Top Items:
The Official Google Blog:
Google Apps is out of beta (yes, really) — We're often asked why so many Google applications seem to be perpetually in beta. For example, Gmail has worn the beta tag more than five years. We realize this situation puzzles some people, particularly those who subscribe to the traditional definition of …
RELATED:
Miguel Helft / Bits:
Gmail and Other Google Apps Finally Shed ‘Beta’ Label — What took Google so long? — Like many software products, Google's Gmail service was first released with a “beta” label on it. In the software industry, a product that is in beta is still in its testing phase.
Discussion:
Gmail Blog, TechCrunch, Google Operating System, PC World, GigaOM, Lifehacker, CNET News and GottaBeMobile.com
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
What The Hell Happened To The Free Version Of Google Apps? — The free version of Google Apps is history. The current sign up page makes no mention of the previously free Standard edition. Instead, new users get a 14 day free trial, and then must pay $50 per user per year after that trial.
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Facebook's Own Estimates Show Declining Student Numbers; Now More Grandparents Than High School Users — How fickle are kids these days? Just when all the grown ups started figuring out Facebook, college and high school users have declined in absolute number by 20% and 15% respectively …
Discussion:
eWeek, Between the Lines, iStrategyLabs, I4U News, Mashable!, Pocket-lint.com, Softpedia News, TECH.BLORGE.com, Gadgetell, Guardian and Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, Thanks:atul
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Push Gmail Comes To The iPhone — Through An App (If It's Accepted) — You'd think on a phone that can do as many cool things as the iPhone, push email through one of the world's most popular email services, Gmail, would be one of them. But for some reason, Google and Apple haven't turned …
Discussion:
Download Squad, 9 to 5 Mac, Gizmodo, iPhone 3GS Cases …, GottaBeMobile.com, Electricpig and AppScout
Ross Miller / Engadget:
Sony Vaio W netbook now official in US, coming August for $499 — Not so much of a surprise now, but Sony's bringing its 10.1-inch Vaio W stateside as well, and yes, according to the Sony reps we talked to, this time they really do mean to call it a netbook, unlike its Vaio P brethren.
Discussion:
PC World, BetaNews, Digits, Fast Company, eWeek, The Mobile Gadgeteer, The Toybox, DailyTech, Electricpig, jkOnTheRun, Electronista, Switched, GottaBeMobile.com, Obsessable and TechSpot
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Apple 2.0:
Where have all the white iPhones gone? — It's the reverse of Henry Ford's line about the Model T. Today you can buy any iPhone you want, as long as it's not white. — Apple (AAPL) has been having trouble keeping the entry-level white iPhone in stock since the new 3GS went on sale two and a half weeks ago.
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
New algorithm guesses SSNs using date and place of birth — Two researchers have found that a pair of antifraud methods intended to increase the chances of detecting bogus social security numbers has actually allowed the statistical reconstruction of the number using information that many people place on social networking sites.
Discussion:
Fast Company, New York Times, PC World, DailyTech, Graham Cluley's blog, Softpedia News and Science Fair
RELATED:
Matt Asay / CNET News:
VideoLAN releases VLC 1.0.0: Your media will never be the same — On April 3, arguably the world's best media player, VideoLAN's VLC media player (VLC), hit version 0.9.9. A few months and over 78 million downloads later, VideoLAN has announced VLC 1.0.0 ("Goldeneye"). — Your media will never be the same.
Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Hey, Online Display Ads Don't Suck After All! — Since the dawn of time, advertisers have been worried about the efficacy of online display ads. This is in part because, in the mid-1990s, they were taught that online display ads had one purpose in life, which was to get people to click on them.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Slide Cuts Ad Staff, Shifts Focus — Max Levchin's Slide, a San Francisco-based startup that caught the Facebook application wave early, is making a strategic shift, refocusing its revenue efforts on higher-margin premium advertising that include brand sponsorships for many of its well-known applications such as Super Poke.
RELATED:
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:
IAC's Match Agrees To Buy People Media For $80 Million — Broad-based online dating site Match.com is buying into the targeted subscription dating business with the acquisition of People Media from private equity firm American Capital Ltd. and various investors for $80 million in cash.
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider, TechCrunch, Tech Trader Daily, Online Dating Insider and VatorNews
Miguel de Icaza:
From Microsoft: C# and CLI under the Community Promise — First the big news: Microsoft will be applying the Community Promise patent licensing to both C# and the CLI. — The announcement was done by Peter Galli at Microsoft over at Port25 and it states (emphasis is mine):
RELATED:
Steven Musil / CNET News:
Where to watch the Jackson memorial online — If you weren't among the luck few who won tickets to attend Tuesday's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and feel the need to bear witness to the spectacle, fear not—several Web sites plan to provide live streaming video of the event.
Discussion:
Fast Company, Ars Technica, Company Town, PC World, Mashable!, VentureBeat, Technology Live, NewTeeVee and Switched
Arn / MacRumors:
Apple Celebrates First Anniversary of App Store — Apple has started celebrating the first anniversary of the App Store with a special section on iTunes [link] highlighting their favorite applications and games. While the App Store officially launched on July 11th 2008 …
Discussion:
Macworld, Smartphones and Cell Phones, I4U News, Neowin.net, AppScout and The iPhone Blog, Thanks:atul
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Demand for Apple's 13" MacBook Pro may be outpacing supply — Apple's newly-coined 13-inch MacBook Pros appear to be off to a hot start, with the company reportedly having difficulty keeping some of the new models in stock as it enters the heart of the back-to-school buying season.
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Firefox stability to get a boost with multiprocess browsing — Mozilla has launched a new project called Electrolysis that aims to bring multiprocess browsing to Firefox. According to Mozilla, splitting up the page rendering workload into multiple processes will improve the browser's performance, security, and stability.
Discussion:
Techgeist
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Hear That? It's The Sound Of Your New Hearing Aid, The iPhone — Back in 2007, Amy Tenderich wrote about the need for Apple to share its renowned industrial design and user-friendliness with the medical device community. Her plea wasn't necessarily for Apple to get involved in the field …
Discussion:
GottaBeMobile.com
Martin LaMonica / CNET News:
Microsoft opens Hohm to energy monitoring — Microsoft opened up its Hohm Web application on Monday to U.S. users, a site that gives people a starting point for cutting home energy use. — The launch of Hohm, still in beta, was marred at least for some people, including me …
Discussion:
TechSpot, Lifehacker, Softpedia News, Michaeljon Miller, The Microsoft Blog, Energy Circle and Neowin.net
Darren Murph / Engadget:
LG teases next-generation Chocolate for August unveiling — To say that the Chocolate was a hit for LG would be similar to saying the PlayStation 2 went over well for Sony. Indeed, the outfit's best selling handset ever (21 million units worldwide) holds a special place in the hearts …
Palm, Inc.:
Palm Pre to Launch in Europe with O2 and Movistar — Print page E-mail page Download PDF — Palm webOS Phone to Arrive in UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain on Local Telefónica Networks — Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the Palm(R) Pre(TM) …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Digital Daily, Obsessable, Gizmodo, Reuters, CrunchGear, SlashGear, Reuters, PalmAddicts, jkOnTheRun, TechCrunch Europe, Between the Lines and Engadget
Spencer Ante / Business Week:
Made Men: Why Venture Capitalists Sponsor Other VCs — The big news out this week in the venture capital market is the launch of Andreessen Horowitz, a new $300 million venture capital fund co-founded by Marc Andreeseen, a tech visionary who founded Netscape Communications, the startup that triggered the Internet tsunami.
Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:
Amazon Patents Detail Kindle Advertising Model — Would you buy a Kindle ebook reader from Amazon if you received a free, ad-supported version of a book for each physical copy purchased? The U.S. Patent Office has published several Amazon patents in the past 30 days that could lead the online bookseller in that direction.
Elizabeth Woyke / Forbes:
Motorola Woos Android Developers — The cellphone maker is investing in developers months before its Android phones launch. — It's no secret that Motorola Co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha is betting on Google's Android mobile platform to bolster his company's faltering cellphone business.
Discussion:
Tech Sanity Check, Android Phone Fans, Between the Lines, Engadget Mobile, mocoNews, FierceDeveloper, Seeking Alpha and Techgeist, Thanks:mrinaldesai
Richard Koman / ZDNet Government:
$1.9m verdict is unconstitutional, Thomas-Rasset says — While an appeal is likely in the cards, the motion Jammie Thomas-Rasset's lawyers filed today was a request for new trial (PDF) or for the judge to alter the jury's “shocking” $1.9 million award. — Thomas-Rasset's lawyers argued that …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Techdirt, Threat Level, CNET News, DSLreports, p2pnet, GMSV and Associated Press
