Top Items:
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft sues TomTom over Linux and other patent claims — Microsoft filed suit against TomTom today, alleging that the in-car navigation company's devices violate eight of its patents — including three that relate to TomTom's implementation of the Linux kernel.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, All about Microsoft, Computerworld Blogs, Beyond Binary, Electronista, Pulse2 and All Points Blog
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Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Sues TomTom For Linux Patent Infringement — Microsoft (MSFT) has gone and done it, they've filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming Linux violates their patents. — The case centers on portable GPS device maker Tomtom, which uses Linux in its device.
Discussion:
Engadget
Microsoft:
Microsoft v. TomTom: Patent Infringement Action — Microsoft has filed an action today after attempting for more than a year to engage in licensing discussions with TomTom. — REDMOND, Wash. — February 25, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today filed a patent infringement action against TomTom NV and Tom Tom …
John Battelle / John Battelle's Searchblog:
Twitter = YouTube. — What? Is Battelle crazy? Hear me out. Think back when YouTube was growing like a weed, and Google snapped it up. Most folks (including me) saw this as Google “getting into the video business,” and sure, that in fact was one part of the equation.
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Chris O'Brien / Mercury News:
How Twitter could be a threat to Google — Google's search engine is so dominant that it's hard to imagine how anyone could knock the Mountain View company from its pedestal. And yet if history is any guide, such reigns never last. IBM gave way to Microsoft, which now has been usurped by Google.
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Nokia considering entering laptop industry — HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia is eyeing entering the laptop business, its Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in an interview to Finnish national broadcaster YLE on Wednesday.
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Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
Apple shareholder meeting dominated by politics — Apple's annual shareholder meeting was dominated, as usual, by groups using the event as a soapbox for furthering their political agenda. Apple COO Tim Cook only answered a couple real questions from individuals, and the crowd sang …
Discussion:
CNET News, Byte of the Apple, The Register, Epicenter, mocoNews.net, 9 to 5 Mac, MacBlogz and World of Apple
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John Biggs / CrunchGear:
10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2... and 10 reasons not to — Having used both Kindles 1 and 2, I thought it would helpful to list where the new Kindle excels and where it falters. The dead tree book will never die - I think it will even have more longevity and popularity than the boutique appreciation …
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Juan Carlos Perez / Network World:
IDC forecasts first U.S. ad spending contraction since 2001 — More bad news for advertising-supported Internet and media companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and MySpace: IDC is predicting that online ad spending in the U.S. will shrink year-on-year in the first quarter for the first time since the dot-com bubble burst in 2001.
Discussion:
HipMojo.com
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MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Google says hello to Twitter with a stream of 1s and 0s — That was the first official tweet from Google's official Twitter account today. The second tweet announced the launch of its App Status Dashboard, which we just covered. This looks to be another move in the direction of transparency …
Roy Blount Jr / New York Times:
The Kindle Swindle? — BEING president of too many well-meaning organizations put my father into an early grave. The lesson in this was not lost on me. But now I am president of the Authors Guild, whose mission is to sustain book-writing as a viable occupation.
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Apple:
MobileMe: Service updates as of February 25, 2009 — The MobileMe service has recently been updated with improvements as described below. — Products Affected — MobileMe — Mail — Compose window address selector shows all email addresses for contacts, not just home and work addresses.
Discussion:
TUAW
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Paul Boutin / Gadgetwise:
President Obama Abandons Twitter — Barack Obama's online presence drove his campaign's early fundraising and his primary victory over Hillary Clinton. His use of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube proved the 46-year-old senator was part of the Web 2.0 generation.
David Chartier / Ars Technica:
AIM for iPhone gets paid version, SMS alerts, location awareness — AIM for iPhone and iPod touch has split into free (ad-supported) and paid versions, though both feature the same enhancements for this 2.0 upgrade. New in AIM for iPhone 2.0 are SMS notifications, location-aware services, multiple accounts, and more.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, Macworld, VentureBeat, GPS Obsessed, Gizmodo, dot.life blog, Boy Genius Report and IntoMobile
Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:
Microsoft May Begin Shipping Windows 7 in September, Compal's Chen Says — Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, may begin shipping its Windows 7 operating system as early as the third quarter, a computer-industry executive said.
Discussion:
Electronista, Technologizer, Gizmodo, PC World, Softpedia News, Microsoft Pri0, Obsessable, Homotron.net, Network World, Silicon Alley Insider and BetaNews
Brandon LeBlanc / The Windows Blog:
Announcing the Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 RC — This week we are announcing that Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has hit an important milestone in development: Release Candidate (RC). — Starting today, the RC of SP2 for Windows Vista …
Discussion:
Windows Server Division WebLog, windowsteamblog.com, eWeek, Neowin.net, AppScout and ChannelWeb
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Biden Forgets Recovery.gov's “Website Number” — This morning Vice President Biden went on the CBS early show to promote Recovery.gov, the website that will detail where all of the money in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be going. Unfortunately, he forgot the actual address …
GamesIndustry.biz:
PS3 price cut announcement “in the next couple of days” - Janco — The PlayStation 3 could be about to receive a price cut, with Sony due to make an announcement imminently. — That's according to Janco Partners' Mike Hickey, who has said in his latest note to investors that Sony needs …
Josh Cohen / Google News Blog:
Ads in Google News search results — If you're in the US, starting today you may notice something a bit different when you search Google News. — Last November, we announced plans to begin experimenting with ads on a number of Google properties, including news query refinements within Google search.
Nancy Gohring / Macworld:
Google blocks paid apps for unlocked G1 users — People who bought an unlocked version of the Android G1 phone are no longer allowed to download new paid applications from the Market, after a change Google made late last week. — Google is prohibiting users of the unlocked phones …
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
Google Shared Stuff to Be Discontinued — Google Shared Stuff, the social bookmarking service that has never been officially launched, will no longer be available after the end of March. — Google Shared Stuff was only used to share videos at Google Video and Knol articles, but it was buggy and underdeveloped.
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
IE8 compatibility and reliability update for Windows 7 beta — Microsoft has released an update for Internext Explorer build 8.0.7000.0, fixing many bugs that were fixed with the release of IE8 RC1 for Vista and XP. — Microsoft has released a patch via Windows Update for Internet Explorer 8 …
Johnny Minkley / GamesIndustry.biz:
EA: We've learned our lesson on release dates — Electronic Arts has admitted it got it wrong with the releases of some of its biggest games of 2008, and insists the industry must now rethink its entire approach to putting products into the market. — Glen Schofield, general manager …
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Google unveils App Status Dashboard to confirm when your anger is justified — When Gmail had a massive worldwide failure a couple days ago, a lot of users were angry. And rightfully so — even though it was only for a few hours, some people are paying Google to use Gmail for their work.
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple updates Apple TV software to version 2.3.1 [Ux2] — Apple overnight released a minor software update for owners of its Apple TV set-top media box that has thus far been revealed to include a new Network Test function and improvements when using Apple Remote for iPhone.
Sue Zeidler / Reuters:
Netflix to offer “streaming only” plans in future — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis. — “We're likely to do that in the foreseeable future,” …
Jon Fortt / Fortune:
What Margaret Mead could teach techs — Big tech firms are hiring social scientists to help them figure out the changing landscape. — (Fortune) — While traveling in China, Genevieve Bell figured she'd have no trouble getting a cell phone. With cash, a passport and official documents from her employer …
William M. Bulkeley / Wall Street Journal:
Camera Sales Slump 12% — Market research firm IDC said that U.S. digital camera sales declined even more sharply than expected in the fourth-quarter holiday season, falling 12% to 15 million units. — Worsening the pain for camera makers and retailers, the market skewed toward lower-end devices …
Kit Eaton / Fast Company:
Flexible Touchscreen E-paper Signals the Rise of Touchscreens Everywhere — We've sung the praises of flexible screen technology here a few times—it'll be a key part of the next revolution in gadget technology. And now another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place …
