Top Items:
GoogleRumors:
Google Wallet close to launch? — It's about time for that bi-weekly update that Google Wallet is about ready to launch (only half joking). This time there is news that Google's robots.txt file has been updated to reflect two new directories on Google: /gwt and /purchases.
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Gary Price / Search Engine Watch Blog:
Is Google Wallet or Some Other Google Payment System Getting Closer? — Since so much of the blogosphere revolves around speculation I thought I would join in. Is Google Wallet or whatever they call their payment systems getting closer to reality? I have no idea but some recent changes …
Discussion:
Search Engine Roundtable
Nullbit / webmasterbrain.com:
Exclusive: Google Purchases Sign-Up Page Discovered — Earlier in the week we pointed to some interesting unannounced Google sub-domains discovered by Ron Ruscoe. With much rumour of an upcoming Google Payment service (a.ka. Google Wallet) to rival PayPal, the most notable of the new sub-domains …
Burtonator / Kevin Burton's Feed Blog:
Dot Bomb All Over Again? — A lot of the recent news around Web 2.0 is starting to frighten me. There is just too much money flying around with too much hype and too little value. Take the Web 2.0 conference for example. This thing was way over hyped. It was fun and all but worth $2800?
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Richard MacManus / Read/Write Web:
Web 2.0: Land of Opportunity, or Land of Absurdity? — I'm sensing a backlash about the rising VC interest in Web 2.0. Mike Rundle takes aim at Flock in his post subtitled "The Leaning Tower of Buzz". He thinks Flock is only useful to the blog crowd and doesn't have a viable business model.
Discussion:
Mashable*
Peter Rojas / Engadget:
Xbox 360 hands-on preview — Ok, technically I was just one of many journalists at yesterday's press preview event, but I did get a chance to spend a couple of hours with the Xbox 360. I wasn't exactly blown away with every title I saw, but overall I walked away impressed.
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Gary Krakow / MSNBC:
Palm unveils a $99 color PDA — Also new: an affordable device with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — If you're still using a paper day-at-a-glance planner, you're running out of excuses fast. Palm has been making great $99 electronic organizers/PDAs for years now.
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apple.com:
Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results — Apple Concludes Best Quarter & Best Year in Company History — CUPERTINO, California—October 11, 2005—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2005 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2005, reporting the highest revenue and earnings in the Company's history.
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cdt.org:
Spyware — Over the last several years, a loosely defined collection of computer software known as "spyware" has become the subject of growing public alarm. Computer users are increasingly finding programs on their computers that they did not know were installed and that they cannot uninstall …
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Ina Fried / CNET News.com:
Yahoo, Microsoft close to IM pact — Microsoft and Yahoo are close to a pact that would allow users of their respective instant messaging services to exchange messages with one another, a source told CNET News.com on Tuesday. — The exchange of both text and voice messages is being considered …
Discussion:
business2blog, Guardian Unlimited, TechBlog, The Unofficial Microsoft … and Digital Tech Life
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Don Dodge / Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing:
"Microsoft will acquire my company" — Entrepreneurs confidently tell Venture Capitalists "Microsoft will acquire my company". VCs roll their eyes...they have heard it a million times. But, Microsoft does have a rich tradition of acquisitions. The first, and most important …
Tom Espiner / ZDNet:
Developers 'should be liable' for security holes … Security expert Howard Schmidt wants coders to be held responsible for vulnerabilities in their code, but others say their employers should be held to account — Software developers should be held personally accountable for the security …
Discussion:
Techdirt
Official Google Blog:
About Google.org — When we told prospective shareholders about Google and how we wanted to do business, we said that we hoped our philanthropic efforts could some day have a greater impact than Google itself. We committed one percent of our profits and equity toward that vision.
Discussion:
InsideGoogle, iBLOGthere4iM, PaidContent.org, Search Engine Watch Blog and Washington Post
justilien.com:
Google's Testing New Dictionary Feature — In the past year I have come to depend more and more on Google as a spell checker. Yesterday I was looking up the phone number to a café with Google and a new dictionary feature appeared Google is testing.
Pete Mortensen / Wired News:
Apple Hones 'One More Thing' Hype — It's the moment every Apple Computer nut lives for. CEO Steve Jobs is working through a presentation filled with recaps, market-share updates and some minor product announcements — and then he makes everyone hold their breath.
Campbell Clark / Globe and Mail:
Ottawa demands greater wiretap access — Ottawa — The federal government is demanding that the telecommunications industry build a wiretapping capacity into their networks that would allow authorities to conduct round-the-clock surveillance on the e-mail, Internet or phone use of more than 8,000 people at a time, sources say.
Discussion:
IP Democracy
Shel / a shel of my former self:
Ten guidelines for B2B podcasts — In my "Writing for the Wired World" workshops, I begin by pointing out a fundamental difference between business websites and everything else on the web. When you build a family site (birthday party pictures and the like) or a fan site (if you love your Mini Cooper …
