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5:30 AM ET, February 18, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook Blog:
Update on Terms  —  A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users.  Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information.
RELATED:
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Facebook reverts to old terms of service, working on new version that “everybody can understand”  —  Well, that was pretty fast.  Facebook has reverted to its prior terms of service — due to a backlash from some users, media outlets and privacy groups — while it works out a new version.
PC World:
Facebook Privacy Change Sparks Federal Complaint  —  JR Raphael, PC World  —  facebook faces privacy backlash over change in terms of use of network  —  The backlash against Facebook's updated privacy policies is about to expand.  The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) …
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
Android G2 Hands On: Close to Perfection  —  HTC and Google are getting closer to perfection with the new Android G2, the HTC Magic.  Nice finish, great form factor.  Check out our video, including the obligatory comparison with Apple's iPhone, and hands-on impressions:
Kevin Poulsen / Threat Level:
Anonymous Caller?  New Service Says, Not Any More  —  A new service set for launch Tuesday allows cellphone users to unmask the Caller ID on blocked incoming calls, obtaining the phone number, and in some cases the name and address, of the no-longer-anonymous caller.
Jessi Hempel / Fortune:
How Facebook is taking over our lives  —  President Obama used it to get elected.  Dell will recruit new hires with it.  Microsoft's new operating system borrows from it.  No question, Facebook has friends in high places.  Can CEO Mark Zuckerberg make those connections pay off?
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Battery, RAM, and HD access on new 17-inch Macbook Pro  —  Apple's new unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro began shipping earlier this week and a new tear-down of the high-end notebook reveals the steps needed to access the system's internal memory, hard drive, and battery components.
Aaron Wall / Learn. Rank. Dominate.:
Mahalo Caught Spamming Google With PageRank Funneling Link Scheme  —  Jason “SEO is dead” Calacanas, founder of Mahalo, used “SEO is dead” as a publicity stunt to help launch his made for AdSense scraper website.  In the past we have noted how he was caught ranking pages without any original content …
Discussion: the Econsultancy blog, Thanks:atul
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
With a King's Ransom in Cash, Why Is There Still No Buying Spree in the Tech Space Yet?  —  Even in the midst of the economic meltdown, consider these mega-billion-dollar cash hordes of big tech companies:  —  Microsoft (MSFT): $20.7 billion  —  Cisco (CSCO): $29.5 billion  —  Apple (AAPL): $25.6 billion
Ubergizmo:
Samsung SWD-M100 MID Hands-On (WiMax)  —  Now, there's a MID (mobile internet device) that we could use to blog on the go.  The Samsung SWD-M100D is a WiMax + WiFi device that has both a touch display and a sliding QWERTY keyboard.  The most important feature (for live blogging) …
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
For all the “open” talk, Android Market sure has a lot of rules  —  Paid applications in the Android Market, the app store for Google's mobile platform, are now live.  This should boost development for the platform and in turn create new, interesting applications for consumers.
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider
RELATED:
Andrew Kameka / Google Android Blog:
Important notes on Android Market
Eric Goldman / Technology & Marketing Law Blog:
Google Street View Case Dismissed—Boring v. Google  —  Boring v. Google, Inc., 2:08-cv-00694-ARH (W.D. Pa. Feb. 17, 2009)  —  You may recall the Boring case from last Spring.  A Pennsylvania couple sued because Google's camera car drove up their private driveway and the resulting pictures were posted to Google's Street View.
Discussion: CNET News
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Anonybloggers, Be Gone!  Tumblr Boots Griefers  —  Last September, we noted the unfortunate reality that every social network has its troublemakers, and Tumblr — which was plagued by so-called “anonybloggers” —  is no exception.  —  No more.  In a post today on the official Tumblr blog …
Discussion: Gawker and Tumblr Staff
Aidan Malley / AppleInsider:
Apple execs rethinking iPhone pricing strategy for 2009  —  While the likelihood of Apple releasing new iPhones this year is all but certain, a discussion between analysts and Apple's top brass has also dropped clues that the iPhone's pricing may not be static this year.
Discussion: Macsimum News
Jessica Vascellaro / Digits:
Startup Sues Google Using Microsoft's (Outside) Lawyers  —  By Jessica E. Vascellaro  —  TradeComet.com LLC, which operates a small search engine for industrial products, has sued Google, alleging that the search giant tried to put it out of business by increasing its advertising prices.
Discussion: Coop's Corner, Tech Beat and Pulse2, Thanks:atul
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Did Hulu Just Pull The Plug On Its Deal With TV.com?  —  Something is up at TV.com, the CBS-owned site that recently relaunched as a competitor to Hulu.  Since last summer, when TV.com was owned by CNET and was still primarily a community hub, the site has featured content from NBC and News Corp through a partnership with Hulu.
Discussion: AdAge, CNET News and MediaPost, Thanks:kevendones
Devin Coldewey / CrunchGear:
Canon releases 10 cameras in one night - thanks, Canon  —  Just when I thought it was safe to relax and read a little bit, my inbox lights up with a damn tidal wave of point-and-shoots.  If you're in the market, you'll be doing more in-depth research and of course the outliers of this batch …
Hiptop3.com:
The Sidekick 2009 in the wild  —  We knew it was coming.  We knew they were visiting and they answered the call.  Ladies and gentlemen, it's the photo we've all been waiting for.  May we present to you, the Sidekick 2009 aka the Sidekick Blade.
Nina Kang / Google LatLong:
1000 is the new 10  —  Ever wish you could see more than just ten local search results at once?  Us too.  —  So we've added a search layer for local search results that activates when there are more relevant results than we can show on one page.  Instead of just plotting the first page …
Discussion: Search Engine Land and Google Maps Mania, Thanks:atul
Mike Snider / USA Today:
eGuiders cuts through clutter of a gazillion videos online  —  In the golden age of television, TV Guide arrived on newsstands to let viewers know what was being broadcast and when.  —  Whether this is the golden age of Web videos is debatable.  But a new Hollywood-based site, eGuiders.com …
Discussion: NewTeeVee
James Rowley / Bloomberg:
Antitrust Pick Varney Saw Google as Next Microsoft  —  Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Christine A. Varney, nominated by President Barack Obama to be the U.S.'s next antitrust chief, has described Google Inc. as a monopolist that will dominate online computing services the way Microsoft Corp. ruled software.
Discussion: TechFlash and VentureBeat
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
WeddingBook Marries Search Aggregation With Wedding Vendor Listings  —  With upwards of 200,000 wedding vendors in the U.S. alone, the wedding industry can be both fiercely competitive and highly profitable for businesses.  A new website, WeddingBook, is attempting to become …
Discussion: Local Onliner
Caroline McCarthy / The Social:
Source: NYC to announce start-up workspace partnership  —  The city of New York is about to step up its efforts to help nascent businesses and laid-off professionals, CNET News has learned.  —  On Wednesday, the city's Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) plans to announce a new initiative …
Latest Adrian's Rojak Pot Updates:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 RTM Details  —  Although Microsoft has consistently asserted in public that Windows 7 will probably only be launched in 2010, the truth is they are rushing for a December 2009 release.  How close are they?  Well, one of Windows 7's key components, Internet Explorer 8 is almost ready for launch!
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Confusion reigns on Time's best blogs list  —  I'm a huge list nerd, so I had check out Time Magazine's list of the best and most overrated blogs of 2009.  I was desperately hoping Time could clue me in to the State of the Blogosphere, and boy, did it ever.
Discussion: Time, Daggle and Mashable!, Thanks:robinwauters
InfoWorld:
Spammers break Live Hotmail's CAPTCHA yet again  —  The battle by Microsoft to secure its Live Hotmail system from spammers appears to have failed yet again with the news that the latest version of its CAPTCHA authentication system has been broken.  —  According to a detailed analysis …
Discussion: Ars Technica and Between the Lines
comScore:
India's Social Networking Market Sees Global Brands Gain Prominence in 2008  —  Orkut Ranks as the Most Visited Social Networking Site in India, Followed by Facebook  —  comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on the top social networking sites …
Discussion: Thomas Crampton and WebProNews
Mike Hendrickson / O'Reilly Radar:
State of the Computer Book Market 2008, Part 1: The Market  —  As described in Computer Book Sales as a Technology Trend Indicator, and our other posts on the State of the Computer Book Market we have an updated series of posts that show the whole market's final 2008 numbers.
Thanks:atul
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines:
Analyst: Declines in Mac, iPod sales isn't so bad  —  When is negative growth a positive thing?  In this economy, any growth that stays in-line with Wall Street expectations can be viewed as a good thing - though it's still too early to call.  And that's how one analyst is looking at Apple's current quarter.
 
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 More Items: 
Radhika Lakshmanan / Docs Blog:
Data Validation gives you more control over your spreadsheets
Discussion: Webware.com
Glassdoor.com:
Mobile Company Employees Report What It's Like on the Inside
Discussion: GigaOM
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Still No Royalty Deal for Streaming Music Sites
Monica Hesse / Washington Post:
A Virtual Unknown  —  So, the Internet walks into a bar.
Discussion: Nieman Journalism Lab
Adrian Covert / Gizmodo:
Linksys Routers Now Have Built-In Internet Security
Discussion: Ars Technica and Yankee Group Blog
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
SynthaSite Gets A $20 Million Boost For Simple Website Creation Software
 Earlier Items: 
Brian Caulfield / Forbes:
How HP Mastered The Pain Game
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
MySpace's Google Gravy Train Set to Stop Next Year
Discussion: Local Mobile Search
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
Get Satisfaction gets new CEO and funding, amid growth
Discussion: Demand Satisfaction!
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Google: The Case Against A Second Half Recovery
Discussion: WebProNews
Yahoo!:
Introducing Yahoo!(R) Mobile - Your Starting Point to the Internet
Thanks:profy
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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

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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