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7:50 AM ET, August 25, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Bloomberg:
Apple Said to Prepare New 99-Cent TV Show Rental Service  —  Apple Inc. is in advanced talks with News Corp. to let iTunes users rent TV shows for 99 cents and is in discussions with other media companies about similar deals, said three people familiar with the plan.
RELATED:
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
99¢ TV shows coming Sept. 7 - report
Tom Krazit / CNET News:
Google testing voice calling in Gmail  —  Google could be ready to turn Gmail into a communications hub by adding the ability to make phone calls from the Google Chat interface.  —  CNET has learned that Google is testing a Web-based service within Gmail that will allow users to place phone calls from their inboxes.
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Facebook Follow: The Twitter-Eater, The Preemptive Google Me-Killer  —  Up until a few months ago, I was using Facebook the same way I was using Twitter.  That is, I was allowing anyone to follow me.  But it was different.  With Twitter, anyone can follow me without my approval.
Discussion: Telegraph
RELATED:
Eric Eldon / Inside Facebook:   Facebook Updates Friend List Interface Again, Hoping to Increase Usage
Arron La:
Android Revenue - Advanced Task Manager  —  Background  —  “Advanced Task Manager” is an Android application I created in February 2009.  At that time, it was needed mainly to kill running services that a number of applications spawned but never ended.  Some of these services would start …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Google Finance Now Looks Better In Your Mobile Browser  —  If you go to Google Finance on your iPhone or Android via the mobile browser, it looks a lot like an app.  You can enter a ticker symbol or company name in the search box at the top to generate a current price and stock chart.
Aza Raskin / Aza on Design:
Firefox Panorama: Tab Candy Evolved  —  I am happy to announce that Tab Candy is coming to Firefox 4.  Starting today, Tab Candy will be called Firefox Panorama and be available as a feature in Firefox betas.  Head to the Firefox 4 feature list, or watch the video below …
RELATED:
Adrianne Jeffries / ReadWriteWeb:
Orkut Now Encouraging Users to Project Different Personas to Different People  —  The Google-owned social network Orkut is not well-known in the U.S., but it's extremely popular in India and Brazil - that is, until Facebook started catching up.  But Orkut just announced a new feature that makes it look pretty good.
RELATED:
Amir Efrati / Digits:
Google Makes Change to Orkut as Facebook Wins in India
Surur / WMPoweruser.com:
Phone to console real time gaming coming to Windows Phone 7  —  In a surprisingly information-packed interview at Microsoft's X'10 event in Toronto, RGBFilter managed to get the Microsoft rep, Greg Milligan, Mobility Solutions Manager.  Microsoft Canada to admit to quite a scoop.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
‘Angry Birds’ iPhone Game To Get Line Of Toys, Possibly Movie  —  According to Variety, Rovio, the company that makes ‘Angry Birds’ has been shopping the beloved iPhone game around Hollywood, and currently rolling out some franchising deals. … While we can't say anything definite …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Motorola Snaps Up 280 North For $20 Million  —  Motorola has acquired Y Combinator startup 280 North, we've confirmed.  We haven't confirmed, but have heard from multiple sources, that the price is around $20 million.  This is a sizable exit for the founders - the company has raised just $250,000 in a 2008 angel round.
Slash Lane / AppleInsider:
Third-party iPad clamshell keyboard case revealed in FCC filing  —  A new third-party iPad peripheral coming soon to the U.S. will turn Apple's touchscreen tablet into more of a traditional laptop form factor, with a clamshell case that provides tactile input via an attached Bluetooth keyboard.
Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
Exclusive: HTC's Windows Phone 7-equipped T8788 breaks cover for AT&T  —  In case you needed any more evidence that AT&T is going all-in with Windows Phone 7, take a gander at this little beast, a phone known only as the HTC T8788 at this point (rest assured, you'll get a snappy, memorable …
The JobsBloggers / Microsoft JobsBlog:
The Top Three hottest new majors for a career in technology  —  Have you ever wondered what fields of study are hot right now in the world of technology?  Or maybe you're starting to think about declaring your major and you're looking for some real world guidance?
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Ad Firm Sued for Allegedly Re-Creating Deleted Cookies  —  Specificmedia, one of the net's largest ad-serving and tracking companies, has been hit with a federal lawsuit accusing the company of violating computer intrusion laws by secretly re-creating cookies deleted by users.
Discussion: Between the Lines Blog, Thanks:atul
Brian Caulfield / Velocity:
Is Facebook About To Use ARM Chips In Its Data Centers?  No!  —  For any geek — or anyone who pays attention at all to the fortunes of big tech companies — it was a truly tantalizing rumor.  Too bad it turned out to be untrue.  No, Facebook is not planning to switch to servers based on the same ARM design used in Apple's iPhone.
Jessica Guynn / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Square hires Keith Rabois, Silicon Valley veteran and investor  —  Keith Rabois is paying it forward.  —  Not only did Google land technology to help boost its social networking ambitions when it bought Slide this month, it got PayPal veteran and Internet superstar Max Levchin as well.
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
Users are still idiots, cough up personal data despite warnings  —  Study after study has shown that users are the weak link when it comes to security.  Some of it, however, is not their fault: best security practices often go against everything we know about human behavior or mental capacity.
Audrey Watters / ReadWriteWeb:
Where the Startups Are, By Zip Code  —  As part of our “Never Mind the Valley” series here, we often feature communities outside the Silicon Valley that have become thriving centers for entrepreneurship.  We've profiled cities like Boston, Montreal, and Austin.
Discussion: PeteSearch
Arthur Brice / CNN:
3 Colombian teens on Facebook hit list killed in past 10 days  —  The hit list on Facebook gave the people named three days to leave the town of Puerto Asis, Colombia, or be executed  —  (CNN) — Three teens who were on a 69-name hit list posted on Facebook have been killed in the past 10 days …
Discussion: Gawker and NPR
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Sketchy Startup Promises Facebook Stock To Investors  —  Oh, this is a huge mess in the making.  A company called Freevi that has already had it's hand slapped for securities laws violations by the State of California is trying to raise funds from investors by promising to “secure” the investment with Facebook stock.
Brian Barrett / Gizmodo:
Please Stop Making New Phones With Old Firmware  —  We've reached the point where buying a “new” Android phone could still mean you're using firmware that's 18 months old.  There's got to be a better way.  —  Today's release of the Android 1.5-laden Dell Aero might be the most recent …
Greg Kumparak / MobileCrunch:
Virgin Mobile shifts up their MiFi plan: $40.  Unlimited.  Contract-free.  Glorious.  —  Man, these pre-paid carriers are really learning to pull on a geek's heartstrings.  Just months ago, Boost launched the US' first Android-powered prepaid phone, the Moto i1.
Shashi Seth / Yahoo! Search Blog:
Yahoo! Transitions Organic Search Back-End to Microsoft Platform  —  First let me say, wow, what a week!  As I hope everyone saw our post from last week, Yahoo! began transitioning certain back-end functions for Yahoo! Search over to Microsoft's search platform.
 
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 More Items: 
Jessica Heslam / Boston Herald:
Martha Coakley tells Craigslist: Abandon adult sex ads
Joseph Menn / Financial Times:
Alibaba makes a second US purchase
Discussion: Computerworld and The Register
Keith Andrew / PocketGamer:
Qwiboo's Vladimir Roth on why piracy is thriving on iPad
Discussion: TUAW and ReadWriteWeb
Joel Rosenblatt / Bloomberg:
Apple Manager Devine Must Allow Access to Safe Deposit Boxes
Sarah Lacy / TechCrunch:
Elevation Moving to Acquire a Large Stake in Pandora
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime
Discussion: THINQ.co.uk
Natasha Murashev / All Facebook:
What Your “Cool” Facebook Friend Is Really Like
 Earlier Items: 
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Iomega Portable Hard Drives Hit the Big USB 3.0
Discussion: Iomega, SlashGear, Gizmodo and Electronista
Ed Bott / Ed Bott's Microsoft Report Blog:
Fact check: malware did not bring down a passenger jet
Agence France Presse:
Toshiba to launch first glasses-free 3D TV
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

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

 
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