Techmeme: Facebook's Big Credits Push Shows Itself in CityVille, Other Top Social Games (Eric Eldon/Inside Social Games)

6:05 AM ET, January 12, 2011

Top Items:

Mike Jazayeri / Chromium Blog:

HTML Video Codec Support in Chrome — The web's open and community-driven development model is a key factor in its rapid evolution and ubiquitous adoption. The WebM Project was launched last year to bring an open, world-class video codec to the web. Since the launch, we've seen first-hand the benefits of an open development model:

MG Siegler / TechCrunch:

So Google, You'll Be Dropping Support For Flash Next, Right? — Do you smell that? Just wait a second. You will. … The bolding is mine, but that's Google's actual statement as to why they're dropping support for the H.264 video codec from the Chromium open source browser (from which Chrome is built).

Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac, The WebM Open Media … and Download Squad

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:

Google Dropping Support for H.264 in Chrome — Mike Jazayeri, Chrome product manager: … A bold move, to be sure. H.264 is widely used. WebM and Theora aren't. Perhaps this move will push more publishers toward serving video encoded with WebM. The big problem WebM has versus H.264 …

Discussion: IntoMobile, Computerworld, Google Operating System and iClarified

Arpit Mathur / Code Zen: Why Google Was Correct In Chrome Dropping H.264

Apple:

Verizon Wireless & Apple Team Up to Deliver iPhone 4 on Verizon — BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—January 11, 2011—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that the iPhone® 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning on Thursday, February 10.

Kit Eaton / Fast Company:

Verizon Gets the iPhone, Arriving February 10th From $199 — It's Verizon's big day: The day it reveals its own version of Apple's game-changing iPhone, ready to steal millions of unsatisfied customers from AT&T and launch Apple's share price into the stratosphere.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Atlantic Online, Ars Technica and Examiner

Evan Selleck / SlashGear:

Verizon iPhone 4 Doesn't Suffer from Death Grip — Now that the device is real, and we've managed to get some hands-on time with it, we were curious to see if Verizon's and Apple's claims that the only-slightly altered antenna version for the CDMA-based variant of the iPhone 4 (in the United States) …

Discussion: Gizmodo, GeekSmack, PC Magazine, Ars Technica, Mobile Magazine, DisplayBlog, MediaFile and Cult of Mac, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Ziegler / Engadget:

AT&T iPhone 4 vs. Verizon iPhone 4: what's changed? — Is an iPhone 4, an iPhone 4? Not quite, now that Verizon has launched a CDMA version of the device — in fact, there are a number of notable differences that you're going to want to consider before buying either model (or making the jump from AT&T to Big Red).

Marco.org:
Who's Afraid of the Verizon iPhone?

Discussion: Coyote Tracks and TechCrunch

John Paczkowski / Digital Daily:
AT&T: Verizon iPhone? Whatever.

Discussion: Mobilized, PC Magazine, Computerworld, TechCrunch, Tech Trader Daily, Post Tech, AppleInsider, Engadget, everythingiCafe, GigaOM and MediaMemo

Greg Bensinger / Bloomberg:

Verizon to Sell Apple IPad That Connects Directly to Its Network — Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Verizon Wireless will sell a version of Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer that can connect directly to its network, posing another challenge to AT&T Inc. as the carrier's exclusive hold on the iPhone draws to a close.

Stephen Lawson / PC World:

Microsoft Fights Apple Trademark on ‘App Store’ — Microsoft is asking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to deny Apple a trademark on the name “App Store,” saying the term is generic and competitors should be able to use it. — Apple applied for the trademark in 2008 for goods and services including …

Discussion: Engadget, AppleInsider, 9 to 5 Mac, CNET News, TechEye, IntoMobile, TechFlash, Softpedia News, SlashGear, Geeky-Gadgets, The Register, The Next Web, WinRumors and Phones Review

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Bitterness, Anger And Betrayal At MySpace — An email from a reader claiming to be a MySpace employee about the layoffs today that left half of the company out of work. These things are part of life, but the bitterness, anger and feeling of betrayal are striking.

Discussion: iMediaPress and All Facebook

Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:UK:
MySpace Cuts 47 Percent Of Its Workforce

Discussion: paidContent, Reuters, New York Times, VatorNews, Company Town, EngageDigital, BetaNews, TechSpot, GigaOM, BBC, Mixed Media, Mashable!, Guardian, TechCrunch, Hollywood Reporter and hypebot

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:

Formspring Closes $11.5 Million Round, Launches ‘Respond’ Button — One of the biggest phenomena of last year was Formspring, a social site that lets you invite your friends to “Ask you anything”. The site launched in November 2009 and rose from obscurity to some 40 million monthly uniques at its peak …

Discussion: The Social, Bits and NetworkEffect

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:

The Future Version Of Android Isn't Called Ice Cream. It's Ice Cream SANDWICH. — It's tough being a tech journalist. Countless phone calls, mountains of email, endless warring with legions of trolls. Really, you've got to be pretty hardcore to do this job. It's a wonder we ever get any posts up.

Discussion: Android Phone Fans, Geeky-Gadgets, Android Community, Gizmodo, IntoMobile, Erictric and pocketnow.com

Billy Gallagher / Stanford Daily:

The Forgotten Social Network — Zack Hoberg/The Stanford Daily — The idea that governs Facebook was created, then shut down, at Stanford years before Mark Zuckerberg appeared — Silicon Valley's Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo, Google and Facebook are some of the largest technology companies in the world.

Discussion: Venture Capital Dispatch

Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:

Google Android More Vulnerable Than IPhone, Antivirus Maker Says — Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc.'s Android operating system for mobile devices is more vulnerable to hackers and viruses than Apple Inc.'s iPhone platform, according to security-software maker Trend Micro Inc.

Discussion: TechEye, PC Magazine, Electronista, Apple Headlines and FairerPlatform

Evan Blass / PocketNow:

First ‘Facebook Phone’ Outed: INQ Cloud Touch With Android? — A handset known as the INQ Cloud Torch has just received Bluetooth certification, and based on the design description, we believe that it is the first of two “Facebook” phones rumored to be in development by both TechCrunch and Bloomberg.

Discussion: Unwired View, BGR, Droid Life and IntoMobile, Thanks:evan_pn

Slash Lane / AppleInsider:

Apple to add Wi-Fi hotspot to GSM iPhone with iOS 4.3 - rumor — The new Personal Hotspot feature on iOS 4.2.5 will not remain exclusive to the CDMA variant of the iPhone 4, and will arrive with the release of iOS 4.3 for existing GSM-based handsets, according to a new rumor.

Discussion: MacRumors, Examiner, SAI, Electronista, Geeky-Gadgets, ITworld.com, Electricpig.co.uk, App Advice, 9 to 5 Mac, Macgasm and iClarified

Dan Frommer / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:

Twitter Updates Mac App, Gets Rid Of Secret Backdoor Feature, Avoids Apple's Wrath — Twitter has updated its Mac app for the Mac App Store with some modest changes, including a new, blue icon, replacing its previous black icon. — Twitter has also — as far as we can tell …

Eric Eldon / Inside Social Games:

Facebook's Big Credits Push Shows Itself in CityVille, Other Top Social Games — Over the past year, Facebook has steadily worked to make Credits the only payments option on its platform, but has given few specifics details on what it's doing during the transition.

Paul Kedrosky / Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed:

Curation is the New Search is the New Curation — In the beginning there was curation, and it was good. People found interesting things, created directories of those things, and then you found what you were looking for inside those curated lists. That was the origins of the original lists and directories, from Yahoo on outward.

Discussion: Enterprise Irregulars, Thanks:richdemuro

Engadget:

Best of CES 2011 — Maybe, just maybe, you've noticed that Engadget relocated this past week to the City of Sin for CES 2011. Oh yes, we set up camp in a double-wide trailer, liveblogged our hearts out, combed the show floor, and worked our rear ends off to bring you more gadget news than you ever thought possible.

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