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4:00 PM ET, October 26, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
James Galbraith / Macworld:
Lab report: MacBook Air benchmark results  —  There's a lot to like in Apple's latest version of the MacBook Air, such as the smaller size, longer battery life and faster flash storage.  Still, I was disappointed that the new MacBook Air uses the aging Core 2 Duo processor.
RELATED:
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
New Benchmarks Show 13-Inch MacBook Air Rivaling Its MacBook Pro Counterpart  —  Yesterday, we noted some early benchmarks for Apple's newly-revamped MacBook Air models, comparing performance of the new machines to earlier generations of the MacBook Air, the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the iPad.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The Air's Spot in the Lineup
Discussion: TechCrunch and Gadgetell
Microsoft:
Mac Meets PC With New Office Release  —  Microsoft launches Office 2011 for Mac today, bringing Mac users the latest versions of the company's productivity software.  The release is the latest effort from the Office for Mac team, which has been delivering Microsoft software to the Mac for 13 years.
Andrew Silverman / Google Public Policy Blog:
Giving users the best answer, and competing fair and square in travel search  —  Since we announced our plans to acquire ITA Software in July, we've spent a lot of time talking with players in the online travel industry — airlines, travel agents, and search sites — about our plans …
RELATED:
Thomas Catan / Wall Street Journal:
Travel Sites Ally to Block Google Deal  —  WASHINGTON—Several popular online travel companies are joining forces to oppose Google Inc.'s proposed $700 million purchase of ITA Software Inc., the leading provider of flight data, saying the deal would give it too much sway over the travel sector.
Andrew Munchbach / Boy Genius Report:
White iPhone 4 shows up in Apple's ‘Store’ app, reserve yours now  —  Last night, Apple released an update to their Apple Store iPhone app.  While there wasn't anything new in the way of features, it did contain something notable... the ability to reserve a white iPhone 4.
Andrew Munchbach / Boy Genius Report:
T-Mobile to debut tethering plan on November 3rd, $14.99  —  Listen up T-Mobile tetherers, we've just been sent in some intel that indicates America's fourth largest carrier will begin to offer/charge for tethering on November 3rd.  The Tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing Add-On …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
PayPal Unveils Micropayments For Digital Goods, Facebook Signs Up  —  At the company's annual developer conference today, PayPal debuted its much awaited micropayments product.  According to a release issued by the company, the new product is an “in-context, frictionless payment solution …
Ari Levy / Bloomberg:
Zynga Value Surpasses Electronic Arts'  —  Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) — Zynga Game Network Inc.'s estimated worth surpassed Electronic Arts Inc.'s stock-market value, a sign of the ascendance of social-networking entertainment at the expense of traditional video games.
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Amazon wins fight to keep customer records private  —  In a victory for the free speech and privacy rights of Amazon.com customers, a federal judge ruled today that the company would not have to turn over detailed records on nearly 50 million purchases to North Carolina tax collectors.
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Get Ready For Blekko: Public Launch On November 1  —  Blekko, the shiny new search engine that we first started covering way back in 2008 when they had a hand puppet as their mascot, is preparing to launch.  Next Monday, November 1, they'll turn the lights on and let anyone in.
Discussion: Search Engine Land
Rob Crossley / Develop:
Steve Jobs ‘raged at Microsoft’ over game studio sale  —  Apple boss made angry Ballmer call when Xbox bought Mac experts and Halo creators Bungie  —  Steve Jobs' capacity to accurately detect the blockbuster potential of consumer goods may go beyond the realm of MP3 players and smartphones and right into video games.
Alexei Oreskovic / MediaFile:
Attention WalMart and BestBuy Shoppers - Facebook Credits on aisle 5  —  It's been about nine months since Facebook rolled out its virtual currency, Facebook Credits.  —  Now the Internet social networking giant will make its Credits widely available in the physical world …
Cari Tuna / Digits:
Cloudera Raises Hefty Funding Round  —  Cloudera, a key distributor of software that helps companies analyze big piles of data, has raised another $25 million.  —  The announcement marks the closely held company's third round of funding, which will be led by Meritech Capital Partners …
Dr. Raymond M. Soneira / Gizmodo:
Why iPhone 4 and Android Brightness Controls Are Effectively Useless  —  Your phone display's brightness consumes up to half of its power.  And chances are it's being horribly mismanaged, thanks to bad engineering and a backwards user interface.  Here, Dr. Raymond Soneira …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Amazon Launches Brand New iPad Shopping App Called Windowshop  —  Amazon has just released a new free iPad app, called Amazon Windowshop that the company says is a complete “rewrite” of Amazon.com specifically for the iPad.  Optimized for touch screen tablets, Amazon Windowshop makes it easy …
Josh Lowensohn / Crave: The gadget blog:
Vimeo gets ‘couch mode’ for Google TV, HTPCs  —  Vimeo's “couch mode” has been designed so Google TV and home theater PC users can watch Vimeo's video content from across the room.  —  Watching Web videos on your couch is nothing new, but with Google TV's rollout now in full swing …
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
Apple Stores to use new Concierge app for customer check-ins [u]  —  Apple retail stores will soon launch a new wireless check-in service that will allow employees to manage a queue of customers using a custom iOS app called Concierge, according to a new report.
Jeffrey R. Young / Chronicle of Higher Education:
To Save Students Money, Colleges May Force a Switch to E-Textbooks  —  You've heard it before: Digital technologies blew up the music industry's moneymaking model, and the textbook business is next.  —  For years observers have predicted a coming wave of e-textbooks.  But so far it just hasn't happened.
Dumplings from this Panda!:
Did Digg game its own system to benefit publisher partners?  —  Digg recently published a blog post titled “Digg's Algorithmic Mystery Tour” on October, 15th.  While a Digg blog post is a normal thing, a post about the algorithm was very surprising to me.  Why did Digg, which never bothers …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Twitter Hits 300 Employees (Again?)  As The Search For A New Office Continues  —  This past June, we noted that Twitter had zoomed past 200 employees — basically doubling in just six months.  The rapid hiring pace continues at the startup, though not quite as quickly.
Dan Nystedt / PC World:
Intel Opens First Chip Manufacturing Plant in China  —  Intel announced the opening of its first ever chip manufacturing facility in Asia on Tuesday, in Dalian, China.  —  The US$2.5 billion chip factory is producing chips on 12-inch (300-millimeter) silicon wafers, mainly chipsets to be used …
Discussion: Times of India, eWeek, Reuters and EE Times
Craig Bennett / TheUnlockr:
Walgreens Is Selling Android Tablets for $99.99  —  Walgreens, the pharmacy, is now selling the Android Maylong 7-inch M-150 WiFi Middie Tablet.  The Tablet has Android's 1.6 OS and is selling for $100.  Some of the features that this tablet will include are:  — Android 1.6  — Cpu ARM9(VM8505+)
 
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 More Items: 
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Business Photos Help Build Google Places/Maps Brand Identity
Michelle Maisto / eWeek:
iPad, Kindle, Droids Pushing Mobile Chip Sales to 4 Billion Units by 2014
Discussion: GigaOM and In-Stat
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Facebook's Longtime Ad Sales Head Mike Murphy to Depart Company
Discussion: paidContent, SAI and SiliconANGLE
Chris Jablonski / Emerging Technology Trends Blog:
Researchers to develop 1 Terabit Ethernet by 2015
Discussion: SmartPlanet
Owen Fletcher / China Real Time Report:
People's Daily: iPad Cool, But Not Pirate-Friendly (UPDATED)
Discussion: Techdirt
Reuters:
Autotrader.com to buy Kelley Blue Book-WSJ
 Earlier Items: 
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:
The Leash Is Off: Comcast Digital Subs Can Access Xfinity TV From Any ISP
Zach Epstein / Boy Genius Report:
Android Market hits 100,000 app milestone
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
With OS X Lion, It's No Longer Point & Click, It's Flick & Swipe
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
French three strikes agency getting 25,000 complaints a day
Discussion: Fudzilla, ZeroPaid.com and Techdirt
Federico Viticci / MacStories:
iPhone Security Hole Lets You Make Calls When The Phone Is Locked
 

 
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”

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

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

 
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