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12:30 PM ET, December 31, 2009

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Clayton Morris / Fox News:
Exclusive: Apple's January Announcement Confirmed  —  Following a Financial Times report that Apple has scheduled a special media event for January 26th in San Francisco, I've spoken to a source inside Apple who confirmed a “big” event for January.  While nothing official has been handed …
RELATED:
XLeung / Cloned In China:
Kaifu Lee said Apple Tablet looked like a bigger iPhone  —  Kaifu Lee, the Ex president of Google China , who also ever worked for Apple, revealed some information about the Apple tablet today through a Twitter alike microblog launched by Chinese news portal Sina.com.cn and his account on this microblog was verified.
Zee / The Next Web:
First Crisp and Clear Video Demo of Google's Nexus One. 10 Minutes of it.  —  Ten minutes covering virtually the entire Nexus One UI, giving a good indication of what to expect.  I still think the iPhone blows the interface away, but if the apps bring Google's level of usability particularly …
RELATED:
Kelly Hodgkins / Boy Genius Report:
Fresh out of China emerges the Motorola Shadow/Mirage, yet another Motorola Android handset  —  Our Chinese is a bit rusty and the details are sparse but it looks like Motorola may be brewing up another Android-powered handset.  This handset, codenamed the Mirage or the Shadow …
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
This is why Apple denied Google Latitude from the App Store...  Another Apple patent today looks remarkably similar to the functionality of Google Latitude which Apple relegated to WebApp status earlier this year.  Obviously if Apple is working on their own version of Google Latitude …
Discussion: Patently Apple and atmaspheric, Thanks:maclounge
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
ChaCha Makes Its Crazy Business Model...Profitable  —  We've always had a lot of fun with Indianapolis-based startup ChaCha.  They launched in 2007 as a human powered search engine - meaning a human found you answers when you typed in a query.  Pranksters, obviously, loved it.
Discussion: Internet2Go
Kim-Mai Cutler and Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Nine startup dreams and industries Google crushed in 2009  —  If you're an ambitious young tech entrepreneur with a compelling product hacked together and a slide-deck in hand, there's always one giant elephant in the room to worry about.  —  That, of course, is Google.
The Real McCrea:
Silicon Valley: Top 10 of the 2000s  —  It's all too easy to view the first decade of the 21st Century as just an unmitigated series of disasters: September 11th, the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, and the meltdown of the global financial system, to name just a few.
Discussion: CNN and dailywireless.org, Thanks:chrismessina
Joe Wilcox / BetaNews:
2000-2009: Microsoft's decade of shattered dreams  —  This will be the toughest commentary I likely will ever write about Microsoft.  It is toughest for me to compose because I see what Microsoft could have been in 2009 from where it started in 2000.  It is toughest on Microsoft …
Discussion: paidContent, Thanks:atul
AppleInsider:
Apple TV 3.0 update not helping sales as AirPort routers lose share  —  Though it was given a software upgrade to version 3.0 in October, Apple TV sales have remained relatively flat over the past 12 months.  Similarly, sales of AirPort base stations have struggled to gain momentum due …
Discussion: Macsimum News
Louis Gray:
Like Convergence, Aggregation Is Better In Theory  —  There always seems to be a tug of war in technology between those who want a converged, multi-purpose device that does everything, or those who want a dedicated device that does one thing (or just a few things) extremely well.
Discussion: Lifestream Blog
Thomas Hoehn / A Thousand Words:
Your Photo in Times Square - When You Want It There!  —  Will you be visiting Times Square in the heart of New York City soon?  Perhaps you will be in the crowd on New Year's Eve?  If so, we have got something cool for you to try....  We recently upgraded our huge digital display on the 50-yard line of the Crossroads of the World.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
John Mayer Wants You To Defragment Your Brain With A Digital Cleanse  —  Anyone who follows John Mayer on Twitter knows that he's a smart guy.  A bit kooky at times, sure.  But he's definitely not just shooting his mouth off with self-promotional drivel.  He's built up quite a following …
Discussion: one forty plus. and Gizmodo
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
We All Live In Public Now.  Get Used To It.  —  As the Web becomes more social, privacy becomes harder and harder to come by.  People are over-sharing on Facebook and Twitter, broadcasting their whereabouts every ten steps on Foursquare and Gowalla, and uploading photos and videos …
Discussion: /Message
Chris / cdixon.org:
What's strategic for Google?  —  Google seems to be releasing or acquiring new products almost daily.  It's one thing for a couple of programmers to hack together a side project.  It's another thing for Google to put gobs of time and money behind it.  The best way to predict how committed Google …
Thanks:atul
Rebecca Harper / Hulu Blog:
Live Stream: Times Square 2010  —  With a bit of rain and snow in the forecast for the New Year's Eve festivities in the Big Apple, the team at Hulu HQ can't blame you for wanting to stay warm and dry inside.  The good news?  You can catch all the festivities at home with Hulu.
Eric A. Taub / New York Times:
Internet Radio Stations Are the New Wave  —  Early fans of the iPhone bemoaned that, unlike many of its competitors, their favorite “do anything” device couldn't do one obvious thing: play local radio stations.  —  They didn't get it.  FM tuners are passé.
Discussion: The FASTForward Blog
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google Updates Toolbar PageRank For New Years 2010  —  To kick off the 2010, Google is currently exporting the PageRank values to the Google Toolbar.  Yes, there are major reports of a Google Toolbar PageRank update taking place right now.  —  This may become a New Years tradition for Google.
Arn / MacRumors:
Apple ‘Magic Wand’ Remote System Patent for Apple TV Resurfaces  —  Apple updated an existing patent application today that describes the implementation of a previously dubbed “Magic Wand” remote control to provide a more natural control experience when navigating a product like the Apple TV.
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac and Gizmodo
Juventino Quinones / My Pre:
Palm App Catalog is About to Reach 1000 Apps  —  The Palm App Catalog had about 800 applications by mid-December, those of us using a webOS phone were pleased, but wanted more.  So Palm is giving us more, so far we have reached 946 applications, my guess is that we might get to 1000 before the end of this year.
Discussion: WebOS Arena and Maximum PC
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Apple misses Boot Camp update deadline  —  Promise to support Windows 7 by ‘end of year’ unfulfilled on Dec. 31  —  Computerworld - Apple has less than 24 hours to meet a self-imposed deadline to produce a version of its Boot Camp software that supports Windows 7.
Discussion: Macsimum News, AppleInsider and MacNN
Vladislav Savov / Engadget:
Mophie iPhone credit card reader coming to a CES near you  —  iPhone accessory maker and recession antidote regular Mophie is about to make the most buzzworthy move of its short history by offering a credit card reader and accompanying transaction app for the Apple handset.
Reuters:
Tweets, sexting “unfriended” in U.S. banned word list  —  KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - If you recently tweeted about how you were chillaxin for the holiday, take note: Fifteen particularly over- or mis-used words and phrases have been declared “shovel-ready” to be “unfriended” …
Daniel Brusilovsky / TechCrunch:
At Foursquare Venues, The Mayor Eats For Free  —  Foursquare, the geo-location based check-in game, just announced its first venue that is combining badges and promotions.  On Foursquare you get badges for checking into places.  The person who checks into a place the most becomes the “Mayor.”
Discussion: GPS Obsessed
 
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 More Items: 
Jonny Evans / 9 to 5 Mac:
Apple beats ‘ear-bashing iPod’ suit
Discussion: Macworld, Ars Technica and Gizmodo
Don Clark / Wall Street Journal:
‘Smartbooks’ Join Crowded PC Market
Rich Miller / Data Center Knowledge:
How Many Servers Can One Admin Manage?
Tom Warren / Neowin.net:
Microsoft & Kia set to launch Ford Sync competitor at CES
Carl Malamud / O'Reilly Radar:
A National Scan Center: A Public Works Project
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Obama admin: Mandated exemptions can strengthen copyright
Discussion: TeleRead
Tac Anderson / New Comm Biz:
PubSub Finally Rises From the Dead [Kind of]
 Earlier Items: 
Walter S. Mossberg / Wall Street Journal:
No File! No Icon! Litl Is a Big Idea, but Still Cloudy
Discussion: /Message and OSNews
Cathy Horyn / New York Times:
Why So Stodgy, Prada.com?  —  IN early November, Burberry deployed …
Jeff Bertolucci / PC World:
Microsoft Zune Eats Apple iPod Dust in Holiday Sales
Discussion: Download Squad and The Register
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
YouTube's Quest to Suggest More
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

Evan Drellich / New York Times:
The MLB is planning national packages for streaming companies to bid on in 2028, when its national TV deals with ESPN, Fox, and Turner expire

 
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