Top Items:


Meet +1: Google's Answer To The Facebook Like Button — Nearly a year after Facebook Like buttons spread out across the web, Google has announced its own rival, the +1 button. It launches today as part of Google's search engine, allowing you to +1 search results and ads that you like.
Discussion:
The Register, VatorNews, SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog, Lost Remote, Wall Street Journal, GigaOM, VentureBeat, The Next Web, reddit.com, BetaNews, @dannysullivan, The Huffington Post, Reuters, gHacks Technology News, The Next Web, Epicenter, Fast Company, Pulse2, SheGeeks.netSheGeeks.net, Under the Radar, Fortune, @lbraun2000, Tnooz, Geekosystem, MarketingVOX, Google Operating System, Technologizer, Marketing Pilgrim, GeekSugar and GeekWire
RELATED:


Introducing the +1 Button — We all know what it's like to get a bit of help when you're looking for it. Online, that advice can come from a number of places: a tweet, a shared video, or a blog post, to name a few. With Google Social Search we've been working to show that content when it's useful …
Discussion:
Inside AdWords, John Battelle's Searchblog, The Official Google Blog, VentureBeat, Inside AdSense, louisgray.com, Inside Facebook, All Facebook, Engadget, Google Enterprise Blog, Reuters, Mashable!, Switched, ReadWriteWeb, The Next Web, SAI, Guardian, Geek.com, NewsGrange, WebProNews, AdAge and paidContent


With +1, Google Search Goes Truly Social — As Do Google Ads — Back in early December of last year, we first reported that Google was toying around with the name “+1″ for an upcoming social product. At the time, we were told it was sort of like Google's version of the “like” or “retweet” button.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land, Examiner, Mashable!, CNET News, TechSpot, NetworkEffect, NetworkEffect, Poynter and Efficient Frontier Insights, Thanks:alexia

Why Google's +1 Can't Compete With Facebook's Like
Discussion:
Search Engine Land, Reuters and CNNMoney.com


Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas — As part of our overall goal to make the web better for users, last year we announced a new project: to provide a community with Internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today.
Discussion:
Examiner, PC World, TechCrunch, CNN, GigaOM, Mashable!, SlashGear, paidContent, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Ars Technica, Engadget, ReadWriteWeb, GigaOM, The Next Web, Geek.com, Download Squad, Geekosystem, NewsGrange, dailywireless.org, DSLreports, Telecompetitor, BaltTech, Light Reading, 901am, Digital Trends, ZDNet, NewEnterprise, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Techland, Fortune, Electronista, Network World, CNNMoney.com, Erictric, CNET News, The Blog Herald and Search Engine Land


And away I go — This is my last week at Engadget. — That's a strange thing to write. It's not something I ever really planned for. Then again, I guess you don't ever plan for that when you've got your dream job. — I've told my coworkers in the past that I believe …
RELATED:


Microsoft Co-Founder Hits Out at Gates — Bill Gates schemed to take shares in Microsoft Corp. from his co-founder during the early days of the software company following his partner's treatment for cancer, according to a new memoir by the billionaire co-founder, Paul Allen.
Discussion:
Examiner, The Digital Home, TG Daily, TechEye, VentureBeat, Digits, Venture Capital Dispatch, The Register, @tylerwinklevoss, Electronista and SlashGear
RELATED:


Microsoft's Odd Couple — It's 1975 and two college dropouts are racing to create software for a new line of “hobbyist” computers. The result? A company called “Micro-Soft”—now the fifth-most-valuable corporation on earth. In an adaptation from his memoir, the author tells the story …
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog, I, Cringely, The Microsoft Blog, Epicenter, GeekWire, TechFlash, New York Times, Computerworld, Seattle Times, Guardian and SAI

An update on Buzz — User trust really matters to Google. That's why we try to be clear about what data we collect and how we use it—and to give people real control over the information they share with us. For example, Google Dashboard lets you view the data that's stored in your Google Account …
RELATED:

FTC Charges Deceptive Privacy Practices in Google's Rollout of Its Buzz Social Network — Google Agrees to Implement Comprehensive Privacy Program to Protect Consumer Data — Google Inc. has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it used deceptive tactics and violated …
Discussion:
InformationWeek, Computerworld, Mashable!, FM Blog, Search Engine Land, Technology Liberation Front, VatorNews, Technologizer and Reuters


Samsung Investigating Spyware Pre-Installed On Its Computers — If you own a Samsung PC, you may want to search your hard drive for an unassuming program called StarLogger, a piece of commercial spyware capable of recording every keystroke on your machine and sending the data to a third party.
Thanks:nasirudanbaba
RELATED:

Samsung installs keylogger on its laptop computers
Discussion:
PC World, CrunchGear, Network World, Geek.com, Computerworld, ReadWriteWeb, Engadget, Crave, Crave, Neowin.net, Techdirt, Gadget Lab, eWeek, Naked Security, Geekosystem, Techland, Lifehacker, Electronista, Hardware 2.0 Blog and TechSpot, Thanks:navesink


Apple Posts A New OS X Lion Build — Developers You'll Want To Try This One Out — Five days ago, we reported that Apple was gearing up to release a new build of the OS X Lion Developer Preview. Sure enough, that's exactly what they did today as build 11A419 has been seeded to developers.
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, MacRumors, GigaOM, MacStories, The Next Web, MacNN, GeekSmack and MacStories

AT&T CEO Makes Case T-Mobile Deal Will Boost IPhone Service — AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, making his case for a proposed takeover of T-Mobile USA, said the deal would boost network capacity and improve service for devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
Discussion:
BGR, AppleInsider, 9 to 5 Mac, DailyTech and GeekSmack
RELATED:

AT&T Expects to Let Go of Some Markets, Employees in Merger
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Electronista


Microsoft Top Marketer Mich Mathews to Exit — 22-Year Vet at Tech Giant Oversees More Than $1 Billion in Ad Spending — Microsoft's global marketing leader, Mich Mathews, is prepping to leave the company this summer after more than two decades at the tech giant.
Discussion:
The Register, CNET News, The Microsoft Blog, BoomTown, All about Microsoft Blog, TechCrunch, GeekWire, VatorNews, paidContent:UK and WinRumors


Finally, Some Photos Of Facebook Investor Yuri Milner's $100 Million Silicon Valley Mansion — Yuri Milner paid $100 million for his new Silicon Valley mansion, significantly more than the previously reported $70 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Discussion:
Venture Capital Dispatch


When Media Giants Attack! Cease-and-Desist Letter to News Reader Zite Claims All Kinds of Copyright Damage — A panoply of big media giants sent a cease-and-desist letter today to Zite, the Apple iPad news reader app. — The Washington Post, AP, Gannett, Getty Images, Time …
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, paidContent and Electronista

Google Officially Ends Support For QR Code in Places — Google is obviously moving strongly towards NFC (near field communications) as their technology of choice for closing the loop of the “last mile” in the local link between consumers and Google. They have built the NFC chip …
Discussion:
Search Engine Roundtable and The Next Web


Twitter's Interactive ‘Web Intents’ Turn Your Site Into A Lightweight Twitter Client — Twitter has just released Web Intents, a pretty snazzy API tool that allows site publishers to provide users with the functionality of Twitter follows, retweets, replies and favorites without forcing them to leave their own sites.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb and AllTwitter


Skype 5 for Mac — A while back, when Skype's group videochat feature was still free, a friend of mine sent me a Skype message, asking me whether it was possible to do videochat with more than one person in Skype. «Sure,» I replied, «you can do that …
Discussion:
TechCrunch and Skype Journal

Facebook Now Allows Personal Profiles To Be Converted Into Business Pages — For the first time, Facebook now allows personal user profiles to be converted into official business Pages, turning all their friends into fans. The “Profile To Business Page Migration” tool will help people …
Discussion:
All Facebook and The Next Web, Thanks:joshconstine


Crippled Phones Reveal AT&T Isn't Ready for 4G — The Motorola Atrix is one of two phones with disabled HSUPA. — After Texas resident Keith Geissler noticed his new Motorola Atrix wasn't offering the fast “4G” download and upload speeds that AT&T promised, he filed a complaint …
Discussion:
IntoMobile, SlashPhone, The Huffington Post, SlashGear and Techland, Thanks:gadgetlab


iPad generated nearly 100% of media tablet revenues in 2010 — Today, Gartner revealed that spending on media tablets was $9.6 billion last year. Based on Apple financial releases, iPad generated $9.566 billion in revenue during the year — well, the three quarters the tablet was available.


Fox asks Time Warner to stop streaming its channels to customers iPads — While we'd heard many networks were unhappy with Time Warner's decision to release its live TV streaming iPad app and there have even been whispers of cease-and-desist letters in the offing, Fox has put a request to have its channels excluded in writing.


MasterCard certifies Gemalto's NFC payment solution — The ability to use your phone for NFC mobile payments across borders just became a reality. Gemalto announced that it has developed the first UICC-embedded software application that is approved by Mastercard's mobile payment specification for NFC.


Apple Issues Software Update Addressing System Hanging on 13-Inch MacBook Air — Apple today released Mac OS X v10.6.7 Supplemental Update for 13" MacBook Air (Late 2010), a small software update specifically targeting Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Air and issues with the system freezing while iTunes is in use.
Discussion:
PC World, Macworld and MacStories

Vendors to mass ship Chrome OS notebooks in 2H11 — First-tier notebook vendors including Acer, Asustek Computer, Sony and Samsung Electronics are all set to launch Chrome OS-based notebooks featuring Intel or Nvidia processors, 10- to 12-inch screens and Chrome OS or dual-OS support …
Discussion:
Liliputing


Twitter's Biz Stone Talks About Awkward Acquisition Meeting With Zuck On Howard Stern — After talking to Conan a few weeks ago, and CNN's Piers Morgan last night, Biz Stone made an appearance on another mainstream media show today: Howard Stern. You can access the interview here.
Discussion:
NBC Bay Area