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12:15 AM ET, December 29, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Mark Davies / IBTimes.co.uk:
Google Chrome OS-based netbook tech specs are out  —  London - Believe it or not - the tech specs of the rumoured Google Chrome OS-based netbook are already out and by the sound of it, the netbook looks to me like a high performance machine.  —  Even as rumours grow that Google …
RELATED:
Ian Paul / PC World:
Chrome Netbook Specs Stretch Believability
Discussion: PMP Today
Kevin J. O'Brien / New York Times:
Cellphone Encryption Code Is Divulged  —  BERLIN — A German computer engineer said Monday that he had deciphered and published the secret code used to encrypt most of the world's digital mobile phone calls, saying it was his attempt to expose weaknesses in the security of global wireless systems.
Gary Merson / HDGURU.Com:
DirecTV To Launch A 3D Channel-HD Guru Exclusive  —  (December 28, 2009) DirecTV intends to launch the first US 3D HDTV channel early next year.  The satellite TV provider plans to make the announcement at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 7th.
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
The Speculative Prehistory of the iPhone  —  Remember the very first iPhone-the one that sold for $249, had an iconic click wheel, a cool slide-out keypad, and a unique two-battery design-and which ran on Apple's very own nationwide wireless network?  No, not the iPhone that Steve Jobs unveiled …
Times of London:
Why we can never rest: a year in the life of Twitter  —  ON June 15, our technicians told me to add a note to our website, writes Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter.  —  The note warned users of a planned maintenance session that meant our service would be inaccessible while we carried out an overdue system upgrade.
Discussion: Twitter Blog, VentureBeat and WebProNews, Thanks:atul
Jeff Barnard / Associated Press:
Couple stranded 3 days after GPS leads them astray  —  Buzz up!  —  KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - A Nevada couple letting their SUV's navigation system guide them through the high desert of Eastern Oregon got stuck in snow for three days when the GPS unit sent them down a remote forest road.
Discussion: GPS Obsessed and Gizmodo Australia
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
Leaked: Homeland Security's Post Underwear Bomb Airplane Rules  —  You saw our unofficial advice guide to flying after the crotchbomb.  Here are the new Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration's official security rules.  Read on to get all the hairy details. … Great.
Liz Shannon Miller / NewTeeVee:
Will Hulu Become a Blockbuster?  —  Hulu has grown a huge audience this year, but what happens when you compare its business to the feature film world?  The social media marketing firm Buzzpoint sent us a well-designed yet daunting infographic they made while wondering when Hulu might finally become a …
Discussion: WebProNews
Marc Flores / Boy Genius Report:
LG LS680 with Android pops up on Sprint's system  —  Shortly after the rumors surrounding the Sprint and LG event at CES just days away, we were greeted with this little screen shot in our inbox this morning.  It looks like Sprint will be getting a LG Android handset pretty soon …
Liz Gannes / GigaOM:
Imeem Fined $1.77M — More Than Its Sale Price  —  A U.S. district court judge has fined Imeem, the music site, $1.77 million after it failed to appear in court to respond to a copyright infringement lawsuit.  The suit, filed Oct. 21 by The Orchard Enterprises, an independent music distributor …
Discussion: Pulse2
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple seen selling 1.4 million $600 “Kindle Killer” tablets in 2010  —  Even before it's been validated with a formal introduction, Apple's eagerly-awaited tablet device is being positioned by some members of the investment community as a device that could sell 1.4 million units in its first 9 months …
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
eBay: 1.5 million items purchased via mobile this holiday season  —  Shoppers are doing more holiday gift-buying from their mobile phones, according to new numbers from eBay.  The e-commerce giant says users purchased 1.5 million eBay items from either the eBay mobile website …
Discussion: iPhone Savior, Pulse2 and WebProNews
Trevor Johnston / Google LatLong:
Plan a trip in one click  —  Why should trip planning be any more complicated than opening your browser and entering the name of your favourite city?  Six months ago we launched City Tours on Google Labs with the goal of making vacation planning as easy as searching the web.
Discussion: TechCrunch
Peter Farago / blog.flurry.com:
Flurry Holiday 2009 Report: App Store, iPod Touch Shatter Records  —  Flurry evaluated download growth driven by Christmas across the leading Apple and Android devices, as well as their respective app stores, pulling a sample that represents approximately 10% of all download volume in the App Store and Android Market.
RELATED:
Gagan Biyani / MobileCrunch:
Flurry: App Store Sees Record Breaking Christmas, 50% Growth …
John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
NYC iPhone Fraud Epidemic Solved!  AT&T Web Site Selling iPhones to New Yorkers Again.  —  Looks like AT&T has gone and “modified its promotion and distribution channels” again.  Either that or the carrier has a better handle on the “online fraudulent activity” that prevented it from selling Apple's …
Erik Larkin / PC World:
Good Guys Bring Down the Mega-D Botnet  —  Chalk up one for the defenders.  Here's how a trio of security researchers used a three-step attack to defeat a 250,000-pronged botnet.  —  Recommends  —  For two years as a researcher with security company FireEye, Atif Mushtaq worked …
Ryan Lawler / NewTeeVee:
Roku's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Porn Policy  —  A new channel popped up on Roku yesterday called EroticVision.TV that makes adult content available on the broadband set-top box for the first time.  But the new “adult entertainment” channel hasn't actually been approved by Roku …
Discussion: Podcasting News and CrunchGear
New York Times:
Ex-Employee Says Seagate Violated Law  —  A decade-long lawsuit pitting a tiny company called Convolve against Seagate Technology has taken an unexpected turn after a whistle-blower claimed that Seagate had appropriated Convolve technology and later destroyed evidence in the case.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Consumer Groups Lobby FTC To Block Google's Acquisition Of AdMob  —  Google recently revealed that the Federal Trade Commission was intensely reviewing the search giant's recent $750 million acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob.  Last week, Google said the FTC has made a second request for further information about the deal.
Jay Adelson / Digg Blog:
Digging into the Top Stories of 2009  —  As 2009 winds down, I'm looking back at quite a year for us at Digg.  As I sit and reflect on everything that we've accomplished within these walls at Digg HQ, I want everyone to know that it wouldn't have been possible without our awesome, devoted Digg community.
Jason Min / Facebook Blog:
A New Help Center for 2010  —  When you need help using Facebook, we want it to be as easy as a click for you to get it.  Our Help Center offers a central resource for you to find answers to common questions and learn more about using Facebook.  —  Recently, we introduced a more streamlined design …
Discussion: All Facebook and The Next Web
eMarketer:
How Alike Are Android and iPhone Users?  —  Android users act a lot like iPhone owners  —  Awareness of the Android mobile operating system is rising, and users have a lot in common with iPhone fans, according to research from comScore and Compete.  —  comScore found that 37% of US mobile users had heard of Android in November 2009.
Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
Nexus One Bluetooth desktop dock clears the FCC, car clip spotted in the wilds  —  The slow steady drip of details from the yet to be announced Nexus One continues today with a pair of accessories for the HTC / Google mashup.  Above we've got a wireframe of the portrait-mode Desktop Dock to be known as model CR B410.
Judie Lipsett / Gear Diary:
The Camangi Webstation Unboxed  —  Click here to view the embedded video.  —  It seems like it took forever, but my Camangi WebStation finally showed up today.  Dan's is out for delivery, so in the meantime he is processing the raw video I've uploaded of my unboxing.  While we wait for that, here are some pictures.
Discussion: jkOnTheRun, The Gadgeteer and SlashGear
Brad / HP Fansite:
Alert: HP Envy 17, Envy 14, Elitebook 2540p and 2740p in the pipeline … Spotlight: One of our readers, Dana, has tipped us off about Elitebook 2540p and Elitebook 2740p in the works after spotting a new 9-cell battery available for a “2540p” model on a HP Korea website (Update …
Discussion: Engadget and Gizmodo Australia
Vladislav Savov / Engadget:
Notion Ink's Adam gets a name, June 2010 release  —  Well, the first bit of news here is immediately apparent — the heretofore untitled tablet device coming out of India has now been given the name of Adam.  After ruffling a few feathers a week ago with its extremely ambitious battery life projections …
 
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 More Items: 
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
IGN comes out on top among biggest game web news sites as traffic spikes in November
Marshall Kirkpatrick / ReadWriteWeb:
Fun: FirstFollower Identifies Any Twitter User's First Follower
Discussion: Mashable! and Twittercism
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Students power BlackBerry growth
Discussion: Fone Arena, Thanks:tim
Tricia Duryee / mocoNews:
Korea Telecom Cuts 6,000 Jobs Amid Mobile Content Investment In China
Discussion: The Korea Times and Bloomberg
Lance Whitney / CNET News:
Smart-grid spending to hit $200 billion by 2015
Discussion: Pike Research and VentureBeat
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
VeVite Taps Into Twitter For Event Invitations
 Earlier Items: 
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
ISPs Won't Give You Broadband, Won't let Anyone Else, Either …
Zee / The Next Web:
133,000 Member Facebook Group is One Big Scam
Discussion: Gadgetell, Thanks:mgcreed
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Google Is About To Get Caffeinated With A Faster Search Index
Discussion: Seeking Alpha and ResourceShelf
BBC:
Tech changes ‘outstrip’ netbooks