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6:00 PM ET, December 22, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Peter Parkes / Skype The Big Blog:
Skype downtime today  —  Earlier today, we noticed that the number of people online on Skype was falling, which wasn't typical or expected, so we began to investigate.  Skype isn't a network like a conventional phone or IM network - instead, it relies on millions of individual connections between computers …
RELATED:
Ina Fried / Mobilized:
Skype Details Problems, Says May Take Hours to Fix  —  Skype users were sent scrambling for one of the few remaining pay phones on Wednesday as the Internet telephone service experienced a widespread outage.  —  A page deep in the company's support site confirms the issue, but appears to significantly understate the problem.
Zee / The Next Web:
Skype Goes Down.  —  Updating: Updates at the foot of the post.  —  Skype is currently down for the large majority of its users; its first down time spell since 2007.  The enormity of Skype going down is appreciated when you consider that last year it accounted for 12 percent of the world's international calling minutes.
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft to Reveal New Version of Windows  —  Microsoft Corp. next month plans to discuss a new version of its widely used Windows operating system that targets low-power devices and adds support for a second strain of chip technology, according to people briefed on Microsoft company's plans.
RELATED:
Ina Fried / Mobilized:
Microsoft Plans to talk Windows on ARM at CES, but Products a Ways Off
David Radcliffe / The Official Google Blog:
Investing in New York  —  Google New York started in a Starbucks on 86th Street with one person in 2000—a scrappy, highly-caffeinated sales “team.”  After moving to a larger office in Times Square, in 2006 we relocated to our current home in Chelsea, at 111 Eighth Avenue—a former Port Authority building.
Zi Wang / Google Mobile Blog:
Android In Spaaaace!  —  Here at Google, we're all about exploration.  It's no surprise that some of our favorite products are built to let you explore the world in ways never before possible.  Google Maps lets you find your way all around the world.  Google Earth lets you explore the planet in detail, complete with trees and oceans.
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Facebook Will Thwart Google, Says Ex Googler  —  Does Google have any chance at all of competing with arch-rival Facebook?  Not really, former Google bigwig Paul Buchheit says.  Buchheit tells us his old company will probably find it easier to land on the moon.  —  It's an important issue.
Discussion: MediaPost, TechSpot and Paul Buchheit
Sarah Nahm / Google Chrome Blog:
60 million tabs towards good causes  —  In 2010, the Chrome community has joined us in moments of fun, invention, exploration, and now, giving.  Last week, we invited Chrome's users worldwide to “donate” their opened tabs in Chrome to drive a charitable gift of one million dollars.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Google's Big Problem: It Ain't What You Think  —  When I first met Larry Page and Sergey Brin back in the 20th century, my first impressions about them included phrases like super-smart, engineer's engineers and minimalists.  They argued against the clutter that was AltaVista …
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
How Wikileaks killed Spain's anti-P2P law  —  Spain last night killed a controversial anti-P2P bill that would have made it easier to shut down websites that link to infringing content.  The move was a blow to the ruling Socialist government, but it may be of even bigger concern to the US …
RELATED:
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Spain Rejects Proposed Legislation to Shutdown P2P Sites
Discussion: Boing Boing and ZeroPaid.com
Latoya Peterson / NPR:
The Worst Ideas Of 2010: Ping  —  All week we'll be talking about the best and worst ideas in music this year — click here to see all the stories.  Write us at therecord@npr.org if anything in the business or culture struck you as particularly effective or shockingly misguided in 2010.
Discussion: Examiner and everythingiCafe
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Craigslist Shuts Down International “Adult Services” Sections  —  Craigslist, the popular online classified ad service, has seemingly shut down its controversial “adult services” section worldwide.  —  In early September, Craigslist shuttered that section in the U.S., following years …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Firefox Mobile's Offline Hack: It Saves Web Pages As PDFs  —  Mozilla just released the latest version of Firefox 4 Beta for both the Web and mobile phones (Android and Maemo).  The desktop version now supports the WebGL 3D graphics standard without the need for a plugin …
Discussion: The Mozilla Blog and Eurodroid
RELATED:
Ben Worthen / Wall Street Journal:
Hurd Wants Accuser's Letter Shielded  —  Mark Hurd, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive, is fighting to keep private the letter that led to his resignation from the technology behemoth and has triggered an investigation by federal regulators.  —  The eight-page letter …
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
FCC: Yup, we're going to stop “paid prioritization” on the 'Net  —  The Federal Communications Commission is releasing the details of its new net neutrality Order in stages.  Although the FCC's new ban on “unreasonable discrimination” for wired ISPs allows certain kinds of traffic discrimination …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
News Corp. Sells Fox Mobile Group To Investment Firm Jesta  —  It looks like News Corp. has unloaded its Fox Mobile Group division.  According to a release, investment company Jesta Group has acquired Fox Mobile Group (FMG) from News Corporation.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the release.
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Judge Sides With Google, Throws Out Android Trademark Suit  —  Back in April 2009 — before the incredible rise of Android had really picked up steam — Google's mobile operating system faced a challenger that had almost nothing to do with cell phones.  Erich Specht, a man who ran …
Andrew Munchbach / BGR:
Verizon Wireless branded Windows Phone 7 apps surface in Marketplace  —  If you're waiting for a Windows Phone 7 device on Big Red, we have some encouraging news for you.  It appears as though Verizon compatible WP7 applications are starting to make their way into the Windows Phone Marketplace.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Where Is Awarded The “Mother Of All Geofencing Patents”  —  Just as geo mobile services are taking off, the U.S. Patent Office has awarded an extremely broad patent on “Location-based services” to Where.  Patent No. 7,848,765 covers 31 claims ranging from sending an alert to offering a coupon …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Devicescape helps MetroPCS offload data traffic to Wi-Fi networks  —  Wireless phone provider MetroPCS announced a deal with Devicescape that allows the cell phone service provider to move data traffic from its cellular network to Wi-Fi networks.  —  In doing so, MetroPCS will be able …
W.J. Hennigan / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Hedge fund to track Twitter to gauge stock market, report says  —  A British hedge fund said it plans to track Twitter to predict moves in the stock market.  —  According to a report by Bloomberg, “The Derwent Absolute Return Fund Ltd., set to start trading in February with an initial 25 million pounds …
Discussion: Bloomberg and SAI
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
SimpleGeo's Holiday Treats: QR Codes, Geocoders, And Simple Geo For Any Site  —  A couple weeks ago, SimpleGeo launched a couple of their APIs, Context and Places, into public beta and they were told that was probably a good cut off point for new products before the holidays.  But they didn't listen.
Discussion: SimpleGeo
Zachary M. Seward / Digits:
Everything the Internet Knows About Me (Because I Asked It To)  —  Editor's Note: Zach is outreach editor for The Wall Street Journal, where he helps manage the newspaper's relationship with companies like Twitter and Foursquare.  Below, he explains one way that he makes use of those and other services.
Discussion: EngageDigital
Loretta Chao / Wall Street Journal:
In China, Zuckerberg Meets Top Tech Executives … This photo taken December 14, 2010 shows a map on a page from Facebook.  The map displays friendships as lights on a deep blue background.  The eastern half of the U.S. and Europe shine the brightest, while China, Russia and central Africa …
 
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 More Items: 
Amruta Sabnis / Reuters:
Sony to buy back chip plant from Toshiba: report
Discussion: SlashGear and Electronista
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Confirmed: Motorola Mobility Acquires Cloud Storage Startup Zecter
 Earlier Items: 
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Mystery HTC leaks: Incredible HD aka Mecha?
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
NY Times Argues Against Google-ITA Acquisition — Delicately
Discussion: New York Times and Inside Google
Aza Raskin / Aza on Design:
The Problem With Home  —  If you sit and watch people use …
James Somers / The Atlantic Online:
The Simple Software That Could — but Probably Won't — Change the Face of Writing
Jeff Cormier / The Next Web:
Hidden Safari Mobile feature reveals augmented reality capability
Matt Richtel / Bits:
E-Mail's Big Demographic Split
Spencer E. Ante / Wall Street Journal:
Verizon Will Offer Motorola Phone for 4G Network
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A growing number of podcasters, including Tim Ferriss, are moving away from interviews to monologues or co-hosts, as some well-known guests can be overexposed

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Bonnie Hammer plans to leave the company at the end of the year; she has been with the company since 2004
 
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