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9:10 AM ET, December 5, 2008

Techmeme

 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, Ars Technica and VentureBeat
RELATED:
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 …
Dave Winer / Scripting News:
Soon it will be time to start over, again  —  Here's how the tech industry cycle goes.  —  A new generation of young techies comes along, takes a look at the current stack, finds it too daunting (rightly so) and decides to start over from scratch.  They find that they can make things happen …
Marc Canter / Marc's Voice:   Facebook officially tries to take over the Web
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
RELATED:
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:   Google lashes out at D.C. critic over ‘payola punditry’
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 …
RELATED:
Jeff Ventura / GracefulFlavor:
From Apple to RIM, With Love
Discussion: Edible Apple
Suzanne Choney / MSNBC:
A cloud hangs over BlackBerry Storm
Discussion: Boing Boing Gadgets and digg.com
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:
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
RealDepressing: The Entire RealNetworks Layoff Memo  —  Earlier this afternoon, Peter Kafka reported in Media Memo that RealNetworks (RNWK) was “next up in today's layoff parade.”  Here's the official internal memo from RealNetworks founder, chairman and CEO, Rob Glaser:
RELATED:
Owen Thomas / Valleywag:
Facebook cancels employee stock sale  —  So much for Silicon Valley's latest get-rich-quick scheme.  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has cancelled a plan to let employees cash out their shares early.  —  In August, before the markets started to melt down and with Facebook worth $15 billion on paper …
RELATED:
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Facebook delays employee stock sale, citing recession
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.
Paul Graham:
Could VC be a Casualty of the Recesssion?  —  (I originally wrote this at the request of a company producing a report about entrepreneurship.  Unfortunately after reading it they decided it was too controversial to include.)  —  VC funding will probably dry up somewhat during the present recession, like it usually does in bad times.
Discussion: HipMojo.com
Stephen Myers / Cygnet Engineering:
Iphone as a Universe Controller: Part 1  —  Why have a universal remote control when you can have a universe controller?  I was fortunate enough to get to beta test some of ioBridge's forthcoming hardware.  Their hardware lets you connect just about anything to the internet.
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
‘Koobface’ virus spreading fast on Facebook  —  Reports circulated today about a virulent piece of malware making its way around Facebook, a major hub of the social Web with 120 million users.  Because of its walled-off internal e-mail system, Facebook has long been a tough target for spammers …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
What Exactly Is Adult Content?  Google Forces Ning Onto A Slippery Slope.  —  On Tuesday Ning changed its long standing policy on allowing networks that show pornography and adult material.  “Adult social networks don't pull their own weight,” Ning CEO Gina Bianchini said, and “our ad partners aren't big fans of the adult networks.”
Discussion: Ning Blog
Devin Coldewey / CrunchGear:
New Samsung webcam sensor does 720p and more  —  Seeing that PC users on desktop and laptop are embracing both HD video and built-in webcams, Samsung has decided to put the two together in the obvious form of a HD webcam.  Until now, webcams have been pretty much limited to VGA (640×480) …
Discussion: Gizmodo, Electronista and Engadget
Paul Miller / Engadget:
Nokia N97 hands-on part II: the reckoning  —  We promise to stop slobbering all over this handset in a month or eight, but the N97 is certainly the new hotness, so we hope you'll excuse us for returning for another go and getting some more in-depth hands-on-ness.
Yinka Adegoke / Reuters:
IAC sees cascade of M&A opportunities  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - IAC/InteractiveCorp (IACI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Barry Diller is sitting on a pile of cash but he isn't going to give in to investor demands that he buy back stock to rescue the company's ailing share price.
 
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 More Items: 
Nick / Rough Type:
The trailer park is the computer
Discussion: InfoWorld, Beyond Search and Voices
Stephen Lawson / Macworld:
AT&T hopes for single smart phone OS
Discussion: TeleRead and Engadget Mobile
Chris Salmon / Guardian:
Click to download: Bono red-faced over charity website
AppleInsider:
More big names downsizing, pulling out of Macworld Expo
Discussion: Apple Gazette
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Does Amazon's iPhone app go too far?
Discussion: Music Ally, PC World and TechFlash
 Earlier Items: 
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Mozilla to pull antiphishing feature from Firefox 2.0 at Google's request
Discussion: The Register
David Kaplan / paidContent.org:
Condé Nast Suspends New Website Launches Indefinitely …
Discussion: TechFlash, CNET News and HipMojo.com
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Warner Music Pitches Music Tax To Universities: You Pay, We Stop Suing
Discussion: hypebot
Nick Gonzalez / TechCrunch:
With 850K Users In 2 Months, Circle Of Moms Comes Out Of Nowhere
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
FBI: widespread copper theft puts US infrastructure at risk
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
“You Could Go To Google,” Says Yahoo — But Why Not Stay Here?
Discussion: WebProNews
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Tubi launches Scenes, a mobile feature that lets viewers watch 60-to-90-second trailer-style clips from its library to help with content discovery

 
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