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4:50 PM ET, October 20, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Arik Hesseldahl / BusinessWeek:
Apple Announces Major Consumer PC Upgrades  —  Hot on the heels of its knockout earnings report from last night, Apple is seizing more attention today with a significant upgrade to its consumer PC lines, specifically the entry-level MacBook, the iMac, and the Mac Mini.  —  Here's the rundown:
RELATED:
Janette Barrios / Apple:
Apple Updates MacBook With LED-Backlit Display, Multi-Touch Trackpad & Built-in Seven-Hour Battery  —  Apple® today updated its popular MacBook® with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad …
Jason Snell / Macworld:
Apple overhauls iMac line, with 21.5-, 27-inch models  —  All-in-one line to also add a quad-core processor  —  Apple on Tuesday announced a major update to its iMac line of desktop computers, replacing the old 20- and 24-inch models with new 21.5-inch and 27-inch models featuring …
Arn / MacRumors:
Apple Introduces Magic Mouse - A Multi-Touch Mouse  —  Apple introduced a new multi-touch mouse today called “Magic Mouse”.  The mouse uses the same multi-touch technology found in the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Mac notebook trackpads.  The entire surface of the mouse is a seamless multi-touch surface.
AppleInsider:
Apple quietly unveils new hardware remote  —  Amidst a number of new product launches Tuesday, Apple also released a new aluminum remote that can be used with any Mac or iPod Universal Dock.  —  The new remote eschews the iPod shuffle-like buttons of the previous product.
Discussion: Ars Technica, Macworld, Engadget and TUAW
AppleInsider:
Apple updates Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme with speed boost  —  Both the AirPort Extreme wireless networking tool and Time Capsule backup appliance were given speed and performance upgrades by Apple on Tuesday.  —  The minor hardware updates for the AirPort Extrem and Time Capsule include …
Scott Moritz / TheStreet.com:
Exclusive: Google Plans Its Own Android Phone  —  NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Move over, Apple (AAPL Quote), Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) and Motorola (MOT Quote), Google (GOOG Quote) is jumping into the smartphone market with an Android phone of its own.  —  In what is likely to be seen …
RELATED:
Boy Genius Report:
Motorola Calgary live photos: Verizon's second Motorola Android device  —  If you thought you were in Android heaven, think again.  We've just been given the go-ahead from one of our Motorola connects, and what you're looking at is the Motorola Calgary (that's a codename you might remember) slated to hit Verizon.
internetnews.com:
Google to Sell Its Own Android Phone at Retail
Discussion: Electronista
Business Wire:
Yahoo! Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results  —  Maintains Strong Balance Sheet with over $4.5 Billion in Cash and Marketable Debt Securities  —  SUNNYVALE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO - News) today reported revenues of $1,575 million for the quarter ended September 30 …
Jeff Gillis / Google Analytics Blog:
Google Analytics Now More Powerful, Flexible And Intelligent  —  Today, we're announcing a new set of Google Analytics features which builds on last year's enterprise-class feature launch.  Some add more power to existing capabilities.  Others provide new flexibility to further customize …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Apple Gets A Little More Serious About Using Twitter  —  While the various forms of social media are becoming increasingly important to brands, Apple is one company that hasn't exactly rushed to get involved.  Sure, they have a few accounts here and there, but they're not exactly Google …
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Barnes & Noble officially launches nook e-reader: $259, pre-orders are live (video)  —  Looks like all those whispers were true — the “Android-based” nook is alive and well, and it's calling itself the planet's “most advanced e-book reader.”  Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces …
Tim Karr / savetheinternet.com/blog:
AT&T Boss Asks Employees to Fake It  —  AT&T has “asked' its employees to fake it in the fight against Net Neutrality.  —  The company's top policy officer sent a memo to workers on Monday urging them to hide their company affiliation before posting anti-Net Neutrality comments to the Federal Communication Commission's Web site.
Daniel Roth / Wired News:
The Answer Factory: Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell  —  If Christian Muñoz-Donoso is going to make this job pay, he's got to move quickly.  He has a list of 10 videos to shoot on this warm June morning, for which he'll earn just $200.  To get anything close to his usual rate, he'll have to do it all in two hours.
Discussion: MediaMemo and Media Decoder
Long Zheng / istartedsomething:
Windows Mobile 6.5.1, the 6.5 that should have been  —  Windows Mobile 6.5.1 screenshots courtesy Patrick/OSNN.net  —  Most of you probably know by now that Windows Mobile 6.5 is not the be all end all Microsoft mobile operating system.  However, what you might not know is that Microsoft …
Jonny Evans / 9 to 5 Mac:
Apple ‘optimistic’ to extend iTunes in Europe in the next year  —  Apple will extend the iTunes Store into many more European countries in the coming year, following a critical meeting with European competition commission regulators.  —  Following yesterday's meeting, European authorities released …
Discussion: Electronista and EverythingiCafe
David Sarno / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
City committee declines to recommend Google e-mail contract  —  Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Bernard C. Parks.  —  Credit: David Sarno / Los Angeles Times.  —  The Los Angeles City Council's Budget and Finance Committee agreed Monday evening to abstain from voting on a proposed contract …
Discussion: CNET News and DailyFinance
Steve / The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs:
Why the Borg's copycat business model no longer works  —  So I had brunch with Larry yesterday and he showed up carrying the Sunday Times and we were talking about the huge and incredibly embarrassing photo (above) of Ballmer that they ran on the front of their business cover.
Vincent Paquet / Google Voice Blog:
About Voicemail and Privacy  —  There have been some conflicting reports yesterday about Google Voice voicemails being searchable online, so we wanted to clarify how Google Voice works.  —  Google Voice lets you access your voicemails online from your inbox.
Thanks:atul
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Blogs on the Go: WordPress.com Goes Mobile  —  The millions of blogs on WordPress.com will now have a clean mobile theme turned on by default, removing most of the formatting and making the sites easy to load on a phone.  WordPress bloggers may want to opt-out of the new setting …
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Condé Nast Tries Turning the App Store Into a Newsstand: Will You Buy GQ for Your iPhone?  —  I've all but declared a moratorium on “Company X has an iPhone app” stories-memo to PRfolk: There are now 85,000 apps-but this one is actually interesting: Condé Nast is turning the app into a digital magazine.
Discussion: Gizmodo and Seeking Alpha
Crystal Archbell / Market Wire:
AudienceScience Secures $20M in Venture Funding From Existing Investors to Fuel Domestic and International Growth  —  Experiencing 100% Y/Y Growth in Audience Targeted Campaigns as Display Advertising Remains Flat  —  Online advertising leader AudienceScience has closed $20 million …
Discussion: TechFlash and paidContent
Daniel Terdiman / CNET News:
Internet Archive's BookServer could ‘dominate’ Amazon  —  SAN FRANCISCO—An initiative in the works from the nonprofit Internet Archive to centralize the electronic distribution of commercially viable books could upend the publishing industry and declaw Amazon.com, an industry analyst said.
Chris Preimesberger / eWeek:
Stallman Urges EC to Stop Oracle Acquisition of Sun  —  Digital civil liberties organization Open Rights Group and Knowledge Ecology International and software developer Richard Stallman told the EC in a letter that they are both concerned with Oracle's possible squashing of competition in the database market by abandoning MySQL
Discussion: rand($thoughts); and Open Source
Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:
Calling America's bluff on Internet gambling  —  A man plays poker online.  Although a federal ban on Internet gambling exempts “skill” games and poker aficionados contend it's a game of skill, the regulations seem to outlaw the game.  (Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images / October 3)
AUO News Center:
AUO Unveils Flexible E-Paper Technology  —  World's largest* E-Paper Module Will Debut in FPD International 2009  —  Dedicated to the development of green innovation, AU Optronics Corp. ("AUO" or the “Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced a series of innovative e-paper technology applications …
Eric Engleman / TechFlash:
Sears piles onto book price war with Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target  —  This is beginning to look like an ecommerce death match.  As Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target engage in a price war over hotly anticipated hardcover books, retailer Sears is trying to get a piece of the action.
 
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 More Items: 
Juliet Ye / Digits:
Google Books Settlement: The Chinese Chapter
Patrick Smith / paidContent:
TownNews.com Signs Up To AP's Online News Microformat
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Yahoo Sorry About Lap Dancers at Hack Day in Taiwan-So What's …
Bill Slawski / SEO by the Sea:
Google Trust Rank Patent Granted
Thanks:enauzer
Guardian:
Independent musicians set for windfall after YouTube deal
 Earlier Items: 
Business Wire:
TomTom Unveils Integrated Navigation Infotainment Solution
Discussion: SlashGear and Engadget
Om Malik / GigaOM:
With N900, Nokia Still Not Close to the iPhone
Discussion: jkOnTheRun and VoIP Watch
BBC:
What, you too? YouTube to stream live U2 concert
Discussion: AppScout
Duncan Graham-Rowe / Technology Review:
Cell Phones to Go 3-D
Discussion: Fast Company
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Net neutrality pitting Web giants against state AGs, mayors
Discussion: eWeek
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

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

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

 
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