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HD Netflix streaming comes to Xbox 360 first — It's something you can't get on the Roku. Nor on LG's BD300. Nor on Samsung's P2500 / P2550 Blu-ray players. Nor through Netflix's own “Watch Instantly” portal. It's high-def Netflix streaming, and it's coming first to Microsoft's Xbox 360.
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider, DSLreports, DVICE, Boy Genius Report, Gizmodo and Xbox 360 Fanboy
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Roku Capable Of HD Streaming, Netflix HD Content Only On XBOX 360 For Now — Thanks to the folks at Microsoft and Netflix, I am currently testing the new Netflix streaming functionality to the XBOX 360 and will have my review up in a few hours. While Netflix is not currently offering HD …

MacBook Airs ship; Psystar plans Mac notebook, Blu-ray desktop — Apple is making good on a promise to have its new MacBook Airs in the hands of customers early next week. Meanwhile, unofficial Mac clone maker Psystar has announced a Blu-ray-enabled Mac desktop and says its also working on a Mac notebook.
Discussion:
CNET News, Digital Daily, PRWeb, O'Grady's PowerPage, Boing Boing Gadgets, MacUser, Electronista, MacDailyNews, TechSpot and Edible Apple
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Motorola Speed Dials Cell Overhaul — New Mobile Chief Plans to Slash More Jobs, Focus on Google Software to Simplify Design and Cut Costs — Motorola Inc.'s new cellphone chief is moving quickly to scale back the struggling division, simplifying the way it makes devices and cutting additional jobs.
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Motorola to call on Google in cell overhaul
Discussion:
Agence France Presse


New Xbox 360 Experience hands-on and impressions — Thanks to a special blessing from the folks in Redmond, we've had an opportunity to thoroughly give the rejiggered Xbox 360 Dash (AKA, the New Xbox Experience) a serious run through, and we've got the lowdown on the future of your gaming life.
RELATED:

New Xbox Experience (NXE) Review: It's Pure Improvement
Discussion:
NewTeeVee

Announcing Applications on LinkedIn — Hi Everyone. I'm writing today to announce the launch of LinkedIn's applications platform that will enable over 30 million professionals on LinkedIn to communicate, collaborate, and share information even better than before.
RELATED:

LinkedIn Means Business With New Application Platform
Discussion:
The Register, Epicenter, eWeek, Reuters, TechCrunch UK, VentureBeat, blogs.telegraph.co.uk …, WebProNews, TheNextWeb.org and Business Technology


HP gets serious about Netbooks — The Mini 1000 MIE has a custom HP interface meant to hide its Linux OS from users. — After a brief experiment in the education market, Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday is set to introduce a whole line of Netbooks for mainstream consumers.
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Asustek to launch Android handset in 1H09 — Asustek Computer plans to launch its first Android-based Google phone in the first half of 2009, according to company sources. Asustek may initially sell the Android-powered handsets under its own brand in the Taiwan market before also launching customized models …
Discussion:
The Register, InformationWeek, Gadget Lab, Maximum PC all, I4U News, Android Phone Fans, Engadget, Unwired View, Gizmodo, SlashPhone, AndroidGuys and jkOnTheRun
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Why BlackBerry Storm Is An iPhone (and G-1) Killer — Having followed activity in the BlackBerry ecosystem over the past few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that BlackBerry Storm should be called BlackBerry Stealth. Why? With little media coverage, its forthcoming launch is the sleeper play …
Discussion:
Mark Evans, CrackBerry.com blogs, TG Daily, VC Cafe, Gear Diary, Bits, Skype Journal and BlackBerry Cool

Yahoo Gains Internet Search Share; Microsoft Loses — Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — Yahoo! Inc. handled a larger chunk of U.S. Internet searches last month while Microsoft Corp. lost market share, according to researcher ComScore Inc. — Yahoo had about 20.2 percent of queries in September …
Discussion:
Epicenter


Microsoft researcher talks about his iPhone tie … LOS ANGELES—As he began his speech on Wednesday, Microsoft Research chief Rick Rashid talked up his ties, not just to Microsoft's products, but also to those from Apple. — “If you use a Macintosh or an iPhone, which honestly I would not recommend …
Discussion:
Microsoft Pri0


The Look Is Tawdry, but the Possibilities Are Virtually Endless — So you want to be a video game designer. — You're clever. You can entertain millions of people for billions of hours. Here's how you prove it: find a PlayStation 3, buy LittleBigPlanet and make a luscious new level with the game's prodigious editing tools.

Google SearchWiki — Google's experiment that allows users to vote and annotate search results is back and this time it has a name: Google SearchWiki. Justin Hileman is one of the lucky people who has access to the experimental feature: “Things are a bit smoother this time.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable, ReadWriteWeb, justin hileman dot info and AppScout


Designing the New MacBook: Why It Couldn't Have FireWire — Rainer Brockerhoff's studied dissection of the new MacBook's design—how certain design choices intersect with the realities of components to produce real notebooks—perfectly explains how they are not simply a wishlist of parts and features that magically come together.


John Doerr: 10 ways for companies to stay afloat in rough times — At VentureBeat's Downturn Roundtable event this morning, Kleiner Perkins' John Doerr just gave a rundown of the top 10 things startups should be doing right now to keep their companies afloat in hard times. — The ten: — Act now.
Discussion:
Tech Beat

Taiwan's CMEL shows millimeter-thick OLED panel — A Taiwanese display maker has developed a 25-inch screen that's less than a millimeter thick. — The new screen, which was unveiled by Chi Mei EL at the FPD International exhibition in Japan on Wednesday, is based on the emerging OLED …


Tech leaders back sports blog network — Former AOL programming chief Jim Bankoff has secured a mid-seven-figure sum of venture capital for SB Nation, a startup network of sports blogs, from a group of digital media and technology luminaries. — The round of funding was led by Accel Partners …

Wall Street Gives Up On Yahoo-Google Search, Wants Microsoft Deal — Yahoo management's moves over the past year are rapidly slipping into tragicomedy. As we've noted frequently over the past few weeks, the Yahoo-Google search deal is on the rocks, and both the company and now Wall Street are flopping around for alternatives.