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8:20 AM ET, January 29, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Arn / MacRumors:
Next Generation iPhone Model Revealed in Firmware  —  MacRumors has discovered that Apple's iPhone 2.x Firmware has evidence of the next generation iPhone which has been designated “iPhone2,1”.  —  Apple uses these models numbers to distinguish between different hardware models.
The Official Google Blog:
Introducing Measurement Lab  —  When an Internet application doesn't work as expected or your connection seems flaky, how can you tell whether there is a problem caused by your broadband ISP, the application, your PC, or something else?  It can be difficult for experts, let alone average Internet users …
RELATED:
Elizabeth Holmes / Digits:
Blogger Infighting Played a Role, Says TechCrunch Founder  —  TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington blamed fellow technology bloggers for the recent attacks on him, saying that his competitors' criticisms made him a target. … Mr. Arrington announced Wednesday he was taking a break …
Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
iDVD hung out to dry as Apple pushes movies online  —  One of the original pillars of Apple's iLife suite, iDVD, has increasingly been given the cold shoulder to the point where it is not even depicted on the retail package anymore.  How much longer will the app stick around now that the company …
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac
RELATED:
Walter S. Mossberg / Personal Technology:
iLife Gets Better; Just Don't Ask It to Find a Face
Thanks:pinkblob
Jordan Satok / Appletell:
Apple forgets to mention iDVD on the iLife '09 Box
Discussion: CrunchGear and MacBlogz
Nokia:
New arrivals in the world's most successful mobile phone range  —  Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced the Nokia 6700 classic, the Nokia 6303 classic and the Nokia 2700 classic, three devices that build on the formula that made Nokia the world leader in mobile phones.
Jason Calacanis / The Jason Calacanis Weblog:
We Live in Public (and the end of empathy)  —  This was an email to my private list which you can signup for at  —  Listen To This While Reading: Love Theme from Blade Runner  —  I've been thinking about empathy and the Internet non-stop for the past week.
PC World:
Nintendo Revises Down Outlook as Profits Slip, Yen Bites  — Nintendo saw improved sales of its Wii and DS gaming devices during the last three months of 2008, but revised down its sales and profits forecasts due to the stronger Japanese yen.  —  During the April to December period …
Discussion: paidContent.org
RELATED:
Reuters:
Sony sinks to Q3 loss, Nintendo cuts outlook
Discussion: Associated Press
Amit Agarwal / Digital Inspiration:
FeedDemon and Google Reader: A Perfect Marriage  —  There's little doubt that FeedDemon is the best desktop based news reader for Windows while Google Reader enjoys the largest share of the pie among online feed readers.  —  The only issue, as noted in this comparison of FeedDemon with Google Reader …
Discussion: Download Squad
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
ComScore Report: Fastest-Growing Sites And Top-Ten Advertising Magnets  —  Of the top 100 sites on the Web, which ones grew the fastest in 2008?  In a report it is preparing to release tomorrow, The comScore 2008 Digital Year In Review (which you can sign up for here), comScore ranks the 20 fastest-growing Web properties.
discuss.joelonsoftware.com:
Don't ever use Google Apps for anything important  —  Here's why you should never use Google Apps for your domain paid or unpaid.  —  I started using the free version Google Apps a little over a year ago for one of our intranets.  Luckily it was an intranet and not the main site!
Discussion: Industry Standard
Peter Gumbel / Fortune:
Putin-Dell slapdown at Davos  —  The Russian prime minister tells the Dell CEO: 'We don't need help.  We are not invalids.'  —  DAVOS, Switzerland (Fortune) — Ever since Vladimir Putin rose to power in 2000, his political opponents and entire countries have learned to their cost that he has a tough, demeaning streak.
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Techmeme's newest human contributor: You  —  New aggregator Techmeme made headlines last month when it revealed that a human editor would help the site's algorithm pick the best links to highlight.  Today, it's adding a powerful new source to that process: You.
RELATED:
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
YouTube Close to Video Deal for Pro Talent  —  YouTube and the William Morris Agency, the Hollywood talent agency, are close to signing a deal that would place the company's clients in made-for-the-Web productions.  —  The deal would underscore the ways that distribution models are evolving on the Internet.
Douglas Quenqua / New York Times:
Friends, Until I Delete You  —  “UNFRIENDER” Rachel Heavers, with her daughter, Ellen, removed a lifelong pal in “a hormonal moment.”  Now she says, “I really, really regret it.”  During the “Whopper Sacrifice,” 234,000 people were trumped by a free burger.  —  A PERSON could go mad trying to pinpoint the moment he lost a friend.
Discussion: Gawker
Matthew Moore / Telegraph:
Microsoft SongSmith: Flawed music software produces comedy gold  —  A lounge jazz version of Radiohead's Creep.  The Police's Roxanne reworked with a reggae beat.  Eye of the Tiger as a lo-fi love song.  These are just a few of the hilarious cover versions of famous songs created …
Discussion: Associated Press
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Obama Gets a Google Vet-But Not for CTO  —  Barack Obama has yet to announce who his chief technology officer will be.  But he has hired a Silicon Valley exec for another role: Google (GOOG) product manager Katie Jacobs Stanton will be the new President's “director of citizen participation” starting in March, sources tell me.
John Ribeiro / PC World:
Nokia Outsources Desktop Management to India's HCL  —  Nokia has outsourced desktop management and help desk functions in 76 countries to Indian outsourcer HCL Technologies.  —  HCL announced on Thursday that the handset maker has signed a five-year contract for an undisclosed sum.
Arik Hesseldahl / Business Week:
The Eye of the (BlackBerry) Storm  —  iSuppli took apart Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm to determine the cost of its components.  Guess what?  The iPhone parts are cheaper  —  As the battle for the smartphone market heats up, comparisons abound between Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm …
Discussion: Engadget
Jacques Steinberg / New York Times:
Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call  —  HOUSTON — Vesta Clemmons, who is 77 and lives alone, relies on the battered Zenith television in her tiny apartment here as more than just a lifeline to the outside world.  —  “It's like a friend,” she said in her living room, which is also her dining room and bedroom.
RELATED:
Jon Fortt / Fortune:
Netbooks could be the next hit cell phones  —  AT&T looks to sell mini-laptops, bundled with wireless data contracts, for prices like $99 or less.  Is the gambit brilliant or foolhardy?  —  (Fortune) — Glenn Lurie knows Silicon Valley better than most telecom industry types.
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Flash and AIR: Record downloads, winning platform race  —  Adobe Flash, the company's platform for web applications and video, is already on virtually every computer everywhere, but the latest version is on an even faster track to world domination.  Flash Player 10 and AIR have been downloaded …
Discussion: TechCrunch and Adobe
Matt Cutler / Visible Measures:
Evolution of Dance 2: Evidence of Viral Video Evolution?  —  While the concept of a sequel is well-established in traditional media, from books and music to TV and film, the Evolution of Dance sequel has now crossed-over into the realm of viral video.  Is this evidence of an emerging trend …
Discussion: TechCrunch, Thanks:brianshin
Fortune:
How Netflix got started  —  Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings tells Fortune how he got the idea for the DVD-by-mail service that now has more than eight million customers.  —  (Fortune Magazine) — The genesis of Netflix came in 1997 when I got this late fee, about $40, for Apollo 13.
Amit Agarwal / Digital Inspiration:
Google Updates Privacy Policy  —  This may slightly concern privacy advocates who continue to worry about Google storing too much data about their users.  —  Google today updated their privacy policy document and it now says that, in addition to retaining server logs, Google …
 
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 More Items: 
Jack Davis / SiliconBeat:
Intel will be first Silicon Valley company to give shareholders a ‘say on pay’
Taylor Buley / Forbes:
Bringing Microsoft To VMware
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch UK:
Record labels pressure Spotify to restrict service
Times of London:
£20 broadband charge to fight online music and film piracy
Thanks:radioedit
Gavin Clarke / The Register:
Microsoft to act on IE8 ‘show stoppers’
 Earlier Items: 
Katherine Conrad / bizjournals:
Yahoo vacating 400,000 square feet in Santa Clara towers
Thanks:wesmax27
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
Find Images that Have a Certain Size
Joanna Stern / LAPTOP Mag:
OLPC XO-2 Mock Up Shows Up at Davos
Dave McClure / Master of 500 Hats:
Great Entrepreneurs are PASSIONATE about Customers & Products …
Times of London:
Danger online: Perils of revealing every intimate moment
Thanks:noahkagan
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire

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

 
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