Top Items:
DigiTimes:
Apple reportedly planning a smaller-size iPad for 1Q11, says Digitimes Research — Apple is reportedly scheduling a smaller 5- to 7-inch version of the iPad that is expected to launch as soon as the first quarter of 2011, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo.
Discussion:
CrunchGear, Geek.com, GottaBeMobile, SlashGear, Electronista, I4U News, Pocket-lint, Gizmodo and Silicon Alley Insider
RELATED:
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
Apple producing 5-7 inch, $400 mini-iPad for 2011? — Digitimes quotes its own research arm in discovering that Apple is building a 5-7 inch mini iPad for delivery as early as the the first quarter of 2011. The analyst states that the price of the new product would come in around $400.
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Google Testing Google Voice Desktop App Internally — Last November Google acquired Gizmo5, a VoIP service that competed with Skype by making P2P VoIP calls as well as making and receiving calls with POTS (normal landlines) and mobile phones. — Gizmo5 fills some of the holes in the Google Voice product …
Discussion:
Download Squad, Softpedia News, Erictric, Android Central, Search Engine Journal, greg hughes and VoIP Watch
RELATED:
Brad McCarty / The Next Web:
Move over, Skype. Google Voice is coming to the desktop. — For those of us who know and love Google Voice, there's simply no replacement. The issue though is that there was no way to do a voice call from the desktop. In order to make or receive a call, you have to be using the phone to which your Google Voice number is tied.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The iPad — Back in December, here's how I concluded my piece on what I expected from Apple's then-still-unannounced tablet: … After the iPad was announced, I got two types of emails from readers. The first group saying they were disappointed, because they had been hoping I was right …
Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:
UK Parliament Hurriedly Approves Online Piracy Law — The UK government's controversial Digital Economy Bill was voted for by a majority of House Of Commons MPs Wednesday night - giving music labels, movie studios and other sections of the creative industries a landmark “graduated response” …
RELATED:
Dennis Howlett / Irregular Enterprise:
Steve Gillmor goes to the dark side: you should care — Steve Gillmor is joining Salesforce.com. Apparently he is a direct CEO appointment (cool or what?) Is that a big deal? Yes it is. Steve is a lightning rod for many things. He's been 100% relentless in his promotion of Twitter …
Discussion:
TechCrunchIT
John Markoff / New York Times:
H.P. Says New Device Could Revolutionize Computer Chips — PALO ALTO, Calif. — Hewlett-Packard scientists on Thursday will report advances demonstrating significant progress in the design of a new class of diminutive switches capable of replacing transistors as computer chips shrink toward the atomic scale.
Discussion:
The Register, Engadget, Nature, SlashGear, I4U News, Digits, Electronista and Ars Technica, Thanks:hpnews
Gawker.TV:
South Park Explains Everything That Is Annoying About Facebook — Tonight, South Park made comment on Facebook and its obsessives by brilliantly taking every ridiculous thing about what the social network has become and explaining it with hilariously awkward (and eerily accurate) “IRL” interactions.
foursquare:
On foursquare, cheating, and claiming mayorships from your couch... Hey all - — Some of you may have noticed that we rolled out the first version of our “cheater code” - an attempt to catch some of the folks that are checking in from their couches to steal mayorships.
Discussion:
Fast Company, The Next Web, VentureBeat, Erictric, Download Squad, Mashable! and lalawag
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Foursquare Starts To Enforce The Rules, Cracks Down On Fake Check-Ins
Discussion:
All Points Blog, Electricpig.co.uk, The Next Web, Lifestream Blog and John Battelle's Searchblog
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
Holy Cow Did Twitter's Top Investor Drop A Bombshell On Twitter App-Makers Today — Twitter could buy or build its own photo-uploader and mobile app, squashing third-party developers in its way, Twitter investor and Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson implicitly warned in a post this morning.
MacDailyNews:
Justin Long: Apple's ‘Get a Mac’ commercials ‘might be done’ — “For a decade, Justin Long has acted in commercials, TV shows, studio features, and independents, many comedies and a few dramas. He's also done more than his share of voice work for animated fare... Long recently spoke …
Jim Hoskins / Almost Done:
AdLib - Apple's secret iPad web framework? — I know, I know, enough news about the iPad already! I haven't picked one up yet because I'm much more keen on having a device with 3G access. However, this isn't about the iPad itself, but something very interesting I stumbled upon while playing with the iPad Simulator.
Tim Wu / Slate:
The iPad is Steve Jobs' final victory over the company's co-founder Steve Wozniak. — In 2006, professor Jonathan Zittrain of Harvard Law School predicted that over the next decade there would be a determined effort to replace the personal computer with a new generation of “information appliances.”
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Salesforce Chatter Gets Its Own App Marketplace: ChatterExchange — When Salesforce's enterprise-friendly social collaboration platform Chatter was announced last Fall, we focused on the social features and connectivity it could bring to the enterprise. It was, in fact, Salesforce's …
Nicholas Carr / Rough Type:
The iPad Luddites — Is it possible for a Geek God to also be a Luddite? That was the question that popped into my head as I read Cory Doctorow's impassioned anti-iPad diatribe at Boing Boing. The device that Apple calls “magical” and “revolutionary” is, to Doctorow …
Discussion:
CNET News
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Get your e-book on the iPad (and keep all the royalties) — Tunecore has been a boon for musicians like Trent Reznor, who pay the Brooklyn-based company a flat fee of $40 or so and then see their music available for sale on Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic. The copyrights all remain in the artists' hands …
Discussion:
TeleRead
David Kushner / Mother Jones:
Inside WikiLeaks' Leak Factory — WikiLeaks has revealed the secrets of the Pentagon, Scientology, and Sarah Palin—and the explosive video of a US attack on civilians and journalists in Iraq. Meet the shadowy figure behind the whistleblower site. — Post Comment
Discussion:
Gawker
Mike Melanson / ReadWriteWeb:
Google Earth Fills In The Blue Parts — If you thought Google's Street View was ambitious, or even Google Earth, then the companies latest efforts to “fill in the ‘blue’ part of the planet” on Google Earth puts the rest to shame. That “blue part”, after all, comprises more than 70% of the planet's surface.
New York Times:
China's Censorship Machine Takes On the Internet — An Internet cafe in Beijing. Some Internet cafes and schools use filtering software, and a version for cellphones is in development. — BEIJING — Type the Chinese characters for “carrot” into Google's search engine here in mainland China …
Sean Michael Kerner / LinuxPlanet:
Ubuntu Claims 12 Million Users as Lucid Linux Desktop Nears — 12 Million Users, Aubergine, Synchronization — Ubuntu Linux is gearing up for the debut of its latest release with Ubuntu 10.04, codenamed “the Lucid Lynx” and scheduled for general availability at the end of the month.
Discussion:
internetnews.com
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Xmarks Begins Monetizing Bookmarks With Advertising And Analytics Platform SearchBoost — Following a rebranding last year, Xmarks, a social bookmarking and search tool, has been growing steadily in users. Following the addition of its search feature last March, Xmarks now has 4.5 million active users …
Discussion:
GigaOM
Brainstorm Tech:
Palm CEO puts his cards on the table — Former Apple exec Jon Rubinstein remains committed to Palm's success, even as takeover rumors swirl. — Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein … The conventional wisdom is that Palm has blown it and either is going to run out of money or get sold or both.
Discussion:
PreCentral.net
Tim Conneally / BetaNews:
Windows 7 SP1 leaks, available now — In March, the Windows team announced the upcoming release of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2, but did not set a date of availability. — At the time, Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said, “For Windows 7, SP1 includes only minor updates …
Discussion:
The Register, InfoWorld, Tech Eye, Engadget, Technologizer, The Next Web, TechFlash and GeekSmack
Bill Ray / The Register:
Apple patent shows iPhone ruling the home — In your living room? NFC — Apple has patented using an NFC-equipped iPhone to set up links between electronic devices, hinting at how the company sees the future of the living room and its part there. — The recently published patent covers …
Nilay Patel / Engadget:
Kindle coming to Target on April 25? — We've always wondered if and when Amazon would get the Kindle into brick-and-mortar stores to counteract the see-it-with-your-eyes marketing advantage held by competitors like Barnes and Noble, and it looks like we just got our answer …
Discussion:
TeleRead, GottaBeMobile, GeekSugar, Electronista, Silicon Alley Insider, Technologizer, Kindle Review and TechFlash
Heather Horn / The Atlantic Wire:
Is It Aggregation or Stealing? — Snazzy, easy-to-use, one-stop hub Newser is one of many aggregation sites out there (The Atlantic Wire should know—we're one, too). Aggregation has its upsides and downsides: there are those who claim shortening and collecting is a useful service …
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
iPad Sales Estimated to Have Already Surpassed 500,000 — Advertising firm Chitika earlier this week rolled out a running tally calculating the number of iPads accessing the Internet via the device's Safari browser based on unique hits to its network of advertisements.
Miles Godfrey / Sydney Morning Herald:
MySpace relaunch to combat Facebook — AAP — Rupert Murdoch's social networking website MySpace is planning a Spring relaunch to try to win back users from rival Facebook and reposition itself in the rapidly changing social media market. — MySpace, bought by Mr Murdoch's media group News Corp …
