MG Siegler / VentureBeat:
Microsoft flirts with “cloud”-based applications, still making billions off Earth-bound variety  —  Though they squabble over things such as the rights to control parts of Facebook and Yahoo, the real battle between Microsoft and Google is only just beginning to show itself as the two jockey …

Paul Miller / Engadget:
Hands-on with the 9-inch Eee PC  —  If you hadn’t guessed from the headline, and as rumored just an hour ago, there’s 9-inches of LCD on this thing.  Actually, 8.9, but who’s counting?  We found out that and a few other little tidbits about this Eee PC “New Generation” at the […]

Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Ballmer Confirms Microsoft-Yahoo “Dialogue”*  —  At a news conference in Germany, Steve Ballmer seems to confirm SVP Jean-Philippe Courtois’s remark last week that Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) are in talks.  Or at least that’s how we read Steve’s latest remarks (via Reuters).

Compete Blog:
Brilliant!  TNS buys Compete  —  This has already been a great year at Compete, and it’s about to get even more exciting.  Earlier today it was announced that we are becoming part of TNS, the global market research giant.  You can click here to read the press announcement that went over the wire […]

Peer Pressure:
AllPeers Service Shutting Down Today  —  It is with deep regret that we inform our users, friends and fans that we will be shutting down the AllPeers service today.  We are tremendously proud of the product that our team has built, and we remain convinced of the potential of adding social features like […]

Compete Blog:
Brilliant!  TNS buys Compete  —  This has already been a great year at Compete, and it’s about to get even more exciting.  Earlier today it was announced that we are becoming part of TNS, the global market research giant.  You can click here to read the press announcement that went over the wire […]

Rachael King / Business Week:
Building a Brand with Widgets  —  The customizable bits of software on Facebook and other social networking sites are the latest trend in viral marketing.  But are widgets here to stay?  —  The cards were stacked against A&E Television Network as it tried to generate positive buzz about its new […]

John Markoff / Bits:
Reading Steve Jobs  —  Second guessing Steve Jobs — or actually first guessing — is Silicon Valley’s most popular spectator sport.  Dozens of Web rumor sites pour over every one of his pronouncements as if he were the Pope, looking for product and strategy hints.

Jonathan Schwartz / Jonathan Schwartz’s Blog:
The World’s Largest Supercomputing Cloud  —  I had no idea the Hubble telescope could see only 12 billion years into the past.  —  Frankly, I’d never really thought about telescopes looking into the past until Dr. Michael Norman, a researcher from UCSD gave me a basic education in astronomy […]

Jeff Atwood / Coding Horror:
Actual Performance, Perceived Performance  —  If you’ve used Windows Vista, you’ve probably noticed that Vista’s file copy performance is noticeably worse than Windows XP.  I know it’s one of the first things I noticed.  Here’s the irony— Vista’s file copy is based on an improved algorithm …