Top Items:
Steve Rubel / Micro Persuasion:
Read Most of O'Reilly's Hacks Books for Free Using Google — I am taking a break from my 2006 trends series tonight because a) I found an awesome hack I just had to share, b) I am lazy this week and c) I am in the mood to get Digged. — O'Reilly publishes a great series of books called the Hacks series.
Gary Price / Search Engine Watch Blog:
Google Faces Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over Google Talk — While doing some research, I've learned that Google is being sued for patent infringement over the VoIP portion of the Google Talk program. I've posted the full text (38 pages; PDF) of the complaint filed by Rates Technology in October here.
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Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:
Nerds in the Hood, Stars on the Web — For most aspiring rappers, the fastest route to having material circulated around the World Wide Web is to produce a work that is radical, cutting-edge and, in a word, cool. But now a pair of "Saturday Night Live" performers turned unexpected hip-hop icons …
microsoft.com:
Xbox 360 Powers All-New Nissan URGE Concept Car — Motorcycle-inspired roadster delivers a futuristic driving experience using "Project Gotham Racing 3." — DETROIT — Dec. 28, 2005 — Nissan North America Inc.(NNA) and Microsoft Corp. have merged automobile design and gaming technology …
Discussion:
InsideMicrosoft
Mike / Techdirt:
How Big A Problem Is Blog Plagiarism? — I'm always surprised when I see some well known blogger flip out over the fact that spam blogs are copying their content. It's happened for many years — and happens to us all the time. Is it annoying? Absolutely. However, is it worth making a big stink over it?
Clay Bavor / Official Google Blog:
I'm feeling silly — Not long ago, I walked by the desk of software engineer JJ Furman, and saw that he had made an interesting addition to his desk: a large blob of Silly Putty, about the size of a grapefruit. Intrigued, I asked how he'd gotten so much of the stuff. The answer?
Nick Butterly / NEWS.com.au:
Video crooks come in from the cold — MILLIONS of Australians who tape TV shows and copy CDs will soon get the right to do it with a clear conscience. — The Federal Government will next year legalise the video recording of television shows for personal use, and the transfer of songs …
Discussion:
Techdirt
Edward Jay Epstein / Slate:
Hollywood's New Year — My predictions for 2006. — One doesn't need a crystal ball to see that Hollywood's future is now inexorably tied to the small screen. Just look at the studios' own internal revenue numbers. Before the invasion of television, the big screen (aka movie theaters) …
William Slawski / SEO by the SEA:
Yahoo! Acquisitions since Overture — I had started a list of Yahoo! acquisitions a little before my recent post about Google purchases, when someone asked earlier this month at Cre8asite Forums about the companies that Yahoo! had bought. While working on this list for Yahoo!, I was sidetracked, and wrote the Google post.
computerworld.co.nz:
Microsoft eyeing deal to rival Google-AOL — NZ analyst speculates that Microsoft might be in talks with Yahoo — Microsoft may be cooking up a major internet partnership to rival Google's newly bolstered relationship with American Online (AOL), according to a blog posting by a Microsoft manager.
Scobleizer / Microsoft Geek Blogger:
Google announces feed API — Niall Kennedy, of Technorati, has the news that Google will release a feed API in early 2006. — Here's another note to Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Ray Ozzie. Hey, I asked you guys to acquire NewsGator three months ago. If you had done that you would have taken the wind out of Google's sails.
Darren Rowse / Blog Tips at ProBlogger:
7 Things to Do with your Blog when you take a Vacation — What should I Do with my Blog when I go take a Vacation? — This is a question I ask myself in the lead up to every break and one that I seem to answer differently each time. I thought it a relevant topic to write about as I'm currently …
Kathleen Craig / Wired News:
Beyond Porno: Free IPod Content — There's plenty of X-rated content for new iPods, but now, with the holidays approaching, you might want to think about downloading something else. — Luckily, Wired News has your back with a roundup of some of the best free iPod content on the net.
Blake Ross / Blake Ross on Firefox:
Ten predictions for the new year — Another blog search engine will release a list of top 100 bloggers. Every blogger on the list will blog the news in the form of: "Wow, I'm honored to have made it onto the top 100 list" with a link back to the list maintainer's blog.
