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6:35 PM ET, August 25, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Kasper Jade / AppleInsider:
Apple to retain, redesign plastic MacBook family  —  Once rumored for extinction, Apple's entry-level polycarbonate MacBooks are on the verge of a refresh that will solidify them at the base of the Mac maker's notebook offerings for the foreseeable future, AppleInsider has learned.
Jordan Weitz / Google LatLong:
Arterial traffic available on Google Maps  —  Commuters have long relied on traffic sites to help them determine their last-minute path around poor traffic on the highway.  But if the traffic looks bad on the highways, you'll probably want to know how it looks on the alternate routes through arterials.
RELATED:
Andrew Nusca / Between the Lines:
Liveblog: Sony announces $399 7" Wi-Fi 3G e-book Reader; will it kill the Kindle?  —  Get BTL via:  —  We're here live in New York for Sony's Reader press event. … 10:46 AM: That's all, folks!  —  10:45 AM: Haber announces “Reader Daily Edition, our first 3G wireless reader with 7-inch display.”
RELATED:
David Kaplan / paidContent:
AT&T Gets Readies Its 3G Network For Sony eBooks Device
Discussion: PC World and Engadget
Aaron / YouTube Biz Blog:
In the future, everyone will monetize their 15 minutes  —  We first launched the YouTube Partnership Program (YPP) to help some of our more popular users make money from their videos on YouTube.  While we've focused on accepting prolific users who regularly produce videos that reach a wide audience …
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
YouTube Extends Revenue Sharing Program To Anyone With A Viral Video
Discussion: Tech Beat, Bloomberg, NewTeeVee and Bits
Yukari Iwatani Kane / Wall Street Journal:
Jobs, Back at Apple, Focuses on New Tablet  —  Just a few months after Steve Jobs had a liver transplant, the Apple Inc. chief executive is once again managing even the smallest details of his company's products, this time focused on a new tablet device.  —  Since his return in late June …
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
The Pirate Bay Returns With Guns Blazing  —  When The Pirate Bay was shut down yesterday many believed that this was the end for the Internet's largest BitTorrent tracker.  —  However, despite the fact that the site is set to be sold later this week, the Pirate Bay team worked around the clock …
Discussion: freakbits.com and p2pnet
RELATED:
Fred / A VC:
What We Can Learn From Mess  —  Gary Wolf wrote a Wired cover story about craigslist called “Why Craigslist Is Such A Mess”.  It's a somewhat strange article because it is highly critical of craigslist's design, management, and lack of innovation.  But you cannot read that article …
RELATED:
Joe Hewitt:
Innocent Until Proven Guilty  —  I'd like to add my voice to the stream of complaints about the iPhone App Store, but before I say anything critical, I have to promise one thing.  No matter how annoyed I get, I will not stop developing for Apple's platforms or using Apple's products as long …
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
A Teenager's Dream: An iPhone App for Free Texting  —  A recently released app that offers free text messages on the iPhone is welcome news to parents of teenagers upset over the cellphone bills of their hypertexting children.  But can it be a sustainable business?
Discussion: VentureBeat and Phone Arena
Rafat Ali / paidContent:
Yahoo Acquiring Arab Portal Maktoob After All; Around $75M-$80M  —  Last month we got a tip that Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) was in final stages of buying onlien of the largest Arab online portals Maktoob, for about $75 million.  This was right when the MSFT-Yahoo deal was announced …
RELATED:
Stan Schroeder / Mashable!:
Whatever You Do, Please, PLEASE Don't Search for Jessica Biel  —  You think you know danger?  You don't know danger.  The internet's biggest perils are hidden beneath a pretty face; a simple Google search for Jessica Biel might result in a site filled with viruses, trojans, and spyware.
Discussion: Download Squad, Reuters and CNN
RELATED:
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
15 U.S. states with the fastest broadband Internet speeds  —  Data courtesy the CWA.  —  When it comes to Internet speed, the U.S. is still far down the ladder of industrialized nations, ranking 28th behind leaders South Korea, Japan, Sweden and Holland, according to a study by a labor union for telecommunications workers.
Discussion: GigaOM, DSLreports and eWeek
Zach Epstein / Boy Genius Report:
Motorola holding Android event on September 10th  —  Hello, Android.  Are you ready for the moment you've been waiting for, Moto fans?  It looks like Motorola is finally getting ready to dish at least some preliminary info with regards to its Android efforts.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
Apple taps ‘Puddy’ to attack Windows 7  —  After a hiatus of three and a half months without a new TV ad, Apple (AAPL) broke out a pair of fresh “Get a Mac” spots Monday night to soften the ground for the next operating system war with Microsoft (MSFT).  —  Earlier that day …
James / Dave Naylor a UK SEO and Search Marketing:
Massive Twitter Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability  —  [NOTE: As if the attention-grabbing title ruining the surprise for you wasn't bad enough, I've got some more bad news.  We let Twitter (via Kevin Rose) know about this before it went live but we think somebody saw the Test ! . ]
Discussion: The SiliconANGLE
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Xbox 360 Pro and Elite price cuts confirmed in Target ad for next week  —  We just received a pair of pics from “next week's” Target Ad.  As has been heavily rumored, the Xbox 360 60GB Pro system will be cut to $250 while the 120GB Elite will drop to $300.  Knowing that Target's weekly ads run …
Ryan Naraine / Zero Day:
Apple adds malware blocker in Snow Leopard  —  Apple's commercials may give the impression that Macs are virus-free (.mov) but the company isn't taking any chances with the newest Mac OS X refresh.  —  Apple has quietly added a new Snow Leopard feature to scan software downloads for malware …
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Disqus Forks Into Two Products, Launches Revamped Real-Time Comment System  —  Only a month after rival comment system JS-Kit launched Echo, a real-time comment system, Disqus is striking back with its biggest upgrade since the service launched.  Along with a revamped comment system …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Mark Zuckerberg: “Spotify Is So Good”  —  The ink isn't even dry on the MySpace/iLike acquisition, and already Facebook has a new crush on a different music service, Spotify.  —  We've heard that Facebook has been talking with the European startup about a partnership for well over a year …
Charles Bremner / Times Online:
Another French iPhone goes pop  —  What is it about the south of France that makes iPhones self-destruct ?  For the second time in a month, a resident of the French Mediterranean region is claiming that an Apple phone blew up in his hands.  —  The other day, Romain Kolega …
Discussion: Agence France Presse
Bgurley / abovethecrowd.com:
What Is Really Happening To The Venture Capital Industry?  —  Many are speculating that the year two thousand and nine represents a fundamental turning point for the venture capital industry.  Some are arguing that the industry is in dire straits after years of poor performance.
Dan Nystedt / PC World:
Asustek's Android Eee PC Remains in Deep Freeze  —  The CEO of netbook pioneer Asustek Computer said Tuesday that he still sees no clear market for mini-laptops known as smartbooks, the reason the company isn't moving forward in that product segment.  —  The company raised hopes …
Zach Yeskel / Official Google Reader Blog:
Looking for great stuff to read?  —  Where do Arianna Huffington and Thomas Friedman go to get different perspectives on the news?  Which economics sites does Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman read?  What sites and blogs do the editors of Lifehacker, Boing Boing and Kottke read?
Lucas Mearian / Computerworld:
Blu-ray tanks in PCs  —  DVD-RW drives will continue to dominate through at least 2013, says iSuppli  —  Computerworld - Despite a rapid rise in the sale of consumer Blu-ray Disc players due to a drop in prices and an increase in high-definition movie content, Blu-ray players in PCs …
Jenna Wortham / New York Times:
A Few Dollars at a Time, Patrons Support Artists on the Web  —  Earl Scioneaux III is not a famous music producer like Quincy Jones.  He is a simple audio engineer in New Orleans who mixes live albums of local jazz musicians by day and creates electronic music by night.
Discussion: Bits, CinemaTech and Fast Company
 
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 More Items: 
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:
Zumbox Raises $8 Million From Investors, Including Eisner …
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Google patches severe Chrome vulnerabilities
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Wikipedia gets $2M from Omidyar Network
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb and silicontap.com
Zachary M. Seward / Nieman Journalism Lab:
Newspapers find a new way to monetize their journalists
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News:
There goes the neighborhood? Ashton Kutcher's on Foursquare
Discussion: mr. matt spangler
Stephen L Rose / The Windows Blog:
Windows 7 Language Packs Available
Discussion: Softpedia News
Abbey Klaassen / AdAge:
Why Once-Dispensable Access Biz Is Central to AOL's Strategy
 Earlier Items: 
Fortune:
How LinkedIn's founder got started
NY Daily News:
Apple to open shop on upper West Side
Discussion: AppleInsider
John Cook / TechFlash:
Paul Allen, DCM and others invest $29M in Smith & Tinker
InfoWorld:
The no-junk business iPhone apps finder
Discussion: AppScout and ITworld.com
Dancho Danchev / Zero Day:
Research: 80% of Web users running unpatched versions of Flash/Acrobat
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A growing number of podcasters, including Tim Ferriss, are moving away from interviews to monologues or co-hosts, as some well-known guests can be overexposed

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Bonnie Hammer plans to leave the company at the end of the year; she has been with the company since 2004

 
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