Top Items:
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
Microsoft to kill Encarta later this year — Microsoft has announced that it is discontinuing its Encarta line of products. The software products will be gone by June 2009 and the website will go down October 31, 2009. — When I first saw this, I had to do a double take.
Discussion:
The Register, TechFlash, CNET News, TechCrunch, Computerworld Blogs, Silicon Alley Insider, All about Microsoft, AppScout, CrunchGear, techblog.dallasnews.com, Bink.nu and Teching It Easy, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent.org:Victim Of Wikipedia: Microsoft To Shut Down Encarta
Discussion:
Mashable!
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Microsoft, TomTom settle patent dispute — Microsoft and TomTom have reached a settlement in their respective patent suits, the companies said Monday. — As part of the deal, as TomTom will pay Microsoft for coverage related to mapping patents and file-management patents that Microsoft claimed …
Discussion:
TechFlash, Microsoft Watch, Ars Technica, Silicon Alley Insider, Epicenter and OStatic blogs
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Is a Shorter Web Address Worth Big Money? bit.ly Raises $2 Million — Here's another Web 2.0 riddle that seems particularly hard to solve post-Lehman: What's the value of a service that takes a long Web address and makes it shorter? — One answer: Several million dollars.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, blogs.telegraph.co.uk … and The Download Blog, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Netflix raising rates for Blu-ray subscribers by around 20 percent — Ruh roh. In a move that will undoubtedly cause an incredibly raucous stir, only to fade away as movie renters realize that Netflix is still the best deal going, America's most adored by-mail rental service is hiking the price of Blu-ray rentals once again.
RELATED:
Jessie / The Official Netflix Blog:
Price update for access to Blu-ray movies — Hi, Jessie Becker here, VP of Marketing, with a message for our members who have added Blu-ray access to their accounts. This message does not apply to you if you have not added Blu-ray access to your account. — The number of titles available …
Tom Krazit / CNET News:
Microsoft drops plan to charge for WinMo updates — Microsoft has backed off plans to charge Windows Mobile developers $99 for submitting even minor updates to their applications. — Last week, Microsoft said that unless developers submitted updates to their applications within 7 days of their release …
RELATED:
IAB:
Internet Advertising Revenues Surpass $23 Billion in '08, Reaching Record High — Q4 '08 Revenues Total $6.1 Billion; Growth Continues Despite Difficult Economy — Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. remain strong, topping $23 billion, according to the 2008 Internet Advertising Revenue Report …
RELATED:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Intel launches Nehalem server chips to improve data center efficiency — Intel introduced its Xeon 5500 Series family of server chips today — chips it hopes will be the standard for data centers of the future. — The chips (formerly code-named Nehalem) are the server variant …
Discussion:
The Register, eWeek, InfoWorld, eetasia.com, Electronista and Virtualization.com, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
Matt Cutts / Gadgets, Google, and SEO:
Hacking Google: Retro Links Revives Old Google Feature — Google sometimes turns off features. One such feature that I remember fondly is that at the bottom of Google's search results, we offered nine other search engine suggestions. The idea was if you didn't find what you were searching for on Google …
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Macworld Expo Moves, Accepts Its Nickname — Here's the first hint of how IDG's Macworld Expo will change in the wake of Apple's decision to pull out of the show: It's moving from early January to February 9th-13th (which includes a Saturday-the show has been weekday only).
MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Twitter quakes as San Francisco shakes — Earthquake news and Twitter have long gone hand in hand because of Twitter's instant mass-communication ability. Today, an earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area (where Twitter's headquarters is located, along with many of its original users), and Twitter traffic went nuts.
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
Microsoft Acquires Yahoo ... VP of Ops — Add another name to the list of Yahoo employees defecting to Microsoft. Dayne Sampson, Yahoo's VP of operations for search and advertising, has fled the company for its former suitor, Microsoft confirmed to Digital Daily.
Spencer Ante / Creative Capital:
It's Official: Twitter Hires Ex-Google Designer Douglas Bowman — Turns out the Web rumors were true for once. In a meeting last Friday afternoon in Twitter's San Francisco office, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone told me that the company had hired ex-Google Visual Design Lead Douglas Bowman to be the company's new creative director.
Discussion:
TheNextWeb.com
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
RBC says iPhone 3G ‘Pro’ won't boost iPhone momentum — The Royal Bank of Canada is maintaining its bearish near-term outlook on shares of Apple, claiming that although consumer interest in a new version of the iPhone remains healthy, sales of the new device are unlikely to provide the company …
Joe Wilcox / Microsoft Watch:
Lauren Is Right: Macs Cost More Than PCs — [Editor's Note: This is one of two companion posts about Microsoft's newest “I'm a PC” commercial, featuring computer shopper Lauren. At Apple Watch, “Microsoft Shatters Mac Pricing Myths” explains how the 60-second spot dispels the most common defenses for Mac pricing.]
Dan Sabbagh / Times of London:
Authors fight free books site Scribd for ‘pirating’ their work — Bestselling novels are reproduced without publishers' permission — Publishers and agents representing the authors J. K. Rowling and Ken Follett were battling last night to get free copies of their novels removed …
Sascha Segan / Gearlog:
Motorola, Cricket Launch QA4 Touch-Screen Phone — Cricket Wireless and Motorola today announced the low-cost carrier's highest-end phone so far, the Motorola Evoke QA4. The QA4 will be Cricket's first touch-screen phone. — The Evoke is a somewhat oval-shaped slider phone (4.25" x 2" …
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Yahoo Net service comes to Samsung TVs — Yahoo technology to bring Internet services to TVs has fledged from the demonstration realm to become a available in actual product, Samsung TVs. — Yahoo calls the technology TV Widgets, but Samsung is branding it as Internet@TV.
Discussion:
last100
Omar El Akkad / Globe and Mail:
Meet the Canadians who busted GhostNet — Researchers uncover explosive cyberspy network infecting more than 1,200 computers worldwide — Against the backdrop of humming computers in the underground lab in Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies, a screen flickered …
Discussion:
CircleID
Nathan Fouts / Mommy's Best Games' dev log:
Big fish in a shallow pond — True to their word, Microsoft has provided Community Games sales data by the end of March. The results are, in one word, sobering. — First, let me just reiterate that we have been very upfront about what Mommy's Best is trying to achieve. We want to make kick ass games, full-time.
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent.org:
Disney, YouTube Announce Clips Deal For ESPN, Disney/ABC — It's official—Disney Media Networks and YouTube have announced the revenue-sharing short-form deal we first reported last night. The deal with the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) video portal covers the launch of multiple ad-supported U.S …
Abbey Klaassen / AdAge:
Using Social Media to Listen to Consumers — A Vocal Few Don't Represent the Majority but Could Signify a Larger Issue — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — If the social-media sphere attacks your brand, do “real people” hear the screams? Not likely, according to surveys that indicate marketers …
Phone Arena:
Verizon's MiFi 2200 is your own personal Hotspot — We've received information that Verizon is preparing to launch a device known as the MiFi 2200. Based on the info and pictures, it appears that the device is a personal Hotspot with built-in rechargeable battery.
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
Sun Sacks 1,500 … Looks like Sun is “aligning its business with the global economic climate” again... The company will sack 1,500 employees this week, a company spokesperson confirmed to Digital Daily. The move is part of the restructuring plan Sun announced last November and will affect “all functions, geographies and levels.”
Discussion:
PC World
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
TheFunded Not Shutting Down — We're always happy to give a wide berth to people pulling April Fools pranks, but even so it's pushing it to do it on March 27. If you go that early, you need to be side-splittingly funny or earn our disdain until we've forgotten all about it.
