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11:40 AM ET, May 5, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Twitter Mania: Google Got Shut Down.  Apple Rumors Heat Up.  —  Twitter!  Whether you use it or not, or understand it or not, it's the hottest thing in Silicon Valley right now.  It's brought up in every conversation.  And no wonder - the service has exploded to somewhere north …
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Ignore the Twitter Buyout Rumors: Here's the Facts in Five Beyoncé-Madonna-Approved Steps  —  Was it more than a month ago that the Google was rumored to be in “late-stage negotiations to acquire Twitter”?  —  Not so much late-stage, I guess, with a gestation period that seems interminable …
Owen Thomas / Valleywag - Gawker:
Could Apple Buy Twitter?  —  Facebook tried to buy Twitter.  Google and Microsoft have been giving the red-hot Internet-messaging startup the eye.  But we hear it's Apple that's closest to sealing a deal, possibly for as much as $700 million.  —  A source who's plugged into the Valley's deal scene …
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:   Twapple?  Let's Recap a Dozen Other Apple Acquisitions That Aren't Going to Happen
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Amazon Kindle DX to feature 9.7-inch display?  Update: Pictures!  —  [It's still an elusive target for our old friend Mr. Blurrycam, but ]We just got some basic specs on the new, decidedly more newspaper- and college textbook-friendly Amazon Kindle DX.  Here's what we know: it's got a 9.7-inch display …
RELATED:
Daniel Ionescu / PC World:
Leaked!  Images of Large Screen Kindle ‘DX’  —  Yesterday we found out a bigger screen Kindle is coming on Wednesday, today pictures and details regarding the new Kindle DX have surfaced.  Amazon's new e-book reader will have a 9.7-inch display and sports new features such as a built-in PDF reader.
Discussion: Imaging Insider
Tristan Louis / The TNL.net weblog:
Is Ownership Passé?  —  The upcoming release …
Discussion: Doc Searls Weblog
Ed Bott / Ed Bott's Microsoft Report:
What to expect from Windows 7  —  It feels odd to be writing a review of Windows 7 this early.  Normally, software reviews don't make sense until the code is officially released and you have to make a buying decision: upgrade, pass, or buy a new PC with the new OS.
RELATED:
Mikko / F-Secure Antivirus Research Weblog:
Windows 7 Fail  —  Windows 7 RC is out today.  —  This is great news.  —  Because surely by now they've fixed Windows Explorer.  —  You see, in Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista, Explorer used to Hide extensions for known file types.  And virus writers used this “feature” …
Sean Bradford / Neowin.net:
Exclusive: Windows 7 RC download goes live
Discussion: The Windows Blog and eWeek, Thanks:rebelsean
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Microsoft continues layoff plan, eliminates thousands more jobs  —  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer this morning informed employees that the company will be cutting more jobs — going forward with the second phase of its previously announced plan to eliminate up to 5,000 positions by June 2010.
RELATED:
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Ballmer's layoff mail to the troops fails to rule out more cuts  —  On May 5, Microsoft began the second round of job cuts it announced it would make back in January.  —  Here's the full text of the e-mail that CEO Steve Ballmer sent to Microsoft employees notifying them of today's actions.
Discussion: eWeek
Erik Palm / Webware.com:
Google launches stand-alone contacts manager  —  Google has launched a contacts manager that users of services like Google Docs, Picasa, and Calendar can use, without having to be a Gmail users.  —  Aimed at letting users share contacts more easily between different services, Google Contacts works like any other contacts function.
Discussion: Mashable! and Lifehacker
New York Times:
F.T.C. Looks Into Ties Between Apple and Google Boards  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry into whether the close ties among the boards of two of technology's most prominent companies, Apple and Google, amounts to a violation of antitrust laws, according to several people briefed on the inquiry.
RELATED:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Apple's FileMaker division launches Bento personal assistant iPhone app  —  In a rare move, one of Apple's own divisions is launching an app for the iPhone.  —  Apple's FileMaker is publishing its Bento personal database app today for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Discussion: Macworld, Ars Technica and Gizmodo
RELATED:
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET News:
FileMaker unpacks a Bento database for iPhone
Discussion: MacRumors iPhone Blog
David Talbot / Technology Review:
Wolfram Alpha and Google Face Off  —  Our exclusive test shows how the two Web engines compare when given the same queries.  —  Last week, as physicist Stephen Wolfram was demonstrating his new Web-based “computation engine”—Wolfram Alpha—to the public, Google announced a data-centric service of its own.
Discussion: Gizmodo and The Noisy Channel
Code Android Singapore:
Leaked Image of G3 aka HTC Hero Surfaced  —  An anonymous reader sent us these photos of the G3, aka as the HTC Hero, that will be released probably in Q3 this year.  This device look very similar to the HTC Magic in terms of the form factor and possibly slightly slimmer …
John Cook / TechFlash:
Foundry Group, Allen's Vulcan inject $6.75 million into Gist  —  Anyone who feels overwhelmed with email, blog posts, Twitter messages and Facebook updates will understand the business problem being addressed by Gist.  The year-old Seattle startup company, which today is announcing $6.75 million …
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
P2P bill could regulate Web browsers, FTP clients  —  news analysis The U.S. House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing Tuesday to examine a bill that would force peer-to-peer applications to provide specific notice to consumers that their files might be shared.
Discussion: Electronista and thomas.loc.gov
Stephen Lawson / Macworld:
iPass aims for mobile cloud service platform  —  iPass has staked its claim to most laptop and smartphone platforms with the introduction of enterprise iPhone and Nokia S60 clients on Tuesday, but the mobile network aggregator now aims to become a platform for other vendors' services.
Discussion: Softpedia News
Arn / MacRumors Page 2:
Apple Looking to Takeover Electronic Arts?  —  TheStreet's David Tong relays that FastMoney's Guy Adami claims that there is “chatter” that Apple is eyeing an Electronic Arts takeover.  —  Adami noted that there is chatter that Apple (AAPL Quote) is eyeing Electronic Arts(ERTS Quote) as a takeover target.
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Why Hasn't Google Cleared, Fired Or Suspended Accused AdWords Employee?  —  Google takes plenty of well-publicized heat for things it hasn't really done or concerns that get hyped.  But in the case of one of its AdWords employees being accused of bypassing AdWords policies for his own benefit …
Thanks:atul
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo:
“Apple Netbook” Student Project Is a Pencil-Drawn Beauty  —  This little project has been making the rounds as the “new Apple netbook,” which, unfortunately, is way off.  But the truth is pretty cool anyway: It's a beautiful pencil-drawn, wooden model.  —  Student Kyle Buckner …
Liz Gannes / NewTeeVee:
Vudu Goes Box-free for Entone  —  “Over the top” video services carry the implication of going behind the backs of existing television operators.  But two of the (admittedly smaller) players in IPTV and web-delivered video on demand are teaming up to give us a glance of what a united future could look like.
Naomi Alderman / Guardian:
If you can't buy it legally, then ofcourse you'll download it  —  Staggered film releases no longer work in a global economy and are to blame for the rise of pirate websites  —  As someone who produces copyrighted content, I suppose I should be cheering at the Pirate Bay verdict.
Discussion: WatchingTV Online
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
RIAA Still Filing Lawsuits...
Maggie Shiels / BBC:
Hollywood battling ‘DVD copying’
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
AOL Expands Socialthing to Warner Bros. TV, While Prepping …
Discussion: paidContent.org
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
BeamME Pitch uses your iPhone to beam a sales pitch
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Bill Ray / The Register:
Apple drives iPhone app developers to the brink
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Court Says VoIP Is Not A Telco Service; States Can't Tax It As One
Discussion: DSLreports
Mark Walsh / MediaPost:
Growth Curve: RIM Device Surges Past iPhone In Q1
 Earlier Items: 
Alexei Oreskovic / Reuters:
Hope and fear mark Yahoo at crossroads
Dan Tynan / InfoWorld:
True believers: The biggest cults in tech
Anne D'Innocenzio / Associated Press:
Recession forces new focus in e-commerce marketing
Discussion: Between the Lines
Gabriel Madway / Reuters:
Apple's cash grows, but no hint of its plans
Discussion: GMSV
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
CrossLoop's Screen-Sharing App Comes To The Mac
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Yahoo and Microsoft Deal Progress “Meaningful"-Plus the Deal Team Rosters
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
New Application Parental Controls to let Apple put adult content on iPhone
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Researchers hijack botnet, score 56,000 passwords in an hour
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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

 
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