Top Items:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Facebook Acquires Group Messaging Service Beluga In A Talent AND Technology Deal — Facebook has just acquired group messaging service Beluga, we've learned. — Here's what we know: Facebook has acquired both the product and the team, and the plan is apparently to keep the service open for now.
Discussion:
Inside Facebook, Bits, VentureBeat, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Beluga, GigaOM, ReadWriteWeb, VatorNews, Erictric, IntoMobile, louisgray.com, parislemon, GMSV, Androinica, Mashable!, @tomkrazit, Electronista, Black Web 2.0 and @chrishogg
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
With Jobs Definitely Mulling Appearance at iPad Event, Let's Hope the Focus Is on the Product — According to several sources close to the situation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs-who is on a health-related leave from the company-is definitely considering an appearance at its big iPad 2 event tomorrow.
Discussion:
Bits, CNET News, AppleInsider, Macworld, SAI, Tech Trader Daily, MacRumors, I4U News, World of Apple, NBC Bay Area, TiPb, AOL News, Electronista, 9 to 5 Mac, Techland, msnbc.com and AllNewsMac
RELATED:
Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac:
Apple Staffer: iPad 3 Is The One To “Make A Song & Dance About” — We've received some tidbits of information about the iPad 2 launch tomorrow from an Apple staffer: — MobileMe is being revamped with cloud storage features. — The iPad 2 is a ho-hum update. It's more of a speed bump than a redesign.
Discussion:
SAI, mocoNews, App Advice, 9 to 5 Mac, MacRumors, @gartenberg, Apple Bitch and Electronista
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft delivers its ‘other’ tablet operating system: Windows Embedded Compact 7 — Microsoft announced general availability on March 1 of the final version of its Windows Embedded Compact 7 operating system, codenamed “Chelan.” — Microsoft posted a 180-day trial version …
Discussion:
WinRumors, BlogsDNA, The Next Web, Liliputing, Softpedia News, Daring Fireball and Electronista
RELATED:
Matt Rosoff / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Microsoft Preparing Windows 8 Tablet Design Demos For June
Discussion:
LAPTOP Magazine, X-bit labs, Geek.com, Softpedia News, GeekSmack, PC World, GottaBeMobile, Crave, Ubergizmo and blogs.chron.com
Todd Bishop / TechFlash:
Apple fights for ‘App Store’ name, calls Microsoft clueless as usual — Apple is defending its attempt to trademark the phrase “App Store,” saying in a new filing that Microsoft has failed to prove that the term should be left open for use by competing mobile application marketplaces.
Discussion:
AppleInsider, Digital Daily, Digital Trends, MacRumors, Politico, Fast Company, mocoNews, SAI, Electronista and iLounge
Richi Jennings / Computerworld:
Google Apps and Gmail outage outrage: Problem NOT resolved — Update: The Gmail outage is not yet resolved, despite 35,000 Google Apps and consumer Gmail users agonizing over missing mail. The cloud service provider is furiously restoring from backup tapes as we speak.
Discussion:
internetnews.com, Royal Pingdom, CNN, Mobile Marketing Watch, Digits, BetaNews, BBC, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Search Engine Watch, Techland, @akovacs, ITworld.com, Googling Google Blog, SlashGear, Daily Mail, BBC, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Neowin.net, Geek.com, Digital Trends, HEXUS.net, Data Center Knowledge and NBC Bay Area
Josh Constine / Inside Facebook:
Facebook's New Comments Box Plugin Filters Website Comment Reels by Relevance — Facebook has released a major update to its embeddable Comments Box social plugin for third-party websites. The plugin processes social signals to surface the most relevant comments, and a new moderation dashboard allows admins …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, paidContent, NewsGrange, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, Black Web 2.0, Techie Buzz and The Next Web, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Ray C. He / Facebook Developers:
Improving Comments Across The Web
Discussion:
All Facebook, The Blog Herald, Mashable! and Lost Remote
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Google's New In-App Payments Product Set For Launch In May 2011 — Google was originally set to debut in-app payments support for Android in the fourth quarter of 2010, and recently said that the launch would be delayed until the end of this quarter. Be that as it may, the company is set …
Kara Swisher / BoomTown:
Andreessen Horowitz Makes It a Foursome-Adds IronPort's Scott Weiss as Investing GP — High-profile venture firm Andreessen Horowitz added another investing general partner to their group today, with the appointment of IronPort Co-founder Scott Weiss. — Weiss is the fourth investing GP …
Discussion:
Venture Capital Dispatch and TechCrunch
Sinead Carew / Reuters:
Verizon eyes tiered pricing for mid-summer — (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless will replace its unlimited mobile data service with usage-based pricing for iPhone customers around the middle of the summer, according to the finance chief of parent Verizon Communications.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, GigaOM, Yahoo! News, Engadget, Verizon, Mobilized, Bloomberg, Reuters, MacRumors, FierceWireless, iLounge, Electronista, IntoMobile, PalmAddicts, MobileBurn.com, Android Phone Fans, MacDailyNews and MacStories
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Too Much Data? New Evernote Should Help — Evernote today launched a redesigned version of its iPhone software, adding new views and features that further help to organize thoughts on the go. Evernote 4, available in the iTunes App Store, now supports multiple attachments and up to 90 minutes of audio recording per note.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, PC World, Evernote Blogcast, Mashable!, TUAW, ReadWriteWeb, Gizmodo, AppScout, Softpedia News, MacStories, Download Squad, everythingiCafe, MobileCrunch and @kenburbary
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Google Buys Security Analytics Software Developer Zynamics — It looks like Google has made an acquisition today: security analytics software company Zynamics. — Here's the post on Zynamic's blog: We're pleased to announce that zynamics has been acquired by Google!
Christopher Williams / Telegraph:
Gordon Brown ‘blocked knighthood’ for Steve Jobs — Gordon Brown blocked an honorary knighthood for Apple founder Steve Jobs, it has emerged. — Apple chief executive Steve Jobs poses with the Apple iPad — The then-Prime Minister refused to knight Mr Jobs in 2009 because he turned …
Discussion:
Examiner, Digital Trends, MacStories, The Next Web, AppleInsider, CNET News, Gizmodo, TUAW, p2pnet, Computerworld, Techland, Geek.com, @dannysullivan, SlashGear and 9 to 5 Mac
Sarah Lacy / TechCrunch:
Big Appetite: Greylock Sends Entrepreneurs a Message with Expanded $1 Billion Fund — In case you missed it, being a super angel is officially passe. The new hotness is having a late-stage growth cash. Sequoia Capital is doing it. Andreessen Horowitz is doing it. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is doing it.
Discussion:
Venture Capital Dispatch and VatorNews
@theHipmunk blog:
Hipmunk Hotels — Today's a big day for Hipmunk: we're now searching hotels. We've designed our hotel search around one basic premise: to find you a good deal in a good location. — Hipmunk helps you find the interesting parts of a city and see which hotels are nearby. Our hotel search is built around a big map.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch, Download Squad, Techland, Mashable!, @lbraun2000, Tnooz, Xconomy and The Next Web
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
StatCounter: Bing Just Beat Yahoo Worldwide — According to analytics firm StatCounter, the Bing search engine has just overtaken Yahoo for the first time worldwide during the month of February 2011. From StatCounter Global Stats, Bing closed out the month with a 4.37% search share compared with Yahoo's 3.93%.
Discussion:
StatCounter Global Stats, Neowin.net, VentureBeat and The Next Web
Dan Levine / Reuters:
Ex-Apple employee pleads guilty in kickback scheme — * Devine worked as a global supply manager at Apple — * Accused of taking kickbacks from suppliers — * Devine “a good man who made a mistake” - defense lawyer (Adds comments from Devine attorney and Apple, byline)
Discussion:
PC World, BBC, Computerworld, eWeek, IntoMobile, Digital Trends, CNET News, Techland, TUAW, Engadget, TG Daily, SlashGear, The Register and Know Your Mobile
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Skype Teams Up With Citrix To Bring GoToMeeting Web Conferencing To Business Offerings — As the company looks to boost revenue in 2011 in advance of an IPO, Skype is pursuing an aggressive enterprise strategy. Today, Skype's VP of Enterprise, David Gurle, is announcing a strategic partnership …
Discussion:
Bits, GigaOM and Skype Journal
Vlad Savov / Engadget:
NVIDIA Tegra Zone officially launched, takes Android to new dual-core heights — It's the first of March, which in NVIDIA land means no longer just talking about Tegra Zone, but actually activating it and letting users see what all the fuss is about. For those who've not yet heard of it …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, IntoMobile, BlogsDNA, Softpedia News and GottaBeMobile
Frederic Lardinois / NewsGrange:
Bing's Shopping Search Gets Smarter with Natural Language Capabilities — If you search for “air jordans under $100” on Google today, you will get a nice list of ten blue links. If you search on Google's shopping site, you will get quite a few results with prices around $250.
Discussion:
Bing, Search Engine Watch, LiveSide.net and The Next Web
Brice Morrison / Inside Social Games:
How Zynga Defused Its FarmVille Time-Bomb — [Editor's note: This is a guest post by Brice Morrison, editor of game industry design site The Game Prodigy.] — When Zynga's FarmVille hit 80 million players on year ago in February 2010, it was a breathtaking event for the entire games industry.
Discussion:
eMoney
Dan Frommer / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Amazon's Android App Store Is Supposedly Launching This Month — Amazon's app store for Google Android devices is launching soon — this month — according to this tweet from mobile ad network Millennial Media. — “Launching this month! Amazon Appstore for #Android—learn more here,” …
Discussion:
Millennial Media, Engadget, Tech Trader Daily and Gizmodo
Richard G Russell / Foredecker:
Working At Microsoft-20% Time and Prototypes — I quite often see assumptions on the inter-tubes that writing software at Microsoft is a mind-numbingly boring, tedious, manual, excruciating, soul-crushing bureaucratic exercise. This couldn't be further from the truth - especially in Windows.
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
70% of the Public Finds Piracy Socially Acceptable — During the last decade the entertainment industries have tried numerous strategies to thwart Internet piracy. One of the most common, especially with the music industry, was to sue some file-sharers into submission thereby creating a climate of fear designed to deter others.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, PlagiarismToday and GizmoFusion
Audrey Watters / ReadWriteWeb:
Report Finds Connected Devices, Not Phones, Leading the Explosion in Mobile Wireless — Wireless consultant Chetan Sharma has just released an updated report on U.S. mobile data for the last quarter of 2010, and it points to the growth in the wireless market, in mobile penetration and in data usage.
Discussion:
eWeek, mocoNews, Chetan Sharma and Evolver.fm
Peter Cohen / The Loop:
Angry Birds CEO: “We really have Apple to thank” — Of the thousands of games available for download from the App Store, none has had the sustained popularity of Rovio's Angry Birds, a 99 cent physics-based puzzler in which you use a slingshot to launch birds of various shapes and sizes at fortresses containing green pigs.
Discussion:
The Next Web, App Advice, GigaOM, www.pocketgamer.biz, Cult of Mac, msnbc.com, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, FierceWireless and MacStories
Vlad Savov / Engadget:
Motorola prices WiFi-only Xoom at £450 in the UK (update: €700 in Germany with 3G) — Finally Motorola gives us a chance to say something positive about its pricing of the 10.1-inch, Tegra 2-powered Xoom tablet. UK electronics retailer PC World has just put up its Xoom pre-order page …
Discussion:
Electronista, Android Community, PC World, Gadgetell, BGR, The Next Web, Yahoo! News, Phones Review, Ubergizmo, Android Phone Fans and Liliputing
Amir Efrati / Digits:
Coming Soon: Advertiser Alerts on Your Phone — Advertisers have long contemplated a world in which they could contact people walking down the street with special offers and get them to change course and enter a store. There's been new movement this week to make that vision a reality.
