Top Items:
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.
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Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo:
Ballmer's Wacky Text Messages — No silly opening video, but Ballmer did kick off his CES 2009 keynote with a silly string of text messages from his surprisingly sweet WinMo phone. [Ballmer CES 2009 Keynote]
Discussion:
Bits
Ryan Block / gdgt live:
Live CES 2009 keynote coverage — CES doesn't officially begin until tomorrow morning, but the madness officially begins tonight with Ballmer hosting the first post-Gates CES keynote. Normally we're in for a host of demos from upcoming Microsoft products (or products running Microsoft products) …
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Ballmer touts Windows 7 beta, new deals — LAS VEGAS—As he takes the stage Wednesday, Steve Ballmer has a mighty big task ahead of him. — Not only is he taking over Consumer Electronics Show keynote duties from Bill Gates, he is also aiming to convince the tech world that Microsoft …
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 …
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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.
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James Kendrick / jkOnTheRun:Sony Vaio P unveiled- smaller than but not a netbook
Discussion:
LAPTOP Mag, Engadget, Kit, The Technology Chronicles, Industry Standard, Gizmodo, Liliputing and Electronista
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 by roughly 50% and laying out broad targets for the coming year. Here is Nicholas's announcement on the upcoming changes:
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Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
OLPC downsizes half of its staff, cuts Sugar development — The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project announced Wednesday that it plans to downsize half of its staff and reduce the salary of the remaining employees. OLPC will also halt its development of the open source Sugar environment …
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.
New York Times:
Satyam Chief Admits Huge Fraud — NEW DELHI — Satyam Computer Services, a leading Indian outsourcing company that serves more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies, significantly inflated its earnings and assets for years, the chairman and co-founder said Wednesday …
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Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
EMC cuts 2,400 jobs — EMC said Wednesday that it will lay off 2,400 workers, or 7 percent of its workforce, as an effort to cut $350 million in costs in 2009 and $500 million in 2010. — The company also added in a statement that its fourth quarter revenue will be $4 billion, up 4 percent from a year ago.
Discussion:
eWeek
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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.
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 …
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
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 …
Discussion:
Engadget, Reuters, PC World, The Technology Chronicles, Tech Trader Daily, L.A. Times Tech Blog, NEWSFACTOR and Electricpig.co.uk
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 …
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 …
Emil Protalinski / One Microsoft Way:
Windows 7 build 7000 64-bit version hits torrent sites — Almost two weeks after Windows 7 build 7000 32-bit was leaked, the 64-bit version (7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_ Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO) has hit torrent sites. The first 7xxx build marks the entrance of Windows 7 into beta phase …
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
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 …
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 …
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
Electronista:
AMD unveils Phenom II architecture — AMD marked the start of CES with the formal debut of the Phenom II, its first mainstream 45 nanometer processor. The upgrade is based on the same core “Shanghai” architecture as recent Opterons and gives a roughly 20 percent speed boost …
Discussion:
eWeek
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Yelp user faces lawsuit over negative review — San Franciscan Christopher Norberg went to a chiropractor after being injured in a car accident in 2006. After a disagreement with the chiropractor over billing, he posted a negative review of the business on Yelp suggesting that the doctor was dishonest.
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.
Glenn Fleishman / Ars Technica:
AT&T moves closer to offering in-home cell base stations — AT&T is contacting some of its customers asking if they'd like to test an in-home extension to its cellular networks powered by a subscriber's own broadband—a femtocell. Femtocells use frequencies licensed by the carrier for data and voice …
Discussion:
greg hughes
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.
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Amazon, Netflix Get Another Streaming Partner: TV Maker Vizio (AMZN, NFLX) — Another consumer electronics partner for Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX) as they race each other, Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and the cable industry to connect your living room to the Internet.
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Losses for Venture Fund Investors Who Want Out — Investors in venture capital and private equity funds who want out are discovering that their stakes are worth less than they paid for them. — As returns on venture capital investments sour and investors' wealth deteriorates …
Discussion:
Furrier.org
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Pogue rocks Macworld with “Where is Steve?” — David Pogue, New York Times tech columnist, creator of the Missing Manual series, and frustrated Broadway producer, led his Macworld Live! feature presentation in San Francisco Wednesday with a musical riff on Steve Jobs' non-attendance.
BBC:
Apple spoils iPhone forgery plans — Consumers are being warned to be on the lookout for fake iPhone Nanos, despite the real thing not even being released. — It was rumoured that Apple might be announcing a new, smaller iPhone at this year's Macworld conference.
