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5:55 PM ET, December 4, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
The Boy Genius / Boy Genius Report:
Apple to sell a $99 4GB iPhone at Walmart?  —  We just got a tip that in addition to the iPhone 3G actually making its way to Walmart, as we exclusively told you, there will be a 4GB model priced at $99 with a 2-year agreement.  We're not putting our stamp of approval behind this one just yet …
RELATED:
Arn / MacRumors:
Wal-Mart to Sell $99 4GB iPhone?
Discussion: Engadget
Avner / boxee blog:
boxee <3 Netflix  —  when we planned the Dec 4th release we had minor changes in mind, mainly bug-fixes.... but we were undisciplined and immature.. and it turned from a minor release into a big one..  —  we could not ignore the number of people asking for Netflix on boxee.. so we called …
RELATED:
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Boxee adds Netflix support, but not for the Apple TV...yet
Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook Blog:
Facebook Across the Web  —  Over the summer we announced an extension of Facebook Platform called Facebook Connect.  Facebook Connect makes it easier for you to take your online identity with you all over the Web, share what you do online with your friends and stay updated on what they're doing.
Discussion: Industry Standard and TechCrunch
RELATED:
Rafe Needleman / Webware.com:
Facebook Connect officially open  —  Facebook is officially announcing on Thursday that its log-in system, Facebook Connect, is officially open for business for non-Facebook sites.  —  The social network is making the implementation of Facebook Connect self-service, so anyone who has a site …
Microsoft:
Microsoft Appoints Dr. Qi Lu to Run Online Services Group  —  Yahoo! veteran to oversee Internet offerings for consumers, advertisers and publishers.  —  Microsoft Corp. today announced that Dr. Qi Lu will join the company as president of the Online Services Group.
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Microsoft Officially Confirms Qi Lu Hired As Digital Chief; McAndrews O
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:   It's official: Qi Lu to head Microsoft's online effort
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Google Friend Connect Now Open To All Websites  —  Update: Facebook just opened up FB Connect as well in a self-serve fashion.  It's mano-a-mano.  —  The battle over who will control access to your online identity is heating up.  In the wake of more and more partners finally starting …
Discussion: CNET News, Webware.com and Mashable!
RELATED:
Mussie Shore / The Official Google Blog:
Google Friend Connect: now available  —  We're pleased to share that Google Friend Connect is now available in beta to any webmaster looking to add a “dash of social” to his or her site.  This service lets webmasters add social features to their sites by simply copying and pasting a few snippets of code …
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple proposes infrared matrix to aid larger multi-touch designs  —  A fairly new filing from Apple discusses the advantages of using proximity sensors more generously to aid its multi-touch technology on devices larger than the iPhone, which would allow certain functions to be invoked without …
Discussion: MacRumors and The Register
RELATED:
Electronista:
Apple files patent for hover-ready touchscreen
Discussion: SlashGear and TUAW
Opera Community:
Peregrine takes flight... Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 is here!  —  It seems like yesterday we released Opera 9.6 and now you can all get your hands on Opera 10.0.  Rather than ramble on, here's a quick list of what's new:  — Presto 2.2 Engine  — Performance boost  — 100/100 and pixel-perfect on the Acid3 test
RELATED:
Brad Linder / Download Squad:
Opera 10 Alpha 1 web browser passes the Acid3 test
Discussion: TechCrunch and Mashable!
Shanan Delp / Flickr Blog:
Going More Mobile  —  Over the last year we've seen an explosion of mobile devices uploading to and browsing Flickr.  It's rapidly becoming the norm for our members to use a camera phone to share their immediate world with others, and a mobile browser to keep track of friends and family.
Discussion: Lifehacker
RELATED:
Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
Flickr Revamps Mobile Site, Adds Video Streaming Support
Discussion: Mashable!, CNET News and ReadWriteWeb
Gartner:
Gartner Says Worldwide Smartphone Sales Reached Its Lowest Growth Rate With 11.5 Per Cent Increase in Third Quarter of 2008  —  Apple Overtakes Microsoft As No. 3 Smartphone OS Vendor  —  In the third quarter of 2008, the global smartphone market reached its weakest year-on-year growth since Gartner, Inc. began tracking the industry.
Simon Sage / IntoMobile:
World's Second Android Phone Now on Presale  —  Kogan's Agora and Agora Pro hinted at last month is now ready to roll, costing AU$299 and AU$399, and shipping on January 29th.  The Agora Pro's specs are as follows:  — Operating System: Android™  — Google Mobile Functions …
RELATED:
Jenna Bilotta / Google Reader:
Square is the new round.  —  On the Reader team, we know that the old adage “change is good” isn't always true.  Sometimes, change is just change.  In this case, we hope that these decisions both improve your Reader experience today, and pave the way for additional improvements down the line.
Discussion: TechCrunch, Mashable! and CostPerNews
Rick Turoczy / ReadWriteWeb:
Times Extra: The New York Times Opens Web Front Page to Outside Content  —  New York TimesAt a time when the online world is continually seen as a more trusted source of news, mainstream media outlets find themselves forced into the position of becoming more and more open to keep their readers coming back.
RELATED:
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:   The New York Times Clutters Up Its Homepage With Links From Elsewhere (In Beta)
David Pogue / New York Times:
Readers React to David Pogue's Review of the BlackBerry Storm  —  I learned something last week.  —  In my Times print column, I reviewed the BlackBerry Storm, by far the worst product Research in Motion has ever produced.  I had problems with its concept, problems with its clicky touch screen …
Ben Lorica / O'Reilly Radar:
Facebook Growth Regions and Gender Split  —  Since we began tracking Facebook demographics in late May, weekly growth has held steady, usually in the low single-digits on a percentage basis.  More importantly, it's fair to say that the company has successfully expanded overseas.
Discussion: The Open Road and WebProNews
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Report from AlwaysOn Venture Summit: We're not dead yet!  —  About 500 people converged this week on the AlwaysOn Venture Summit West at the luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Apparently shell-shocked investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs still want to commiserate and await the upturn in a group setting.
Oliver Marks / Collaboration 2.0:
Open source thrives in downturn  —  Collaboration initiatives are all about streamlining business processes, and the interfaces between legacy closed systems and open source stacks are an increasingly common place to find business collaboration environments.
Discussion: Network World
Jeremy Kirk / LinuxWorld.com:
Firefox users targeted by rare piece of malware  —  Researchers at BitDefender have discovered a new type of malicious software that collects passwords for banking sites but targets only Firefox users.  —  The malware, which BitDefender dubbed “Trojan.PWS.ChromeInject.A” sits in Firefox's add-ons folder …
 
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 More Items: 
i2:
i2 Announces Termination of Merger Transaction with JDA Software Group, Inc.
Cheap Hack:
Windows, Office, Sharepoint, Among Products Getting Updates This Patch Tuesday
Discussion: Microsoft and One Microsoft Way
Amazon Web Services Blog:
Paging Researchers, Analysts, and Developers
Discussion: SitePoint
Nate Anderson / Law & Disorder:
New short film asks, “Why Copyright?”
Justin Berka / Infinite Loop:
Adobe seeking feedback on its installers
Kate Greene / Technology Review:
A Winning Web Formula
 Earlier Items: 
Dave Linthicum / Real World SOA:
Five things that are killing SOA technology, Recession Edition
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
Verizon Promises Not To Cherry Pick Philadelphia …
Discussion: xchange magazine
Scott M. Fulton, III / BetaNews:
Microsoft seeks ‘community’ help to make IE8 Standards Mode work out
Discussion: All about Microsoft
The Register:
Apple more closed than Microsoft
Discussion: The Open Road
Royal Pingdom:
Google Apps SLA loophole allows for major downtime without consequences