Tech Blog

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Google
Happy Christmas!
Google Phones are out in the wild, it seems.

There is a lot of chatter on Twitter about Google employees with HTC-built unlocked Google Phones running Android 2.1. And the devices look to be coming out in January.

We noticed a Twitter message from a Google Program Manager, who writes “Stuck in mass of traffic leaving work post last all hands of 2009. ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It’s beautiful.”

Make easy money on Google? Not any more...

Google is suing a host of companies who appear to be scamming people selling 'male money on Google kits and the like:

Names to be wary of: Google Adwork, Google ATM, Google Biz Kit, Google Cash, Earn Google Cash Kit, Google Fortune, Google Marketing Kit, Google Profits, The Home Business Kit for Google, Google StartUp Kit, and Google Works.

Apple

iPhone store ratings scam? No, really?
It looks like Apple is pulling about 1% of the apps from the iPhone store due to a fraudulent ratings scheme:

Many of their apps had around 50 five stars reviews.  SCW found this to be a bit suspect and decided to examine these reviewers a little closer.   When he looked into those reviewers they were surprisingly only reviewing molinker apps and rewarding them all a five stars. Furthermore the reviews were all poorly written.

What SCW deducted is that the developer was probably using his promocodes (every developer gets 50 of them for every app) on 50 of his own accounts to review his own apps.

Apple Tablet in 2010? Looks like...
Many pundits are predicting a spring launch:

According to his supply chain sources, Apple (AAPL) appears to be gearing up to build as many as 1 million tablet computers per month. Assuming the company would need 5 or 6 weeks of inventory before going live, that suggests — barring production hiccups — a March or April 2010 launch.

"At this stage Apple appears to be sizing its supply chain to support production of as many as 1M units per month." Reiner noted that Apple would need several weeks to build up inventory for a launch, meaning we could see an Apple tablet around March or April. This agrees with previous rumors that suggested a launch in the first half of 2010.

Google Chrome to polish the Macintosh?

Google has finally released Chrome, the company's own Web browser, into beta on the MacLinux. The software has been in development for some time—at least since the Windows version was first released in late 2008—and is now available as a tidy package for the Mac-using masses who weren't previously interested in digging around in build trees.
and

Apple's secret weapon, the iPod Touch.

From the time I first laid my hands on the iPod touch, I have been a big fan of it — after all, it is just like an iPhone except that it has more storage, is skinnier, and has none of the hassles of dropped calls.

 
Microsoft

Bitlocker Cracked, professionally.

Passware, a software firm that provides password recovery, decryption, and evidence discovery software for computer forensics, has updated its flagship application this week to support breaking Microsoft's BitLocker hard drive encryption.

Social Media
Understanding the new Facebook privacy settings.

The feature otherwise works the same as before. Go to your profile page, click on the blue pencil icon at the top of your friends box list, and de-select the checkbox that says “show my friends on my profile.”

And why they happened.

Becoming less private and more public is "a change just like it was a change in 2006 when Facebook became more than just people from colleges," Schnitt told us. "Facebook is changing," he said, "and so is the world changing and we are going to innovate to meet user requests." Do you buy that?

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Your Turn
So, did I miss anything? What online story really got you going this week? Link to it in the comments!