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16 May 2010 10:35

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Tech: A quick criticism of Twitter’s new trending topic formula

  • A few days ago, Twitter changed its trending topic formula. In one sense, it’s really good, because it means that Justin Bieber isn’t just hogging the top spot for a month for no reason (thank God), but in a lot of ways it’s also less useful as a result. Why? Because there’s no filter. Something tells us that simply replacing an American pop star with “Bonamana,” the name of a South Korean boy band’s new album, was really what they intended. Our solution? Filter by country, guys. Thanks. source

15 May 2010 13:37

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Culture, Tech: Aaron Sorkin is about to ruin Mark Zuckerberg’s reputation

On October 1st, Aaron Sorkin’s new movie, “The Social Network,” promises to make Mark Zuckerberg look like the kind of jerk most techies think he is right now. source

14 May 2010 22:08

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Tech: Want to be overly dramatic? Quit Facebook en masse on May 31

  • Let’s face it. This stuff just isn’t productive. And, well, it’s just the same old rage that we’ve heard from Twitter users for the last five years. You want to scare Facebook into listening to your concerns? Do it better than they do. That’s why Facebook has spent the last year trying to respond to a (real or imagined) threat from Twitter. That’s why this strikes us as overwraught drama. That’s why the Diaspora project on Kickstarter actually has people’s attention. source

14 May 2010 20:42

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Tech: Oops: Google Street View accidentally ganked people’s wi-fi data

Don’t mind us! It’s just Google Street View, driving through your villa. Do do do do do … hey, what’s this private wi-fi data we’re picking up? Oh crap. source

14 May 2010 20:25

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Tech: iPhone-gate: Gizmodo declined Jobs’ offer for business reasons

  • Right now, we have nothing to lose. The thing is, Apple PR has been cold to us lately. It affected my ability to do my job right at iPad launch. So we had to go outside and find our stories like this one, aggressively.
  • Gizmodo Editorial Director Brian Lam • In a written response to Steve Jobs after Jobs called. Lam wanted Apple to give him a written note saying the phone was real. Jobs declined, and the rest is history. This is bad for Gizmodo (and Brian Hogan) because the letter makes it clear that they put personal interests above doing the right thing. It sounds like extortion, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t it be crazy if this was enough to take Gizmodo, a major site, down? This makes it seem entirely possible. (A good summary of the legal documents is here.) source

14 May 2010 20:06

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Tech: iPhone-gate: Steve Jobs called Gizmodo personally to get it back

  • Here’s how we imagine the call went: “Hi, this is Steve. You sons of #&((@& better give me my #(&@(&! phone back or I’m going to hit you with a legal thrust so hard you’ll cower the next time you see an Apple product. I hope you die of malaria, Brian Lam. There will be no net that wannabe philanthropist Bill Gates can give you that will protect you from MY wrath. You should see what I did to Eric Schmidt after he released the Nexus One. You’re the scum of the earth. Do what you know you should, #(&(@!(. BYE.” source

14 May 2010 14:56

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Tech: Was Google’s Nexus One online storefront a failure?

  • YES people prefer buying phones in person, not online source
 

14 May 2010 11:12

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Tech: Are Facebook’s privacy issues getting overblown by a mob mentality?

  • It’s completely out of hand, and it’s just another example of an online mob getting out of control. I’m embarrassed to see people I respect stopping one step short of calling for physical violence against Zuckerberg.
  • TechCrunch guy Michael Arrington • Regarding the seemingly high level of rage some have focused on Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, especially after these years-old messages leaked to the press. We’re with Arrington. We think people are completely overreacting and looking for a way to completely discredit the Facebook founder because they don’t like recent changes to his service. Granted, privacy is a weird thing with Facebook, but the backlash is just getting over-the-top. source

14 May 2010 01:30

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Offbeat, Tech: Domain name sales: Dating more popular than birth

  • $1.75
    million
    the amount someone paid for Dating.com at a recent auction of domain names in Florida
  • $6,000
    bucks
    the amount someone paid for Birth.net; there’s a pregnancy joke in here somewhere source

13 May 2010 22:37

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Tech: So, yeah, now there’s a Facebook protest on the table. Hoo-ray

See, if we were Facebook, we would’ve registered @facebookprotest on Twitter (and the corresponding domain name) knowing the odds someone would get to it first. source