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12:20 PM ET, February 17, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
50% of Charges Against Pirate Bay Dropped  —  What has been shown in court today is that the prosecutor cannot prove that the .torrent files he is using as evidence actually used The Pirate Bay's tracker.  Many of the screenshots being used clearly state there is no connection to the tracker.
RELATED:
PC World:
Pirate Bay May Sail Away, Scot Free
Discussion: AppScout
Threat Level:
Pirate Bay Trial: The Hottest Ticket in Stockholm
Discussion: Digits, DailyTech, Boing Boing and Gizmodo
Vodafone:
Vodafone and HTC unveil Android-powered HTC Magic  — Vodafone extends world-class range of Internet phones with latest Android™-powered smartphone from HTC  — HTC Magic smartphone exclusive to Vodafone customers initially in UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and non-exclusively in Italy.
RELATED:
Jason Palmer / BBC:
Second ‘Google phone’ is unveiled  —  Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Barcelona  —  A second phone based on Google's operating system Android has been unveiled by Vodafone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.  —  The touchscreen HTC Magic will feature a 3.2 Megapixel camera …
Sean Cooper / Engadget:
HTC Magic first eyes-on!
Discussion: PMP Today and PalmAddicts
Richard Wray / Guardian:
Universal mobile phone charger unveiled  —  The mobile phone industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record.  —  The plan from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) is just one of a raft of “green” announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
RELATED:
Marguerite Reardon / Webware.com:
Skype strikes deal with Nokia  —  BARCELONA—Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009.  —  On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones.
RELATED:
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Yahoo Reorganizes, Rebrands Mobile Offerings As “Yahoo Mobile”  —  In Barcelona at the GSMA Mobile World Congress event, which has been mostly about new handsets so far, Yahoo announced what it's calling “Yahoo Mobile.”  I haven't yet been able to talk to anyone at Yahoo about this …
RELATED:
Yahoo!:
Introducing Yahoo!(R) Mobile - Your Starting Point to the Internet
Discussion: Between the Lines
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0:
Worst.  Windows 7.  Piece.  EVER!  —  Over on Slashdot is perhaps the worst piece on Windows 7 that I've see so far (I find it hard to believe that this one will be beaten anytime soon ...). … OK, just a few points worth making:  — Someone messes about with Photoshop in order to crack it …
Discussion: p2pnet
RELATED:
Kdawson / Slashdot:
Draconian DRM Revealed In Windows 7
Discussion: TechnoLlama, Lifehacker and Boing Boing
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Microsoft Updates Windows Mobile To Make It More Like The iPhone.  (My Phone, Anyone?).  —  Once again, Microsoft is throwing some flattery Apple's way by following its lead.  Earlier today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft announced the latest version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5.
Discussion: eWeek, jkOnTheRun and Gearlog
RELATED:
John Markoff / New York Times:
The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives  —  The cellphone is the world's most ubiquitous computer.  The four billion cellphones in use around the globe carry personal information, provide access to the Web and are being used more and more to navigate the real world.
Discussion: Microsoft Pri0
Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook Blog:
On Facebook, People Own and Control Their Information  —  A couple of weeks ago, we updated our terms of use to clarify a few points for our users.  A number of people have raised questions about our changes, so I'd like to address those here.  I'll also take the opportunity to explain how we think about people's information.
RELATED:
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines:
Facebook's TOS debacle: Be upset for a better reason
Discussion: BoomTown
Pat Pilcher / New Zealand Herald:
Guilty by accusation copyright protestors paint it black  —  A protest campaign against the Copyright Amendment (New Technologies) Act appears to be gaining momentum as protesters, including high profile UK celebrity Stephen Fry, black-out photos on Twitter, Facebook and various other social networking sites.
Discussion: The Register
GamesIndustry.biz:
Rare restructures to simplify development process  —  Microsoft Game Studios' Rare team is to restructure, with the possibility of a number of redundancies at the Viva Pinata studio.  —  As part of Microsoft's wider restructuring announced last month, the company plans to shift focus …
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News:
Sirius XM agrees to $530 million Liberty Media stake  —  Troubled Sirius XM Radio announced Tuesday, following reports, that it will accept an investment from cable giant Liberty Media.  —  The investment, which will save the satellite radio company from bankruptcy or a hostile takeover …
Pui-Wing Tam / Wall Street Journal:
Employment Falls in Silicon Valley  —  Silicon Valley posted a drop in employment and recorded a decline in per capita income in 2008 for the first time in several years, as the recession caught up with the technology-heavy region.  —  The findings come in a closely watched annual report …
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider, Thanks:atul
Sascha Segan / Gearlog:
AT&T CEO: Dell Will Build a Smartphone  —  At a panel at Mobile World Congress today, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega just said, “Dell announced they're entering the smart phone market.”  That's a quote.  —  This confirms many rumors that have been floating around …
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Offerpal Media Raises $15 Million to Peddle In-Game Ads  —  For most casual gamers on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, tricking out their avatars is almost more fun than playing the game.  —  One way to build an impressive inventory of virtual goods is by earning them through hours of game play.
Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:
Verizon May Offer Landline Plan for $5  —  In a sign that the recession is forcing phone companies to take bold measures to hold onto landline customers, Verizon Communications Inc. is considering a $5 monthly voice plan that would let customers receive calls but dial only 911 and Verizon customer service.
Alertbox:
Mobile Web 2009 = Desktop Web 1998 … I recently sat through many sessions in which usability test participants attempted to use websites on their mobile phones.  What a cringeworthy experience — for both users and researchers.  In terms of the user experience quality we observed …
Discussion: the Econsultancy blog
 
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 More Items: 
Guy Griml / Haaretz:
Microsoft in talks to acquire local startup 3DV Systems
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider
Peter Moore Blog:
Expanding Our Brand
Verne Kopytoff / San Francisco Chronicle:
Google-backed film is Oscar contender
Discussion: Network World
Pavel Alpeyev / Bloomberg:
Toshiba to Buy Fujitsu's Computer-Storage Drive Business, Rival Hitachi
Gary Allen / ifoAppleStore:
Accord Reached in Disabled Access Lawsuit
Discussion: Macsimum News
Martin Peers / Wall Street Journal:
Future Shock for Internet Ads?
Discussion: WebProNews
Jason Palmer / BBC:
‘Mobile health’ campaign launched
Thanks:atul
 Earlier Items: 
Nathan Eddy / eWeek:
MWC: GSMA CEO Conway Says Telecom Industry Will Weather Economic Downturn
Discussion: Associated Press and CNET News
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Nortel to present new business plan in few weeks
Michael V. Copeland / Fortune:
Technology's bargain bin
Discussion: All About Nortel
Sarah Lacy / Business Week:
Local Advertising Isn't Jumping Online
Discussion: The Equity Kicker and Search Engine Land, Thanks:sadkids
Dan Goodin / The Register:
Satellite-hacking boffin sees the unseeable
Discussion: CrunchGear