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4:40 PM ET, September 28, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Tim Armstrong / TechCrunch:
Tim Armstrong: We Got TechCrunch!  —  I'm very pleased to announce that we have acquired TechCrunch.  Details are in the press release below, and I'm sure founder Michael Arrington will have a few words to say as well.  This is a great complement to our continued investment in world class content.
RELATED:
Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:
AOL Insider Says TechCrunch Price Only $25 Million - CNBC Says $40 Million  —  Update: Sources tell CNBC that AOL paid $40 million.  We're guessing the $25 million figure is cash and the rest is an earnout.  Earlier: AOL has told insiders that the company is only paying $25 million for TechCrunch, a second-hand source tells us.
Robert Scoble / Scobleizer:
TechCrunch to keep independent voice, Arrington says  —  I talked at length today with Mike Arrington after he and CEO Heather Harde sold TechCrunch to AOL this morning on stage at the Techcrunch Disrupt conference.  He then gave me a funny short interview.
Discussion: TechCrunch and Techie Buzz, Thanks:atul
Edmund Lee / AdAge:
Why AOL Bought TechCrunch  —  Tim Armstrong Explains Why AOL Decided to Buy This Time Rather Than Build  —  NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — AOL CEO Tim Armstrong told Ad Age today that he wants a “build-first” culture at his company, in which the growth is sparked internally, like the world's oldest startup.
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
TechCrunch Sold to AOL  —  Mike Arrington just confirmed the rumors: He's selling his five-year-old blog company TechCrunch to AOL.  And he's sticking around for at least three years to keep running the site.  —  Arrington made his announcement on stage at his Disrupt conference in San Francisco, joined by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong.
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
We Nailed It! AOL Has Bought TechCrunch
Clayton Morris / Fox News:
EXCLUSIVE Apple TV Review: Hands on With Steve Jobs' New Hobby  —  Apple's latest gizmo, the Apple TV, streams high-definition web videos from your home PCs to your television.  —  Steve Jobs swung for the stands with the new Apple TV, a tiny box that plays high-definition web video on your television.
RELATED:
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
Apple Updates Remote App with iPad and Retina Display Support  —  As predicted, Apple has updated their Remote app that allows iOS users to control iTunes and their Apple TV from their devices.  The app hadn't been updated for nearly a year, but has finally received a 2. update that brings support …
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Apple Has Already Approved The Official Google Voice App For iPhone, Expect It Soon  —  The App Store review office at 1 Infinite Loop has officially frozen over: we've gotten word that the official Google Voice application is on its way to the iPhone in the next few weeks.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google Buys Schedule Management Startup Plannr  —  According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Google has just bought Seattle-based mobile planning startup Plannr, which if you remember our coverage launched about two months ago as an Outlook for hipsters.
Office For Mac:
Office for Mac 2011 Available October 26  —  We are excited to announce that starting on October 26 you can get your own copy of Office for Mac 2011!  And starting today preorders can be placed at Amazon.com.  —  One of the most visually impactful features in the new suite also is called Dynamic Reorder …
RELATED:
Matthew Lynley / VentureBeat:
Google CEO: the Internet of things will augment your brain  —  For Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the next step in technology is the same that it has always been — augmenting humanity to handle information that a human brain couldn't otherwise keep up with, and just make things work.
Gavin Clarke / The Register:
OpenOffice files Oracle divorce papers  —  Uncertainty breeds mistrust  —  Open sourcers have seized control of the OpenOffice project and product and declared their independence from database giant Oracle.  —  The OpenOffice.org Project has unveiled a major restructuring that separates itself …
RELATED:
Ryan Paul / Ars Technica:
Document Foundation forks OpenOffice.org, liberates it from Oracle
Dave Rosenberg / Software, Interrupted:
2010 acquisitions—Microsoft: 0 Google: 23  —  A recent blog post from information service provider CB Insights reveals a truly shocking piece of news—that Microsoft has announced zero acquisitions so far in 2010, while Google has acquired 23 companies, 75 percent of which are venture financed or angel-backed.
RELATED:
John Cook / TechFlash:   What Google, Facebook and others look for in M&A deals
Seth Weintraub / 9 to 5 Mac:
Two new iPhones and an unidentified device show up in the AppleTV firmware  —  Well, what do we have here?  The current iPhone 4 is actually called iPhone 3,1 in Apple product speak.  The AppleTV firmware makes reference to new versions 3,2 and 3,3.  —  Verizon?  Sprint?  China Mobile?  T-Mobile?
Miguel Helft / Bits:
Virtual Goods Expected to Grow by 40 Percent Next Year, Study Says  —  The booming business in virtual goods — paying real money for things that don't really exist — is expected to continue booming.  —  That's good news for the likes of Zynga and Playfish, and of course, Facebook.
Vlad Savov / Engadget:
Sony Ericsson LiveView acts as a 1.3-inch remote control for your smartphone, requires Android 2.0  —  You've been asking for someone, anyone, to please kick out a tiny remote control display that can save you from having to whip your smartphone out for every little thing and Sony Ericsson, it seems, has listened.
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Apple takes legal battle with Nokia to Britain  —  (Reuters) - Apple has sued Nokia in Britain, extending the two technology giants' legal battle over patents beyond U.S. borders.  “We are investigating the claims, which appear to be based on nine implementation patents already in suit between …
Boy Genius Report:
New HTC, full-QWERTY device destined for Verizon breaks cover  —  Hi there HTC Android fans, we have another present for you!  We've just been sent in a handful of images of a new, unseen HTC handset that is destined for Verizon Wireless.  This sleek, all-black, full-QWERTY Android 2.2 handset …
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Amazon Debuts “Kindle for the Web”, Which Is Pretty Much What It Sounds Like  —  Amazon.com today introduced the beta version of “Kindle for the Web”, which enables people to read and share digital book samples in their browsers without the need to install or download anything.
Ogle Earth:
Beware: Chinese iPhone 4 comes with a crippled Maps app  —  The iPhone 4 officially landed in China yesterday, so I bought one from the new Apple Store at Xidan in Beijing.  In China, Apple sells its iPhones unlocked and without a contract (16GB = USD747, 32GB = USD895), so you can pretty much stick in any sim card and go.
Discussion: Silicon Alley Insider and VentureBeat, Thanks:atul
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Exclusive: Yahoo Exec Churn Continues, With Media Head Pitaro Ready to Bolt  —  Last week at a Goldman Sachs investment conference, voluble Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz tried to minimize the impact of the recent spate of significant executive departures at the Internet giant.
Frank Michael Russell / Mercury News:
TiVo, Netflix-backed Roku adding access to $9.99-a-month Hulu Plus  —  TiVo, the San Jose digital video recording pioneer, and Roku, a Saratoga maker of online video streaming devices, are both adding Hulu Plus to their lineups, the companies announced today.
David / TmoNews:
The G2 Has Landed, Available In Just 8 Days  —  Update: Just added about 20 more images to the gallery, might take a few minutes to populate but there are quite a few shots for your viewing pleasure!  —  It's certainly been a long time coming but the first T-Mobile G2's have unofficially arrived in at least one T-Mobile retail store.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
LinkedIn Beefs Up Company Profiles With News Feeds, Career Data, And More  —  We recently wrote about the fast growing number of company profiles on professional social network LinkedIn (the network has over one million to be exact).  Launched in April, the company profile gives organizations …
Mike Melanson / ReadWriteWeb:
Twitter Goes Live with Real-Time Streaming API  —  Twitter has ended beta testing of the User Streams and Site Streams portion of its Twitter Streaming API and brought it into regular production.  While we've seen some clients take advantage of the User Streams, such as TweetDeck, the real-time Web is about to get a lot more real-time.
Discussion: Search Engine Land and TechCrunch
 
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 More Items: 
Joanna Stern / Engadget:
T-Mobile G2 preview
Discussion: IntoMobile
Shayndi Raice / Digits:
Best Buy In Talks to Carry BlackBerry PlayBook
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
On Social Networks, Most Still Just Like to Watch
Discussion: Business Wire and TechCrunch
Lauren Indvik / Mashable!:
Twitter Shelves @EarlyBird Deals
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Exclusive: MySpace and Rubicon Project in FAN Swap Deal
Discussion: paidContent
Anthony Ha / VentureBeat:
NetShelter raises $15M for its ad network of tech influencers
Discussion: paidContent
 Earlier Items: 
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran:
Iranian Canadian Blogger Hossein Derakhshan Receives Over 19 Years In Prison
Tricia Duryee / paidContent:
Verve Wireless Raises $7 Million More To Deliver The News Over Mobile
Faith Merino / VatorNews:
Face.com pulls in $4.3M in financing
Discussion: MediaPost, TechCrunch and TMCnet
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Verizon's Mobile Recovery: like ‘Find my iPhone,’ …
Discussion: Boy Genius Report
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
OneTrueFan Is The Foursquare For Websites
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Analyzing Comcast's spinoff of cable networks, purposefully structured with low debt: the move might be a signal to the industry that it's time to consolidate

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
James Harding says the Tortoise-Observer deal could create a profitable media group and there isn't a guaranteed future for the Observer with the Guardian

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Substack, very deliberately, tries to have it both ways by saying publications on their platform are independent while presenting them all as parts of Substack
 
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