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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.
Discussion:
paidContent, App Advice, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, VideoNuze, New York Times, fierceonlinevideo.com …, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Boy Genius Report, Fast Company, MacDailyNews, Epicenter, Techland, Gizmodo, TiPb, Velocity, SFGate, Ars Technica, SlashGear, AppleInsider, Erictric, CNET News, The Toybox Blog, Neowin.net, Search Engine Land, Electronista, USA Today, PC Magazine, DSLreports, Silicon Alley Insider, Gizmodo Australia, Engadget, Tech Trader Daily, Crave, iLounge and TUAW, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:

99¢ TV shows coming Sept. 7 - report
Discussion:
Electronista and Silicon Alley Insider


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.
Discussion:
Fortune, Lifehacker, Neowin.net, BlogsDNA, The Register, TechCrunch, Erictric, The Next Web and Gizmodo


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 …
Discussion:
Webmonkey, BlogsDNA, Techie Buzz, Startup Meme, TechCrunch, MacStories, Electronista, BetaNews, CNET News, Lifehacker, Read It Later Blog, WebProNews and ConceivablyTech
RELATED:

Firefox 4 Beta Updated with Sync and Panorama
Discussion:
Erictric, The Register, Pocket-lint and The Next Web


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 …


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.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, IntoMobile, Electronista, Tech Trader Daily and Ajaxian, Thanks:atul

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.
Discussion:
Search Blog, SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog, Mercury News, Ars Technica, Search Engine Land, CNET News, WebProNews, ReadWriteWeb, Computerworld, Erictric, Neowin.net, UMBC ebiquity, The Next Web, Softpedia News, The Register, TechFlash, The Microsoft Blog, Search Engine Journal, adCenter Blog, V3.co.uk, Digital Daily and silicontap.com


Apple Manager Devine Must Allow Access to Safe Deposit Boxes — Paul Devine, the Apple Inc. manager accused of taking kickbacks in exchange for company secrets, must give the government access to two safe deposit boxes that a prosecutor said may contain “proceeds of the fraud.”
Discussion:
Gizmodo, V3.co.uk and The Register
RELATED:

Apple exec stashed $150K in shoe boxes
Discussion:
CNET News, Gizmodo, AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, TUAW, everythingiCafe, CrunchGear and The Loop


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?


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.
Discussion:
GigaOM, Silicon Alley Insider and The Social, Thanks:mbaratz


Facebook Updates Friend List Interface Again, Hoping to Increase Usage — In a small update that might be hinting at more changes to come, Facebook has altered how users select friends to add to their friends lists. Previously, when you approved a friend request, the interface included an option to add a friend to one or more lists.


African-Americans, Women and Southerners Talk and Text The Most in the U.S. — Think you can guess which Americans talk or text the most on their cellphones? — According to Nielsen, African-Americans use the most voice minutes - on average more than 1,300 a month.
Discussion:
Bits, IntoMobile, Telecompetitor, Hillicon Valley, GigaOM, Gizmodo, mocoNews and MediaPost


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, Feld Thoughts and CloudAve


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.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, IntoMobile, FierceWireless, PC World and MacDailyNews


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.

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 …
Discussion:
SFGate, IntoMobile, Silicon Alley Insider, FierceDeveloper, Mobile Marketing Watch, Android Phone Fans, Androinica and AndroidGuys

Qwiboo's Vladimir Roth on why piracy is thriving on iPad — Consumers don't like duplication. For the second time in as many weeks, a developer has been able to use OpenFeint's leaderboards to determine just how many people are pirating its games.Over the weekend, Qwiboo founder Vladimir Roth used Twitter …
Discussion:
TUAW and ReadWriteWeb


Martha Coakley tells Craigslist: Abandon adult sex ads — Attorney General Martha Coakley fired off a letter to Craiglist yesterday, calling on the Web site to yank its “adult services” section as state attorneys general nationwide also stepped up the pressure.

Google Makes Change to Orkut as Facebook Wins in India — Facebook appears to have overtaken Google's Orkut in India. At the same time, Google has rolled out new changes to beef up Orkut. — In 2004, Google launched social-networking site Orkut, which didn't take off in the U.S …
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, Orkut Blog, TechCrunch, Google Operating System and Pluggd.in


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 …
Discussion:
eWeek, Engadget, blogs.ft.com, Black Web 2.0, Computerworld, VentureBeat, DSLreports and DailyTech


What Your “Cool” Facebook Friend Is Really Like — You probably have at least one Facebook friend who is constantly posting pictures of themselves at bars and commenting on everybody's wall and regularly updates their status with “smart” comments and checking in to every place they go and just seem irresistibly cool.


Businesses Add iPads to Their Briefcases — Some Companies, Which Barred the iPhone, Build Apps for Tablet Computer and Give Apple Gadget to Employees — When Apple Inc.'s first iPhone came out in 2007, many companies told their employees that the device wasn't appropriate for the workplace.
Discussion:
AppleInsider, MacStories, TG Daily, MacNN, MediaPost, GigaOM, PC World, IntoMobile, TUAW and Silicon Alley Insider, Thanks:atul


Windows 95 marks 15th birthday in uncertain Microsoft future — Microsoft reached a milestone today as Windows 95 reached the 15th anniversary of its launch on August 24, 1995. The OS was the highest-profile debut ever for Microsoft and saw rare lines for a software launch …
Discussion:
TechRadar.com, The Microsoft Blog, CNET News, Gizmodo and BetaNews

Alibaba makes a second US purchase — Alibaba.com, the top online service matching manufacturers and wholesalers, on Tuesday night announced its second US acquisition this summer as part of a $100m plan to boost its presence in the world's largest economy. — The company based in Hangzhou …


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.
Thanks:atul