Viddler

The iphone release is starting to die down in the news which is why I thought we should mention it. I like the folks who decided they would like to see inside. Some doing it very methodically, others prefering brute force like on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy20b7pccry

Around the World Wide Web
Russian music downloading site that came under immense pressure from Visa and even got the U.S government involved has shut down. According to John Kennedy of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry "If this is the end of allofmp3.com, this is good news". Coincidentally, a new website www.mp3sparks.com launched as it closed.

In Japan, the Wii outsold Playstation 3 to 1

Tech it Out
Feedburner purchased by Google recently is now free for all. You do have to login to activate the services where you will see the message "Thank You for Using FeedBurner. You owe us $0." It also includes MyBrand where you can point your URL and stats.

Google has also acquired Grand Central Communications, a service which include some interesting telecommunications function including visual voicemail, playing voicemail from computer - a whole slew of interesting features. For more go to www.grandcentral.com

Yahoo has been testing a SmartAds function that targets user behavior and has shown to have click through rates some 2-3 times higher than regular advertising.

Dr. is In
Talk about Pownce v Twitter.

Tech Biffo
Whistleblower alert. The BSA (Business Software Alliance) is calling all you dobbing bastards to inform them of any pirate activity going on at your workplace.

Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced that they will not be renewing their annual contract with Apple's iTunes, allowing them to negotiate song rpicing at will. With names like U2, Elvis Costello and Jay-Z, they reckon they have the upper hand. If Apple doesn't like their pricing and refuses to carry a song, users may get miffed.