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3:55 AM ET, August 12, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
stevenf.com:
On Saturday night, we drove up to Seattle to attend a memorial service for my wife's grandmother.  Shortly after checking into the hotel, I checked the inbox on my Android phone and found myself staring at the words “Philip Schiller”.  —  Needless to say, I had a minor freakout.
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Schiller Reaches Out Again To Acknowledge App Store Problems  —  A few weeks ago, we wrote about Steven Frank, a well-known Mac developer who was giving up his iPhone over his disgust with the ways Apple is managing the App Store.  (This was right before Mike also gave up his iPhone).
tr.im URLs:
tr.im Resurrected  —  We have restored tr.im, and re-opened its website.  We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the popular response, and the countless public and private appeals I have received to keep tr.im alive.  — We have answered those pleas.  Nambu will keep tr.im operating going forward …
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Tr.im: We Were Just Kidding About Cutting You Off.  Also, We're Still For Sale.
Discussion: paidContent
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:   Tr.im Is Back, but for How Long? Try “Two or Three Months.”
Dan Nosowitz / Gizmodo:
Zune HD Release Date and Packaging Leaked, Will Hit Stores September 15th  —  Some loyal Giz readers and Best Buy employees sent us a couple shots of the much-anticipated Zune HD's packaging, and they clearly state that the gorgeous PMP will be available on September 15th.  Break out the wallets, people.
Ina Fried / Beyond Binary:
Microsoft, Nokia plan mobile Office deal  —  Microsoft is expected on Wednesday to announce a partnership with European mobile giant Nokia to help get its Office software onto that company's mobile phones, CNET News has learned.  —  With the next version of Office, Microsoft is trying …
RELATED:
Steve Lohr / New York Times:   Microsoft to Put Office on Phones From Nokia
Nick Eaton / The Microsoft Blog:
Judge: Microsoft can't sell Word anymore  —  A Texas judge ruled Tuesday that Microsoft cannot sell one of its flagship products, Word, in the United States because of patent infringement.  —  You read that right: Microsoft cannot sell Word, the judge ruled.
Discussion: CNET News and Computerworld
Brad Stone / Bits:
RealNetworks Barred From Selling DVD Copy Maker  —  RealNetworks, the Seattle-based digital media company, portrays itself as fighting for people's right to legally make backup copies of the DVDs they own.  It appears to have lost at least the first and perhaps most important round of the battle.
RELATED:
Fred / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Judge Rules Against RealDVD
Discussion: Guardian
Zach Epstein / Boy Genius Report:
First reported screenshots of iTunes 9 emerge; Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm integration showcased  —  Now before we get into these screen caps our disclaimer must be made explicitly clear: This is superduperultramegaturbo rumor/skeptical status.  Right then.
RELATED:
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint.com:
iTunes 9 screenshots surface. We call fake
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Facebook Begins Testing Facebook Lite, A Faster Simpler Version Of The Service  —  It looks like Facebook has tonight turned on a feature called “Facebook Lite” for some users to test out.  We're getting bombarded by tips about it, and some of us are seeing it as well.
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, Thanks:atul
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook Proposes To Ban Sponsored Status Updates  —  Today Facebook has posted a note to its blog indicating that it's proposing an update to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities — one of the site's documents that establishes user rights and Facebook's Terms of Service.
RELATED:
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Full Rundown of All of Today's Proposed Changes to the Facebook TOS
Discussion: AppScout and CNET News
Cade Metz / The Register:
Google File System II: Dawn of the Multiplying Master Nodes  —  A sequel two years in the making  —  Increase responsiveness and effectiveness in your organizations  —  As its custom-built file system strains under the weight of an online empire it was never designed to support, Google is brewing a replacement.
Onion News Network:
Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village  —  Web users who choose to move to the desolate village are guaranteed an environment free from Google products and natural light from the sun.
Eric Auchard / Commentaries:
Twitter backlash foretold  —  Technology market research firm Gartner Inc has published the 2009 “Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies,” its effort to chart out what's hot or not at the cutting edge of hi-tech jargon.  It's just one of an annual phalanx of reports that handicap some 1,650 technologies …
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Nokia: We're Fully Commited To Symbian  —  The Financial Times (Germany) quoted a source close to Nokia saying that the company might dump the Symbian operating system and instead opt for its LinuxOS, Mameo.  The rumor got picked up by various blogs and built up a life its own.
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
Xbox gaming platform may soon span Web, console, mobile  —  A new job posting suggests that Microsoft is looking to create a gaming platform that goes beyond just the Xbox 360.  Way beyond.  —  According to a job posting from August 10, 2009, Microsoft is looking for a LIVE Community Director in the Entertainment & Devices Division.
Discussion: SlashGear, Kotaku and digg.com
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Google Shifts Ads (To The Left)  —  Does Google's search results page feel a little more crowded to you?  The ads which used to run down along the right-hand edge of the page are now shifted over to the left, as if to declare, “Hey, look at us!”  Maybe this will increase the number of times ads are clicked on.
Electronista:
DVD Jon receives subpoena in Apple antitrust suit  —  John Lech Johansen, known to many as DVD Jon, has been served a subpoena in the ongoing Apple iTunes antitrust case.  The plaintiff's attorney, Thomas Merrick, requested the subpoena to gather relevant documents that Johansen might have in his possession.
Discussion: nanocr.eu, 9 to 5 Mac and TechCrunch
Ross Mayfield / Socialtext blog:
The C.R.M Iceberg and Social Software  —  The design of the R.M.S. Titanic's hull included watertight compartments that ultimately served against their purpose and sank the ship.  The iceberg flooded five compartments when the design supported four, which weighted the bow below the waterline causing further spillover.
Discussion: SmoothSpan Blog and deal architect
Jennifer Martinez / GigaOM:
Ovi & Nokia's Future is in the Developing World  —  Nokia said today that more than a million users have signed up for its free mobile- and web-based email service, Ovi Mail, over the last six months.  Designed for those without access to a PC, notably residents of developing countries …
Discussion: mocoNews
Michael Fitzpatrick / BBC:
Mobile phones get cyborg vision  —  Zoe Kleinman tries out Acrossair's software that uses a phone's camera to tell you where the nearest London Underground station is.  —  It's a gift that was once the preserve of fictional cyborgs.  —  Call it Terminator Vision - a view of the world tagged with rich …
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Mac OS X Snow Leopard Build 10A432 Designated ‘Golden Master’?  —  Mac4Ever has received [Google translation] multiple tips claiming that Mac OS X Snow Leopard has reached “Golden Master” status, meaning that it has been finalized and is ready to be released to manufacturing for the public launch.
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac
internetnews.com:
Where Are the Tech Jobs?  —  Elance details some of the hottest freelance tech hiring trends.  —  What tech skills are in demand?  One measure comes from Elance, a global online workplace of contract jobs.  The company's monthly Top 100 Online Work Index for August, set for official release Tuesday …
Rachel Metz / Associated Press:
Netflix to run second film-suggestion tech contest  —  SAN FRANCISCO — You might call it “Son of the Netflix Prize.”  —  The DVD rental company has not yet announced a winner for its first $1 million challenge to improve its system of recommending movies that subscribers may enjoy, but it is already indicating there will be a sequel.
Discussion: CNET News
BBC:
Footballer irked by rip-offs starts luxury goods website for players  —  A professional footballer is launching a website aimed at helping fellow players avoid being ripped off or getting bad service.  —  Middlesbrough defender Andrew Taylor came up with the idea after being dissatisfied …
 
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 More Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Video: Aaron Sorkin Talks Facebook Movie. …
Discussion: Mashable! and Gawker
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Facebook Platform Launches New Inbox, Notification APIs
Dancho Danchev / Zero Day:
New Mac OS X DNS changer spreads through social engineering
Discussion: TrendLabs and Malware Diaries
John Leyden / The Register:
Websense yanks censorware from Yemen
Discussion: Slashdot
 Earlier Items: 
Sony Corporation:
Sony Launches High-power, Long-life Lithium Ion Secondary Battery …
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple again offers matte screen option for 15-inch MacBook Pro
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Tubi launches Scenes, a mobile feature that lets viewers watch 60-to-90-second trailer-style clips from its library to help with content discovery

 
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