Top Items:
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.
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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.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, CNET News, BBC, Contentinople, McAfee Avert Labs, Michael Jackson, eWeek, Fast Company, TMZ.com, Silicon Alley Insider, Between the Lines, MediaMemo, Guardian, Softpedia News, IntoMobile, TheNextWeb.com, The Register, fiercecio.comwatch, GMSV, Pocket-lint.com, Guardian, Search Engine Roundtable, Liquidmatrix Security Digest, Black Web 2.0, The Blog Herald, Search Engine Journal, Music Ally, NEWS.com.au, VentureBeat, internetnews.com, Crave, TomsTechBlog.com, Data Center Knowledge, All Facebook and Bits
Los Angeles Times:
TV misses out as gossip website TMZ reports Michael Jackson's death first — Other news outlets were reluctant to cite the website as the source for confirmation of the pop star's demise. — With the death of pop star Michael Jackson, TMZ gave the most potent demonstration yet of its ability to stir the pot of entertainment news.
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Thumbing Windows 7 onto Netbooks — Microsoft has shown Windows 7 running on Netbooks ever since it introduced the operating system last fall. However, helping consumers get it on their notebooks has proven more tricky. — Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive …
Discussion:
PC World, Fast Company, Neowin.net, Liliputing, Softpedia News, jkOnTheRun, Gizmodo, GottaBeMobile.com and CrunchGear
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Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
Windows 7 preorders begin in the US, Canada, and Japan (Updated x3) — 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 …
Discussion:
Hardware 2.0, Robert X. Cringely's blog, AppleInsider, Geekword, Redmond Pie, Engadget and Gizmodo
Adam L. Penenberg / Fast Company:
Amazon Taps Its Inner Apple — By introducing the Kindle, Jeff Bezos is emulating Steve Jobs — and taking him on. — To explain the present and divine the future, Amazon's founder and prognosticator-in-chief, Jeff Bezos, often turns to the past. Fond of historical analogies …
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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 …
Gabriel Madway / Reuters:
Pre helps Palm beat expectations, shares rise — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Palm Inc (PALM.O) posted a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter loss on Thursday, and highlighted strong demand for its just-unveiled Pre smartphone. — Palm's shares rose more than 14 percent in after-hours trading.
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Robert Andrews / mocoNews:
Apple Increases 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).
Discussion:
imgtec.com, AppleInsider, 9 to 5 Mac, Guardian, Bloomberg, IntoMobile, Macworld UK, MacDailyNews and www.pocketgamer.biz
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Nathania Johnson / Search Engine Watch:
Amazon Pulls the Plug on NC Associates while Google and Apple Enjoy Sweet State Tax Deals — This morning, Amazon Associates in North Carolina are awakening to some bitter news. As of today, their accounts are officially closed. This is anticipation - yes, anticipation, not the actual passage …
Ted Landau / Macworld:
Bugs & Fixes: iPhone 3GS signal strength oddities — I warn you at the outset. This is not going to be one of those Bugs & Fixes with a neatly defined set of symptoms and a iron-clad solution. This one's a bit messy. Here's the deal: — Almost immediately after getting my new iPhone 3GS …
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.
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 …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Softpedia News, Chicago Tribune, PC World, Music Ally, Mashable!, Silicon Alley Insider and sarahintampa, Thanks:mrinaldesai
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.
Discussion:
Lonely CEO Media
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 …
Discussion:
The Equity Kicker
Joseph Galante / Bloomberg:
EBay's Legal Tussle With Skype Founders May Threaten Its Plans for IPO — EBay Inc.'s dispute with the founders of its Skype Internet-phone division threatens to delay a Skype initial public offering and lower the amount raised. — Skype, which lets users place calls online …
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.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Glam Media Looking To Aggregate, Monetize Twitter Applications — Glam Media, a distributed media network comprised of both its own properties and a publisher network of hundreds of lifestyle websites and blogs, is looking to build an advertising network powered by Twitter.
Discussion:
The Mind of Alex
Alan Cowell / New York Times:
Is Free News Really Worth the Price? — PARIS — If you are reading this, I am doing my job. — Roughly speaking, that is the compact that has underpinned the ties that bind those who write the news to those who read it. — But as the world hurtles into a digital era, other questions intrude …
Pui-Wing Tam / Digits:
Apple Exec Joins Venture-Capital Firm — Not everyone is leaving venture capital amid the recession. Bob Borchers, who left his position at Apple last week as senior director of worldwide product marketing for the iPhone, has joined venture-capital firm Opus Capital as a general partner.
Discussion:
Venture Capital Dispatch, MacRumors iPhone Blog, Silicon Alley Insider, Edible Apple, MacNN and mocoNews, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Analyst: Nokia to Offer an Android Netbook in 2010 — Nokia plans to launch an ARM-based netbook that relies on the Google-pioneered Android mobile operating system in 2010, writes Lazard Capital Markets analyst Daniel Amir in a research note issued this morning.
Wes Finley-Price / CNN:
Apple rejects soft-core porn iPhone app — False alarm: Apple is not — at least not yet — approving iPhone apps containing pictures of naked women. — The blogosphere lit up Thursday with reports that Hottest Girls had the distinguished privilege of being the first application approved …
Discussion:
Macworld, PC World, CNET News, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Apple 2.0, The Register, Gadget Lab, AppAdvice, p2pnet, techblog.dallasnews.com, CrunchGear, TorrentFreak, FierceMobileContent, textually.org, Pocket-lint.com, MacDailyNews, iPhone Savior, DailyTech, ElectricPig.co.uk, Imaging Insider, Life On the Wicked Stage and The Loop
Google Watch:
Google Disables Gmail SMS Text Chat After it Goes Wonky — Google is again having trouble with its SMS text message tool, the experimental feature in the Gmail Chat menu that lets users send text messages from their computers to their contacts' mobile phones.
John Gaudiosi / Reuters:
Health games become serious business — RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - Videogames were once blamed for rising obesity rates but are now being championed by the medical industry and for use by government departments for their health benefits. — Games like Electronic Arts' …
