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2:50 PM ET, May 5, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
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:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
The big Kindle: Pondering Wi-Fi; Netbooks; Market implications  —  The speculation-o-meter is running wild ahead of Amazon's roll-out of its large-screen Kindle Wednesday, but there are more than a few loose-ends to tie up.  —  First, the latest.  Engadget reports that the latest Kindle will have a 9.7-inch display.
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb:
Would Students Even Want a Kindle for Textbooks?
Daniel Ionescu / PC World:
Leaked! Images of Large Screen Kindle ‘DX’
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 Are the Facts in Five Beyoncé-Madonna-Approved Steps  —  Was it more than a month ago that 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 …
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.
RELATED:
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Microsoft sends second wave of layoff notices to 3,000  —  Microsoft on Tuesday notified more than 3,000 workers that it was eliminating their jobs.  —  The software maker said in January that it would cut up to 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months.  It made 1,400 cuts at the time.
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily and TechSpot
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.
Mark Sweney / Guardian:   Microsoft to cut 150 jobs in UK
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” …
RELATED:
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.
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 …
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: bub.blicio.us and Lifehacker
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Antitrust inquiry: How Apple and Google compete  —  Given the looming presence of Microsoft (MSFT) on the PC desktop, we tend to think of Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) as corporate best friends united by a common enemy.  —  But the news Monday night that the U.S. government has opened …
RELATED:
Gary Allen / ifoAppleStore:
Report: Water-Damaged iPhones Now Swappable  —  Careless iPhone owners who have flipped their handset into a swimming pool-or glass of beer-can now reportedly save themselves the expense of purchasing a new handset under a new Apple store policy allowing the replacement of a liquid-damaged handset for $199.
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: Boston Globe and Gizmodo
Mark Wilson / Gizmodo:
iPhone 3.0 Firmware Taking Better Pictures than 2.2.1?  —  The iPhone's camera resolution leaves much to be desired, but there's more to image quality than just resolution.  And according to one series of tests, the firmware 3.0 is taking better photos than its predecessor.
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.
Seth Weintraub / Computerworld Blogs:
Evidence points to 3G radios in MacBooks, Tablets?  —  From the rumor mill to the evidence mill....  I heard from an Apple source last month that Apple laptops were going to get a slight update this summer.  There was speculation that update might be a 3G wireless radio added to MacBooks.
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News:
Jimmy Fallon, Trent Reznor earn top Webby Awards  —  There are literally dozens of categories in the annual Webby Awards—too many, if you ask some—covering pretty much every niche of digital media.  This year's winners, announced Tuesday, are quite a lot to scroll through.
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: TeleRead and WatchingTV Online
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 …
Alexei Oreskovic / Reuters:
Hope and fear mark Yahoo at crossroads  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Four months into her fix-it job at Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), Chief Executive Carol Bartz has worked through an impressive checklist.  —  The 60-year-old executive has moved swiftly to rebuild the Internet company to her specifications …
David / TmoNews:
Visual Voicemail Coming!  —  Well I bet at least a few of you will be more than interested in getting your hands on this feature and while the above picture lacks any real detail, an approaching release date is interesting enough.  Visual voicemail is a feature the iPhone popularized …
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Demand for Bandwidth Leads to Fiber Boom  —  Carriers are building out long-haul network capacity like it was 2001, but they're not going to break the bank this time around, according to a report out today from TeleGeography Research.  The firm's Global Bandwidth Research Service says the growth …
Bill Ray / The Register:
Apple drives iPhone app developers to the brink  —  Could pay, will pay.  Just not right now  —  Free whitepaper - An improved architecture for high-efficiency, high-density data centers  —  A backlog in Apple's payment processing system has left some iPhone developers still waiting …
Discussion: mocoNews
 
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 More Items: 
Robert X. Cringely / I, Cringely:
The Future of Internet TV (in America)
Discussion: MacDailyNews, Thanks:atul
Andru Edwards / Gear Live:
Exclusive: Upcoming Verizon FiOS TV features
Discussion: Engadget HD and Gizmodo
David Kaplan / paidContent.org:
CBS Pulls Last.fm, Radio Into Interactive Music Group; CBS Radio's …
Greg Kumparak / MobileCrunch:
LogMeIn Coming Soon To The BlackBerry Storm
Tameka Kee / paidContent.org:
McDonald's Rolls With YouTube For McCafe Launch
Rachael King / Business Week:
Hungry for iPhone Business Apps
Discussion: GigaOM
Will Oremus / Mercury News:
Facebook to vacate downtown Palo Alto in May 14 move
Thanks:atul
 Earlier Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Google Reader Still Trying To Figure Out This Whole Social Thing.
Stephen Lawson / Macworld:
iPass aims for mobile cloud service platform
Discussion: Softpedia News
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
P2P bill could regulate Web browsers, FTP clients
Discussion: Electronista
Dan Tynan / InfoWorld:
True believers: The biggest cults in tech
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Why Hasn't Google Cleared, Fired Or Suspended Accused AdWords Employee?
Thanks:atul
 

 
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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