Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Google Gears Down for Tougher Times — MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Corporate austerity is reaching one of the most extravagant spenders of the boom years. Google Inc. has begun to tighten its belt. — For much of its 10-year history, Google spent money at a pace that was the marvel of Silicon Valley.
Mike Nash / The Windows Blog:
Announcing the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Customer Preview Program (CPP) — Hi, Mike Nash here. In late October I announced the Beta of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - beginning with a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers.
RELATED:
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Vista SP2: What's inside? — Microsoft is continuing to broaden the pool of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) testers beyond the fairly small, select group who've been working with test builds for the past few months. — Over on the jkOnTheRun blog, Kevin Tofel posted the most complete list I've seen of what's in Vista SP2.
Discussion:
The Register, BetaNews, jkOnTheRun, Windows Connected, Geekzone Blog and Ed Bott's Microsoft Report
Rafe Needleman / Webware.com:
Twitter CEO: The revenue's coming soon, but I won't tell you how — At a Churchill Club event in San Francisco on Tuesday, Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams brushed off—again—criticisms that the company is slow to turn on its revenue-generating engines.
Greg Kumparak / MobileCrunch:
Apple announces Top 10 iPhone App downloads of 2008 — With 2008 on the way out and right around 10,000 applications behind them, Apple has released a series of lists outlining which applications scored the most downloads since the App Store's launch back in July.
RELATED:
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Apple deletes Mac antivirus suggestion — Updated 7:45 p.m. PST with expert comment, at 7:20 p.m. PST with context on previous coverage, and at 7:08 p.m. PST with background. — Apple removed an old item from its support site late Tuesday that urged Mac customers to use multiple antivirus utilities …
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
MySpace Video Goes Mobile (But Sans Hulu & Not on iPhones) — You know it's a strange, finicky sign of the times when MySpace announces that it has launched a beta mobile video site that will stream video directly to handsets around the globe — but that news is almost immediately deflated …
RELATED:
Ed Bott / Ed Bott's Microsoft Report:
Windows 7 Beta 1 to arrive January 13? — At the Professional Developers Conference in late October, Windows chief Steven Sinofsky announced that Windows 7 Beta 1 would be ready “early next year.” A Microsoft insider has now confirmed the actual date, which is indeed very early next year.
RELATED:
Ouriel Ohayon / TechCrunch:
Everything you always wanted to know about Google... ...But were afraid to ask. This is the title of this very interesting 34-slide presentation on Google prepared by FaberNovel, a french consulting firm. It is hard to realize the real nature of this just 10 years old giant given the number …
Arn / MacRumors:
Developers Can Now Issue Free “Promotional” Copies of iPhone Apps — Apple has finally started allowing developers to issue free promotional copies of their iPhone applications. Once an application has been accepted to the App Store by Apple, developers can issue up to 50 promotional codes.
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Device Designed To Annoy Young People Can Now Annoy Everyone — We've written about the Mosquito device a few times in the past. Originally launched back in 2005, the device emitted a high pitched annoying noise that could only be heard by those under 25 (or thereabouts).
Zach Epstein / Boy Genius Report:
LG Vu coming to AT&T in new wine color — The LG Vu isn't exactly the the newest kid on the block but there's no question this sexy touchscreen handset from LG is a great value - if you can find it. Many have noticed the earlier Vu model (915) has been hard to come by lately and some early speculation pointed to a discontinuation.
Tameka Kee / paidContent.org:
Yahoo Ties Up With CBS To Save Streaming Radio Service — Yahoo has turned to CBS to help keep its LAUNCHcast streaming radio service alive. As part of the new partnership, CBS Radio will provide the player and handle the ad sales for LAUNCHcast, and various CBS (NYSE: CBS) stations will be available on Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Music.
Danielle Belopotosky / Bits:
.Tel Them Where to Find You — On Wednesday, companies and organizations can register Web addresses with a new top-level domain, .tel. The new domain, which stores and encrypts contact information directly into the Domain Name System, has the potential to become a phone book for the Internet.
David Recordon / O'Reilly Radar:
Getting OpenID Into the Browser — Google Chrome did a smart thing: Less. They unified the search box and address bar, since that's what people do anyway. That gives us back precious pixels for the only thing that's as important to an average web user as where they're going: Who they are.
Discussion:
Webware.com
Reuters:
Nokia eyes wider use of Linux software in phones — BARCELONA (Reuters) - The world's biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia, could start to use open-source Linux software on its more expensive phone models, a senior company official said on Tuesday. — “In the longer perspective …
Tech-On! : tech news:
World's 1st 3D LED Display Sports 180-inch Screen — NewSight Corp of the US developed a 3D display using LEDs as pixels for the first time in the world. — Featuring a 180-inch screen with a width of 3.84m, the “3D LED Video Wall” is one of the world's largest 3D displays.
Market Wire:
Research In Motion Reports Preliminary Q3 Results — Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NasdaqGS:RIMM - News)(Toronto:RIM.TO - News) today reported certain preliminary third quarter results for the period ended November 29, 2008 (all figures in U.S. dollars and U.S GAAP, except where indicated).
whathifi.com News:
Samsung TV boss: LCD can hold off OLED for many years — While some companies are saying Organic LED (OLED) panels are the future of home TVs, Samsung remains committed to developing current technologies. — Speaking to WHFSV at Samsung's huge Suwon R&D complex here in Korea, HS Kim …
Glynnis / FishBowlNY:
Flip.com to Close December 16 — Conde Nast suffered another blow today with news that Flip.com, their online social-networking/scrapbooking site aimed at teenage girls, was shutting down effective December 16. Users received an email earlier today (read after the jump) …
Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:
Web Marketing That Hopes to Learn What Attracts a Click — ONLINE advertisers are not lacking in choices: They can display their ads in any color, on any site, with any message, to any audience, with any image. — Now, a new breed of companies is trying to tackle all of those options …
Discussion:
Webmetricsguru
Dawn Kawamoto / CNET News:
IPOs a thing of the past? — HALF MOON BAY, Calif.—When bonds are paying yields like stocks and blue-chip companies are severely undervalued, who wants to invest in equities, let alone an IPO? — Those are just some of the challenges companies face in attracting investors …
Slash Lane / AppleInsider:
Apple's Snow Leopard still evolving, developers say — Although there's been some evidence to suggest Snow Leopard could hit the market several months ahead of expectations, new information reveals that Apple remains heavily engaged in building out some of the features first previewed back in June.
Discussion:
MacRumors
Bobbie Johnson / Guardian:
Hacker in final showdown to avoid extradition to US — The British man accused of hacking into US military computers will have his final showdown in the UK courts next month. — After almost four years of fighting extradition to the US as a result of what prosecutors have called …
Hunter / FishBowlNY:
New Staff Cuts At Gawker, Gizmodo and Jezebel — FishbowlNY has confirmed layoffs and pay cuts for writers at the blogs Gawker, Gizmodo and Jezebel. Gawker editor Sheila McClear and Jezebel editorial assistant Maria-Mercedes Lara have been let go, Gawker weekend editor Alex Carnevale's month …
