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4:15 PM ET, August 27, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Snow Leopard review  —  Snow Leopard.  Even the name seems to underpromise — it's the first “big cat” OS X codename to reference the previous version of the OS, and the list of big-ticket new features is seemingly pretty short for a version-number jump.  Maybe that's why Apple's priced …
RELATED:
Walter S. Mossberg / Personal Technology:
Apple Changes Leopard's Spots  —  For a company known for breakthrough products with cool features, Apple this week is doing something unusual: It is introducing a key product with very few new features that are visible to its users.  This new release, the latest major version …
Om Malik / GigaOM:
How Big Is the Apple iPhone App Economy?  The Answer Might Surprise You  —  If I were to tell you that Apple's app economy was worth more than $2.4 billion a year, you would laugh hysterically, shake your head and walk out of the room, yes?  Surf on over to some other web site?
RELATED:
Paul Boutin / VentureBeat:
AdMob finds Android app users more scarce, but just as obsessed as iPhone app users
Discussion: AdMob Metrics and Mashable!
Bloomberg:
Google News's ‘Dominant Position’ Probed by Italian Antitrust Regulators  —  Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc., owner of the most popular Internet search engine, is being investigated by Italian antitrust regulators after national newspapers said the company's news service deprives them of advertising revenue.
RELATED:
Josh Cohen / European Public Policy Blog:
About Google News In Italy
Globe and Mail:
Facebook agrees to privacy changes  —  Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart says Facebook has agreed to changes that will bring the social networking site into compliance with Canadian law.  —  In a press conference, Ms. Stoddart said Facebook, among other pledges, has agreed to new features …
Nokia:
Maemo 5 injects speed and power into mobile computing  —  The new Nokia N900: Computer-grade performance in a handset  —  Espoo, Finland - Nokia today marked the next phase in the evolution of Maemo software with the new Nokia N900.  Taking its cues from the world of desktop computing …
RELATED:
John Herrman / Gizmodo:
Nokia N900 Maemo Is a Phone, Makes the N97 Look Silly
Discussion: Crave and Softpedia News
Monica Chen / DigiTimes:
Asustek to launch e-book reader under Eee family  —  Asustek Computer plans to launch an e-book reader under its Eee brand by the end of 2009 at the earliest, according to company president Jerry Shen.  —  Meanwhile, Micro-Star International (MSI) is also evaluating the e-book reader market, according to industry sources.
John Poirier / Reuters:
Regulators open inquiry into wireless industry  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission launched an inquiry on Thursday to examine the state of competition in the wireless industry, taking a step that could lead to probes of other sectors.
RELATED:
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
FCC to Review Innovation in the Wireless Industry
Discussion: eWeek, mocoNews, CNET News and MarketWatch
Robert McMillan / PC World:
New Attack Cracks Common Wi-Fi Encryption in a Minute  —  Computer scientists in Japan say they've developed a way to break the WPA encryption system used in wireless routers in about one minute.  —  The attack gives hackers a way to read encrypted traffic sent between computers and certain types …
Robert Andrews / paidContent:
Apple Says It Has Approved App From Music Service Spotify  —  Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) says it has approved an iPhone app from Spotify, a music service that some people believe represents a growing threat to iTunes.  —  The decision has been closely watched in part because Apple has previously disallowed apps …
NTIA:
Strong Demand for First Round of Broadband Grant Funding  —  Nearly 2,200 Diverse Applications Submitted for Share of $4 Billion in Funding to Expand Broadband Access and Adoption  —  NTIA Media Contact: Mark Tolbert III 202-482-8176 or press@ntia.doc.gov  —  USDA Media Contact: Bartel Kendrick 202-379-8400
RELATED:
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Holy Handouts! Applicants Seek Almost $28B in Broadband Bucks
Discussion: TMCnet and dailywireless.org
Verizon:
Verizon Launches Trial of FiOS TV Online, Extending Multi-Screen Leadership  —  New Online Platform Lets FiOS TV Subscribers View Programming From any Broadband Connection  —  Verizon, the leader in delivering high-quality entertainment experiences across TV, broadband and mobile devices …
RELATED:
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
Is Pirate Bay sold?  Don't believe it  —  The caption running over a photo of Global Gaming CEO Hans Pandeya reads: “Pirate Bay Sold”  —  Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory X, told reporters in Sweden on Thursday that his company's acquisition of The Pirate Bay will go through.
Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
Unchain the Office Computers!  —  Why corporate IT should let us browse any way we want.  —  During a town hall meeting for State Department workers last month, an employee named Jim Finkle asked Hillary Clinton a very important question: “Can you please let the staff use an alternative Web browser called Firefox?”
Discussion: Techdirt
Rupal Parekh / AdAge:
JWT, WPP Sued Over TV Advertising for Microsoft's Bing  —  Denizen Claims Agency Stole Patented Method of Integrating a Show's Content Into Ads  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — A Delaware firm has filed a lawsuit against JWT and parent WPP, claiming the ad agency stole its patented product-placement concept …
Discussion: Technologizer and paidContent
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Ballmer to headline Windows 7 launch in New York City  —  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will kick off the Windows 7 launch at an event in New York City on October 22, according to an invitation Microsoft has sent to various media members and bloggers.  —  To date, Microsoft officials have declined …
Scott Moritz / TheStreet.com:
AT&T Opted Out of Motorola's Android Plan  —  SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (TheStreet) — Motorola's (MOT Quote) one last chance has one fewer partner to help make it happen.  —  AT&T (T Quote) cancelled plans to carry Google (GOOG Quote) Android-powered phones later this year, says MKM Partners analyst Tero Kuittinen …
Discussion: WMPoweruser.com and I4U News
Tameka Kee / paidContent:
Console Price Wars: Microsoft Drops Xbox Elite Down To $299  —  Hoping to boost console sales this holiday season, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has dropped the price of its Elite Xbox 360 to $299.  The $100 price cut comes just about a week after Sony (finally) slashed the price of the PS3, also to $299.
Rafe Needleman / CNET News:
What's the best phone for Google Voice?  —  Dear readers: We are testing a new commenting system, JS-Kit's Echo, in this post.  In addition to providing a more comprehensive sign-on system and real-time updating, Echo also collates comments on this story from other Web sources, such as Twitter.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Boxcar 2.0 Is A Must-Have For the iPhone.  It's The Best Push Notification App Yet.  —  A few days ago, I wrote about the frustration over the delay in approving the new Facebook app for the iPhone.  That should launch any day now, and it's a good thing because as soon as it does …
Discussion: jkOnTheRun
The Official Google Blog:
Translate documents: sharing across languages and generations  —  My cousin is in first grade and sometimes she writes short stories for class.  I try to share the stories with her grandparents, but because Japanese is their first language and they don't speak English very well, it's been tough.
John Markoff / New York Times:
Defying Experts, Rogue Computer Code Still Lurks  —  It is still out there.  —  Like a ghost ship, a rogue software program that glided onto the Internet last November has confounded the efforts of top security experts to eradicate the program and trace its origins and purpose …
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook Wants To Own Idea Of Crowdsourced Translations  —  Facebook is the biggest social network in the world, so it may come as a surprise to some that up until early 2008, it didn't offer any localized versions of the site at all.  The company managed to jumpstart its international presence …
Robert Andrews / paidContent:
Pictures: Fire On Google's Roof, UK HQ Evacuated, Barbecue Blamed  —  Google's a hot company to work for - literally.  A fire atop its UK HQ on Victoria's Buckingham Palace Road in London forced its evacuation shortly after Thursday lunchtime.  “Yes, there has been a fire at Google (NSDQ …
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Masnick / Techdirt:
Are Copyright Holders Seeding Own Files To Find, Sue Downloaders?
Discussion: p2pnet
Alice Truong / Digits:
A ‘Macroblogging’ Service, Woofer, Launches as Twitter Homage
Discussion: Fast Company, Switched and Cool Hunting
Nicholas Kolakowski / eWeek:
HP, Dell Join Microsoft's Appeal of Word Patent Case
Discussion: ZDNet Government
Warren Lee / AdAge:
What Happened to the Ad-Network Apocalypse?
Bernadette Irinco / TrendLabs:
Bogus Snow Leopard Update Sites Lead to DNS Changers
Discussion: eWeek, CNET News and Softpedia News
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Ex-Forrester Analysts Resurface at Consulting Firm
Timothy Prickett Morgan / The Register:
Tibco snaps up DataSynapse for $28m
 Earlier Items: 
Simon St. Laurent / O'Reilly Radar:
Why is HTML Suddenly Interesting?
Discussion: CNET News, Thanks:atul
Juan Carlos Perez / PC World:
Developers Salivating Over Twitter's Geolocation Plans
Discussion: Fast Company
Marcel van de Hoef / Bloomberg:
TomTom, Garmin See Map-Device Rebound in 2010, Defying ‘Terminal Decline’
Discussion: GottaBeMobile.com and CrunchGear
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Researchers who hack the Mac OS
Steve Lohr / Bits:
Zoho: Thriving Amid the Giants
Discussion: eWeek, Technologizer and Softpedia News, Thanks:rajuv
Austin Modine / The Register:
Judge orders cybersquatter to pay Verizon $33m
Discussion: Domain Name News
Miguel Helft / Bits:
Is Google Entering the Mortgage Quote Business?
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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

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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