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12:55 PM ET, December 12, 2008

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Kevin C. Tofel / jkOnTheRun:
Acer's $99 netbook can actually cost you $1,540.  Should you get it?  —  For those of us already accustomed to the lifetime cost of a subsidized device, this isn't news.  But netbooks are a relatively new market so there's bound to be many folks new to mobile tech and subsidization plans.
Discussion: Incremental Blogger
RELATED:
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T's 3G network  —  Hey, remember that Acer Aspire One equipped with on-board 3G we spied in a Radio Shack ad the other day?  Well guess what?  It's real — and we've got the PR to prove it.  Just as expected, the netbook is being offered for the teensy price of $99.99 …
PR Newswire:
RadioShack Introduces 3G Netbook Utilizing AT&T's Mobile Broadband …
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple tweaks App Store layout amid developer unrest  —  Faced with criticism over the way it's been grouping applications on the digital shelves of the App Store, Apple this week is making some changes to the store's layout aimed at showcasing a broader range of top offerings in each category.
Jonathan Skillings / CNET News:
Big revamp for Alcatel-Lucent, with Web 2.0 spin  —  Alcatel-Lucent on Friday announced a significant restructuring, including layoffs, as it tries to position itself for a post-recession future flavored with new technologies.  —  For both 2009 and 2010, the Paris-based telecommunications …
RELATED:
PR Newswire:
Alcatel-Lucent: Major Strategic Transformation and Realignment of Operations
Discussion: CNN, GigaOM and Between the Lines
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Nokia takes on Huawei in connecting laptops  —  HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia plans to tap the surging market for connecting laptops to wireless networks taking on market leader Huawei Technologies, its senior official said.  —  Nokia will start to ship …
Martin LaMonica / CNET News:
Andy Grove urges Intel to build car batteries  —  Intel CEO Andy Grove has joined other Silicon Valley elites who are advocating for an industry shift into energy technology.  —  In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Friday, Grove said he is urging Intel to invest …
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Handicapping cloud computing: The big picture  —  Cloud computing isn't going to dominate the tech landscape, but will raise a ruckus for software vendors.  Google and Amazon will be cloud computing winners, but the spoils will be relatively small.  And there's a race to deliver …
Discussion: SmoothSpan Blog
Rita Chang / AdAge:
Mobile Ad Rates Begin to Drop as Inventory Increases  —  CPMs for Some Categories Have Hit Single Digits  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) — It's getting cheaper to advertise in mobile as cost-per-impression ad rates hits single-digit pricing in some cases.  —  The economy isn't the only factor …
BBC:
Russian hopes to cash in on ;-)  —  A series of punctuation marks used to convey a wink in text messages - known as an emoticon - has been trademarked in Russia, says a local businessman.  —  Entrepreneur Oleg Teterin said the trademark for the ;-) emoticon was granted to him by Russia's federal patent agency.
Discussion: Techdirt, Gizmodo, PSFK and Slashdot
RELATED:
Mike Eckel / Associated Press:
OMG: Russia entrepreneur looks for $$$ from ;-)
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Gmail Preferred By Students, But Nothing Beats Texting  —  Today's high-school and college students got their first email account at an average age of 13.  Most students have had one of their email addresses for 8 years and have an average of about 2.4 addresses each.
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
Visa Launches First Financial App for Android  —  Back in September, Visa announced that their Visa Mobile Application would become the first financial application for Google Android-powered handsets.  The application, launched only days ago, lets users receive notifications on their mobile phone …
Discussion: Android Community
Aidan Malley / AppleInsider:
EFi-X USA to sell pre-made PCs as do-it-yourself Mac clones  —  Leveraging an internal adapter that lets many generic PCs run Mac OS X, EFi-X USA now plans to offer customers a solution for creating their own Mac clones through a tactic the company hopes will avoid a legal response from Apple.
Discussion: Engadget
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
Google Chrome, the Default Browser in Google Pack  —  Now that it's no longer in beta, Google Chrome has been added to Google Pack.  Firefox bundled with Google Toolbar is still available, but you need to explicitly select it.  Adding Chrome to Google Pack means that existing users …
Jonathan Skillings / Crave:
Report: Android phone on tap for China  —  Once there was just a single Android phone, the T-Mobile G1.  Coming soon, in Australia, is the Kogan Agora.  Now reports are pointing to an emerging gadget for China, known for the moment as the “OPhone.”  —  The site ModmyGphone is showing off …
John Markoff / New York Times:
Computing Without a Whirring Drive  —  SHERMAN BLACK, a senior vice president at Seagate Technology, a leader in hard drive manufacturing, lies awake at night worrying that his teenagers are part of a new generation of computer users who don't care if their data is stored locally or in the Internet “cloud.”
Discussion: CloudAve and CNET News
Dan Rayburn / The Business Of Online Video:
NFL Launches “Game Rewind”, Every Game On-Demand In HD With No Commercials  —  Today, the NFL launched a new video on-demand service called Game Rewind that lets you watch every NFL game in HD quality, with no commercials.  The service, which costs $19.99 for the season or $4.99 for a week pass …
Sean Hollister / GameCyte:
Nintendo Slapped With Strap Lawsuit Once Again  —  Two years ago this month, and a scant two weeks after the Nintendo Wii game console launched in the United States, plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit accused Nintendo of delivering a defective wrist strap that broke even when games were played …
Nick Heath / silicon.com:
UK police: ‘We need crime breathalysers for PCs’  —  Cyber cops chase next gen digital forensics  —  UK police are hoping to one day develop a breathalyser-style tool for computers that could instantly flag up illegal activity on any PC it's attached to.  —  Detective superintendent Charlie …
Gerald Magpily / Dealscape:
Could the stars be aligning for a Google-N.Y. Times merger?  —  As the New York Times Co. is negotiating with lenders over its debt, speculation has been floating around the blogosphere, pushing the premise that Google Inc. should acquire the beleaguered Gray Lady.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
How Many Bodies Exactly Is CBS Interactive Trying To Hide?  Try “275-ish.”  —  The pink slips were passed out on Thursday throughout the various business duchies that make up CBS Interactive—CNET, CBS.com, CBSNews,com, CBSSports.com, BNET, GameSpot, TV.com, last.fm, and CHOW.
Discussion: MediaMemo, GigaOM and Tech Confidential
 
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 More Items: 
Samantha Rose Hunt / TG Daily:
Unboxing the CherryPal: It's alive!
Discussion: Engadget and digg.com
Bit9:
Threats in Plain Sight: Bit9 Identifies ‘The Dirty Dozen’ …
Discussion: InformationWeek
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
The “capital calls” crisis: separating fact from fiction
Daily Yomiuri Online:
Images read from human brain
Discussion: DVICE and Slashdot
 Earlier Items: 
The Technium:
Movage  —  Digital continuity is a real problem.
Discussion: Pogue's Posts
Electronista:
Ericsson to offer Intel anti-theft tech in notebooks
Discussion: SlashGear and eWeek
Marc Ferranti / PC World:
Wall Street Beat: IT Forecasts Slashed
Nick Heath / silicon.com:
Jobless techies turning to crime
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple's Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update may be around the corner
Bobbie Johnson / Guardian:
Now Flickr is hit by Yahoo layoffs
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
DirecTV terminates its Dish acquisition after a group of Dish creditors rejected a modified bond exchange offer

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A growing number of podcasters, including Tim Ferriss, are moving away from interviews to monologues or co-hosts, as some well-known guests can be overexposed

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

 
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