / Wall Street Journal:
Yahoo Plans Major Cost Cuts, Including Layoffs  —  Struggling Internet Giant to Disclose Significant Reductions as Economic Troubles Spread and Rivals Pose Stiff Competition  —  Yahoo Inc. is drafting significant cost-cutting plans to try to reverse its fortunes from the inside.
Eric Bangeman / Ars Technica:
RIAA now wants to avoid trial in innocent infringement case  —  The RIAA has apparently had a change of heart towards a Texas woman accused of sharing music over KaZaA when she was 16 years old.  In Maverick v. Harper, the industry group has backed off its demand for a jury trial …
Discussion: ZDNet Government and Slashdot
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Apple Q4 earnings smackdown  —  Andy Zaky has a bone to pick with Wall Street — or rather, with the professional analysts who cover Apple (AAPL) at Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), and the rest.  —  “I could write a book on what Wall Street analysts don't know,” he says.
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac
RELATED:
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:   Apple Fans Predict Blowout Quarter...But All That Matters Is Guidance
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Apple: Will Carriers Sell Subsidized MacBooks?  —  With the iPhone, Apple (AAPL) has found a happy partnership with global wireless carriers.  Could they extend that relationship to include carrier-subsidized sales of MacBooks?  —  Lisa Thompson, an analyst with research boutique JRPG …
Randall Stross / New York Times:
Why This Storm May Stay Away From Apple  —  VIOLENT waves are tossing about the world's largest financial institutions like toys made of balsa.  The dark skies ahead can't be anything but a recession.  Sheets of cold rain have already been smacking the retail sector.
Who da'Punk / Mini-Microsoft:
Is Microsoft Recession Proof?  —  Is Microsoft recession proof?  No, of course not.  While it can be buffeted back in forth in a mild recession and get through without group parties here and there, it's pretty unclear what kind of Microsoft will emerge at the other end of a deep global recession.
Discussion: Startup Chatter
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Record Label ‘Infringes’ Own Copyright, Site Pulled  —  The website of a record label which offers completely free music downloads has been taken down by its host for copyright infringement, even though it only offers its own music.  Quote Unquote Records calls itself “The First Ever Donation …
Discussion: Slashdot and digg.com
Olga Kharif / Business Week:
Motorola Readies Its Own Android Social Smartphone  —  Amid a boom in social-network-friendly handsets, Motorola prepares a new entry, but its Android may not debut until 2009's second quarter  —  As the wireless world awaits the Oct. 22 debut of the first phone based on the Google-backed Android software …
Dare Obasanjo aka Carnage4Life:
Cloud Computing and Vendor Lock-In  —  Tim Bray has a thought provoking post on embracing cloud computing entitled Get In the Cloud where he brings up the problem of vendor lock-in.  He writes … Tim's post is about cloud platforms but I think it is useful to talk about avoiding lock …
Discussion: SmoothSpan Blog
Martin / gHacks technology news:
Google Chrome Adds Greasemonkey Support  —  One of the elementary things that the Google browser is missing is support for some kind of plugins or extensions that Firefox offers for a long time.  Google announced plans to support an extension API in later builds of the web browser …
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
The Internet is no 21st-century boob tube  —  Remember when you were young and your family used to gather 'round the television eating dinner on TV trays, fixated by programs like M*A*S*H and All in the Family?  Chit chat about what happened at school and work was relegated to commercial breaks.
 
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 More Items: 
Benny Evangelista / San Francisco Chronicle:
Blu-ray has case of the economic blues
Janko Roettgers / TorrentFreak:
Stanford University Embraces BitTorrent
Discussion: Pulse 2.0, TechSpot and digg.com
Corvida / ReadWriteWeb:
Handango to Offer Paid Apps for Android
Discussion: Mashable! and Gadgetell
Frank Washburn / GigaOM:
Where's the Money In Casual Web Game Development?
Discussion: Clickety Clack
 Earlier Items: 
Melissa / yprofileblog.com:
Managing your alias and profile
Daniel Lyons / Newsweek:
Why Is Jerry Yang Still in Charge?
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Changing That Home Page? Take Baby Steps
Ryan Block:
New MacBook Pro: now with 20% less battery power
Discussion: Gizmodo
David Chartier / Ars Technica:
Google monetizes start page, vocal minority gets vocal
Discussion: Widgets Lab, Slashdot and Guardian
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

 
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