Techmeme: Buzz Kill — Something happened tonight that made me question … (Leo Laporte/LOL: The Life of Leo)

5:50 PM ET, August 22, 2010

Top Items:

Why Apple's iTV Will Change Everything — The rumor: Apple will be releasing a revamped/renamed version of their ‘Apple TV’ set-top box, called ‘iTV’. The box will run the Apple iOS (same as the iPhone/iPad), and be priced around $99. — Why will this change everything?

Discussion: AppleInsider, Fortune, Erictric, 9 to 5 Mac, App Advice, TiPb, Velocity, Silicon Alley Insider, Redmond Pie, I4U News and Conversion Rater

Loïc Le Meur / Loic Le Meur Blog:

Writing apps for your TV is cool but nothing compared to Your body API. Where is the iBody appstore? — Apps on TV are a great opportunity but nothing compared to what's coming for your body. Your body is going to become the next platform for developers to build on, you just need to open your own API.

Thanks:loic

Leo Laporte / LOL: The Life of Leo:

Buzz Kill — Something happened tonight that made me question everything I've done with social media since I first joined Twitter in late 2006. — You know me - I'm a complete web whore. I sign up for every site, try every web app, use every service I can find. It's my job, but I also love doing it.

Discussion: LiveSide.net, The Next Web, Howard Owens, Andy Beard, TomsTechBlog.com and The Raw Feed, Thanks:rawmeet

Karl Ritter / Associated Press:

Swedish prosecutors defend WikiLeaks about-face — STOCKHOLM — Swedish prosecutors defended their handling of a rape allegation against the founder of WikiLeaks, saying Sunday that they had made no mistakes in issuing an arrest warrant and withdrawing it less than a day later.

Discussion: BBC and Associated Press

Sean Hollister / Engadget:

Motorola clamps down on Droid X's leaked Android 2.2 upgrade with cease and desist scare — Hoping to spoon-feed your Droid X some Froyo before the official OTA rollout? You'd better do it now — Motorola's sending out cease and desist emails in an attempt to shut the leaked ROM down.

Discussion: CNET News, IntoMobile, Boy Genius Report, Computerworld, Gizmodo, Startup Meme and PhoneDog.com

J. Alex Halderman / Freedom to Tinker:

Electronic Voting Researcher Arrested Over Anonymous Source — About four months ago, Ed Felten blogged about a research paper in which Hari Prasad, Rop Gonggrijp, and I detailed serious security flaws in India's electronic voting machines. Indian election authorities have repeatedly claimed …

Mike Swift / Mercury News:

When you google, think Ben Gomes — Like few other people on the planet, Google's Ben Gomes knows what interests the world. — Gomes is the engineer in charge of improving what you see when you Google. From one of the most important but little-known offices in the Googleplex in Mountain View …

Thanks:mattcutts

Paul Carr / TechCrunch:

Forget Ads In Books, Lit-Lovers Face An Even More Hideous Prospect — It's a pity readers don't want to pay for stories about the death of traditional media, because otherwise journalists and commentators would be riding a big fat cash cow. — In recent months it's been impossible to open …

Discussion: TeleRead, Snarkmarket and NevilleHobson.com, more at Mediagazer », Thanks:sierragator

Sean Hollister / Engadget:

Virgin Mobile USA fortells unlimited prepaid mobile broadband for $40 a month — Whereas AT&T's move to tiered smartphone data pricing signaled “the end of unlimited” to some, Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile USA has just defied that notion with an all-you-can-eat broadband buffet priced at $40 per month.

Discussion: IntoMobile, Gizmodo, PhoneNews.com, Electronista and Go Rumors

Dan Goodin / The Register:

Apple eyes kill switch for jailbroken iPhones — ...for your own good — Apple has applied for a patent covering an elaborate series of measures to automatically protect iPhone owners from thieves and other unauthorized users. But please withhold the applause.

Discussion: CNET News, Mashable!, Engadget, Ars Technica, IntoMobile, Startup Meme, I4U News, VentureBeat, PC World, Hardware 2.0 Blog, V3.co.uk, ZeroPaid.com and AppleInsider

Jeff Rivera / GalleyCat:

New York Times Bestseller Seth Godin to No Longer Publish Books Traditionally — New York Times bestselling author and marketing guru, Seth Godin vows to never publish traditionally again. After over 12 books with a legacy publisher, Godin says he's had enough.

Discussion: TeleRead

Lisa W. Foderaro / New York Times:

Roommates Who Click — MADDI GILJE, who will soon leave home in St. Louis to start at New York University, has chatted all summer with her new roommate, Amelia Dudley of Baltimore. She could be talking to her twin. — They share the same bedtime (between 10 p.m. and midnight) and a high tolerance for clutter.

Thanks:michaelklurfeld

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