Top Items:
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Sources: Apple to expand DRM-free music, new pricing — Apple has cut deals that will finally enable iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on pricing, the sources said.
BIZ / Twitter Blog:
Monday Morning Madness — This morning we discovered 33 Twitter accounts had been “hacked” including prominent Twitter-ers like Rick Sanchez and Barack Obama (who has not been Twittering since becoming the president elect due to transition issues). We immediately locked down the accounts and investigated the issue.
Discussion:
Bits, Chicago Sun Times, Bloggers Blog, The Blog Herald, bit-tech.net, Technically Incorrect, PC World, Security Watch, unstruc chitchatting …, Don Park's Daily Habit, Twitterrati, All About Nortel, The Social, internetnews.com, MarketingVOX, Computerworld, Infosecurity.US, The Register, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Twitter Status, InformationWeek, Technologizer, VentureBeat, GigaLaw.com Daily News and paidContent.org
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Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Following The Twitter Hack Trail To DigitalGangster — One thing that didn't make a lot of sense about the 33 celebrity Twitter accounts hacked this morning - the messages left on the various accounts weren't consistent and were clearly written by different people with different agendas.
Discussion:
Music Ally
Motorola Media Center:
Motorola Unveils World's First Mobile Phone Made Using Recycled Water Bottle Plastics and New 3G Touch Tablet with Customizable Home Screen — Latest devices to be displayed at 2009 International CES in Las Vegas — Las Vegas - CES - Jan. 6, 2009 - Today Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) …
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Kent German / CNET News:
Surfing with the Motorola A3100 — Motorola got a jump start on CES when it announced its new crop of phones two days before the show opens. The most high-end of the bunch is the new Surf A3100 smartphone, which offers an expansive touch screen and support for Windows Mobile 6.1.
Discussion:
Electronista
Dan York / Disruptive Telephony:
Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac OS X provides screen sharing, WiFi access, chat features and Twitter-like mood messages — Tonight out at the “ShowStoppers” event at MacWorld in San Francisco, Skype announced the new 2.8 Beta for Mac OS X. The new version will apparently be available for download tomorrow, January 6, 2009, from Skype's website.
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET News:
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone announced — Six months after announcing its intention to bring SlingPlayer to the iPhone 3G, Sling Media has another announcement to make—just not the one you're wishing for. — SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone isn't ready yet, Sling said on Tuesday, but it is on its way.
Discussion:
Zatz Not Funny!, PC Magazine, Macworld, Gizmodo, Technologizer, iPhone Buzz, TechCrunch, Boy Genius Report, Mobility Site, The Technology Chronicles, I4U News, techeblog.com, TUAW and Ubergizmo
Dan Whitworth / BBC:
Facebook ‘sets Christmas record’ — Facebook has set a new record as it had its busiest day ever over the Christmas holidays. — The social networking site accounted for one in every 22 online visits on Christmas Day, according to internet research company Hitwise.
Discussion:
Bloggers Blog
InfoWorld:
Bringing Macs into business: Real-life IT stories — As more businesses bring Apple Macintoshes into their regular operations, IT has to figure out how to ensure the Macs play well in the typical Windows-dominated environments. Several companies share the lessons — good and bad — that they have learned.
Discussion:
The Register
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Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
HP unleashes a series of new low-cost computers at CES — Hewlett-Packard is launching a bevy of new products today that show it is designing its products to take into account the lighter pocketbooks and energy usage concerns of consumers. — These products being unveiled this week …
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PC World:
AMD: Creating a New Laptop Category (PC World) — Netbooks have their appeal—tiny budget machines with just enough oomph to run Windows XP. Ultraportables have horsepower in spades, but they cost too much to suit some people. This year we're going to see a whole new category of notebook …
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Daniel Terdiman / CNET News:
Early returns show strong holiday video game console sales — Updated at 5:28 p.m. to include additional data and analyst perspective. — Though the retail economy suffered what appears to be one of the bleakest holiday seasons in recent memory, it looks as though the video games industry bucked that disastrous trend.
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Susanna Leng / The Official Google Blog:
Introducing Picasa for Mac (at Macworld!) — Sometimes I find it hard to describe Picasa without sounding like a late-night infomercial for a multi-bladed thingamabob: “It's a photo organizer! A photo editor! A web-savvy photo sharing and management system in just one tiny package!”
Discussion:
The Register, Google Mac Blog, Google Photos Blog, geeksugar, Gear Live, MacRumors, InformationWeek, O'Grady's PowerPage, Macsimum News, Mashable! and Obsessable
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Michael Calore / Epicenter:After an Agonizing Wait, Picasa for Mac Finally Arrives
Discussion:
Macworld, Gizmodo, Google, The Mac Observer, Lifehacker, TechCrunch, Infinite Loop, Google Operating System and AppleInsider
Arik Hesseldahl / Business Week:
Was Apple ‘Adequate but Late’ on Jobs? — Some corporate governance experts question whether the tech giant could have been more forthcoming about its CEO's hormone imbalance — Apple (AAPL) investors got answers to some of their nagging questions about the health of the company's chief executive …
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Mike Butcher / TechCrunch UK:
If a 13 year-old can launch a startup you have no excuse — “My name's Scott. I'm 13 and have launched a web startup.” So began an email exchange over last weekend which culminated with me chatting to Scott's mum today to verify, that, indeed, he was actually 13 and really had launched a blogging site for people in Scotland.
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Debian 5 release approaches... binary blobs included — The developers behind the Debian Linux distribution are preparing for the upcoming release of Debian 5, which is codenamed Lenny. The decision to move forward with the release follows a contentious vote over whether to permit the inclusion …
Discussion:
Linux-Watch.com
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Time Spent Watching Video Jumps 40% in One Year — One way to think about online video is to consider how big a chunk it takes out of our daily lives. The amount of time U.S. Internet users spend watching video is up an impressive 40 percent year over year.
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Electronista:
HP updates Mini 2x netbooks with Atom, 10in LCD — HP in its pre-CES run-up introduced its first major update to its Mini 2100 netbook. The Mini 2140 replaces the Mini-Note 2133 and abandons VIA's C7-M processor in favor of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom that HP claims should extend its battery life …
Discussion:
Business Wire, LinuxWorld.com, Engadget, UMPCPortal, jkOnTheRun, Gizmodo, GPS Obsessed and DisplayBlog
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Truphone Brings Skype To iPhone & iTouch — I have been a frequent user of Truphone since it launched its mobile VoIP service over two years ago. What started as a simple VoIP client for Nokia Symbian S60 devices is fast becoming a unified client that does it all.
Discussion:
TechCrunch UK, VoIP & Gadgets Blog, Alec Saunders SquawkBox, Skype Journal and Latest Geek Stuff
Robert McLaws / Windows-Now.com:
I Am Boycotting IE Mobile Until Microsoft Gets Its Act Together — I have very high expectations for Microsoft's Windows Mobile announcements at CES this year. You see, I have been a fan of Windows Mobile for quite some time. but, for whatever reason, Microsoft has completely dropped the ball on their platform for mobile devices.
Discussion:
IntoMobile
Gizmodo Australia:
New Kogan Agora Shots Get Us Excited For Android All Over Again — Australia's first Android phone, the Kogan Agora, is only a few weeks away from its official release, and they've decided to keep us excited by sending us these spy shots of it in action. While the photos aren't fantastic …
