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4:50 AM ET, January 8, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Microsoft:
Microsoft's Ballmer Announces Availability of Windows 7 Beta and Windows Live  —  Company previews simpler, better Windows operating system and highlights connected entertainment offerings at CES.  —  In a keynote address at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) …
RELATED:
Brandon LeBlanc / The Windows Blog:
Information on Downloading and Installing Windows 7 Beta  —  As of today, I am running the Windows 7 Beta on several different PCs including my laptop, my work PC, and my PC at home, which I upgraded recently to Windows 7 from Windows Vista SP1.  (I'll be outlining the PCs I'm using to test Windows 7 shortly.)
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft: Windows 7 not a lock for '09
Emil Protalinski / One Microsoft Way:
Windows 7 beta arrives on Connect, MSDN, and TechNet
Discussion: Gadget Lab, The Windows Blog and OSNews
Emil Protalinski / One Microsoft Way:
Windows 7 build 7000 64-bit version hits torrent sites
Discussion: All about Microsoft and TechSpot
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Sony Vaio P Super Don't-Call-It-a-Netbook Hands On  —  The keyboard?  It rocks.  The screen?  Beautiful.  The trackball is just the right amount of gritty, so your finger sticks to it and doesn't slide off onto the keyboard.  The instant-on OS?  Classy.
RELATED:
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Live from Steve Ballmer's CES keynote  —  6:43PM “Over the next several years, they'll become more connected.”  “The 2nd major area is how you'll be able to interact with the computer in natural ways.”  —  6:42PM “Technology isn't just about PCs — the phone, TV, and PC are merging.
RELATED:
Ryan Block / gdgt live:
Live CES 2009 keynote coverage
Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo:
Ballmer's Wacky Text Messages
Discussion: Bits and Epicenter
One Laptop per Child:
Refocusing on our mission  —  It pains me to post this, and we have striven to avoid this over the past few months, but it is unavoidable.  We are streamlining our operations this month, cutting staff and contractors by roughly 50% (from every team) and laying out broad targets for the coming year.
RELATED:
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
OLPC downsizes half of its staff, cuts Sugar development
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Investment Group Makes Run For Yahoo, Using Microsoft's Money  —  Interest in troubled Internet giant Yahoo has not waned, it just took a break for the holidays.  A group of well known Silicon Valley executives and top investment bankers are putting together a Yahoo takeover deal …
RELATED:
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:   Yahoo Shareholder Ridicules Microsoft-Financed Buyout Plan (YHOO)
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google's Street View Takes A Byte Out Of Crime  —  Google Street View may get a bad rap from some overzealous privacy watchdogs and conspiracy theorists, but it just helped police save a young girl who had been kidnapped over the weekend.  —  In the case, which involved a woman …
Adam Lashinsky / Fortune:
Google news  —  (Fortune Magazine) — You'd think the executives at Google would be chortling over the latest headlines involving newspapers: The Christian Science Monitor eliminates its print edition; Tribune Co. declares bankruptcy; Detroit's two dailies slash home delivery to three days a week.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Canesta teams up with Hitachi to create a Wii-like next-generation TV control  —  Canesta is announcing today it has teamed up with Hitachi to create a next-generation user interface for a TV that is similar to the way arm-waving controls the Nintendo Wii video game console.
Discussion: Microsoft Pri0 and NewTeeVee
Reuters:
Dish Network DVR has Slingbox technology  —  LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp will unveil a new digital video recorder on Thursday that will allow people watch their favorite television shows on any Internet-enabled device.  —  Dish Network, the third-largest U …
Jon Stokes / Ars Technica:
OQO launches world's smallest Vista PC with OLED screen  —  LAS VEGAS — Ars has been making posts about handheld computer maker OQO since at least 2002, when the company stoked the fires of geek lust with an x86, Windows-based MID well before that term had even been invented.
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Hands-on with Panasonic's DMP-B15 portable Blu-ray player at CES 2009  —  We didn't have high hopes going into Panny's press conference today, but the company still managed to unveil a few surprises here in Vegas.  One of those shockers was the world's first portable Blu-ray player, the DMP-.
Discussion: Gizmodo, Webware.com and CrunchGear
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
JibJab Closes $7.5 Million Series C Round To Keep The Laughs Rolling  —  JibJab, a site popular for its parody videos and irreverent eGreetings, has closed a $7.5 million Series C funding round with participation from new investors Overbrook Entertainment (a production company co-founded by Will Smith) …
Discussion: NewTeeVee and paidContent.org
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
GiiNii's Movit Mini WiFi Android tablet hands-on  —  We just spent some quality time playing with GiiNii's Movit Mini WiFi Android tablet, which might be one of the best things we've seen at CES so far — think of it as the Android version of the iPod touch and you'll get why we're so stoked.
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Seven Post-Macworld Questions For Apple (AAPL)  —  As usual, Apple's (AAPL) Macworld keynote led to more questions than answers.  We learned about some of Apple's new products and services — 17-inch MacBook, more DRM-free music at iTunes, new software suites — but missed out on a lot more.
Discussion: Infinite Loop
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Game Developer Confronts iPhone Software Cracker  —  Whack 'em All is a newish game for iPhone and iPod Touch, based on the ‘Whack-a-Mole’ idea.  The creators are married couple Constance and James Bossert, who together form Fairlady Media.  —  James told TorrentFreak …
Kevin C. Tofel / jkOnTheRun:
Skype Lite Coming to Android & Java-Enabled Phones  —  We'll put this in the rumor column now but I suspect we won't have to wait long for official confirmation since Skype has a Press Event tomorrow morning.  Piecing together some web sources, anonymous tips, possible leaks and scouring …
Discussion: TechChuck and Skype Journal
Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
An extensive look at Apple's new iWork.com service  —  Apple's new iWork.com service lifts one of the biggest obstacles facing its iWork office productivity suite by making it easier for iWork users to collaborate with others using Windows PC and Microsoft Office.  Here's a first look at how the service works and what it does.
Discussion: Infinite Loop
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
CES: Samsung dives into connected TV market  —  Samsung Electronics is diving into connected TVs just like the other big companies that have made presentations today at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.  —  Samsung said it will team up with Yahoo to deliver TV Widgets …
Matt Burns / CrunchGear:
The Sony Webbie - a colorfully HD shooter  —  Sony has a little camcorder aimed at the Internet crowd.  The Webbie captures HD MPEG-4 video and 5 MP photos.  It has a 5x optical zoom and special software that makes uploads speedy.  Content is recorded on Sony's Memory Stick PRO Duo media.
Ilinca Nita / Unwired View:
Sony Ericsson C510 and Sony Ericsson W508 announced - a Cyber-shot and a Walkman  —  CES 2009 didn't even begin properly, and Sony Ericsson has already announced two new phones: Sony Ericsson C510 and Sony Ericsson W508.  —  The first one, Sony Ericsson C510, is an old acquaintance of ours …
Discussion: Sony Ericsson and Engadget Mobile
Macworld:
Macworld Expo Best of Show 2009  —  Our editors pick the coolest new products being shown off at Macworld Expo  —  Every January, Macworld's editors scour the show floor at Macworld Expo to find the hottest products making their debut at the trade show.  This year, we chose nine products worthy …
Discussion: O'Grady's PowerPage
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Students, law prof want RIAA trial live and online  —  Back in October, we covered the case of Joel Tenenbaum, a Boston graduate student accused by the RIAA of sharing copyrighted music as “sublimeguy14” on KaZaA.  Tenenbaum did not go quietly into that dark night; instead, he offered the RIAA a settlement of $500.
Michael Liedtke / Associated Press:
Google cuts temporary workers but murky on details  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc. has jettisoned a substantial number of temporary workers in a recent austerity drive spurred by the recession, although the Internet search leader still intends to spend billions of dollars during the next …
Brian Krebs / Security Fix:
Caveat Emptor: Watch Out for Phantom Stores  —  Most people are proud to say they would never fall for a phishing scam, that they would never give their personal and financial information away at fake banking sites, just because someone asked them to in an e-mail.
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Cisco Details Consumer Push and Products  —  At a press conference at CES today, Cisco's CEO John Chambers talked about the router maker's push beyond routers and into the home.  As Om has said before, this is a well-worn path trod by Cisco in its need to continue its growth …
PC World:
LG Display on Verge of Launching 15-Inch OLED  — LG Display is on the verge of beginning commercial production of a 15-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) panel that's suitable for use in televisions and laptop computers, the company said Wednesday.  —  The screen, which is being shown …
 
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 More Items: 
Wolfgang Gruener / TG Daily:
CES 2009: USB 3.0 slower than expected
Discussion: Maximum PC all
Clint Ecker / Infinite Loop:
Macworld.Ars: AppleScript comes to Numbers, Pages '09
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
EMC cuts 2,400 jobs
Discussion: eWeek and PR Newswire
BBC:
Apple spoils iPhone forgery plans
Discussion: Profy
Maya Baratz / VentureBeat:
Who did Apple hurt with its Macworld announcements?
Discussion: The Open Road
 Earlier Items: 
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Losses for Venture Fund Investors Who Want Out
Discussion: Furrier.org
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Pogue rocks Macworld with “Where is Steve?”
Discussion: AppleInsider and TUAW
Glenn Fleishman / Ars Technica:
AT&T moves closer to offering in-home cell base stations
Discussion: greg hughes
Haig Simonian / Financial Times:
Logitech cuts 500 jobs and issues another profit warning
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Bush: Fix Your “Miserable Failure” Googlebomb Legacy Before Obama Takes Office
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
James Harding says the Tortoise-Observer deal could create a profitable media group and there isn't a guaranteed future for the Observer with the Guardian

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Analyzing Comcast's spinoff of cable networks, purposefully structured with low debt: the move might be a signal to the industry that it's time to consolidate

 
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