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Google Chrome (BETA) — Since we first released Google Chrome, the development team has been hard at work improving the stability and overall performance of the browser. In just 100 days, we have reached more than 10 million active users around the world (on all seven continents, no less) and released 14 updates to the product.
Discussion:
Computerworld, Technologizer, InformationWeek, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, Macworld, BetaNews, SitePoint, Bits, jkOnTheRun, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, Google Operating System, MediaFile, Chromium Blog, Between the Lines, blogs.ft.com, AppScout, Pulse2, Lifehacker, TechSpot, Download Squad, GigaOM, Gizmodo, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Clickety Clack, Google Blogoscoped, Mashable!, Slashdot and The Tech Report
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As Chrome leaves beta, here's an update on the Mac version — Google officially announced that its web browser, Google Chrome, has left beta testing status behind today. That's great news, the browser is amazing. But there's a problem — it still only runs on Windows.

Google releases Chrome 1.0
Discussion:
Search Engine Land, Electronista, The Register, Microsoft Watch, Geek.com, Epicenter, ChannelWeb, eWeek, Mark Evans and TechSpot


Apple working on 3D Mac OS X user interface (images) — A series of Apple patent filings published this week reveal the Mac maker has spent a considerable amount of time outlining a new multi-dimensional interface for Mac OS X that would make better use of screen real estate by increasing …
Discussion:
Technologizer, The Toybox, CrunchGear, Edible Apple, TUAW, The Mac Observer and MacDailyNews
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Apple Exploring 3D Desktop and Application Interfaces
Discussion:
The Register, Crave, AppScout, TUAW, Appletell, SlashGear, Engadget, StartupNorth, MacBlogz, Obsessable, 9 to 5 Mac, Pocket-lint.co.uk and Gizmodo


CBS Interactive/CNET Re-Org: The Complete Memo — CBS (CBS) paid $1.8 billion for CNET last summer, and today it is dealing with the consequences: A re-org and layoffs. CBS execs won't release specifics on the firings and wont't say how many people were let go altogether.
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Layoffs At Last.FM Confirmed. Where Else Are Heads Rolling At CBS? — Today, CBS Interactive is laying off people across several of its properties, I've confirmed with the company. CBS is not saying which divisions or how many people are affected. It is positioning the layoffs as part …

Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update may be around the corner — Apple this week is believed throwing the finishing touches on Mac OS X 10.5.6, the last planned maintenance and security update for Leopard during the 2008 calendar year. — Developers on Wednesday were reportedly equipped …


Santa visits Nintendo early: Wii sales more than doubled in November — Nintendo sold more than 2 million Wii game consoles in the U.S. last month, more than double the number it sold in November 2007, according to Reggie Fils-Aime, president of the Japanese company's North American division.
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Our Maps Are Googley Now — Redfin just released a new version of the site. In addition to improving our short sale detection in Orange County and parts of LA and making our neighborhood pages a little more discoverable from the map page, we switched to using Google Maps exclusively instead …
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Now Flickr is hit by Yahoo layoffs — Thought the Yahoo layoffs were over? Not quite... today it seems that George Oates, a high-profile member of the Flickr team and one of the site's early employees, was told that she was being given the chop too. She's recently been in Australia …

Breaking: Apple left out? AT&T brings back iPhone online and at-home activation — Yes! AT&T is now offering the iPhone online with home activation. I found this by looking for info on another phone, but found this advert when landing on their site. At first, I figured I was reading it wrong …
Discussion:
PC Magazine, Infinite Loop, DailyTech, CrunchGear, Gearlog, Crave and O'Grady's PowerPage
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AT&T now offers iPhone 3G home activation, for real this time
Discussion:
Engadget, Negative Approach, IntoMobile, The iPhone Blog, TheAppleBlog, Edible Apple, Computerworld, AppleInsider, Technologizer, Gadgetell, MobileBurn.com, Gizmodo, PalmAddicts and digg.com

OMG: Russia entrepreneur looks for $$$ from ;-) — How much would you pay for a ;-)? A Russian businessman has trademarked the emoticon — or combination of punctuation marks — used to convey a wink in text messages and e-mail. — Oleg Teterin, president of the mobile ad company Superfone …
Discussion:
TECH.BLORGE.com

Jobless techies turning to crime — Impoverished techies and IT workers who have been made redundant will go rogue in 2009, selling corporate data and using crimeware, reports predict. — The credit crunch will drive IT workers to increasingly use their skills to steal credit card data …


Video game sales continue ‘blistering’ pace in November, NPD says — Shrugging off the effects of a downbeat economy, the video game industry posted a 10% sales increase in the U.S. last month to $2.91 billion, up from $2.64 billion in November 2007, according to market research firm NPD Group …
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The Facebook Virus Spreads: No Social Network is Safe — “Koobface” is the name of the Trojan worm that's been making its way through the social networking site Facebook lately, but to the site's users, it's been simply known as “the Facebook virus.” That name will soon become a misnomer …
Discussion:
digg.com

Facebook, Google and MySpace Represent the Future of Web Registrations — We have the browser wars, the search engine wars and the social network wars — so where will the next digital battle take place? It's among services that offer third-party logins for publishers, which sounds as unsexy as it gets …


Digeo Unveils New Moxi HD DVR — 11 months after blowing up their prior destined-for-retail DVR(s), Digeo's web site and Amazon have spilled the beans on the for-real model that'll be available for sale... shortly? While they've published all sorts of specs (500GB hard drive …
Discussion:
Engadget HD


Lady Blog Network BlogHer Gives Bloggers a Pay Cut — BlogHer, a women's ad network/publishing network and conference organizer, is cutting the amount it pays to its blog partners by 10 percent. That's really sort of a double cut, since the blog owners/writers in its network get paid based …
Discussion:
Valleywag


MapQuest Local Gets More Social with Twitter; Adds Jobs — Twitter — When our team set out to build MapQuest Local, we wanted it to be very different than the “local experience” found historically online. One of our early objectives was to make MapQuest Local more social - connect people and ideas in a local area together.


Windows Live Sync Is Now Available For Windows And Mac [updated] — Windows Live Sync is now Live at http://sync.live.com. The team just announced it on their new blog: … The old FolderShare blog and newsgroup will retire, but the team is not leaving you in the cold.

Palm Expected to Launch Next-Gen OS at CES — According to one analyst, Palm finally seems prepared to launch its next-generation operating system in January, at the Consumer Electronics Show. — On Wednesday, Palm sent out an invitation to journalists.
Discussion:
mocoNews.net

App Store Lessons: Creative uses of promotional codes — With App Store becoming more and more crowded, building attention for your application has increasingly been difficult, so it's time to get clever. Fifth Ace Productions decided to use some of its 50 free promo codes in a rather creative way …
Discussion:
NEWSFACTOR

White House Opposes FCC Free Wireless Internet Plan — WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials are trying to put the brakes on the Federal Communications Commission's plan to encourage a free, national wireless Internet plan, which the agency could approve next week.

Apologies for organizational issues at LeWeb — I will write a longer post as I do every year to recap what went well and what did not go well at LeWeb this year. Many things went well fortunately and I am still reading the huge feedback from the participants in the room and thousands of people who watched the live online stream.


Not Tonight Dear, I'd Rather Blog — Men have always faced challenges when it comes to romance. Here's a sign that technology may have raised another hurdle. — An online survey commissioned by Intel has found, among other things, that 46% of women would rather go without sex for two weeks than give up the Internet for that long.


Addonics' USB-to-NAS adapter: all your external HDDs, now network accessible — Storage junkies, your dreams have just been made into reality. Addonics has just introduced a marvelous new piece of kit, the simple-yet-useful Network Attached Storage Adapter.