Top Items:


Not the iPad 3 or New TV — But Apple Planning Media-Related Event in the Big(ger) Apple This Month — According to sources close to the situation, Apple is planning an important — but not large-scale — event to be held in New York at the end of this month that will focus on a media-related announcement.
Discussion:
LIVEdigitally, BGR, Between the Lines Blog, The Verge, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Engadget, Forbes, Business Insider, App Advice, T3 News, PhoneArena, MacDaddyNews.com, Jailbreak | iOS, Edible Apple, Techie Buzz, SlashGear, Gizmodo, PopHerald Technology News, Neowin.net, IntoMobile, iDownloadBlog.com, TechnoBuffalo, TUAW, The Next Web, MacStories, Electronista and ifun.de


Mac Pro Build-to-Order Ship Dates Slip as Future Remains Uncertain — Just before Christmas, shipping estimates for Apple's 12-core Mac Pro model increased to 1-3 weeks, and while that specific model does tend to occasionally see some extra lead time, the shipping delays were later noticed …
Discussion:
SlashGear, Macgasm, Electronista and Apple Bitch


Microsoft to enable Linux on its Windows Azure cloud in 2012 — Summary: Microsoft is preparing to launch a new persistent virtual machine feature on its Azure cloud platform, enabling customers to host Linux, SharePoint and SQL Server there. — This headline is not an error.
Discussion:
Neowin.net, Open Source Blog, OStatic blogs and Datamation.com


Techmeme's biggest stories of 2011, literally, as measured by height — One the best things about Techmeme is how “huge” or “big” stories can literally be that: conveyed through a stack of headlines several times taller than your screen size. (Unless you hate this, in which case it's …
Discussion:
@alexia, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Pulse2 and om.co


SoundCloud raises $50 million round led by Kleiner Perkins — SoundCloud has raised a new fundraising round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The amount was not released but TechCrunch understands it to be $50 million. This would give the company a $200 million pre-money valuation.
Discussion:
CNET, SoundCloud, VentureBeat, Business Insider and GigaOM, Thanks:mikebutcher


Just Ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, Google Launches its U.S. Election Site — Even though the presidential elections are still nine months away, the political circus in the U.S. is in full swing already (and has been for months), thanks to the impending start of the Republican primaries tomorrow.

Acer, Lenovo to launch Wintel tablet PC in 3Q12 — First-tier PC vendors Acer and Lenovo are set to launch table PCs based on Microsoft's Windows 8 and Intel's Clover Trail platform in the third quarter of 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Discussion:
Computerworld, WinBeta, BGR, I4U News, Techie Buzz, PhoneArena, Neowin.net, Electronista, SlashGear and Fudzilla


Google's Jaw-Dropping Sponsored Post Campaign For Chrome — Google, the company that has been fighting against paid links and “thin” content, seems to be behind a campaign that's generating both on behalf of its Chrome browser. File this under “what were they thinking.” — “This Post Sponsored By Google”
Discussion:
SiliconFilter, SEO Book.com and New York Times


It is now illegal to access any foreign website in the Republic of Belarus — According to the US Library of Congress, The Republic of Belarus has just recently published a law making it illegal for Belarusian citizens and residents access and/or use foreign websites (particularly for commercial purposes).
Discussion:
Engadget, Electronista, loc.gov and Geekosystem


New to Twitter: the tweet Murdoch took down ... fast — “Either @rupertmurdoch is genuinely now on Twitter, or some disgruntled ex-NOTW journo just won the hacking Olympics.” — Less than two days after joining Twitter, media mogul Rupert Murdoch appears to have had his first brush …
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite, Guardian, @lord_sugar, Wonkette, VatorNews, Gizmodo, Lost Remote, AllThingsD, Pulse2, London Calling Blog, Betabeat, The Tech Herald Technology …, Boing Boing, CNET, The Next Web, TechEye and ABCNEWS, more at Mediagazer »


Wikimedia Foundation Raises $20 Million From 1 Million+ Donors — Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and other sites, this morning announced that they've raised $20 million from more than a million donors, shattering a record once again.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, Wikimedia blog, VentureBeat, Neowin.net, VatorNews and Network World, more at Mediagazer »


Unboxed: How Samuel Palmisano of I.B.M. Stayed a Step Ahead - Unboxed — BECAUSE it has become so consistently successful, I.B.M. is almost boring. This is a company so predictable that its financial forecast is packaged as a “five-year road map,” as if it were some sort of state planning exercise.
Discussion:
AllThingsD, Bloomberg, Engadget, SlashGear and Bits


For Consumers, Android Is More “Clopen” Than Open — Imagine if when Windows 7 came out, it was only offered on only one particular Dell computer. It was also uncertain when or if other computers, including those made by Dell, would ever be able to upgrade to it. Welcome to the “clopen” world of Android.
Discussion:
BGR, parislemon and Technologizer


PostSecret shuts down iPhone app due to abusive posts — The PostSecret app has been shut down, but the blog is still alive and well. — PostSecret, the popular blog and new-media project that's long given people a place to share their deepest, darkest thoughts, today announced it has shut …
Discussion:
IntoMobile, Mashable!, Gadgetopia, Appolicious Advisor, ReadWriteWeb, msnbc.com, The Next Web, MacRumors and PostSecret


Coursekit Raises $5 M. from Joel Spolsky, David Tisch, IA Ventures — Coursekit, a graduate of TechStars NY which bills itself as an academic social network, has raised $5 million in a Series A round of venture capital financing. Led by the Social+Capital Partnership …
Discussion:
Bits and AllThingsD