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11:40 AM ET, December 5, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Apple Strikes Deal to Buy the Music Start-Up Lala  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In the most recent sign that Apple is looking at alternative ways for people to store and play their digital music, the company has agreed to buy Lala, a four-year-old start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday.
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Confirmed: Apple Buys Music Service Lala, at a Fire Sale Price  —  Apple has purchased online music service Lala, I've confirmed with a source familiar with the transaction.  Both Bloomberg and CNET reported the chats earlier today.  If you'd like other confirmation, New York Times also reports that the deal has closed.
The EtherPad Blog:
Google Acquires AppJet  —  We are happy to announce that AppJet Inc. has been acquired by Google.  The EtherPad team will continue its work on realtime collaboration by joining the Google Wave team.  —  For Current Users and Customers:  —  What will happen to my account?  Will I still be able to use EtherPad?
RELATED:
Glenn Fleishman / TidBITS:
EtherPad Shuts Down after Google Acquisition  —  EtherPad is a Web-based tool for simultaneous writing and editing, in which multiple people can see keystrokes as other people type them.  It's now about to disappear after the acquisition by Google of AppJet, the firm that developed EtherPad.
Discussion: TechCrunch
Ross Miller / Engadget:
Barnes & Noble's Nook gets a brief and early hands-on  —  Thanks to a very generous anonymous tipster, we've gotten a number of hands-on pics of Barnes & Noble's soon to be released (for some) Nook e-reader.  The impressions we've been given, however, weave a tale of a laggy Android interface …
Discussion: TeleRead
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
CrunchPad Litigation Imminent  —  It has been a busy week for our former partners on the CrunchPad.  The company has deleted their corporate blog, taken the time to hire a PR firm and schedule an event Monday morning to “give their side of the story.”  —  They still have not returned our calls or emails.
Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:
The rise and fall of MySpace  —  In summer 2005, having spent the best part of four decades ­building a newspaper, film and television empire, Rupert Murdoch decided that the time had come to get serious about the internet.  As founder and chairman of News Corporation …
Discussion: Beet.TV
Bryan Horling / The Official Google Blog:
Personalized Search for everyone  —  Today we're helping people get better search results by extending Personalized Search to signed-out users worldwide, and in more than forty languages.  Now when you search using Google, we will be able to better provide you with the most relevant results possible.
Rita Chang / AdAge:
Don't Create an IPhone App for the Online Buzz Factor  —  App Chatter Doesn't Build Brands, Long-term Engagement Does  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — For all the love that marketers show iPhone apps, these micro-utilities and tools actually generate surprisingly little buzz in return.
Matthew Rivera / Digits:
Spot 10 Balloons, Win $40,000  —  If you look up and see red weather balloons this weekend, take note.  You've unwittingly entered into a social experiment. … The Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, launched 10 balloons, each eight feet wide …
Stephen Baker / Business Week:
Beware Social Media Snake Oil  —  Hordes of marketing “experts” are promoting the value of wikis, social networks, and blogs.  All the hype may obscure the real potential of these online tools  —  For business, the rising popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media Web sites presents a tantalizing opportunity.
Discussion: Glass House, Thanks:atul
Brooke Crothers / CNET News:
Intel: Initial Larrabee graphics chip canceled  —  Intel said Friday that its Larrabee graphics processor will initially appear as a software development platform only.  —  This is a blow to the world's largest chipmaker, which was looking to launch its first discrete (standalone) graphics chip in more than a decade.
Yahoo!:
Yahoo! and Microsoft Finalize Search Agreement  —  Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corporation today announced that the companies have finalized and executed the definitive Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement and License Agreement in accordance with the letter agreement announced in July.
Nat Ives / AdAge:
Five Publishers Set to Start Building Digital Storefront for Print  —  But Many Details Still to Be Worked Out, Including the Technology  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Five of print's biggest competitors are about to place a collective wager on their best path forward in digital media …
Aaron / YouTube Biz Blog:
Hit the mark with Video Targeting  —  Much of our recent work at YouTube has focused on making it easy for advertisers and agencies to run integrated, targeted and measurable campaigns across the internet.  This has involved a lot of product, sales and back-end integration with Google products …
Discussion: WebProNews and Mashable!
EurActiv.com:
Web inventor: ‘Snooping’ authorities threaten Internet  —  Governments and companies pushing for greater monitoring of Internet activity pose a major threat to freedom and democracy, according to Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. … To read a shortened version of this interview, please click here.
Seth Rosenblatt / The Download Blog:
Google Chrome now bundled with Avast  —  You wouldn't necessarily expect it, but Avast and Google Chrome might be the next peanut butter-and-jelly combo in the software world.  Google's nascent browser has paired with one of the most popular free security programs in the world so that when users run …
 
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 More Items: 
Jared Newman / PC World:
Experts Not Surprised By iPhone Malicious App Report
Discussion: Slashdot, Thanks:thepimpofsound
Rich Miller / Data Center Knowledge:
DoD: Cloud Will Save Us ‘Hundreds of Millions’
Sharon Vaknin / Countdown to CES:
Maplock drives off GPS thieves
Lee Brodie / Fast Money Rapid Recap:
CEO Eric Schmidt Reveals ‘Centerpiece’ Of Google's 2010 Strategy
 Earlier Items: 
John Fontana / InfoWorld:
Microsoft releases two more pieces of Forefront security suite
Discussion: eWeek and internetnews.com
Ben Fritz / Los Angeles Times:
Redbox blames studios, stores for DVD shortage
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider
Emil Protalinski / Ars Technica:
First commercial tool to crack BitLocker arrives (Updated)
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
FCC admits CableCARD a failure, vows to try something else