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Apple Says, "We Don't Want Your Cash!" What?
2007-10-27 23:03:00
You know you have a good product when you stop accepting cash as payment. Is it fair to say that the iPhone is one of the most sought after devices ever? It may be too early to tell that, but it certainly is in high demand. And for Apple to limit the ways that a consumer can purchase the phone seems like an outrage and a hindrance to iPhone sales. Why would you want to reduce the methods of obtaining the device if you want to sell as many as possible? And not only that, but limiting the number of iPhones a person can purchase to two from the previous five phone limit, seems like an even worse move to maximize sales. As reported, the move is to "ensure that there are enough iPhones" to go around and also to deter unauthorized iPhone resellers from getting their hands on the phone that can be unlocked and resold for a premium. The question now is: what about Apple gift cards (which can be bought with cash)? Will Apple refuse to accept their own gift cards as payment for the iPhone...
More About: Cash

Apple The Oppressor
2007-09-28 04:44:00
So, Apple finally did what we all wanted to believe they didn't have the heart to do: they released the new iPhone update 1.brick.1.1. C'mon, how long was it honestly going to last? We were too caught up in the moment, enjoying the idea that people could choose the carrier they wanted. Especially me, I was following iPhoneSIMFree closely for awhile because they were continuing with their operation even after they received legal threat from Apple and it seemed like freedom would prevail, but did we really think Apple would do nothing to stop the unlocking? I scenarioized a little bit with the update of destruction, but it was more for fun than reality. iPhoneSIMFree, by the way, has some insane post on their site, saying that their unlock works with the new update, that is if the phone uses an AT&T SIM card. So congratulations to those of you whose carrier is AT&T and for some reason bought an unlock anyway just so you could tell people your phone was unlocked.
More About: Oppressor

Apple The Oppressor
2007-09-28 04:44:00
So, Apple finally did what we all wanted to believe they didn't have the heart to do: they released the new iPhone update 1.brick.1.1. C'mon, how long was it honestly going to last? We were too caught up in the moment, enjoying the idea that people could choose the carrier they wanted. Especially me, I was following iPhoneSIMFree closely for awhile because they were continuing with their operation even after they received legal threat from Apple and it seemed like freedom would prevail, but did we really think Apple would do nothing to stop the unlocking? I scenarioized a little bit with the update of destruction, but it was more for fun than reality. iPhoneSIMFree, by the way, has some insane post on their site, saying that their unlock works with the new update, that is if the phone uses an AT&T SIM card. So congratulations to those of you whose carrier is AT&T and for some reason bought an unlock anyway just so you could tell people your phone was unlocked.
More About: The O , Oppressor

TechCrunch Lands A Co-Editor
2007-09-21 04:01:00
Michael Arrington announced that Erick Schonfeld, formerly of Business 2.0, will be joining TechCrunch as co-editor. One might have suspected that there would be some kind of mingling of TechCrunch and Business 2.0 employees by reading Arrington's earlier post about Business 2.0's fallout. Especially note the last words from the earlier post, making Arrington appear to be some kind of miracle worker: "I hope to work with some of the best and brightest from that publication in the future."
More About: Editor , Techcrunch

TechCrunch Lands A Co-Editor
2007-09-21 04:01:00
Michael Arrington announced that Erick Schonfeld, formerly of Business 2.0, will be joining TechCrunch as co-editor. One might have suspected that there would be some kind of mingling of TechCrunch and Business 2.0 employees by reading Arrington's earlier post about Business 2.0's fallout. Especially note the last words from the earlier post, making Arrington appear to be some kind of miracle worker: "I hope to work with some of the best and brightest from that publication in the future."
More About: Editor , Techcrunch

Facebook Is Heading To London!
2007-09-17 07:16:00
After much anticipation, Facebook announced today that they will be opening an office in London , thanks to UK advertisers and one million plus Londoners (blue line below) who are on Facebook's London Network, making it the largest Facebook Network. Facebook is extremely popular outside the U.S., with Toronto being the second largest network, followed by Vancouver and then New York. And Facebook had about 5.5 billion page views from the UK in August, which came from about 5 million visitors, making the UK the third "largest" country on Facebook. It will be interesting to see how this will affect Facebook's focus and growth. Maybe Facebook will just leave Silicon Valley and run all operations over seas... 
More About: Heading

Facebook Is Heading To London!
2007-09-17 07:16:00
After much anticipation, Facebook announced today that they will be opening an office in London , thanks to UK advertisers and one million plus Londoners (blue line below) who are on Facebook's London Network, making it the largest Facebook Network. Facebook is extremely popular outside the U.S., with Toronto being the second largest network, followed by Vancouver and then New York. And Facebook had about 5.5 billion page views from the UK in August, which came from about 5 million visitors, making the UK the third "largest" country on Facebook. It will be interesting to see how this will affect Facebook's focus and growth. Maybe Facebook will just leave Silicon Valley and run all operations over seas... 
More About: Heading

Yahoo Is Getting Social With It!
2007-09-15 03:49:00
Yahoo has been on a social mission lately. First we hear that they are working on a new social network called Mosh. Then talk of their career oriented social network KickStart surfaced. After that, and in close proximity to KickStart, they launched a HotJobs Facebook Application, which launched after two other Yahoo Facebook Apps: Yahoo! Finance and Yahoo! Music Videos. And now, they have launched a new social network called Mash, which is in invite-only beta (if you want to check it out, you can go to InviteShare to nab an inivite). And let's not forget the Yahoo-Bebo advertising deal that just went down and the Yahoo acquisition of BuzzTracker. I am definitely putting Yahoo on the radar, waiting to see what else they come up with.
More About: Social , Yahoo

Yahoo Is Getting Social With It!
2007-09-15 03:49:00
Yahoo has been on a social mission lately. First we hear that they are working on a new social network called Mosh. Then talk of their career oriented social network KickStart surfaced. After that, and in close proximity to KickStart, they launched a HotJobs Facebook Application, which launched after two other Yahoo Facebook Apps: Yahoo! Finance and Yahoo! Music Videos. And now, they have launched a new social network called Mash, which is in invite-only beta (if you want to check it out, you can go to InviteShare to nab an inivite). And let's not forget the Yahoo-Bebo advertising deal that just went down and the Yahoo acquisition of BuzzTracker. I am definitely putting Yahoo on the radar, waiting to see what else they come up with.
More About: Social , Yahoo

eBay To Launch 'Neighborhoods'
2007-09-14 20:43:00
eBay is set to launch a new section of the site this fall, called Neighborhoods . The idea behind Neighborhoods is to create "micro-communities" where the members can discuss things that they are interested in, which may induce them to buy related products. Neighborhoods will also integrate snapshots of related products within the discussion area to make buying those products that much easier. From what it appears, each community will be narrowly focused to allow for a high level of interaction and interest similarity between members. There doesn't seem to be much difference between the new Neighborhoods area of eBay and a themed forum, with the exception of the snapshots of products, but it's probably too early to tell. eBay already has a Groups area, but the groups are not really targeted toward products and can be created by users, something that may not be possible in Neighborhoods. eBay also has its My World area, which is eBay's take on social networking. eBay is d...
More About: Ebay , Launch

eBay To Launch 'Neighborhoods'
2007-09-14 20:43:00
eBay is set to launch a new section of the site this fall, called Neighborhoods . The idea behind Neighborhoods is to create "micro-communities" where the members can discuss things that they are interested in, which may induce them to buy related products. Neighborhoods will also integrate snapshots of related products within the discussion area to make buying those products that much easier. From what it appears, each community will be narrowly focused to allow for a high level of interaction and interest similarity between members. There doesn't seem to be much difference between the new Neighborhoods area of eBay and a themed forum, with the exception of the snapshots of products, but it's probably too early to tell. eBay already has a Groups area, but the groups are not really targeted toward products and can be created by users, something that may not be possible in Neighborhoods. eBay also has its My World area, which is eBay's take on social networking. eBay is definitely ...
More About: Ebay , Launch

Welcome To Web 2.0, Prince, Where There Will Be No Partying Like It's 1999
2007-09-14 05:59:00
Prince plans to sue eBay, YouTube, and The Pirate Bay, claiming that the companies encourage copyright violation. His basis for the accusations are that the mentioned websites have limited protection for copyrighted work, but I wonder if the targeted companies are actually the result of a special selection. If YouTube and eBay are "infringing" on his content, how many other companies are doing the same? But, in attempt to teach these websites a lesson, Prince has hired Web Sheriff to facilitate the legal action against the companies. Some artists clearly don't like the idea of web 2.0 because of it's social sharing tendencies that take away from their revenue stream. But until now, artists have generally not engaged in legal battle with large websites. I don't see this turning into a major legal campaign, as an individual artist taking on Google owned YouTube and eBay, who allegedly are within their rights under the DMCA, just doesn't look optimistic. But I am ...
More About: Prince , Partying

Welcome To Web 2.0, Prince, Where There Will Be No Partying Like It's 1
2007-09-14 05:59:00
Prince plans to sue eBay, YouTube, and The Pirate Bay, claiming that the companies encourage copyright violation. His basis for the accusations are that the mentioned websites have limited protection for copyrighted work, but I wonder if the targeted companies are actually the result of a special selection. If YouTube and eBay are "infringing" on his content, how many other companies are doing the same? But, in attempt to teach these websites a lesson, Prince has hired Web Sheriff to facilitate the legal action against the companies. Some artists clearly don't like the idea of web 2.0 because of it's social sharing tendencies that take away from their revenue stream. But until now, artists have generally not engaged in legal battle with large websites. I don't see this turning into a major legal campaign, as an individual artist taking on Google owned YouTube and eBay, who allegedly are within their rights under the DMCA, just doesn't look optimistic. But I am ...
More About: Prince , Partying

Winamp To Launch 10 Year Anniversary Edition - Beta Due Out Today
2007-09-13 20:05:00
The super customizable Winamp Media Player has been around for 10 years next month, and from what I hear on Listening Post, it doesn't sound like it will be going away anytime soon. Winamp 5.5 is set to launch on October 10th at 10:10 am (they're really taking this 10 thing serious), but the beta version is supposed to be rolled out later today and can be be found here when it is. The new release will have features to make it competitive to iTunes and will even have a somewhat similar feel to help ease weary ship-jumpers. Some new features included with the 5.5 release include: a remote feature that lets you play music from your computer on another computer, a cellphone, or even a Nintendo Wii; a media monitor feature that allows you to browse MP3 blogs; a play-list share feature that allows you to email or text your play-lists. Congratulations to the Winamp Media Player, which has some awesome staying power! UPDATE: The beta version is now available.
More About: Anniversary , Beta , Today , Launch

Is Facebook's Door Opening A Little More?
2007-08-21 08:30:00
I was at a session about Facebook Apps at BarCampBlock on Sunday and there was a discussion regarding the locked up data inside Facebook. There seemed to be a consensus that Facebook should open its door and allow external access...
More About: Opening , Door , Litt

BarCampBlock Day 1: An Amazing Day!
2007-08-20 22:10:00
Today was day 1 of BarCampBlock in Palo Alto. It was an amazing experience that allowed attendees to be submerged in Silicon Valley tech culture. I learned an insane amount, and I don't just mean knowledge. There was an energy...
More About: Web 2 , Amazing , Arca , K Day

TechCrunch Is Getting A Nice Look At Its Readers' Demographics
2007-08-18 06:33:00
TechCrunch has posted a poll that will allow it, and anyone else, to get a better sense of its readers' occupations and reading habits. If you're a TechCrunch reader (which I am), it is interesting to see what your fellow...
More About: Readers , Tech , Nice , Demographics

Uh Oh! Facebook Application "Where I've Been" Sale NOT Confirmed
2007-08-18 01:17:00
Yesterday's big news that Facebook Application Where I've Been sold for $3 million to online travel site TripAdvisor, may not be true. Mashable reports that they have received an official statement from TripAdvisor, saying in reference to the deal, ?This...
More About: Sale , Acquisitions

Facebook App "Where I've Been" Sold For $3 Million
2007-08-18 01:16:00
Facebook Application Where I've Been has reportedly been sold to TripAdvisor for $3 million. If confirmed, this would be the highest sale price for a Facebook Application thus far. The Application has about 2.3 million users, valuing each user at...
More About: Facebook , Acquisitions , Million , Sold