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12:50 PM ET, February 9, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Amazon.com:
Introducing Amazon Kindle 2  —  Kindle's Revolutionary Wireless Delivery and Massive Selection of Content — Now in a New Slimmer Design With Longer Battery Life, Faster Page Turns, Over 7X More Storage, Crisper Images and New Read-to-Me Feature  —  Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) …
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Amazon Unveils Kindle 2.0 - New Look, Same Price  —  Live from the Morgan Library in New York, Amazon (AMZN) unveils the second version of its much-hyped e-book.  I'll be updating live - as long as the wi-fi or Sprint's mobile broandband cooperates.  —  Packed house.  And....here's not Jeff Bezos, but an Amazon PR guy.
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Kindle 2 first hands-on! (updated with video and impressions)  —  The Kindle 2 is here folks — it should look pretty familiar at this point!  Feast your eyes on the photos.  We're building out with more photos and video, so stay tuned.  We played for the unit for the briefest of moments, but it really does feel great in hand.
Discussion: Gizmodo
Dana Blankenhorn / Open Source:
Time for Kindle to go open source  —  Amid all the hubbub over the launch of the new Amazon Kindle (at the Morgan Library in New York, 10 AM, be there and tell me what happened) two words are notably absent.  —  Open source.  (Picture from Amazon via C|Net.)
The Boy Genius / Boy Genius Report:
BlackBerry Gemini 9300 information, specs  —  First there was “Pluto,” then were was “Magnum,” but now we're talkin' about something totally different — Gemini.  What's Gemini you ask?  From what we've been told, the working model number is 9300, so that's BlackBerry 9300.
Cindy Geng / Interfax TMT China News:
Online store wrangling scuppers China Mobile iPhone talks  —  Beijing.  February 9.  INTERFAX-CHINA - China Mobile's insistence on administering the online sale of iPhone applications caused the breakdown of the operator's talks with Apple over bringing the iPhone to China …
RELATED:
Slash Lane / AppleInsider:
Apple, China Mobile still struggling to reach iPhone deal?
Discussion: Ars Technica
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Mac clone maker wins legal round against Apple  —  Psystar can argue Apple abused copyright laws, judge rules  —  Computerworld) A federal judge last week ruled that Psystar Corp. can continue its countersuit against Apple Inc., giving the Mac clone maker a rare win in its seven-month-old battle with Apple.
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft's Price For New Windows Mobile Backup: Free (MSFT)  —  Not a huge surprise: Microsoft (MSFT), whose Windows Mobile operatring system has been lagging compared to offerings from Apple (AAPL), Research in Motion (RIMM), and now Google (GOOG) as well, is set to introduce its own “app store” for Windows Mobile phones.
Discussion: AppleInsider and WebProNews
RELATED:
Nick Wingfield / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft to Bolster Cellphone Strategy  —  Microsoft Corp. is planning a series of new programs and services for mobile phones, responding to stiff competition from Apple Inc. and other rivals.  —  The offerings will include an online bazaar for distributing software to cellular phones …
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
The iPhone Becomes a Web Server  —  When those Apple advertisements tout “there's an app for just about anything,” they aren't kidding.  The latest example?  A new iPhone application which just debuted in Japan's App Store transforms the handheld into a full-blown web server.
Discussion: The Apple Core, Thanks:dreamsketcher
beyond 140 for @lewmoorman:
Google's First Real Threat?  Twitter.  —  As Google's search share approaches 85%, there is constant debate over who could possibly challenge them.  Some mighty forces (e.g. Ballmer, Wales, Diller) have aligned against them, but the lead just keeps growing.  —  I have seen the threat.
Arn / MacRumors:
Apple to Integrate ‘QuickTime Pro’ Features into Snow Leopard?  —  The latest Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard seeds suggest that Apple may be eliminating the ‘QuickTime Pro’ upgrade that is currently offered as a $29.99 upgrade to Mac users.  —  Apple has long reserved several additional features …
Charles Arthur / Guardian:
Wales in drive-by Wikipedia shooting  —  It seems there are now two memes about the modern net that are gradually becoming embedded in the public consciousness: (a) Twitter is a waste of time (thanks, Evening Standard, Daily Mail, etc - though of course Charlie Brooker would disagree …
Discussion: qwghlm.co.uk
BBC:
Dance show for Apple co-founder  —  Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will be among the 13 competitors on the new season of Dancing with the Stars, US television network ABC has announced.  —  The Strictly Come Dancing-style show will feature a range of entertainment and sport figures and former competitors from the show.
Discussion: Gizmodo and Slashdot
RELATED:
Leslie Cauley / USA Today:
Google's G1 phone makes it easy to track surfing habits  —  The new Google phone, dubbed the G1, has been touted as a working man's smartphone — a cheap, Web-friendly wireless device that can make life easier for millions of consumers.  —  The G1, as it turns out, also stands to make life …
Luigi Lugmayr / I4U News:
Samsung TouchWiz 3D UI gets Update for MWC 2009  —  The Samsung TouchWiz smartphone UI runs for instance on the rather successful Samsung Omnia phone and according to Samsung TouchWiz is used already by 1 million users.  Today Samsung announced an update of the Touchwiz UI to debut at the Mobile World Congress 2009 next week.
Matthew Karnitschnig / Wall Street Journal:
Sirius XM Got, and Rebuffed, Bid  —  Satellite Mogul Ergen Offered to Inject Capital for Firm to Use in Paying Debt  —  Satellite mogul Charles Ergen made an unsolicited offer late last year to take control of Sirius XM Radio Inc., and was rebuffed, according to people familiar with the situation.
PC Pro:
Windows 7 a non-Starter on netbooks  —  Microsoft's decision to limit Windows 7 Starter Edition to running only three concurrent applications could force up the price of netbooks in the UK.  —  The company announced last week that it was launching Windows 7 Starter Edition as a low-cost option designed specifically for netbooks.
Discussion: Slashdot
Richard MacManus / ReadWriteWeb:
Recommendation Systems: Interview with Satnam Alag  —  In a recent post, we looked at recommendation systems, briefly reviewing how Amazon and Google have implemented their own systems for recommending products and content to their users.  —  We had the opportunity to speak with Satnam Alag …
Brad Stone / New York Times:
MLB.TV Adds Enhanced Video and User-Selected Replays  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Most media companies these days are desperately searching for ways to get people to pay for their content on the Web.  Major League Baseball is not one of them.  —  Half a million baseball fans paid $120 last year …
Liam Tung / CNET News:
Kaspersky denies leaks after SQL hack  —  The U.S. Web site of Russian antivirus vendor Kaspersky Labs was hacked over the weekend, exposing the company's customer database.  But Kaspersky denies any data was compromised and says the vulnerability wasn't critical.
Discussion: The Register and bit-tech.net
Eric A. Taub / New York Times:
Rival to Amazon Kindle Finds Partners  —  Plastic Logic, maker of an electronic book reader, plans to announce partnership deals on Monday that it says will bring a number of major publications to its planned device.  —  The company plans to make a device with a 10.7-inch diagonal electronic display …
Discussion: TechFlash, MediaFile and Core77, Thanks:dreamsketcher
PC World:
Bargain Monday: $99 BlackBerry Storm on Amazon  — Still craving a BlackBerry Storm?  This might be the right time to get one.  Amazon has lowered the price of the BlackBerry Storm to $99 — albeit with a few catches.  This deal beats Verizon's own buy-one get-one-free offer …
Discussion: Music Ally
 
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 More Items: 
Jim Romenesko / Romenesko:
Brill's secret plan to save the New York Times and journalism itself
Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab, Thanks:jny2cornell
Financial Times:
Venture capital in £1bn UK and Irish tech push
David Kaplan / paidContent.org:
Online Ad Spend Still Had A Strong Year—In Australia, That Is
Discussion: WebProNews
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Ruckus Music Service — Which Was Supposed To Save The Industry — Now Dead
Discussion: p2pnet and Slashdot
Douglas MacMillan / Business Week:
Best Buy, Other Retailers Tap Tech to Boost Sales
 Earlier Items: 
InfoWorld:
Toshiba develops higher bandwidth FeRAM
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Wake Up Call: Facebook Isn't A Safe Haven
Julian Sanchez / Ars Technica:
Broadband spending trimmed in stimulus compromise
Joe Wilcox / Microsoft Watch:
Mozilla to Europe: Handcuff Microsoft
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Is Noca The Next PayPal?
Discussion: GigaOM
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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

 
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