Top Items:
Juan Carlos Perez / PC World:
Facebook, Google Launch Data Portability Programs to All — Google and Facebook separately announced the general availability of their respective data portability programs on Thursday. — Google Friend Connect and Facebook Connect are generally designed to extend social-networking capabilities broadly across the Web.
Discussion:
Economist
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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.
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
The Technology Chronicles, All Facebook, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, Mashable! and WebProNews
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 …
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.
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Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
It's official: Qi Lu to head Microsoft's online effort — Microsoft is indeed hiring former Yahoo executive Qi Lu to run its online services business, but in the process, it is also losing one of its own top advertising executives. — In its announcement of Lu as the president …
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:
Webware.com, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Lifehacker, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Mashable! and CostPerNews
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Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:Google Reader Gets A Facelift, Still No Ads (GOOG)
Discussion:
Download Squad
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 …
Discussion:
Hardware 2.0, The Register, Engadget, CNET News, GMSV, MacRumors, IntoMobile, VentureBeat, TG Daily, Homotron.net, TUAW, Unwired View, The iPhone Blog, Gadget Lab, iPhone Buzz, Pulse2, Gadgetell, TECH.BLORGE.com, DVICE, iPhone Savior, Infinite Loop, MacBlogz, Technologizer and Edible Apple
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 …
Discussion:
NewTeeVee, Beet.TV, Epicenter, Boing Boing Gadgets, eHomeUpgrade, Lifehacker, SlashGear, Technologizer, VC Cafe and GeekTonic
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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 …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Gadget Lab, mocoNews.net, Industry Standard, Boing Boing Gadgets and The iPhone Blog
Scott Cleland / The Precursor Blog:
Google uses 21 times more bandwidth than it pays for — per first-ever research study — The 27 page research study can be accessed at this link: — Contact: Scott Cleland 703-217-2407 — First-Ever Study of U.S. Consumer Internet Usage and Cost Finds — Google Uses 21 Times More Bandwidth than it Pays For
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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.
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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 …
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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 …
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Business Wire:
Amazon Web Services Launches “Public Data Sets on AWS,” Enabling Developers and Researchers to Cost-Effectively Create, Share and Consume Massive Data Sets Available Free of Charge — AWS Invites Developers, Researchers, Universities and Businesses to Share Their Data in the Cloud at No Charge …
Discussion:
Industry Standard
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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.
Discussion:
Engadget, Business Technology, Portfolio, CNET News, InformationWeek, mocoNews.net, Edible Apple, dailywireless.org and jkOnTheRun
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
Discussion:
Opera Press Room, Hardware 2.0, Download Squad, jkOnTheRun, Lifehacker, ReadWriteWeb, TechSpot and Technologizer
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
“You Could Go To Google,” Says Yahoo — But Why Not Stay Here? — Yahoo has changed the way they handle a query for a competing search engine. Now, if you search at Yahoo for google, live or ask.com, Yahoo will tell you, “You could go to [Search Engine Name Goes Here].
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.
Matt Asay / The Open Road:
Novell delivers another 33 percent quarterly rise in its Linux business — As ever with Novell's earnings, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that Novell's Workgroup plunged 6 percent to $92 million for the quarter compared to Q4 2007, coupled with a 26 percent decline in its services business.
