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1:40 AM ET, March 4, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
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?
RELATED:
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Schmidt: Economy ‘Pretty Dire’, Google ‘Not Immune’  —  Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt's gloomy comments on the economy aren't helping Google stock, which is down 3.2% after-hours.  During a fireside chat with Mary Meeker at Morgan Stanley's tech conference, Schmidt said:  — The ecomomic situation is “pretty dire.”
Discussion: PE Hub Blog, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Palm: Demand tanks ahead of Pre launch; Pre needs to save the day
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider
Geoffrey A. Fowler / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon to Sell Books for iPhones  —  Amazon.com Inc. plans to release a program Wednesday for reading electronic books on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, extending Amazon's sales of digital books to devices beyond its Kindle e-book reader.  —  Amazon's software application, which can be downloaded free of charge …
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Oppenheimer: New iMac a better deal than Dell, HP  —  In reviewing Apple's (AAPL) new desktops Tuesday, some analysts chided the company for not setting “more aggressive price points,” as Kaufman Bros.'s Shaw Wu put it, given today's “tough macroeconomic environment.”  —  But not Oppenheimer's Yair Reiner.
Discussion: MacDailyNews
RELATED:
Apple:
Apple Updates Consumer Desktop Line
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Obama picks Net neutrality backer as FCC chief  —  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.
Ben Lorica / O'Reilly Radar:
The Fastest-Growing Category in the iTunes App Store: Books  —  At least as measured in terms of number of unique applications, Books have grown the fastest over the last 12 weeks.  (Data for this post limited to apps on the U.S. iTunes store through 3/1/2009.)
Discussion: TeleRead, Thanks:atul
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.
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
The Pirate Bay - Innocent or Guilty?  —  Yesterday the prosecutor called for jailtime, while the prosecution presented its closing statements.  Today the defense had its say and the trial officially ended.  —  The Pirate Bay trial started on February 16 with lots of press coverage …
Discussion: TechSpot and WatchingTV Online
RELATED:
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Pirate Bay: a guilty verdict is an attack on the Internet
Discussion: Gizmodo, Guardian and TorrentFreak
Michael Bettiol / Boy Genius Report:
Your first look at Facebook 1.5 for BlackBerry  —  For a while now there has been talk of Facebook 1.5 for BlackBerry.  Back in November we cited a report which indicated a January release, something that obviously did not come to fruition.  However, we can say with absolute certainty …
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Kapur Stepping Down as MySpace COO  —  Amit Kapur, who was elevated to COO of MySpace early last year, will be stepping down from the position.  He's leaving the company to start a new venture with two other MySpace executives, Jim Benedetto, SVP of Engineering and Steve Pearman, SVP of Product Strategy.
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.
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Facebook's Redesigned Fan Pages to Compete More Directly with Twitter  —  As most brands and marketers know by now, Facebook is preparing to announce a redesigned version of its Pages product for businesses tomorrow.  —  For those that haven't seen the details on all the likely* changes …
Discussion: Charles Hudson's Weblog and The Social, Thanks:atul
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.
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 …
Alex Payne / al3x:
Towards Better Technology Journalism  —  Rarely does technology journalism produce informed, correct, relevant, and readable content.  This is a sorry and damaging state of affairs.  —  I've been drafting this post in my head for ages, and bringing the topic up to friends and colleagues ad nauseam.
Thanks:atul
Dave Winer / Scripting News:
Fractional Horsepower Twitters?  —  Fractional Horsepower is a very powerful idea.  It says that sometimes you can make a new product by taking an old one and scaling it down.  —  The originator of the concept, in my experience (he may have borrowed it from someone else) is Steve Jobs …
Thanks:atul
Live Search:
Testing...One...Two...Three!  —  Many of you have probably seen the press coverage in the last day or so about the internal testing Microsoft employees are doing on our search product.  There's a good deal of excitement brewing over this test, both internally and externally, which we're always glad to see.
Philipp Lenssen / Google Blogoscoped:
Google Tasks, a Standalone App  —  Google Tasks is a standalone application by Google that is similar to the Gmail tasks widget.  However, I'm not sure it's ever intended to be officially released; right now, when you open the app's FAQ, you'll see the note:
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Facebook Connect + Facebook Ads = A Social Ad Network  —  The push to ramp up revenues is clearly on at Facebook.  If Mark Zuckerberg wants to prove Facebook's valuation (something he won't budge on for new investors), he is going to have to start showing some serious revenues.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
TheFunded Founder Creates A Startup Camp For Young CEOs  —  What this economy needs to get out of its rut is more startups.  Adeo Ressi, the founder of VC-rating site TheFunded, wants to do his part to help jump start the economy with fresh ideas and leaders.
Discussion: TechFlash, Thanks:atul
Jeff P Howe / Epicenter:
Berkman Center Rides Herd on Censorship  —  Last week Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society launched Herdict, which encourages Internet users around the world to report blocked, or otherwise inaccessible Websites.  The name is a portmanteau of “herd” and “verdict,” and true to its name …
Dan Lyons / Real Dan Lyons Web Site:
Tech blog roundup  —  I wrote recently about how the economics of blogging kind of sucks.  But I neglected to mention the fine contribution to journalism and world knowledge that blogs represent.  One of the great things about the blogosphere is the unique information that each blog provides.
Discussion: ParisLemon
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Hollywood's Napster Moment Arrives, Courtesy of MegaVideo  —  Yesterday I expressed a bit of befuddlement about MegaVideo.com, a Chinese site that cracked comScore's list of Top 10 video sites in January.  —  Thanks to all the readers who set me straight.  It turns out there's an easy answer …
Ryan Kim / The Technology Chronicles:
Comcast now offering 50 Mbps service in the Bay Area  —  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
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.
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.
Craig Donato / Facebook Blog:
The New Facebook Marketplace Powered by Oodle  —  Craig Donato is the CEO of Oodle, which is a growing online classifieds service that organizes millions of classified listings from across the Web.  We've asked him to post on the Facebook blog today about the launch of Facebook Marketplace powered by Oodle.
 
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 More Items: 
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Another ISP Ad Snooper Hit With Lawsuit
Kate Holton / Reuters:
Internet firms agree UK targeted advertising rules
Discussion: BBC
Josh Lowensohn / Webware.com:
Web video round table sheds light on upcoming problems
Discussion: Beet.TV and CNET News
Reid J. Epstein / Newsday:
Oceanside teen sues Facebook, ex-classmates for $3M
Yukari Kane / Digits:
Layoffs at Apple? Unlikely
Discussion: Gawker, Gawker, PC World and tinyComb
Jin / DisplayBlog:
ASUS Eee Top: 15.6″ Touch All-In-One Available for Pre-Order $599.99 at Amazon
 Earlier Items: 
Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
The Review Site Yelp Draws Some Outcries of Its Own
Discussion: Screenwerk and Local Onliner, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Michael V. Copeland / Fortune:
The end of paper?  —  Someday you may be reading your newspaper …
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

 
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