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5:55 PM ET, May 15, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Jacob Schulman / Engadget Mobile:
Exclusive BlackBerry Storm 2 shots!  —  What's this we have here?  A trusted source just hit us with a slew of beauty shots of the Storm 2 that leaked a little bit ago.  Not much else to say at this point until we can get one in our hands — the photos really speak for themselves.
Dan Friedman / Inside AdWords:
Update to U.S. ad text trademark policy  —  Imagine opening your Sunday paper and seeing ads from a large supermarket chain that didn't list actual products for sale; instead, they simply listed the categories of products available - offers like “Buy discount cola” and “Snacks on sale.”
RELATED:
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Companies Object to Google Policy on Trademarks  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When Audrey Spangenberg idly typed “FirePond,” the name of her small software company, into Google this year, she was not happy with what she saw.  —  Her company's site came up as the top search listing.
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
WolframAlpha launch runs into ‘a small snag,’ says creator  —  The much-anticipated WolframAlpha knowledge engine has run into a technical snag that may delay its launch, initially scheduled to be broadcast live today at 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT.  —  In an interview today, Stephen Wolfram …
RELATED:
Chris Sherman / Search Engine Land:
Wolfram Alpha Live Review: The Un-Google
Discussion: Telegraph and ReadWriteWeb, Thanks:atul
Phone Arena:
Project Charlie - three secret AT&T devices bound for Best Buy  —  Published on: Today by PhoneArena Team  —  Keep in mind that the information in this article is not official.  —  We've received some news from a Best Buy insider about some new phones that may be on the horizon for the electronics retailer.
RELATED:
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple execs disclose options for boosting iPhone market share  —  Apple executives said this week they believe the iPhone remains in its infancy and went on to — somewhat uncharacteristically — reveal a series of strategic measures they may employ in the near term to help grow the handset's share of the booming smartphone market.
Discussion: The iPhone Blog and iLounge
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Hulu Questions Count of Its Audience  —  Does Hulu, the Web's most popular place for TV viewing, reach nine million people a month or 42 million?  —  Millions of dollars in advertising revenue may hinge on the answer.  But no one seems to know for sure how big the site's audience is.
RELATED:
Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb:
Online Stats: Hulu Says Nielsen's Numbers are Wrong
Discussion: TECH.BLORGE.com
John Koblin / New York Observer:
New York Times Considers Two Plans to Charge for Content on the Web  —  By the end of June, The New York Times will come to a decision on how to charge for some of its content on the Web, The Observer has learned.  —  Executive editor Bill Keller said at a meeting with staff on Wednesday …
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Do Web Entrepreneurs Still Need Venture Capitalists?  —  Is venture capital becoming obsolete for Web start-ups?  —  Yes, according to Robert Hendershott, a professor of private equity and entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.
RELATED:
Rory Maher / paidContent.org:
Think Entrepreneurs Don't Need VCs? Think Again
Discussion: mocoNews and paidContent
news.teamxbox.com:
Microsoft Working on Digital Entertainment Handheld  —  When I got the first piece of information regarding a Microsoft digital entertainment handheld last year, I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a wild gossip.  In a time when people is afraid of losing their jobs because of the global recession …
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Pushing the App Store price envelope  —  For people who had been waiting since January to watch TV on their iPhones, price doesn't seem to have been an object.  —  Within a day of its release Wednesday, SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone had shot to the No. 10 spot on Apple's (AAPL) closely watched Top Paid Apps list.
Discussion: 148Apps.biz
RELATED:
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Sorry, Twitter, Prop. 8 has not been overturned  —  This just in from Twitter — California's Prop. 8, which amended the state constitution to ban gay marriage, has been overturned by the state Supreme Court.  Since I'm a typical San Francisco liberal, you can probably guess how I reacted.
Discussion: TechCrunch, Daggle and Gawker
BBC:
EU proposal could ‘stifle’ games  —  The future of games development has been called into question after the EU Commission suggested developers provide a two year guarantee.  —  Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva want to expand the EU Sales and Guarantees Directive.
Matt McGee / Search Engine Land:
Quietly, Google Updates Its Blog Search Algorithm  —  There's no official announcement (yet), but Google tells Search Engine Land that it's made several improvements under the hood of Google Blog Search.  —  In an email conversation, Google's Jeremy Hylton — head of the search quality group …
Discussion: VentureBeat, Mashable! and broadstuff, Thanks:mattmcgee
macles*:
Acer Aspire One 571  —  Another Aspire One, but this one is quite a bit different.  —  Not so much on the outside, as the chassis is apparently based on the D150 or D250.  It also shares the same internal specifications, but has some additional components.
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Federated Media Will Search for New Leader Says Founder and CEO Battelle (Plus a Web Squared and Double-D Video!)  —  John Battelle (pictured here), the founder, Chairman and CEO of Federated Media Publishing, told his staff this morning that he will begin a search for a new top exec to take the company into its next stage of growth.
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Apple Serious About Background App Support For iPhone 3.0  —  Apple (AAPL) is serious about letting more iPhone software — beyond its native apps like phone, iPod, and Mail — run in the background, we've heard from sources in the mobile industry.  This could potentially happen as soon …
Discussion: MacRumors and The iPhone Blog
Blassey / Brad's Blog:
Fennec Alpha 1 for Windows Mobile  —  We are pleased to announce that Fennec Alpha 1 for Windows Mobile 6 is available for download by developers and testers.  This is an early developer release intended for testing purposes only.  We would like to invite interested Windows Mobile developers …
Edible Apple:
Rumor: Next iPod refresh scheduled for September, iPod Touch AND Nano to get camera  —  The next iPod refresh is set for September and will see the addition of a camera to the iPod Touch, according to a recent report from Hardmac.  Recent reports suggest that the next iPhone will sport …
The Boy Genius / Boy Genius Report:
Verizon's upcoming BlackBerry releases: Tour, Pearl Flip, Atlas Storm 2 info  —  So check it.  We just got a tip from a new ninja but this information looks really credible so we're running it... Here's the random bits of info we received:  — All Verizon BlackBerry handsets launched after the BlackBerry Tour will have Wi-Fi
Discussion: I4U News, Electronista and Gizmodo
Alexander Haislip / PE Hub Blog:
Apple Buying Eye-Tracking Devices  —  Apple is buying eye-tracking technology from Tobii Technology, a Stockholm-based startup that just closed a $21.5 million Series B financing from venture capitalists, according to company founder John Elvesjö.  —  Tobii Technology's eye tracker …
Mark Cuban / blog maverick:
How Twitter and Facebook Now Compete with Google  —  Last year I wrote a blog post entitled “If the news is important it will find me”.  The point was that we all live in so many social networks, that someone will send us an update if something in the world happens that we would be interested in.
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Social Status: The guy who spread Keyboard Cat fever  —  Play him off, Keyboard Cat.  Credit: Brad O'Farrell  —  On its own, the Keyboard Cat video might elicit a smile and a chuckle.  But when the adorable feline pounding its paws on a musical keyboard is preceded by an awkward …
Discussion: Laughing Squid
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Palm Pre pics released into the wild by Sprint freedom fighter  —  You know, if you're going to post pics of yourself onto the Internet goofing around with the Palm Pre in a Sprint back-office, Engadget's going to be there to post them.  However, if you're dumb enough not to block out your face …
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Non-touch: Still on the Windows Mobile 7 feature list?  —  It's been quite the week for rumors and tips on things Windows Mobile and Zune-related.  Why not close out the week with one more?  —  Microsoft history buffs may recall that in January 2008, word leaked out (via …
Discussion: WMPoweruser.com, Gizmodo and WMExperts
Adam C. Engst / TidBITS:
GPS Accuracy Could Start Dropping in 2010  —  [Updated to clarify that Mike Craymer merely alerted us to the GAO report; he's not responsible for identifying the problems with GPS.  -Adam]  —  We've all become accustomed to using the Global Positioning System, or GPS, whether via our iPhones …
 
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 More Items: 
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld / Between the Lines:
Jeff Bezos, meet Tony Hsieh.  Zappos Moving into Electronics.  And More.
Saul Hansell / Bits:
Even in Mobile Video, the Action Is on the iPhone
BBC:
The hi-tech battle for Africa
Discussion: open and Slashdot
Economist:
Tossed by a gale
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Facebook Working On Similar Feed Stories Feature
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Marisa Taylor / Digits:
The Real-Time Local News
John Cook / TechFlash:
1000 Markets is an Etsy rival with backing from PayPal founders
Thanks:toddbishop
 Earlier Items: 
Priya Ganapati / Gadget Lab:
Hands On: New Cool-er E-Book Reader Turns Up the Heat
Discussion: T3.com News, open and TeleRead
Andy Plesser / Beet.TV:
The New York Times Finds Print-Like Engagement with New “Reader”
Ashlee Vance / Bits:
Once a Chip Curmudgeon, Dell Gives Via a Spin
Daniel Emery / BBC:
Hackers ‘destroy’ flight sim site
New York Post:
AT FORBES MEDIA, THE KNIVES ARE COMING
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A growing number of podcasters, including Tim Ferriss, are moving away from interviews to monologues or co-hosts, as some well-known guests can be overexposed

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Bonnie Hammer plans to leave the company at the end of the year; she has been with the company since 2004

 
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