Check out Mini-Techmeme for simple mobiles or Techmeme Mobile for modern smartphones.
4:00 PM ET, October 20, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
Google CEO Backs Obama  —  Schmidt Expands Political Role by Hitting the Campaign Trail  —  Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt will hit the campaign trail this week on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, signaling Mr. Schmidt's push for a greater voice in politics …
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Intel shows off working Moorestown MID device  —  Intel on Monday showed off a prototype handheld based on Moorestown, its upcoming Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform designed to enable a new generation of ultra-thin, touchscreen devices with extensive battery life.
Discussion: eWeek, TG Daily and techeblog.com
RELATED:
Intel:
Intel Demonstrates World's First Working ‘Moorestown’ Platform
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Apple Ads About Microsoft Ads About Apple Ads About Microsoft  —  Apple released a couple of new “Get a Mac” ads today, and while I wouldn't usually bother to mention that here, these ones are noteworthy: They make direct reference to Microsoft's current $300 million ad campaign for Windows.
Andria Cheng / MarketWatch:
Circuit City may shut stores to avoid filing: report  —  NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. is mulling a plan to shut at least 150 stores and cut thousands of jobs to lower costs to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday …
RELATED:
Monica Chen / DigiTimes:
MSI to launch 3.5G Wind netbook next month  —  Micro-Star International (MSI) is planning to launch the Wind U120 with a built-in 3.5G module in November this year.  The netbook will feature Intel's Atom N270 processor, 1GB memory, 120GB hard drive and Windows XP and be priced around NT$18,000 …
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Two Ways Yahoo Can Blow The Mass Firings  —  Now that Yahoo employees have had the pleasure of reading about their impending fate for weeks, management will reportedly finally announce the mass firings this week.  The exact number has yet to be released—somewhere between 1500 and 3000 …
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
CBS Tries to Make Online Viewing Social  —  Mel Brooks said the hardest thing to do was to make a person sitting alone in a room laugh out loud.  Laughter is social, and that's important to consider as watching online video on your laptop or handheld device with headphones can be a pretty isolating experience.
RELATED:
James Hibberd / Hollywood Reporter:   CBS to mash up Web couch potatoes
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Let's Be Serious: Online Display Ads Will Fall Sharply In 2009  —  For a year, we've listened to analysts passionately explain how online ad spending will power through any broader economic and advertising weakness.  Eyeballs are moving online, this story went (goes), ad dollars will follow.
Discussion: Valleywag
David Kaplan / paidContent.org:
Glam Media Finds Its Male Side, Launches Brash.com  —  After offering a hint about its plans last month, female-centric Glam Media has released Brash, its new male-focused lifestyle and entertainment online hub.  Brash is being targeted to men 18-49 years old and is beginning life …
RELATED:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Glam Gets Brash: Screenshots Of The New Men's Network
Jonathan M. Gitlin / Ars Technica:
Microsoft gets patent for real-time f-bomb bleeping  —  Back in 2004 Microsoft applied for a patent for real-time censoring of audio streams, and now the USPTO has granted that patent.  —  As PC gamers have known for a long time, and Xbox gamers have known for a while …
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 …
Scott Ferguson / eWeek:
Intel Slashes Desktop, Server Processor Prices  —  In less than a week after reporting third-quarter financial results, Intel cut the prices on several of its high-end, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo desktop processors.  In addition, Intel dropped prices on some its older Pentium chips for desktops …
Discussion: The Register and Hardware 2.0
Simon Sage / IntoMobile:
RIM stock drops on poor Pearl Flip sales  —  Analysts from Pacific Crest Securities have issued a pessimistic outlook on the latest BlackBerry 8220 from T-Mobile, and as a result, RIM's stock has taken a dive down 10% to around $50.  It's a bit of a double-whammy after the whole market took …
Discussion: Reuters and Electronista
The Boy Genius / Boy Genius Report:
BlackBerry Storm hitting Best Buy November 16th?  —  To be fair, that's what looks to be the in-stock date, not the street date as we're told.  We got our hands on a print out of a Best Buy product sheet which clearly shows the BlackBerry Storm's store in-stock date.
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Hands on: Fennec alpha 1 puts Firefox on your handheld  —  Mozilla has announced the availability of the first Mobile Firefox alpha release.  The project, which is codenamed Fennec, aims to bring the desktop Firefox browsing experience to mobile devices like MIDs and phone handsets.
Mike Elgan / Computerworld Blogs:
Call it a ‘sub-subnotebook.’ New ‘PC’ is small as a cell phone!  —  SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — IMOVIO launched today a smaller alternative to a subnotebook — much smaller.  The new iKIT is about the size of a PDA from ten years ago, but has a QWERTY keyboard and connects to the Internet at 3G speeds via your cell phone or Wi-Fi.
Discussion: Slashdot and digg.com
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
RIAA Calls Another Critic Vexatious After She Points Out Flaw In RIAA Logic  —  It appears that someone in the RIAA's legal team discovered the word “vexatious” lately and now likes to use it.  First, the RIAA declared lawyer Ray Beckerman vexatious, and now it's trying to pin the same word …
Discussion: BetaNews
InfoWorld:
Researchers log keystrokes from afar with an antenna  —  Computer keystrokes can be snooped from afar by detecting the slight electromagnetic radiation emitted when a key is pressed, according to new research previewed on Monday.  —  Other security experts have theorized keyboards were vulnerable …
Jessica Dolcourt / Download.com editors:
Opera Mobile's second beta supports widgets, Symbian UIQ  —  There's been a lot of activity this week in the world of mobile browsers.  On Friday, Mozilla introduced an alpha build for Fennec, the very-much-in-development mobile browser that will grow up to become Firefox for Mobile.
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
MPAA slams EFF on RealDVD  —  The movie industry finally responded to accusations that it has filed suit to stop sales of RealDVD software as a means of maintaining control over those who make DVD players.  —  The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group that advocates for the rights of Internet users …
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Judge Allows Kentucky To Seize Domain Names  —  Last month, we wrote about a judge allowing Kentucky's governor to seize 141 domain names that were somehow associated with gambling sites under a bizarre interpretation of Kentucky law.  Pretty much everyone involved admits …
Discussion: Valleywag
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Techmeme at 4:00 PM ET, October 20, 2008.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 Techmeme Sponsor Posts: 
Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
CIO challenge 5: Can we find an effective solution that also minimizes operational costs?  —  Welcome to the next and final installment of our CIO series!  After what feels like a thousand cups of coffee …
Hamming:
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy  —  Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Sponsor Techmeme
 
 See Also: 
Techmeme: site main
Techmeme River: reverse chronological Techmeme
Techmeme Mobile: for phones
Techmeme Leaderboard: Techmeme's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Techmeme RSS feed
Techmeme on X
Techmeme on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
We've Got Exclusive Details On New Comcast Speeds, Prices …
Discussion: GigaOM
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
SearchMe Adds Music Search With Unlimited Streaming Via Imeem Widgets
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
FCC lukewarm on networks' request to delay white space vote
Discussion: CNET News and DailyTech
Kelly Hodgkins / Boy Genius Report:
LG Lotus, Samsung Rant and Highnote now available at Sprint
James Kendrick / jkOnTheRun:
Text messaging: great method of communication for the deaf
YouTube Blog:
A Behind the Scenes Look at Contacting Us
Discussion: InformationWeek
Om Malik / Business Week:
Software Makers Get an iPhone Bump
Discussion: GigaOM and VoIP Watch
Doug Aamoth / CrunchGear:
CrunchDeals: Acer Aspire One netbook for $309.99
Discussion: CNET News, dealnews and Obsessable
 Earlier Items: 
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Two Ways Google Is Trying To Juice AdSense: Ad-Only Search Boxes …
Discussion: Domain Name Wire and Shoemoney
Susan Moskwa / Google Webmaster Central Blog:
Where's my data?
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft aims to get more touchy-feely
Jon Healey / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Bringing search ads to file sharers
Walter Pincus / Washington Post:
DARPA Contract Description Hints at Advanced Video Spying
Discussion: Bits and Slashdot
Brian Hurley / The Register:
Run Mac OS X on a PC
Discussion: AppScout and VoIP & Gadgets Blog
 

 
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

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
James Harding says the Tortoise-Observer deal could create a profitable media group and there isn't a guaranteed future for the Observer with the Guardian

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Substack, very deliberately, tries to have it both ways by saying publications on their platform are independent while presenting them all as parts of Substack

 
Sister Sites:

Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page