Top Items:
Dean / UBC Google Scholar Blog.folio:
CRITIQUING MICROSOFT LIVE "ACADEMIC SEARCH" — I've had e-mails from readers asking me about Microsoft Academic Search, and I can at least tell you a little bit along the lines of what's reported in PC World. (A few things are confidential until Tuesday, but not because I signed an NDA).
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Dean / UBC Google Scholar Blog.folio:
WHY TITANS LIKE MICROSOFT WANT TO TALK TO LIBRARIANS — Search is a huge part of the Web's future, and Microsoft - currently the 3rd most popular search engine - knows it. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, dragged his heels on search until about fifteen months ago when he decided …
San Francisco Chronicle:
Wi-Fi plan stirs Big Brother concerns — Log-on rule would allow Google to track users' whereabouts in S.F. — Privacy advocates are raising concerns about Google Inc.'s plans to cover San Francisco with free wireless Internet access, calling the company's proposal to track users' locations …
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Associated Press:
Google's Wi-Fi network in San Francisco raises privacy concerns — SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc.'s plan to provide free wireless Internet access throughout the city is raising concerns among privacy advocates worried about the prospect of "Big Brother" monitoring how and where users surf the Web.
Michael Liedtke / Associated Press:
Now Starring on the Internet: YouTube.com — YouTube.com Seems Like a Startup Straight Out of Silicon Valley Central Casting — SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) — Internet video sensation YouTube.com seems like a startup straight out of Silicon Valley central casting.
Josh / Redeye VC:
Bridge Loans vs. Preferred Equity — Over the last few years, my fund has made over 20 seed-stage investments. While we strive to be the "first money" into a company, we recognize that we typically don't provide enough capital to get a company to profitability.
Steffen Fjaervik / Poynter Online:
Headlines: Boring Is Better than Useless — We have covered information in headlines here at E-Media Tidbits before, and I for one have welcomed more informative headlines. I use RSS feeds a lot, and those smart headlines that seem so perfect when connected to a picture or background story …
Clive Thompson / Wired News:
The Glory of the Shooter — Let us now praise insanely violent first-person-shooters. — Let us praise the joys of double-wielding a pair of Uzis with unlimited ammo; let us delight in the gorgeous fractal carnage of a rocket launcher as it slams into your target.
Charles Piller / Los Angeles Times:
How Piracy Opens Doors for Windows — Bill Gates may not be entirely dismayed by software thieves. They seed the world market and make Microsoft a standard. — Microsoft Corp. estimates it lost about $14 billion last year to software piracy — and those may prove to be the most lucrative sales never made.
Adam Sherwin / Times of London:
Three-year-olds in frame for the 'iTod' — LEGO bricks no longer cut it for hi-tech toddlers. Digital music players for three-year-olds are the new battleground in the £20 billion toy industry. — Fisher-Price will launch the "iTod", its first MP3 player aimed at infants, this summer.
Read/WriteWeb:
Structured Blogging Website Re-designed — The Structured Blogging website has been upgraded and went live tonight. I re-designed the website and did the writing for it, under the employ of Marc Canter's Broadband Mechanics and with the help of others in the Structured Blogging community such as Conor O'Neill.
BBC:
Phone firm 'plans free broadband' — Mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse is expected to announce the launch of a free broadband service later this week. — The company looks poised to provide free access for customers who sign up to its Talk Talk landline service.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Laptop thieves descend upon wireless cafes — Grab-and-run robbers find pricey computers easy to resell — A San Francisco finance manager stopped in at a Mission District cafe and was tapping on his laptop as he enjoyed his coffee just before noon on a Thursday. Suddenly, he was under siege.
Fred / A VC:
Disney Proves Me Right and Wrong — Wow. — Disney will announce today that they are making "much of its newest and most popular programming on ABC and other channels available free anytime on the Web", according to the Wall Street Journal which does not make much ot its newest …
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Michael Kwan / mobilemag.com:
Lenovo makes touchscreen smartphone — Owning the "ThinkPad" badging just doesn't suffice anymore for Lenovo, and that is why the company is launching the all new i921 smartphone to take on giants in the industry like PalmOne and HTC. — Lenovo is already known as a phonemaker in China …
Discussion:
Engadget Mobile
thealarmclock.com:
Canadian Blog Network B5 Media Looking for VC Backers — It will be interesting to see if B5 succeeds in its endeavor to raise funding. Rival Creative Weblogging was able to raise funding so we suspect B5 has a shot. The blog network has managed to launch a large number of blogs that cover tech, entertainment, sports and more.
Rob Pegoraro / Washington Post:
MovieBeam Proves a Novelty With Lukewarm Reception — Between cable and satellite TV's premium channels, Blockbuster and Hollywood's stores and Netflix and other DVD-by-mail services' envelopes, it's not exactly difficult to get a steady supply of commercial-free movies to watch at home.
Discussion:
Techdirt