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7:50 PM ET, December 14, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
The Official Google Blog:
Making URLs shorter for Google Toolbar and FeedBurner  —  This morning, we launched updated versions of the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner that offer a new URL shortening service from Google called the Google URL Shortener.  We mentioned our URL shortener as a feature in both announcements …
RELATED:
Eric Eldon / Inside Facebook:
Facebook Testing New URL Shortener, fb.me  —  URL shorteners, like bit.ly, have become a popular way for people to share links on Twitter while taking up as few of the allotted 140 characters as possible.  But saving space is just one of the benefits that shorteners provide.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Bit.ly Just Got Fu.kd: Facebook And Google Get Into The Short URL Game  —  Moments after we heard reports of Facebook's new URL shortener, Google launched its own service, aptly called goo.gl.  —  At the moment, its only being used for Google Toolbar and Feedburner.
Discussion: Mashable!
Joshua Topolsky / Engadget:
Exclusive: first Google Phone / Nexus One photos, Android 2.1 on-board  —  Well here you have it folks, honest-to-goodness pics of the Google Phone... AKA, the Nexus One.  As you can see by the photos, the design of the device is largely similar to those we've seen, but the graphic …
RELATED:
Sascha Segan / PC Magazine:
Why So Many Are So Wrong on the ‘Google Phone’  —  Google on Saturday announced that its internal developers are using a new Android-powered phone that many Web sites have dubbed “Nexus One” from its Internet browser identification string, but which many reports say is a variant of HTC's HD2 phone.
Reuters:
Google phone with T-Mobile contract in January: source  —  FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc will sell a version of its own-branded cellphone for a reduced price to U.S. consumers who agree to a service contract from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA, a source familiar with the matter said.
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
HTC Nexus One blessed by the FCC (updated)  —  Well lookie here.  A little phone by the name of “NEXUSONE” just slipped through the FCC as model number PB99100 built by HTC.  The filing also confirms a few more details including microSD expansion, 802.11b/g WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.
David Coursey / PC World:
Google “Nexus One” Smartphone Could Hurt Android
Discussion: MarketingVOX
AdSense for Feeds:
Socializing your feed with Twitter  —  Sometimes you reach across the hedgerow to share with your nearby neighbors.  Other times, members of the household move away and yet you can't keep from calling to remind them to wear a hat and such because it's chilly out.
RELATED:
Emma Barnett / Telegraph:
Marissa Mayer: An omnivorous Google is coming  —  Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search products and user experience, shares her unparalleled insights into the future of internet search engines.  —  The next big breakout area for Google is going to be language, according to Marissa Mayer.
Jim Dalrymple / CNET News:
Apple apologizes for iMac delays  —  Apple on Sunday apologized to customers amid reports of shipping delays of its recently introduced iMac computer.  —  “The new iMac has been a huge hit and we are working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible,” an Apple spokesperson told CNET.
The Official Google Blog:
Cloud apps, big city: LA goes Google  —  This fall we've seen lots of government agencies decide to make the switch to cloud computing, joining the many businesses already using Google Apps for email and collaboration at work.  Today we'd like to officially welcome another customer to the mix: the City of Los Angeles.
TeliaSonera:
TeliaSonera first in the world with 4G services  —  Today, as the first operator in the world, TeliaSonera launches 4G services commercially to customers in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway.  —  “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services.
Fred / A VC:
Why Social Beats Search  —  That's a controversial post headline and I don't mean that social will always beat search, but there's a rising chorus out there about “content farms” and search optimized content creation that is worth touching on.  —  Arrington started it when he posted about “the end of hand crafted content”.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
The Unofficial Google Text-To-Speech API  —  Last month Google unveiled enhancements to Google Translate.  Among the new features was a simple text-to-speech function.  You can try it out, or watch this video to see how it works (skip to 0:45).  —  There's no official API for the text-to-speech service.
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Fuse: What Your Next Touch Phone Is Going to Feel Like  —  Fuse is what Synaptics—who probably made the trackpad you're swirling your finger on, and maybe your phone's touchscreen—says the next generation of touch phones will be like: You'll be squeezing, touching and stroking the phone, all over.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook For Android Just Got A Big Upgrade, Is Catching Up To Its iPhone Cousin  —  The honeymoon period with my Droid has worn off, and I still love it.  But it's far from perfect.  One of the biggest gripes I've had has been with app support.  In particular, the native Facebook app …
Andrew Nusca / Between the Lines:
Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse, 11 more named in GPL lawsuit  —  Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse and JVC are among 14 consumer electronics companies named in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed today in New York by the Software Freedom Law Center.  —  According to the complaint (.pdf) …
Jennifer Van Grove / Mashable!:
iPhone Users Urged to Take Down AT&T  —  Apparently, AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega's recent remarks concerning the carrier's plans to “incentivize” mobile data hogs to cut back on their usage rates aren't sitting well with AT&T customers.  Shocker.  —  Fake Steve Jobs, for one, has had enough of AT&T's excuses.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Brainstorm Tech:
The Mac's holiday momentum  —  A pair of analysts see an end-of-the-year uptick in Apple's computer sales  —  “Our conversations with industry contacts suggest that the Mac shipment levels have improved over the last two weeks,” writes J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz in a report to clients issued Monday morning.
Discussion: NEWSFACTOR and AppleInsider
ai.rs blog:
HTC Legend not a legend anymore  —  ai.rs blog Exclusive  —  As we promised, we bring you more info on HTC Legend.  In fact, we present you exclusive crystal clear image of the upcoming Android phone from HTC.  We suppose it will replace Hero, considering the dimensions, screen size and specs.
Yukari Iwatani Kane / Digits:
App Watch: Exploiting the iPhone Lock Screen  —  Most iPhone app developers work with Apple to get their products in the iPhone App Store, submitting software for the company's approval.  But a community of maverick developers sidesteps that process to target iPhones that have been modified-or …
Discussion: Technologizer
Ben Parr / Mashable!:
BREAKING: Twitter Starts Testing Features for Businesses  —  We know that Twitter believes that businesses are central to helping grow and monetize the microblogging service; recent integrations with Citysearch and LinkedIn have foretold its interest in the space.
Discussion: Twitter Blog
Jessica Dolcourt / Crave: The gadget blog:
Seesmic Twitter app lands in BlackBerry store  —  On Monday, Seesmic released an update to Seesmic for BlackBerry, a Twitter app that first debuted in late November.  —  Back then you had to download Seesmic from the company's Web site.  Now you can get it directly from BlackBerry App World online …
Discussion: MobileCrunch, Thanks:loic
Alex Wilhelm / The Next Web Network:
Microsoft Blatantly Steals From Startup?  - Plurk Stunned and Confused  —  I am not sure what to make of this one.  Plurk, a very promising social networking startup is claiming that Microsoft (you read that right), has been involved with “blatant theft of code, design, and UI elements.”
Wendy Davis / MediaPost:
Judge OKs Class-Action Suit For ATandT Broadband Slowdown  —  A class-action lawsuit by consumers against AT&T for allegedly delivering slower-than-advertised broadband service can go forward, a judge in St. Louis has ruled.  —  The consumers alleged that the telecom promised “lightning fast” …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
ZumoDrive Lands $1.5 Million For Cloud Storage And Syncing Application  —  File syncing and storage startup Zumodrive has raised $1.5 million in funding led by Sherpalo Ventures with Tandem Entrepreneurs and VeriFone CEO Douglas Bergeron participating.  We initially reviewed Zumodrive here.
Discussion: VentureBeat
BetaNews:
The case in favor of the open source enterprise database  —  Linux and open source middleware JBoss has made its mark in the enterprise, and it is just a matter of time before open source becomes mainstream in other functional parts of the IT infrastructure as well.
Discussion: eWeek
Dan Goodin / The Register:
Hackers declare war on international forensics tool  —  Microsoft's COFEE decaffeinated  —  Hackers have released software they say sabotages a suite of forensics utilities provided for free by Microsoft to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the globe.
Discussion: Threat Level
 
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 More Items: 
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Viruses That Leave Victims Red in the Facebook
Discussion: CrunchGear, Thanks:atul
Camille Ricketts / VentureBeat:
Clarizen gives companies real-time glimpses into project pipelines
Discussion: VC Cafe and TechCrunch
Nielsen Wire:
U.S. Web Users Spent Just Over 66 Hours on the Computer in November
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Bill Gates fund: libraries need more cash for broadband
The Huffington Post:
The Goracle — Al Gore, the Internet and the Future of American Politics
Michelle Maisto / eWeek:
BlackBerry User Satisfaction on Rise, as iPhone, Droid Skirmish
Discussion: Brainstorm Tech
John Cook / TechFlash:
Widevine to grow with new $15 million venture round
Discussion: VentureBeat, Xconomy and NewTeeVee
 Earlier Items: 
Times of London:
Spinvox nears £92m takeover
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo:
Is Apple Taking the Internet Seriously Now?
Discussion: TechStartups.com
Todd Spangler / Multichannel News:
Can TiVo Reinvent Itself?
Discussion: NewTeeVee and DSLreports, Thanks:arjo
Market Wire:
Oracle Makes Commitments to Customers, Developers and Users of MySQL
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Liam Scott / Voice of America:
Reporters Without Borders sues X in France for “complicity in disseminating false information”, after X failed to block a fake video with RSF's logo

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
The Onion, backed by some Sandy Hook families and Everytown for Gun Safety, buys Infowars in a bankruptcy auction, and plans a January 2025 relaunch as a parody

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Disney said Disney+ Q4 ARPU in the US and Canada, down 1% QoQ to $7.70, was affected partly by new wholesale arrangements with some distributors

 
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