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8:55 AM ET, June 26, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Web Collapses Under The Weight Of Michael Jackson's Death  —  In terms of well-known celebrities, few are bigger than Michael Jackson.  Love him or hate him, pretty much everyone on the planet knows him.  And that caused big problems for a lot of huge websites today with the news of his passing.
RELATED:
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Michael Jackson-related traffic doubled Twitter's update frequency, tripled Facebook's  —  Traffic to news sites in North America saw a massive spike as the Michael Jackson story unfolded.  Times are EST. Credit: Akamai.  —  As the news of Michael Jackson's fate unfolded, sites around the Web felt the strain of spiking interest.
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Twitter: The Fastest Way to Get Informed.  Or Misinformed.  —  I spent this afternoon doing what a lot of people did: Watching TV reports about Michael Jackson while also gleaning information from the Web-especially Twitter.  When I happened to turn on the TV, MSNBC was still speaking …
Charles Arthur / Guardian:
How Michael Jackson's death captured Twitter's trends  —  A video shows how Twitter's trends were captured by the breaking news about the famous star's collapse and death  —  Twitscoop, which watches trends in hashtags on that messaging service you've all heard about, has a video …
Discussion: Guardian
YouTube Blog:
Mobile Uploads to YouTube Increase Exponentially  —  In the last six months, we've seen uploads from mobile phones to YouTube jump 1700%; just since last Friday, when the iPhone 3GS came out, uploads increased by 400% a day.  —  This growth represents three things coming together …
Alertbox:
Stop Password Masking … It's time to show most passwords in clear text as users type them.  Providing feedback and visualizing the system's status have always been among the most basic usability principles.  Showing undifferentiated bullets while users enter complex codes definitely fails to comply.
The Official Google Blog:
Google Voice invites on their way  —  A couple of months ago we announced Google Voice, a service that gives you one phone number to link all your phones and makes voicemail as easy as email.  We are happy to share that Google Voice is beginning to open up beyond former GrandCentral users.
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
Windows 7 preorders begin in the US, Canada, and Japan (Updated x2)  —  Windows 7 preorders have are now available for residents in the US, Canada, and Japan.  —  Today residents in the US, Canada, and Japan have the opportunity to preorder Windows 7 upgrade versions of both Home Premium …
Robert Andrews / mocoNews:
Apple Ups Stake In UK Radio Chip Firm Imagination  —  Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is tripling its stake in UK microchip firm Imagination Technologies, taking its share to 9.5 percent.  Its buying 2.2 million new shares at £1.4275 each (total £3.14 million).
Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Twitter's long-term traffic still growing  —  Twitter users, most of whom signed up for the site and then apparently stopped visiting, are actually coming back, new data from comScore suggests.  There's been a lot of evidence that Twitter's growth is tapering off by several measurements …
RELATED:
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
The Twitter Cycle: Curiosity, Abandonment, Addiction. …
Discussion: Softpedia News, Thanks:atul
Sydney Morning Herald:
Web filters to censor video games  —  The Federal Government has now set its sights on gamers, promising to use its internet censorship regime to block websites hosting and selling video games that are not suitable for 15 year olds.  —  Separately, the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy …
Dan Frakes / Macworld:
HP releases iPhone versions of classic calculators  —  Hewlett-Packard (HP) today announced iPhone-app versions of three classic HP calculators: the HP 12c, HP 12c Platinum, and HP 15C.  —  When run in landscape mode, each app uses the original ROM code and provides an exact visual replica …
Mark Sweney / Guardian:
Barack Obama won using ‘old school’ technology, says his campaign manager  —  David Plouffe, mastermind of Obama's ‘web 2.0 campaign’, downplays role of Facebook and Twitter in US election victory  —  David Plouffe, who masterminded Barack Obama's lauded web 2.0 presidential campaign …
Discussion: Digital Daily
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Facebook Click Fraud 101  —  Our posts earlier this week about the alarming amount of click fraud at Facebook left more than a few unanswered questions.  The problem is real and was confirmed by Facebook.  But what wasn't clear is exactly how or why it was happening.
Michael Oryl / MobileBurn.com:
HTC: Hero UI upgrade for existing phones possible, but not on T-mobile USA versions  —  News by Michael Oryl on Thursday June 25, 2009.  —  Hoping to get that shiny new Sense user interface from the HTC Hero as a future upgrade for your T-Mobile G1 or Vodafone Magic?
Richard Koman / ZDNet Government:
Who is attacking Solid Oak, whose code was stolen for Green Dam?  —  Check out this document from Solid Oak Software, makers of CyberSitter.  It's a comparison of CyberSitter with Green Dam-Youth Escort, the software China is insisting PC makers start installing on July 1.
Discussion: eWeek and TechVi
Jon Swartz / USA Today:
Businesses use Twitter to communicate with customers  —  When a Stanley Cup broadcast suddenly went black in late April, many Comcast subscribers simply scooted to Twitter to find out why.  —  It was there — not on a phone system with multiple options — they discovered that a lightning storm …
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff: The future of computing looks like Twitter  —  Marc Benioff, co-founder and chief executive of Salesforce.com, told attendees at today's Structure 09 conference in San Francisco that the world of business software and infrastructure is starting to see the same craze …
Discussion: GigaOM and BuzzMachine, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Jessi Hempel / Fortune:
The book that Facebook doesn't want you to read  —  Accidental Billionaires's author Ben Mezrich explains how he put together the tawdry tale that has Silicon Valley buzzing.  —  NEW YORK (Fortune) — Best-selling author Ben Mezrich is the first to concede he doesn't know exactly …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Foursquare Push Notifications, For The Ultimate In Friend Stalking  —  Foursquare, the location-based social networking service, is about to activate Push Notifications in the new version of its iPhone app, due shortly.  I've been beta testing it out for the past week, and I'm happy to report that it works brilliantly.
Roy Mark / eWeek:
Obama Nominates Baker for Final FCC Spot  —  President Obama selects former NTIA leader and telecommunications lobbyist Meredith Attwell Baker to complete the Republican side of the Federal Communications Commission.  —  President Obama June 25 nominated Meredith Attwell Baker …
Discussion: Bits, internetnews.com and CNET News
RELATED:
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
If You're An East Texas Company, Are You Now More Prone To Patent Infringement Lawsuits?  —  Joe Mullin has an interesting story, questioning why PubPat — a group that has fought against bad/questionable patents and bad patent policy — appears to be working closely with a guy who fits …
Ashley Broughton / CNN:
Tennessee man charged in ‘virtual pornography’ case  —  (CNN) — A Tennessee man is facing charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor for what authorities say are three pictures — none of them featuring an actual child's body.  —  Instead, according to testimony presented …
Olga Kharif / Business Week:
Big Software Plans for Amazon's Kindle?  —  Amazon.com's buying and hiring signal that many more Kindle apps may be on the way—plus software to put Amazon books on other mobile devices  —  Giant online retailer Amazon.com may be plotting a broader foray into software for smartphones.
Kevin Bomberry / Able Pear Software:
Making calls within your iPhone app - iPhone OS 3.0 breaks existing paradigm  —  When Apple introduced the iPhone SDK last year, developers around the world stood up, took notice and cheered.  In the year since the release more than 50,000 apps have been created and pushed up into the App Store …
Discussion: MobileContentToday
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Kayak to Bing: Stop Copying Us!  - Update  —  Kayak, the popular multi-airline airfare search engine, thinks Microsoft Bing's new travel search engine looks so much like its own that it's confusing Kayak users.  The travel search company sent Microsoft a legal letter last week telling them to cut it out, Wired.com has learned.
 
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 More Items: 
Wilson Rothman / Gizmodo:
Giz Bill Nye Explains: The iPhone 3GS's Oleophobic Screen
Anick Jesdanun / Associated Press:
ICANN hires former cybersecurity chief as new CEO
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
How Google's Thirst for Power Might Bury San Francisco in Rubble
Discussion: New York Times, digg.com and Slashdot
Pui-Wing Tam / Digits:
Apple Exec Joins Venture-Capital Firm
Discussion: mocoNews and Edible Apple, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Photobucket Layoffs Today: One-Third of Staff Let Go; Other FIM Units Also Impacted
Discussion: paidContent, Thanks:atul
Danny Sullivan / Daggle:
Garlic For The Google Vampire
Web 2.0 Summit 2009:
Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On
 Earlier Items: 
Gus Sentementes / BaltTech:
Maryland Tech: Protecting your computer screen from the “shoulder surfers”
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
New Yahoo Homepage Spotted In The Wild
Discussion: Softpedia News, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Scott M. Fulton, III / BetaNews:
There's now a Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 3
Scott Spanbauer / Windows Secrets Newsletter:
Windows may install updates without asking
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
iPhone Porn App Not Pulled By Apple, Just “Sold Out,” Says Developer
 

 
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”

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

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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