
Semimonthly Tech News - August 16-31, 2009
Headlines
- Ex-Informant Charged With Largest Credit Card Heist in US - If you don't know what SQL injection is, here is a good comic that illustrates it.
- Google must ID 'anonymous' blogger, Unmasked blogger plans to sue Google
Upcoming
Releases / New Features
- Apple released Max OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard", which is focused more on performance and 64-bit support than on delivering new end-user features
- Sony Launches Slim PS3, Cuts Older PS3's Price - I like how the older model is now referred to as the "PS3 Fat"
- Facebook 3.0 for iPhone pours on the features
- Logitech debuts glass-friendly mice - I have a Logitech MX Revolution, Logitech VX Revolution, and Logitech VX Nano, and I love them all. The "hyper-fast" scroll wheel with free spin mode is unbeatable.
- Dell Launches Inspiron 11z - I am seriously thinking about buying one of these. I want a thin and light notebook for use as a secondary laptop, but the 10 inch screen on typical netbooks is too small for me. With a larger, hi-def screen, and more powerful processor, this model may just fit the bill.
- New Verbatim Drives Feature Built-in Status Display
- Google adds translation to Docs
Partnerships
Liquidation Events (Mergers, Acquisitions, IPOs)
Milestones
- Yahoo Mail still king as Gmail lurks - Yahoo Mail reached 100 million users. Meanwhile Gmail grew at the fastest percentage rate, overtaking AOL for 3rd place.
Call the Irony Police
Misc.
- Two great articles on Facebook's employee stock buyback program: Why 'Joe Facebook' wants to cash out and The Mercenaries in Facebook's Midst - Both have excellent points, but I have to side with Caroline McCarthy on this one. I'm sure there are tons of people who wish they had diversified their holdings when they had the opportunity to during the dot-com boom/bust and before the latest economic downturn.
- AT&T: Data Plans Now Required For All Smartphones - I think this is really horrendous. Once the customer has bought a phone, they shouldn't have to pay for more things than the next customer, if they don't need it or want it.
- San Francisco Opens The City’s Data