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12:25 PM ET, October 21, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Paul Boutin / Wired News:
Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004  —  Thinking about launching your own blog?  Here's some friendly advice: Don't.  And if you've already got one, pull the plug.  —  Writing a weblog today isn't the bright idea it was four years ago.  The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis …
RELATED:
Mathew / mathewingram.com/work:
Blogs are so over, Wired magazine says  —  Hey, didn't you hear?  Blogs are so 2004.  They're dead now, says Paul Boutin (who also writes for Valleywag) in a piece he wrote for Wired magazine.  Here's his argument (such as it is) in a nutshell: … Wow — that's pretty persuasive, isn't it?
Discussion: Virtual Economics
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Lala May Have Just Built The Next Revolution In Digital Music  —  Call me a skeptic.  When Lala came to our offices last week trying to convince me that music was heading to the cloud, and that they were going to help lead the transition, I wasn't convinced at first.
RELATED:
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Lala's Spectacular New Music Service  —  For a couple of months now, I've been using a music service that's been in a quiet (but open) beta period.  It's been kind of amazing.  That service is the all-new version of Lala, and it's officially throwing its doors open to the public today.
Peter Burrows / Tech Beat:
Lala Plays a New Song.
Yahoo! Tech:
Palm Treo Pro: A sweet Windows smartphone  —  San Francisco - The BlackBerry, iPhone, and T-Mobile G1 may be the kings of smartphone cool, but if you ask me, they all share one big shortcoming: They don't run Windows Mobile.  —  I know that statement puts me in a distinct minority.
Discussion: InfoWorld and PalmAddicts
RELATED:
John Herrman / Gizmodo:
HP Shows Off Two New iPaq Phones: One Touch, One Not
Discussion: SlashPhone and Obsessable
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Make Your Own iPhone/Android Apps With New App Generator  —  Today AppLoop launched a mobile application generator which lets you turn any RSS feed into a mobile application for either iPhone (available today) or Android (coming soon).  The company, who competes with the analytics …
RELATED:
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google's Android ‘GPhone’ App Store Missing Some Big Names
Discussion: Crave
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Motorola intros avant-garde $2,000 AURA, markets it like a Rolex  —  We can't remember the last time we purchased a phone because it possessed 700+ individual components, a stainless steel housing or a front plate that takes a fortnight to create, but Motorola's hoping you start to care about that kind of minutiae right about now.
RELATED:
John Markoff / New York Times:
A Robot Network Seeks to Enlist Your Computer  —  REDMOND, Wash. — In a windowless room on Microsoft's campus here, T. J. Campana, a cybercrime investigator, connects an unprotected computer running an early version of Windows XP to the Internet.  In about 30 seconds the computer is “owned.”
Discussion: UMBC ebiquity
Chris Morris / Forbes:
Microsoft Xbox: Not Ready For Primetime  —  There's a new member of the “Not Ready for Primetime Players”: The Xbox 360.  —  Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) has delayed the launch of “Xbox Live Primetime,” its programmed series of interactive games with real-world prizes, until the spring.
Clint Boulton / eWeek:
Google Open-Sources Android on Eve of G1 Launch  —  Table of Contents:  —  Google releases the complete Android mobile operating system stack under the open-source Apache license, freeing up carriers, OEMs and ambitious application development experts to build functional smart phones with the software.
Jeff Young / Akamai:
Akamai Introduces Advertising Decision Solutions; Announces Agreement to Acquire acerno  —  Contacts:  —  Media Relations  —  Akamai Technologies  —  617-444-3913  —  jyoung@akamai.com  —or—  Noelle Faris  —  Investor Relations  —  Akamai Technologies  —  617-444-4676
Joanna Stern / LAPTOP Magazine:
ASUS CEO Reveals Eee PC Sales Numbers, Plans for Touch Eee PCs and More Eee Family Products  —  Earlier this week the ASUS Eee PC celebrated its first birthday (with a full birthday party and cake at LAPTOP Magazine).  It was one year ago that the Taiwanese company began selling its first sub-notebook …
Michael Iams / MapQuest Blog:
By Popular Demand... An Optimal iPhone Browsing Experience  —  MapQuest users have come to rely on the quality and accuracy of MapQuest results no matter where they are — which is why we are delighted to introduce MapQuest optimized for the iPhone.  We have served millions of requests …
Tameka Kee / paidContent.org:
Online Video Site Blip.tv Secures Second Round  —  Online video site Blip.tv, based in new York City, has secured its entire second round of funding from Bain Capital Ventures.  The amount was not disclosed, but CEO Mike Hudack said that the round had been in the works well before the financial crunch.
Jon Fortt / Big Tech:
Apple's next act: Changing PC buying habits  —  Nvidia inside: Apple's latest MacBook laptops have an Nvidia graphics processor next to their Intel chips, which puts the spotlight on graphics chips as an important part of today's basic computer system.  Image: Apple
Discussion: MacDailyNews
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Brightstorm Raises $6 Million For Online Video Tutorials  —  If high-school education is failing in the U.S., maybe Web video can help.  Founded last April, Brightstorm is a Web video site that brings bright, talented teachers together with students who need some extra help.
Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:
Google Being More Careful Amid Slump, Schmidt Says  —  Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc., owner of the world's most popular Internet search site, will make fewer acquisitions and slow hiring amid the global economic turmoil, Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said.
Discussion: Epicenter, AppScout, Docu-Drama and eWeek
John Oates / The Register:
Judge tells Oracle and SAP to sort it out  —  Website snooping case  —  US Judge Joseph Spero has told Oracle to tell SAP exactly how much it is seeking in damages if it is proved that an SAP subsidiary wrongly downloaded material from Oracle's website.  —  Oracle has accused SAP subsidiary …
Discussion: CNET News
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Google Uses Public Service Ads to Link to Own Election Page  —  Google AdSense ads are embedded in websites all across the web.  As a webmaster, you have the option to let Google display Public Service Ads when they cannot find a fitting other ad; these ads will not earn the webmaster revenue.
Discussion: Salon, Epicenter and Startup Wire
Gary Anthes / Computerworld:
Dear Mr. President: Let's talk tech  —  Top IT luminaries demand action from the next administration  —  Computerworld) Science and technology may not have been the focus of the recent debates between presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama, but both candidates have outlined some broad policy proposals and goals.
Discussion: IP Democracy
BBC:
Keyboard sniffers to steal data  —  Computer criminals could soon be eavesdropping on what you type by analysing the electromagnetic signals produced by every key press.  —  By analysing the signals produced by keystrokes Swiss researchers have reproduced what a target typed.
 
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 More Items: 
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Yahoo Earnings: What to Expect When You're Not Expecting (Much)
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google-Yahoo Search Deal Toast, Says TheDeal
Discussion: Epicenter and Tech Ticker
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Diamonds Are Forever, And Can Now Be Traded Online Too
GamesIndustry.biz:
Mythic “flattered” by Warcraft's imitation combat
Discussion: Blue's News
Richard Brewer-Hay / eBay Ink:
eBay To Institute Global Ban on Ivory Sales
Matt Sedensky / Associated Press:
MediaNews CEO: Outsourcing could help save money
Discussion: MediaFile and paidContent.org
 Earlier Items: 
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
BeenVerified hopes to make background checks easier and cheaper
Discussion: CenterNetworks
Chris Morrison / VentureBeat:
Brightstorm launches into the booming online education market
Discussion: Startup Meme
Ken Schachter / Red Herring:
Where Congress Puts Its Own Money
Discussion: Techdirt
Lou Cabron / 10 Zen Monkeys:
The Great Google Rebellion
PBS:
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Did Apple reboot an important product announcement?
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles take minority stakes in The Daily Beast; Sherwood will be CEO and publisher, and Coles will be chief creative and content officer

Laurence Peter / BBC:
Russia's Ministry of Justice labels BBC Russian correspondent Ilya Barabanov and science reporter Asya Kazantseva as “foreign agents”; both now live abroad

Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Disney plans old-style TV channels within Disney+, with a continuous, scheduled stream of shows that are focused on certain genres like Star Wars

 
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