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A new approach to China: an update — On January 12, we announced on this blog that Google and more than twenty other U.S. companies had been the victims of a sophisticated cyber attack originating from China, and that during our investigation into these attacks we had uncovered evidence …
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Interview: Sergey Brin on Google's China Gambit — China's censorship of the Internet may be blunt, but Google has found negotiations with the Chinese government in recent weeks to be subtle and uncertain. — That was the message from a brief interview in New York on Monday with Sergey Brin …


Google Will Redirect China Users to Uncensored Site — SAN FRANCISCO — Just over two months after threatening to leave China because of censorship and intrusions by Chinese hackers, Google said Monday that it was closing its China-based Internet search service and instead directing Chinese users …

Google's ‘Evil Meter’ Tells You What Sites China Is Blocking And What It Isn't (GOOG) — Google is no longer censoring its search engine in China — now hosted in Hong Kong — and now it seems likely that the Chinese government will start blocking more Google sites.

Chinese get Google search results, but can't click through — With Google redirecting users to its Hong Kong search engine, powerful new results now show up for sensitive subjects such as the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwanese independence and the Dalai Lama. — But opening those links is another matter.


The iPad App Derby Gets Under Way — It can be difficult to write software for a gadget without being able to touch it. But that has not stopped developers from rushing to create applications for the Apple iPad. — For small start-ups and big Internet and media companies alike, the iPad …
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Kindle for iPad and tablets makes the scene
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Official: Apple now offering iPhones contract free (updated: not unlocked) — We heard from 9 to 5 Mac that Apple was due to begin selling a contract-free variant of the iPhone in the near future “at list price.” And guess what happened when we inquired to an Apple store?
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Apple Closing Gap on App Store Inadequacies — Today, one of the biggest irritations and shortcomings on the App Store has been remedied. Apple has now integrated gifting into the App Store, a move which will likely bring significant additional revenue to developers around key holidays.
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Apple adds Gift this App option to App Store — The App Store was built on the foundations of its predecessor, the iTunes Store, but some features of the latter didn't immediately appear in the former. On Monday, the App Store filled in another hole in functionality as Apple added the ability to gift apps.

Americans Using TV and Internet Together 35% More Than A Year Ago — Americans increased their overall media usage and media multitasking according to The Nielsen Company's latest Three Screen Report, which tracks consumption across TV, Internet and mobile phones.


The Dropbox Android App! — In Dropbox's two year history, we've had some ardent fans salivating over the next killer Dropbox feature. We love these people! — Our first huge feature following (and birthplace of our Dropbox poetry tradition) was our Linux version, which was soon followed by the highly anticipated iPhone app.


For sale: A million-dollar iPad address — Behind those iPad domain names on eBay with asking prices in the stratosphere — About a year ago, when Apple's (AAPL) latest creation was, as far as anyone outside Cupertino knew, still but a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye, Nik Tyler made an inspired guess.


Welcome To Evelyn Rusli, Whom We Stole From Forbes — Everyone please say hello to Evelyn Rusli. It's her first day here at TechCrunch as part of our core writing team. — Evelyn joins us from Forbes where she was an anchor reporter for the Forbes Video Network.
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Silicon Alley Insider

Perseus Signs an EBooks Deal for the iPad — Apple's iBookstore on the forthcoming iPad is set to get larger. The company has just signed a deal with the largest distributor of independent publishers to sell electronic versions of it books on the new device.


@ at MoMA — Ray Tomlinson. @. 1971. Here displayed in ITC American Typewriter Medium, the closest approximation to the character used by a Model 33 Teletype in the early 1970s — MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design has acquired the @ symbol into its collection.


The Economics Of Facebook Games — Last week at SXSW, John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom, spoke about “The Future Of Social Gaming”, but the greatest takeaway was the current economics of Facebook Games. If you are looking to get into the business or are already a player in the space …
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Inside Social Games


Local Blog Network Gothamist Being Bought by Cablevision's Rainbow Media — Gothamist, the local city blog network that is best known for its New York City edition, is being acquired by Cablevision-owned Rainbow Media, paidContent has learned. The price is between $5 million to $6 million …
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Silicon Alley Insider


SOFT IN THE MIDDLE — Apple's launch of the iPad next week is a gamble in more ways than one. To start with, it's obviously a bet that there are millions of people looking for a new way to surf the Web, watch movies, and read magazines. But it's also a more fundamental gamble; namely, that people will pay for quality.


Secret Service Paid TJX Hacker $75,000 a Year — Convicted TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez earned $75,000 a year working undercover for the U.S. Secret Service, informing on bank card thieves before he was arrested in 2008 for running his own multimillion-dollar card-hacking operation.


Let the E-Reader Price War Begin? Sony Drops to $169 — Sony says it is cutting the price on its entry-level e-book reader, dubbed the Pocket Reader, to $169 — perhaps the first in a coming price war for the devices. … Sony's $30 discount only lasts through April 4 …


News Corp. Throwing Away The Crown Jewel: Fox Audience Network — News Corp. isn't beating around the bush with its digital assets. Rotten Tomatoes has been sold off to Flixster. Photobucket went to Ontela. IGN had 20% staff cuts, and MySpace is dealing with co-presidents.
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AT&T Adds Wireless To U-Verse Triple Play - Users can now swap out home phone for wireless — According to a new AT&T press release, the telco is shaking up the traditional triple play for the company's U-Verse customers. For the first time, AT&T is allowing users to swap …

Adobe debuts Flash Platform tools, including renamed Flex Builder — San Francisco - Adobe Systems will roll out on Monday a slew of development tools and technologies for the Flash Platform, including a renamed version of its Flex Builder tool as well as an IDE for its ColdFusion platform.


Microsoft's browser loses market share in Europe — (Reuters) - Microsoft's Internet Explorer has lost market share in major European markets, such as France, Britain and Italy, after the U.S. software firm started to make it easier for European consumers to use competing browsers.