Top Items:
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Death To The Embargo — PR firms are out of control. Today we are taking a radical step towards fighting the chaos. From this point on we will break every embargo we agree to. — Background: — Tech companies are desperate for press and hammering their PR firms for coverage on blogs and major media sites.
RELATED:
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Entrepreneurs: We Will Happily Respect Your Embargoes — Michael Arrington at TechCrunch said today that his site will no longer respect press embargoes, the informal system where press outfits agree to hold back publishing until an agreed upon time so that multiple sources can cover a story well.
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Piper believes leadership shift at Apple is underway — Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, one of the most outspoken figures on all things Apple, told clients on Wednesday that Steve Jobs' absence from this year's Macworld Expo signals “the beginning of a shift in leadership roles” at the company.
Discussion:
Infinite Loop, Guardian, Tech Trader Daily, PC World, Pogue's Posts, GMSV and Computerworld Blogs
RELATED:
Tom Krazit / CNET News:
Apple's blind-side hit on IDG — Apple shocked Macworld organizer IDG with its decision to have Steve Jobs skip his upcoming keynote. — (Credit: Corrine Schulze/CNET) — Home - News - Apple — Apple — December 17, 2008 4:32 PM PST — Apple's blind-side hit on IDG — Posted by Tom Krazit
Jim Dalrymple / Macworld:
Apple Expo Paris cancelled — Reed Exhibitions will not hold Apple Expo Paris in 2009. The show organizers confirmed its plans for Macworld on Wednesday. — Apple has slowly been moving away from the Paris expo for the last several years. In 2005 Apple cancelled Steve Jobs' keynote in Paris …
Discussion:
GigaOM, Guardian, Infinite Loop, PC World, AppleInsider, Between the Lines, Gizmodo, Guardian and MacRumors
Arik Hesseldahl / Byte of the Apple:
Might Apple Be Ditching Macworld For CES? — Many have been the times that I attended the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and wished that I were actually at Macworld, which often coincides or overlaps on the calendar. I stopped attending CES in 2005 after going for what felt …
Discussion:
AppleInsider, Apple 2.0, Gadget Lab, Computerworld Blogs, LAPTOP Magazine, Macworld and Computerworld
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:Behind Steve Jobs' Macworld exit
Discussion:
Guardian, CNET News, Ed Burnette's Dev Connection, Silicon Alley Insider, Ars Technica, Fast Company, Gearlog, jkOnTheRun and Macsimum News
Jessica Guynn / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Major leadership shakeup at LinkedIn: Nye leaves, Hoffman back at the helm — After a two-year stint in which he helped propel dramatic growth, LinkedIn Corp. Chief Executive Dan Nye is handing back the reins to company founder Reid Hoffman in a major leadership shakeup at one of Silicon Valley's hottest companies.
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
LinkedIn's Hoffman Takes Back CEO Title, as Nye Departs and Weiner Enters — Well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur Reid Hoffman (pictured here) will become CEO of LinkedIn again, taking on the job he had for nearly four years after founding the business networking company in 2003.
Discussion:
Valleywag
Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo:
The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test — After a grueling eight-city coast-to-coast test of the 3G networks run by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, we've come up with some clear-cut test results. Think you know who has the best network? Think again. — The Test — 3G is more important now than ever before.
Microsoft:
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-078 - Critical — Security Update for Internet Explorer (960714) — Version: 1.0 — General Information — Executive Summary — This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution …
Discussion:
The Register, Computerworld, Microsoft Corporation, InfoWorld, BBC, Guardian, Technologizer, Full of I.T., eWeek Security Watch, MSRC, All about Microsoft, Zero Day, InformationWeek, Ed Bott's Windows Expertise, Microsoft Subnet's blog, PC World, One Microsoft Way, theWHIR.com Blogs, Homotron.net, TechSpot, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, IEBlog, jkOnTheRun and Security Fix
RELATED:
Chris Foresman / Infinite Loop:
iPhone gaming is maturing as more major games join the fray — With Apple pushing iPhone game development, industry veterans quitting their jobs to focus on game programming, and some developers making record profits with their iPhone apps, it's getting harder and harder to argue that the iPhone isn't a good gaming platform.
RELATED:
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Walmart iPhone on sale the 28th for a lot more than $99 — At this point, it's clear that the $99 iPhone 3G rumor was just that: rumor. We have a letter that we believe to be authentic from a source within Walmart that says the iPhone will launch in the house that Sam built at 9am December 28th.
Discussion:
PC World, Unwired View, PMP Today, ChannelWeb, VentureBeat, IntoMobile, The Register, Local Mobile Search, Insanely Great Mac, FierceWireless and Boy Genius Report
Ben Worthen / Business Technology:
Adobe's Other Battle: The Economy — Adobe is battling Microsoft over the future of Internet software. But its more pressing battle might be against the economy. — The San Jose, Calif., software maker on Tuesday reported that the economic downturn has hurt sales of its flagship Creative Suite …
RELATED:
Don Reisinger / Webware.com:
What Gmail does better than its competitors — As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time wading through e-mails, finding the best e-mail service is paramount in my life. — Realizing that, I've done my fair share of shuffling from one e-mail program to the next …
Steve Gillmor / TechCrunchIT:
Why Track will be back - Fred Wilson says so — For those of you new to the Web since the end of May, you can be forgiven for having no clue about why Track is the s**t. Despite months of denial, an open source clone war, a VC-backed API counter offensive, and unknown secret plans …
Chris Nuttall / blogs.ft.com:
GTA maker is hit-and-run victim — Video game software sales are up 30 per cent this year in the US, but the rising tide is not floating all boats - most publishers appear to be holed below the waterline. — Take-Two, publisher of the Grand Theft Auto series, is the latest harbinger of bad news.
GamesIndustry.biz:
EA rapped for misleading Tiger Woods Wii ad — Electronic Arts has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for misleading viewers over the graphics of its Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Wii ads. — The ads featured the sportsman swinging a Wii remote, but showed Xbox 360 gameplay footage …
RELATED:
Brooke Crothers / CNET News:
Toshiba to show 512GB solid-state drive at CES — Toshiba said Wednesday that it will showcase a 512GB solid-state drive at the Consumer Electronics Show next month and begin shipments in the second quarter of 2009. — To date, this would be one of the largest-capacity solid-state drives …
Marshall Kirkpatrick / Jobwire:
Dave McClure Joins Founders Fund — Startup aficionado Dave McClure has formally joined VC firm the Founders Fund as an angel investor, according to an update he made to his LinkedIn profile this week. The Founders Fund was created by former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel in 2005 and is described …
Douglas MacMillan / Business Week:
The Recession: My Facebook, My Therapist — In a time of growing unemployment, tumbling stocks, and rising foreclosures, people are finding comfort on social networking sites — When Ian Schlueter found out he'd be among the casualties of a layoff announced Dec. 11 by global shipper DHL …
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Losing the Paper Trail With Earth Class Mail — The mail-scanning service Earth Class Mail is opening a new outpost in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday to cater to jet-setters, business travelers, expatriates, nomads and anyone else who is on the road too often to manage their snail mail.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Another One Bites The Dust: Yahoo Shutters Kickstart — Yahoo is definitely on a cutting spree: after shutting down both Y!Live and Jumpcut, as well as selling off Kelkoo, it's now time for Yahoo Kickstart to pay a visit to the deadpool. — Kickstart was launched by the company's Advanced Products Group …
Ed Bott / Ed Bott's Microsoft Report:
Windows Live drops the ball on support — Microsoft has rolled out an impressive array of apps and services under the Windows Live banner, including the new Windows Live Essentials package (see Mary Jo Foley's write-up for more details on what's in this new release).
Ross Mayfield / Socialtext blog:
Corporate Alumni Network offer for the 2009 Recession — With record layoffs in the 2009 Recession, more former coworkers are turning to each other to get jobs and start new businesses. In less turbulent times, large employers would invest in hosting Corporate Alumni Networks for sharing connections, knowledge and expertise.
Discussion:
Jobwire
Kathrin Hille / Financial Times:
Beijing widens search engine ads crackdown — Internet search engines in China face growing risks as a media campaign against Baidu, the market leader, has broadened to target the entire industry, including Google. — In a report broadcast on December 11, China Central Television …
