Top Items:
Google:
Google to Acquire On2 Technologies — CLIFTON PARK, NY and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (August 5, 2009) - On2 Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Amex: ONT) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire On2, a leading developer of video compression technology.
Discussion:
GigaOM, NewTeeVee, Silicon Alley Insider, Between the Lines, Digital Daily, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, SlashGear and Neowin.net, Thanks:shankargan
RELATED:
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Google Acquires Video Compression Technology Company On2 For $106 Million — Google and On2 Technologies jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire On2, a developer of video compression technology. The acquisition is expected to close later this year.
The Official Google Blog:
Innovation in video on the web — Today, video is an important part of many people's everyday activities on the Internet and a big part of many Google products. — Because we spend a lot of time working to make the overall web experience better for users, we think that video compression technology …
Donald Bell / Crave: The gadget blog:
Zune HD hands-on, impressions, tears of joy — Do you believe in miracles? — (Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks) — I'll admit right off the bat that I've been a pretty big fan of the Zune ever since I bought my first one back in 2007. I've also had some disappointments …
Discussion:
SlashGear, I4U News, Cruleword's Lifestream, MobileContentToday, Podcasting News, Engadget and TechVi
Jeff Smykil / Ars Technica:
Updated plist suggests new Apple device “iProd” coming soon — An updated USBConfiguration.plist in the most recent version of iPhone OS 3.1 beta offers compelling evidence that Apple has continued development on an unknown device, referred to as “iProd,” that was first discovered in March.
Tam Huynh / Ovi blog:
I love my Mac. And so does Ovi Files. — Like many of us at Nokia, I lead a double life. I'm a Thinkpad guy by day and a MacBook guy by night. — So you ask, how do you, Mister Ovi Files product manager, update that Word document you were working on until 2 am? You know, the one you forgot to copy to your USB stick?
The Big Lead:
ESPN's Memo on Social Networking: Smells Like They're Cooking Up Some Changes — The kind folks at ESPN PR just passed along - without us even asking! - ESPN's ‘additional guidelines for social networking.’ The rules are printed after the jump. Guess our homework tonight is to find out why this initiative was kick-started now?
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines:
Sony launches two new readers including a pocket-sized $199 device — Sony on Wednesday will unveil two new e-book devices, a pocket edition with a 5-inch screen for $199 and a touch-screen version starting at $299. The devices will be available at the end of August.
RELATED:
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
Goodbye iPod, hello iPhone — Apple passed an important milestone last quarter that nobody on Wall Street seems to have noticed: the iPod, once Apple's (AAPL) No. 1 source of revenue, fell into third place after the Mac (No. 1) and the iPhone (No. 2). — Think of Apple's business model …
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac
Gmail Blog:
New in Labs: Hide labels, see subject lines on netbooks — Some time ago I bought a netbook. It's perfect in terms of portability, weight and space usage, but the natural drawback is the size of the screen. It's so small that sometimes I find it hard to read the subjects of emails in my inbox.
Nick Lee / Google LatLong:
I didn't know that was there! — Here at Google Maps we're always looking for new ways to allow people to easily explore the world's information. Well, what could be easier than putting things right on the map? We've now added icons and labels of prominent businesses and places of interest directly on the map itself.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Other Companies Should Have To Read This Internal Netflix Presentation — Ever since Netflix's awesome vacation policy was revealed to the public (basically, there is no policy, it's take the time you think you need), the company's work policies have been of interest to people.
Discussion:
Hacking NetFlix
Rafe Needleman / Crave: The gadget blog:
Why consumers won't buy tablets — Rumors have it Apple is a month away from announcing a tablet computer. Another tablet, the Crunchpad, is also due for imminent release. These and other fine keyboardless computers get great play on gadget blogs (including our own Crave), but in the real world …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Ninjawords: iPhone Dictionary, Censored by Apple — Two years ago I linked to a web site called Ninjawords — a fast, simple online dictionary backed by a good data source (Wiktionary). — The developers behind Ninjawords, Matchstick Software, have released an iPhone version, currently available from the App Store for just $2.
Discussion:
TheAppleBlog, GMSV, Wiktionary, Mashable!, Life On the Wicked Stage and Edible Apple, Thanks:rahulkumar
Patricia Cohen / New York Times:
Hot Story to Has-Been: Tracking News via Cyberspace — Like a lot of new ideas, Media Cloud started with a long-running argument among friends. Ethan Zuckerman and a handful of his colleagues at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School found themselves in endless disputes …
Discussion:
Doc Searls Weblog
Darren Murph / Engadget:
T-Mobile myTouch 3G storming retail stores today for $199.99 on contract — You knew good and well this day was coming, but if you're sick and tired of lusting after your proactive neighbor's myTouch 3G, today's your lucky day. The highly customizable HTC handset will be widely available starting …
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Closed Deal: WideOrbit Acquires Google Radio Assets — Google Radio, the Internet search and advertising giant's online radio ad buying service, has been sold to online ad and media management software firm WideOrbit for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was first reported by PaidContent …
Rafat Ali / paidContent:
WSJ's New Policy: Won't Take Herd Embargoes — The Wall Street Journal has a new policy for its editorial staff, we have learned: it will not accept embargoes for stories, but will take exclusives if handed to them. We have confirmed the policy from various sources, although a WSJ spokesman told us …
Jon Fortt / Brainstorm Tech:
Bad Apple? — By keeping tight-fisted control over its products, Apple has produced stellar results - but now it may be going too far. — During a trip to Silicon Valley on August 3, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (center) explained to Fortune why he cares that Apple rejected the official Google Voice app.
Discussion:
Computerworld
Shanan Delp / Flickr Blog:
New Flickr Search — Today we're pleased to announce a redesign of our search results page. The changes we've introduced make it easier to browse through the billions of photos and videos on Flickr, and to connect to the communities that help make sense of all those photos.
Discussion:
Lifehacker, Softpedia News, TechCrunch, bub.blicio.us, Thomas Hawk Digital Connection, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land, ReadWriteWeb, CNET News, Search Engine Watch, Mashable! and AppScout, Thanks:atul
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
iPhone Claims 32 Percent of Handset Industry Operating Profits — With the iPhone, Apple is doing to the handset industry what it has done to the PC industry with the Mac: Claiming an inordinate share of profits relative to revenue. — Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates that Apple …
Ashlee Vance / Bits:
Open-Xchange Tries To Liberate Your Contact List — Hear that? It's the sound of servers in Switzerland sucking down information from social networking sites. — Open-Xchange, an open-source e-mail and collaboration software maker, has set up a test Web site that allows people to pull …
Chris Ahearn / MediaFile:
Why I believe in the link economy — The following is a guest column by Chris Ahearn, President, Media at Thomson Reuters. — “Do unto others” — It's a simple standard my mom taught me when I was a kid - yours probably taught it too. It isn't always easy, but in business it's …
Seth Rosenblatt / CNET News:
Windows 7: Tested in depth — Deserved or not, Microsoft had dug itself a cold, deep, dark hole with Windows Vista. Users demanding that Redmond extend the life of Windows XP wasn't exactly something they could be proud of, either. Bombarded by complaints and negative press …
Discussion:
Slashdot
Jessica Dolcourt / The Download Blog:
Handmark beats Microsoft to mobile app store — The countdown is well under way for Microsoft's Windows Mobile app store, called Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which is slated to arrive in early fall alongside the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. Yet on Tuesday, mobile media company …
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Famed Choreographer Dies... Intellectual Property Lawyers Take Over? — A few years back, we wrote about the guy who claimed to have invented The Electric Slide sending DMCA takedown notices to people who put up videos of people (at weddings, for example) dancing the dance.
Elizabeth Montalbano / PC World:
Microsoft Acknowledges Linux Threat to Windows Client — Microsoft for the first time has named Linux distributors Red Hat and Canonical as competitors to its Windows client business in its annual filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. — The move is an acknowledgement …
Discussion:
The Register
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Flickr Loses a Few Thousand More Pictures, with No Recourse — A Flickr user is complaining loudly that the photo service allowed 3,000+ of his photos to be deleted by a hacker with no warning. Now they're supposedly gone, forever. When will Flickr start making backups?
