Top Items:
Ina Fried / CNET News:
Ballmer says Microsoft at work to rival iPad — REDMOND, Wash.—Acknowledging Apple's early success with the iPad, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer insisted Thursday that the software maker is hard at work on Windows-based tablets. — “They'll be shipping as soon as they are ready,” Ballmer said …
Discussion:
Computerworld, 9 to 5 Mac, The Loop, TechFlash, Yahoo! News, Electronista, Digital Daily, Electronic Pulp, The Register, MobileContentToday, Electricpig.co.uk, TechSpot, AppleInsider, Pocket-lint, MacRumors, I4U News, Silicon Alley Insider, MacStories, Engadget, The Tech Herald …, Lockergnome Blog Network, Gizmodo and PE Hub Blog
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Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Steve Ballmer on the iPad: The transcript — “We'll talk about about slates and tablets and blah, blah, blah, blah.” Ballmer at the financial analysts meeting. No, those aren't the notes of a reporter who couldn't keep up. That “blah, blah, blah, blah” — taken from the official transcript …
Quarup Barreirinhas / Google LatLong:
Rain or Snow, Now You Can See Weather in Google Earth — It's the middle of summer, but for those of us who long for the return of cold winter weather and warm cups of cocoa, throw on your favorite poncho and check out the weather in Google Earth 5.2. The latest version projects images …
Discussion:
Download Squad, Fast Company, Gizmodo, Newlaunches.com, Pocket-lint, Softpedia News, NewsGrange and WebProNews, Thanks:atul
Jason Chen / Gizmodo:
Major Corporations Are Downloading Those 100 Million Facebook Profiles off BitTorrent — Remember that torrent yesterday that contained the personal information off of 100 million scraped Facebook profiles? I thought it was strange that the guy didn't sell this information, since many companies would be interested.
Discussion:
Fast Company, THINQ.co.uk, TechCrunch Europe, msnbc.com, 9 to 5 Mac and Thoughts from the Sidelines
Michael V. Copeland / Fortune:
Google: The search party is over — Yes, the company is still growing at rates that would be the envy of the rest of the Fortune 500. But its core business is slowing, its stock is down, its Android mobile platform generates scant revenue, and competition (hello, Facebook) is fierce.
Discussion:
the Econsultancy blog, Daily Patricia, TechFlash and Data Mining, Thanks:srikardhanakoti
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
In April, Apple Ditched Google And Skyhook In Favor Of Its Own Location Databases — As you're undoubtedly aware, location is one of the hottest fields out there right now. Startups, services, devices, and advertisers are all hovering around it. As you're also likely well aware, Apple likes to be in control of their own devices.
Discussion:
blogs.telegraph.co.uk, 9 to 5 Mac, Wi-Fi Networking News, TiPb and Silicon Alley Insider, Thanks:atul
Antony Bruno / Billboard.Biz:
Sources: Spotify Reboots U.S. Label Negotiations — Spotify's licensing negotiations with the major music labels have reverted back to square one, Billboard.biz has learned from multiple sources. — Having failed to persuade the major record labels to go along with its vision for a U.S. version …
Ryan Lawler / NewTeeVee:
The Real Cost of Netflix Streaming is the Movie, Not the Bandwidth — Everyone knows that Netflix's future is in streaming, and as a result, the company is investing heavily in titles for its Watch Instantly service. But a closer look at Netflix's financials underscore how the Internet …
Discussion:
Fast Company, Digital Society, Hacking NetFlix, CableTechTalk and CNET News, Thanks:whataboutbob
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
It's As If The iPhone 4 Was Created For DailyBooth; Their App Will Prove It — Even if not everyone will admit it, everyone likes taking pictures of themselves. I suspect it's the not-so-secret reason why users are addicted to DailyBooth — the service which asks you to take pictures of yourself …
Discussion:
App Advice
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
Y Combinator's Paul Graham: Say goodbye to traditional venture rounds — Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham today offered an overview of how he has seen the angel and startup world evolve in the last year. Among other trends, he argued that the traditionally structured venture round is becoming irrelevant.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Software Firms Overwhelmingly Against Patents — There's been plenty of talk about whether or not software patents should be legal, and one of the “debates” we often run into in the comments is over whether or not the “software industry” really believes in patents or not.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google Confirms: We're Not Currently Blocked In China — We've just received word from Google that they are not currently blocked in China and that a server issue was most likely the cause of their dashboard misread. From Google: … While their statement also confirms that there was a small amount …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Agence France Presse, Mercury News, Financial Times, VentureBeat, The Register, CNET News, Digital Daily, Silicon Alley Insider, Gizmodo and Engadget
Bloomberg:
Facebook Said to Put Off IPO Until 2012 to Buy Time for Growth — Facebook Inc. will probably put off its initial public offering until 2012, giving Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg more time to gain users and boost sales, three people familiar with the matter said.
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
EVO 4G's Android 2.2 update starts trickling out tomorrow, loads of new features and fixes in store? (update: official for August 3rd!) — We're not certain that this date is going to hold — things like this have an uncanny tendency to slip at the last possible moment …
Discussion:
Computerworld, community.sprint.com, eWeek, Gizmodo, IntoMobile, I4U News, Boy Genius Report, Phone Arena, Softpedia News, Android Phone Fans, Smartphones …, Electronic Pulp, Fone Arena, PC World, MobileCrunch, Google Android News …, SlashGear, AndroidGuys, Erictric, BriefMobile, Thoughts from the Sidelines, DroidDog Android Blog, Android and Me, Gadgetell, Neowin.net, Unwired View, DailyTech, AndroidSPIN, Android Community, MobileBurn.com, Electronista, Crave, GeekSugar and PhoneNews.com
John Cook / TechFlash:
The art of startup names — Wordsmiths and linguists could spend countless hours debating the origins of quirky names of Internet companies. After all, this is an industry which has transformed words like Yahoo and Amazon and introduced monikers like Cheezburger and Zillow.
Devin Coldewey / CrunchGear:
Copia Plans Low-Cost 7″ And 10″ Tablets As Well As E-Ink Devices — Just a couple hours ago, news broke of the $99 Copia Wave5 e-reader, or tablet, or whatever you want to call a 5″ LCD-based device focused on reading. That isn't the extent of the lineup, however …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Google Opens Places API With Initial Focus On Check-In Apps — At Google I/O in May, the search giant indicated that they were about to take their commitment to location to the next level. Sure, Latitude had been around for a while, but everyone knew that Google could do more in the space.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land, Google Geo Developers Blog, ReadWriteWeb, Softpedia News, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, pluGGd.in and Mashable!, Thanks:chadcat
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
The Inside Story: Flipboard's Crazy Launch And Its Plan To Save Media — Flipboard is a beautiful iPad app that looks at the content your friends are sharing on Twitter and Facebook and reformats it into a digital, interactive magazine. — The consumer reaction to the app since its launch …
Thanks:atul
Chris Morrison / Inside Social Games:
Playdom Signs Five-Year Contract With Facebook, Will Exclusively Use Credits — Following on the heels of Playdom's acquisition by Disney for $563.2 million, we've learned that the social game publisher has sealed a five-year contract stipulating exclusive use of Credits, Facebook's in-house virtual currency, across all Playdom games.
Thanks:rawmeet
Jonathan E. Skillings / CNET News:
Best Buy to offer Clearwire 4G service — Best Buy is beefing up its recently launched wireless broadband service in a deal with 4G provider Clearwire. — Through its Best Buy Connect service, which debuted just a few weeks ago, the electronics retailer plans to offer customers a new 4G tier starting in 2011.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
How to hide yourself from Google and cell phone carriers — The problem with being private is that it increasingly means that you have to choose to drop out of society. You would never let the government put a tracking device on you, but you may be carrying a cell phone that tracks your location.
John R. Quain / Fox News:
For Apple Followers, It's a Matter of Faith, Academics Say — Apple CEO Steve Jobs, with the Apple iPad displayed over his shoulder, delivers the keynote address during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Monday, June 7, 2010, in San Francisco. — Its tablet computer can't play …
