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Google at work on desktop Linux — Search engine giant preps own version of Ubuntu — Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business - desktop software. — A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop …
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BASEMENT.ORG, SearchViews, mathewingram.com/work, open, Guardian Unlimited, TechSpot, Engadget, rev2.org, Good Morning Silicon Valley, Download Squad, eHomeUpgrade, GadgetMadness, Search Engine Watch Blog, The secret life …, Microsoft News Tracker, Better Living Through Software, telendro.com.es and OpsanBlog

Google plays down Napster bid talk — Google today played down speculation it is poised to battle Apple's dominance in the online music market, amid reports that the internet company is considering buying Napster, the one-time illegal music website. — However, despite Google's firm denial …
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Good Morning Silicon Valley
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Google Earnings Disappoint; Shares Plunge — Google Fourth-Quarter Profit Fails to Meet Analysts' Expectations; Shares Plummet 15.5 Percent — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc.'s rapid financial growth decelerated in the fourth quarter as the online search leader's profit fell below analyst expectation …
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B2Day
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Google earnings jump but miss lofty expectations — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google's (GOOG) fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, but fell well below the high expectations for the online search engine leader. — The Mountain View, Calif-based company said Tuesday that it earned $372.2 million …
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InsideGoogle

OSBC director: Can Microsoft become one of the OSS guys? — As part of what has become a tradition at SearchOpenSource.com, Open Source Business Conference director Matt Asay sat down for an update on what to expect in open source. — In this interview, Asay contends that Microsoft …
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Open Resource
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Banking on Open Source in Europe — Our man in Europe, Matthew Langham (aka Silent Penguin) contributes this piece on the state of open source in Germany. — Banking on Open Source — Last week, I attended the "Open Source meets business" conference in Nuremberg, Germany.

IE7 Beta 2 Preview Available — If you're a developer, an IT Pro, or just plain interested, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ ie7/ to try the IE7 Beta 2 Preview. — What's a beta preview? It's a release for everyone involved in making the Internet work.

StarForce threatens to sue me for criticizing its products — A company that was criticized on Boing Boing has threatened to sue me, and claims to have sworn out a complaint against me with the FBI. — Yesterday, I posted about StarForce, a harmful technology used by game companies to restrict their customers' freedom.
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Microsoft ships RSS platform — This morning Microsoft has released a public beta of version 7 of their Internet Explorer web browser, aimed at developers, although I'm sure a lot of tech-savvy and adventurous users will download and install it as well. — This release is significant …
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Scobleizer, Alice Hill's Real Tech News, VoIP & Gadgets Blog, Between the Lines and TinyScreenfuls.com

In Search of the Holy Grail — I'm sorry. Really. I didn't name it. I don't mean to overstate its importance or trivialize the other and rather weightier Holy Grails. — But the name's out there, and we all know what it means. — Three columns. One fixed-width sidebar for your navigation …

WSJ: Sellout.com — Americans have a long history of selling out - think Warren Beatty and "Ishtar" or politicians and Indian casinos. The public is trusting until proven otherwise, then turns on icons like rats on garbage. Never more so with culture: Being "cool," "tight" or …

Searching for emails... Is search done yet? Quick, find a list of 100 bloggers. Now, quick, tell me what their email addresses are. — You can find mine pretty easily. Just go to Google or MSN or Yahoo and type: — Scoble email — And you'll find it within the first few links. Why?

DRM-a-go-go — I had a fun old time this morning speaking at a Digital Rights Management conference in London. My own attempt to introduce some reality on the security limits of DRM was generally well-received, aside from a couple of myopic content industry representatives.

Hands On With Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 Beta — At first, Microsoft seemed to think that Windows XP users didn't need a better Internet Explorer, despite IE 6's security holes and lack of browsing ameneties—and despite the growing popularity of Firefox.

Cisco buying TiVo rumor? — Thomas Hawk sent me a pointer to Cnet publishing a rumor that TiVo might be bought by Cisco. Both parties involved aren't talking, which doesn't say much, but this looks somewhat plausable after Cisco's acquisition of Linksys a couple years back and Scientific Atlanta more recently.

Time Inc. to Cut 100 More Jobs as It Focuses on Web Business — Time Inc., after eliminating 105 management jobs just before Christmas, is moving to cut about 100 more, including up to 10 at its flagship, Time magazine. — Both editorial and business-side employees are being cut at several of the company's domestic magazines.