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7:20 PM ET, May 15, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
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.
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
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.
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:
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.
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
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 …
RELATED:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:   Rumors Regarding Background App Support in iPhone 3.0
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:   Google improves Blog Search, but not by much
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
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 …
RELATED:
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET News:
‘Firefox Mobile’ alpha hits Windows Mobile 6
Discussion: IntoMobile and Mobile Tech Addicts
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 …
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: Daggle, TechCrunch and Gawker
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
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld / Between the Lines:
Jeff Bezos, meet Tony Hsieh.  Zappos Moving into Electronics.  And More.  —  As I said this morning, you should rule the world!!!  How about starting by giving seminars?  You could start with Wall St., then banks, how about the auto industry, then there's the airlines.
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.
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 …
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.
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.
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Facebook Prepares To Launch Live Video Chat Product  —  Want to call your Facebook friends via video chat?  Soon enough you'll be able to.  Earlier today one of our readers sent us a link to one of Facebook's cached JavaScript files which reveals a number of clues as to a soon to be released video chat service.
Discussion: Mashable!, Thanks:mrinaldesai
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: TechCrunch and 148Apps.biz
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
Sheamus / Twittercism:
47 People Who Work At Twitter (And What They Do)  —  The shenanigans of the past couple of days on Twitter have provided us with a couple of key pieces of information: one, that Twitter really needs to work on its PR, and two, that the leadership provided by Jack Dorsey (@Jack), Evan Williams …
Discussion: internetnews.com and Epicenter
 
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 More Items: 
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Google's Chrome was ‘hackable’ at Pwn2Own contest
Discussion: The Register and Internetnews Blog
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
crackho.com DNS prank ruffles Sarah Palin's feathers
Erica Ogg / CNET News:
Sony hires a professional fixer
Discussion: The eBook Test
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
Casey Chan / Android Central:
T-Mobile's Android 1.5 Cupcake Update Release Schedule Revealed ?
Discussion: IntoMobile and jkOnTheRun
 Earlier Items: 
Marisa Taylor / Digits:
The Real-Time Local News
John Cook / TechFlash:
1000 Markets is an Etsy rival with backing from PayPal founders
Thanks:toddbishop
New York Post:
AT FORBES MEDIA, THE KNIVES ARE COMING
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
A deep dive into Paramount's sale to Skydance; sources: Skydance may integrate Pluto into Paramount+, and CBS head George Cheeks is expected to be head of TV

Brian Stelter / CNN:
In a letter to Bob Iger, incoming FCC chair Brendan Carr raised concerns about ABC's negotiations with its affiliated stations, public trust in media, and more

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix will host NFL Christmas games, including Beyonce's Halftime show, for only three hours after streaming them live; replays will be available on NFL+

 
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