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5:45 PM ET, March 3, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Apple:
Apple Updates Consumer Desktop Line  —  24-inch iMac Starts at $1,499  —  Apple® today announced updates to its iMac® and Mac® mini desktop lines, including a 24-inch iMac that is priced more affordably than ever before and a Mac mini with powerful new integrated graphics.
RELATED:
Arn / MacRumors:
Apple Announces New iMacs, Mac Minis, AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule  —  Apple today announced updates to its iMac and Mac mini desktop lines, including a 24-inch iMac and a Mac mini with new NVIDIA integrated graphics.  For the same $1,499 price as the previous generation 20-inch iMac …
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Apple refreshes desktop lineup: Is the Mac mini irrelevant?  —  Apple on Tuesday outlined a refresh of its iMac, Mac Pro and Mac mini lineups and the headliners are the Intel Nehalem-based Mac Pro and the iMac 24-inch update.  However, perusing the updates you have to wonder if the Mac mini is irrelevant.
Paul Graham:
Why TV Lost  —  About twenty years ago people noticed computers and TV were on a collision course and started to speculate about what they'd produce when they converged.  We now know the answer: computers.  It's clear now that even by using the word “convergence” we were giving TV too much credit.
Discussion: Andrew Baron
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Yahoo's Bartz: Search data critical to us; I use Google Maps  —  Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz on Tuesday gave no indication that the company was going to punt on the search business.  She said the data the search business provides is “extremely important” to Yahoo and is information the company has to have.
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Planning Ad-Supported Model For Office 14  —  An ad-supported Microsoft Office 14?  —  That's what Microsoft Business Division Chief Stephen Elop said was coming at a presentation to analysts at the Morgan Stanley Technology conference today.  —  It's an anti-piracy initiative.
RELATED:
Eric Krangel / Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft: You Can Absolutely Run Office 14 On Windows XP
Discussion: Softpedia News
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Pirate Bay: a guilty verdict is an attack on the Internet  —  The Pirate Bay trial wrapped up Tuesday in Sweden as the defendants claimed that their site is nothing more than a piece of Internet infrastructure.  The verdict comes down in April, but for now, the defendants are off to “party.”
Discussion: Gizmodo and The Register
RELATED:
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:   The Pirate Bay - Innocent or Guilty?
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:   The Final Day of The Pirate Bay Trial
Owen Thomas / Gawker:
Apple Layoffs Today?  —  One tipster tells us there are “major layoffs” at Apple.  Another writes that “all sales teams have mandatory meetings today” and that “HR booked conference rooms in Cupertino.”  Is Apple cutting salespeople loose?  —  If so, then Apple's latest product announcements seem …
Janette Barrios / Apple:
Apple Introduces New Mac Pro  —  Features Intel “Nehalem” Xeon Processors & High-Performance Graphics  —  Apple® today introduced the new Mac® Pro using Intel “Nehalem” Xeon processors and a next-generation system architecture to deliver up to twice the performance of the previous generation system.
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft responds to Grassley, defends its use of H-1B workers  —  In a letter made public today, Microsoft responded to questions raised by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley over the company's continued employment of foreign guest workers amid its layoffs.  The company defended its actions …
Discussion: Microsoft Pri0
RELATED:
Mscorp / Microsoft On The Issues:
Economic Hard Times and the Global Technology Workforce
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Google CEO: Twitter A 'Poor Man's Email System'  —  Real-time microblogging and messaging services like Twitter could potentially become a threat to Google — whose search index doesn't keep up with conversations as quickly as Twitter's.  So what does Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt think about Twitter?
Discussion: Between the Lines
Brad / Liliputing:
Asus launches Eee PC 1008HA ultra-thin netbook  —  Asus officially launched the Eee PC 1008HA at CeBIT today.  The netbook is just 1 inch thick and weighs 2.4 pounds, which is pretty light by Asus 10 inch netbook standards.  —  The mini-laptop, formerly known as the Eee PC Shell almost looks …
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Obama picks Net neutrality advocate as FCC chairman  —  President Obama on Tuesday nominated Julius Genachowski as the nation's top telecommunications regulator, picking a campaign advisor who has divided his career between Washington, D.C., political jobs and working as an Internet executive.
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Want To Know Why Newspapers Are Going Out Of Business?  Because Adding Value Never Seems To Be An Option  —  from the massive-failure-in-action dept  —  Lots of folks in the newspaper business say that Howard Owens is a guy who really gets the online news business — and recognizes the challenges and opportunities.
Discussion: The Noisy Channel and Howard Owens, Thanks:atul
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Suit over $5K netbook 3G data bill; AT&T says “read the TOS”  —  Oklahoma resident Billie Parks signed up for RadioShack's $100 netbook deal, but didn't think committing to a two-year AT&T data contract would leave her with a $5,000 bill for her first month of service.
Discussion: InformationWeek
Rory Maher / paidContent.org:
Bad Year For Bonuses?  Not For Google Execs  —  Bonuses on Wall Street may be getting slashed, but executives at plenty of other big companies are still getting their year-end payouts—even if, unlike in recent years, they aren't quite enough to buy that Napa winery or mansion in the Hamptons.
Seth Rosenblatt / Download.com editors:
Skype announces voice-to-text messaging  —  VoIP provider Skype plans to announce Tuesday that it will be working with SpinVox to provide its users with voice-to-SMS messaging in four languages.  —  This adds another option to Skype's messaging notifications for both Windows and Mac …
Google Code Blog:
Introducing Labs for Google Code  —  Tom Stocky, Director, Google Developer Products  —  As Google's developer program continues to grow — already over 60 APIs and tools on Google Code today — we credit much of this growth to a culture of exploration and rapid iteration …
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, eWeek, InfoWorld and Google Blogoscoped, Thanks:atul
Chris Albrecht / NewTeeVee:
Amazon VOD Launches on the Roku  —  After much anticipation, Amazon VOD finally landed on the Roku player this morning, expanding the capabilities of the $99 set-top box beyond Netflix.  Roku owners will have access to Amazon's VOD library of more than 40,000 titles, including the ability …
Reinhardt Krause / Investor's Business Daily:
AT&T Sells Netbooks Like It Sells iPhones, With Upfront Subsidy  —  AT&T (T) aims to work the same “discount” magic with netbooks as it did with Apple's (AAPL) iPhone.  —  By forging marketing alliances with makers of the low-cost laptops, it hopes to expand its wireless customer base.
Jin / DisplayBlog:
ASUS Eee Top: 15.6″ Touch All-In-One Available for Pre-Order $599.99 at Amazon  —  Copyright © 2009 DisplayBlog.  Visit the original article at http://www.displayblog.com/2009/03/03/ asus-eee-top-156-touch-all-in-one- available-for-pre-order-59999-at- amazon/.  —  ASUS Eee Top Specifications
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Broadcasters sue FCC over white space broadband decision  —  The National Association of Broadcasters has asked a Federal court to shut down the FCC's authorization of white space devices.  No details yet on why exactly NAB thinks the decision was illegal.  —  They've called “white space” …
Discussion: dailywireless.org
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Apple MacBook Pro 15-inchers get quiet CPU spec bump  —  While poring over the metric ton of PR this morning, we didn't immediately notice that Apple has turned up the juice ever-so-slightly on MacBook Pro 15-inch models.  Instead of coughing up a CPU bump from 2.4GHz to 2.53GHz …
Discussion: AppleInsider, Gizmodo and Obsessable
Google:
Google Analytics Launches Individual Qualification Program  —  Online Course and Test Promote Increased Understanding of Web Analytics  —  Google announced today the launch of a new skills qualification program, Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ), which allows individuals to demonstrate proficiency in Google Analytics.
Discussion: WebProNews and Search Engine Watch, Thanks:blogfisher
Ryan Kim / The Technology Chronicles:
Comcast now offering 50 Mbps service in the Bay Area soon  —  Comcast is bringing high-speed love to the Bay Area.  —  The cable provider is expanding its rollout of the new DOCSIS 3.0 technology, which will provide customers with speeds up to 50 megabits per second for downloads and up to 10 megabits per second for uploads.
Discussion: DSLreports
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Khosla Ventures Goes Retro for New Blood  —  Pierre Lamond, a Silicon Valley veteran, was planning to retire from Sequoia Capital this year.  Instead, the 78-year-old has decided to join Khosla Ventures, the venture firm founded by Vinod Khosla.  —  “I was really looking at phasing out …
Discussion: Forbes, VentureBeat and Digits
Juha-Pekka Tikka / Xconomy:
The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser  —  Juha-Pekka Tikka wrote:  —  Three quiet and unknown Finnish engineers in their late thirties, Kim Nyberg, Kari Sydänmaanlakka, and Teemu Rantanen …
Mark Wilson / Gizmodo:
Eye-Fi Doubles Storage and Adds Video Support  —  Our beloved Eye-Fis (SD cards that add Wi-Fi to any digital camera) have finally gotten the bump from their 2GB standard.  Now Eye-Fi cards hold 4GB of photos and upload videos to YouTube/Flickr. … Essentially, Eye-Fi had a limited edition 4GB card …
 
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 More Items: 
Craig Donato / Facebook Blog:
The New Facebook Marketplace Powered by Oodle
Discussion: Search Engine Watch
Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
The Review Site Yelp Draws Some Outcries of Its Own
Discussion: Screenwerk and Kelsey Group Blogs, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Michael V. Copeland / Fortune:
The end of paper?  —  Someday you may be reading your newspaper …
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Hands-on with MSI's X-Slim X320, X340 and GT725 laptops
Discussion: Softpedia News
Business Wire:
The NPD Group: Despite Recession, U.S. Smartphone Market is Growing
 Earlier Items: 
Jon Fortt / Big Tech:
Why Intel is sharing its secret sauce
Joe Fay / The Register:
Asus keyboard PC due May. Or maybe June
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Sequoia Pumps More Funding Into Search Marketing Startup Kenshoo
Discussion: paidContent.org
Elizabeth Woyke / Forbes:
LG's Weapon: Netbooks
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Marketing by spy shot: New Macs (with specs)
Reid Hoffman / Washington Post:
Let Our Start-Ups Bail Us Out