Top Items:
Yahoo!:
Carol Bartz Joins Yahoo! as Chief Executive Officer — Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), a leading global brand and one of the world's most trafficked Internet destinations, announced today that Carol Bartz, a veteran technology executive who was most recently Executive Chairman of Autodesk (NASDAQ …
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Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Yahoo Confirms Bartz Pick as CEO; No. 2 Exec Decker Out — As reported by BoomTown and others, Yahoo has officially selected former Autodesk (ADSK) head Carol Bartz as its next CEO, effective immediately. — She will also join the Yahoo board. — In a press release this afternoon …
Patricia Sellers / Postcards:
Sue Decker moves on from Yahoo — Sue Decker is leaving Yahoo (YHOO). The news broke Tuesday afternoon just as Yahoo announced that its board has chosen former Autodesk (ADSK) chief Carol Bartz as the company's new CEO. As Yahoo's president, Decker was the lone Yahoo insider who was a strong candidate in the CEO search.
Sarah Lacy:
Yahoo's New CEO: The Best News I've Heard All Day — No mixed feelings on this blog, I think Yahoo naming Carol Bartz its new CEO (if the reports are true) is great news for the company. First, my usual disclaimer that I say all the following as a reporter, not a Yahoo contractor.
Wall Street Journal:Yahoo to Name Bartz as CEO
Discussion:
paidContent.org, Microsoft, Silicon Alley Insider, L.A. Times Tech Blog, CNET News, Susan Mernit's Blog, TechCrunch, Digits, Between the Lines, Search Engine Land, Boy Genius Report, The Register, Tech Beat, Contentinople, BoomTown, InformationWeek, Furrier.org, TechFlash, WebProNews and Search Engine Journal
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Mac clone maker claims it bought OS X from Apple — Embattled Psystar says Apple can't tell it what to do with legit copies of the OS — Computerworld) The Mac clone maker being sued by Apple Inc. because it installs Mac OS X on generic Intel-based systems said it bought copies …
BIZ / Twitter Blog:
It's Business Time! — Twitter receives a crushing amount of partnership opportunities on a regular basis—it's a good problem to have yet until now there has been nobody on staff dedicated solely to business development. Things are changing. We hired Kevin Thau as our Director of Mobile Business Development late last month.
John Cook / TechFlash:
Marchex, Microsoft criticized on mobile advertising techniques — Seattle online advertising company Marchex is among those criticized in a 52-page complaint [PDF] today brought by the Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group that says mobile marketers are using “unfair and deceptive practices.”
Discussion:
GigaOM, MediaPost, democraticmedia.org, Gearlog, Ars Technica and Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
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Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Is a Microsoft Search Deal With Yahoo “Ticked and Tied”? — Several sources close to Yahoo and Microsoft have told BoomTown that a search partnership deal between the companies is more likely to be signed quickly now that Yahoo has picked former Autodesk (ADSK) CEO Carol Bartz as its next CEO.
Discussion:
CNET News, Beyond Binary, Technologizer, Silicon Alley Insider, The Microsoft Blog and InformationWeek
Fred / A VC:
This News Made Me Smile A Mile Wide — Like I do every morning, I logged into Techmeme to find this news: — That's an image, sorry about that, here's the link to the WSJ story, but I wanted you all to see how I heard the news. — This is so great on so many levels. Let's start with the first reason.
Discussion:
Fractals of Change, GigaOM, BoomTown, Silicon Alley Insider, Computerworld, The Technology Liberation … and The Register
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Obama's new BlackBerry: The NSA's secure PDA? — President-elect Barack Obama checks his BlackBerry while riding on his campaign bus in Pennsylvania last March. — (Credit: Pete Souza/ Rapport Press ) — Bill Clinton sent only two e-mail messages as president and has yet to pick up the habit.
Discussion:
techblog.dallasnews.com, Engadget, MacDailyNews, WMExperts, wmpoweruser.com, IntoMobile and SlashGear
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Microsoft patches ‘super nasty’ Windows bugs — Expect worm soon, says researcher, who sees damage potential on par with Blaster, Sasser — Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. today patched three vulnerabilities in the company's Server Message Block (SMB) file-sharing protocol …
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Mike Elgan / Computerworld Blogs:
Why Sony is the new Apple — Analysts say that Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony will report full-year operating losses for the first time since 1995 during an earnings call later this month. The news comes on the heels of seven years of missed earnings. So why do I think the company is poised for a massive come-back?
Discussion:
Financial Times
Matt Asay / The Open Road:
Microsoft's new ad campaign finally gets it right — Microsoft just launched a new advertising campaign under the banner “It's Everybody's Business,” and I have to admit that I really like the ads. — I'm not referring to the TV and online ads, which I think are a bit goofy …
Discussion:
Negative Approach
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Could This Be Your All-in-One Social Network? — Long time innovator Marc Canter has made a proposal for a system to let users integrate all their social networks from around the web into one central dashboard. He calls it the DiSO Dashboard. — So far it's just a vision …
Discussion:
Marc's Voice
DigiTimes:
TSMC and UMC likely to receive orders for iPhone nano, says paper — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) will likely land chip orders for Apple's low-cost entry-level iPhone nano, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) reported today.
Discussion:
PC World, Electronista, CNET News, The Apple Core, iLounge, VentureBeat, PMP Today, GPS Obsessed, Infinite Loop, IntoMobile, iPhone Buzz and InformationWeek
Tony Smith / The Register:
DisplayPort revision to get mini connector, stereo 3D — Apple's MacBook monitor port to enter standard — Laptop vendors will be soon be able to use the same mini-DisplayPort connector found on Apple's latest MacBooks. — The tiny port is to be included in the upcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification …
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Report Calls Online Threats to Children Overblown — The Internet may not be such a dangerous place for children after all. — A high-profile task force created by 49 state attorneys general to find a solution to the problem of sexual solicitation of children online has concluded …
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple to replace 17-inch MacBook Pro batteries in stores — Apple this week served up the details of its battery replacement program for the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which offers customers the option of having a new battery installed at their nearest Apple retail store.
Raphael Leiteritz / Google LatLong:
New ways to get around with the Transit Layer — I'm pleased to announce the launch of the Transit Layer on Google Maps in more than 50 cities around the world making it easier for citizens and tourists around the globe to access public transportation line information in their cities.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land
David Kaplan / paidContent.org:
Huffington Post Acquires Comedy News Site 236.com From IAC — Huffington Post is wasting little time in putting last month's $25 million funding to work: as expected, the company says its buying comedy news site 236.com. The comedy site was created in Nov. 2007 as part of a joint venture between Huffington Post and IAC (NSDQ: IACI).
Jason / Hulu Blog:
Customer Trust is Hard Won, Easily Lost — On January 9, we removed nearly 3 seasons of full episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We did this at the request of the content owner. Despite Hulu's opinion and position on such content removals (which we share liberally …
Staska / Unwired View:
Apple plans to integrate iPhone Mapping and Calendar apps — We told you that Apple is pretty serious about the mobile navigation feature on it's iPhone. — They have already patented most of the mapping and navigation features used currently on their handsets Mapping app.
Electronista:
Dell said nearing smartphone launch — Dell is getting closer to releasing its long-rumored first smartphone, according to a research note by Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. Investigations within Dell's supply chain point reportedly indicate that a Dell smartphone is “closer to reality” …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
PubMatic: Remnant Ad Prices Are Half What They Were A Year Ago — Fourth quarter data is starting to trickle in on how bad the online advertising downturn is turning out to be. The latest data comes from Pubmatic, an online ad optimization service used by more than 5,000 sites large and small.
Discussion:
HipMojo.com
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Friendly DRM Is An Oxymoron — from the nothing-friendly-about-it dept — While the era of DRM on music may finally be ending, it appears that some other industries still haven't quite come to terms with the two simple facts that a few industries are finally realizing: (1) DRM does not work …
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Cable modems to hit 300Mbps with 8-channel bonding — Cable modem speeds are about to zoom a whole lot higher. Thanks to the magic of channel bonding, DOCSIS 3.0 modems will soon be able to reach 300+Mbps—though cable users won't see Internet speeds in that range anytime soon.
Jessi Hempel / Fortune:
Reinventing the tech incubator — Tech Daily: Betaworks is bringing back a '90s icon. — NEW YORK (Fortune) — Like hip hop and Dockers, tech incubators were faddish in the late 1990s. These companies offered promising dot-coms work space, back office services like human resources and accounting, and a bit of funding.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
No More Free Jott For You — In August voice-to-text service Jott moved out of beta and added a premium feature for $4/month. Since then, the company says, about 30% of Jott's active users have opted for the premium, no-ads version of the service. — People use it to send voice …
Eliot Van Buskirk / Epicenter:
Microsoft Plans to Continue Zune Hardware, Embrace Other Platforms — Several publications have taken Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's assertion that software is a big part of Zune's future to mean that Microsoft plans to abandon Zune hardware. But a spokesman says Microsoft has no plans to abandon Zune …
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
New York Court Dismisses Amazon's Objections To Paying State Taxes — Remember the Amazon Tax? Back in April, the New York State legislature passed a bill requiring Amazon to collect taxes from New York State residents even though it doesn't have a physical presence in the state (the normal requirement for retailers).
Discussion:
Bits, Andrea on Amazon & …, Ars Technica, Webware.com, Electronista, TechFlash and Channel Register
