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 …
Discussion:
The Register, IntoMobile, VentureBeat, Tech Trader Daily, The iPhone Blog, SlashGear, CrunchGear, I4U News, Technologizer, Infinite Loop, 9 to 5 Mac, Gadget Lab, DVICE, MacBlogz, TG Daily, Homotron.net, TUAW, Edible Apple, Unwired View, iPhone Buzz, Pulse2, Local Mobile Search, Gadgetell, Mark Evans, Engadget, iPhone Savior, AppleInsider and Silicon Alley Insider
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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:
Beet.TV, Technologizer, Epicenter, 9 to 5 Mac, NewTeeVee, Boing Boing Gadgets, eHomeUpgrade, Lifehacker, SlashGear, TUAW, VC Cafe, GeekTonic and Appletell
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Josh Lowensohn / Webware.com:
Boxee gets support for Netflix streaming — Boxee is releasing on Thursday a new version of its media center software that adds support for Netflix Watch Instantly streaming movies. — Unlike streaming solutions from Roku and Microsoft's Xbox 360, Boxee's effort includes the option …
AT&T:
AT&T Announces Job Reductions — AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced a planned reduction of approximately 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of the company's total workforce, citing economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure.
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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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Electronista:
Apple files patent for hover-ready touchscreen — Apple has developed technology that would let an iPhone or similar device be controlled by hovering fingers nearby rather than just touches alone, a new US patent filing shows. The system would include the company's familiar capacitive touchscreen technology …
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Former Yahoo Tech Star Qi Lu Likely to Be Named Microsoft's Digital Head by Next Week — Former Yahoo tech star Qi Lu (pictured here) is poised to take on the big job of being Microsoft's top digital executive, according to several sources inside and outside the company.
Discussion:
CNET News, Microsoft Pri0, Search Engine Land, One Microsoft Way, Beyond Binary, Tech Trader Daily, paidContent.org and TechFlash
Rafe Needleman / Webware.com:
Facebook Connect officially open...and it will win — Facebook is officially announcing today that the company's log-in system, Facebook Connect, is officially open for business for non-Facebook sites. Facebook is making the implementation of Facebook Connect self-service …
Discussion:
Facebook Blog, ReadWriteWeb, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, TechCrunch, WebProNews and Mashable!
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.
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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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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, ReadWriteWeb, Technologizer, Epicenter, SitePoint, TechSpot, jkOnTheRun and Lifehacker
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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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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, Ars Technica, InformationWeek, CNET News, mocoNews.net, TeleRead, Edible Apple, jkOnTheRun and dailywireless.org
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:
WebProNews
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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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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 …
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.
Discussion:
Between the Lines
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
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 …
Nate Anderson / Law & Disorder:
New short film asks, “Why Copyright?” — 50 years ago, did anyone but big rightsholders and lawmakers care about copyright? It certainly wasn't the tremendous public issue it has become today, and a new short film from Canadian law professor Michael Geist takes a look at why copyright matters …
