Mark Hendrickson / TechCrunch:
Seesmic Acquires Popular Twitter AIR Client Twhirl  —  San Francisco video/chat startup Seesmic has acquired Twhirl, a popular application created by German developer Marco Kaiser that allows users to access the Twitter service directly from their desktop, and also cross post to other services like Pownce and Jaiku.

Eric Eldon / VentureBeat:
Rumor: Ad network Federated Media raises $50M from Oak Hill Capital Partners, at $200M valuation  —  The ad network Federated Media has raised $50 million at a $200 million pre-money valuation from private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, I’ve heard from a source, with investment bank Savvian helping to broker […]

Google Public Policy Blog:
Cone of silence (finally) lifts on the spectrum auction  —  For three weeks at the end of January and early February, a small team of us holed up in double super secret “war rooms” in Mountain View, CA and Washington, D.C. to bid on Google’s behalf in the FCC spectrum auction.

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Craigslist Launches Official Blog  —  Craigslist launches their official blog today at blog.craigslist.com.  Previously founder Craig Newmark would get the word out via his personal blog, but now Craigslist has it’s own voice.  The blog is lacking a RSS feed and has only rudimentary comments, but it is a true blog […]

Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
TechCrunch v DEMO Smackdown!  Calacanis Blasts IDG, Offers Shipley a Job  —  Now that TechCrunch and Jason Calacanis have scheduled their TechCrunch50 start-up celebration conference at the same time as IDG’s DEMO start-up celebration conference, the allegations are flying:

Tom Neumayr / Apple:
iTunes Store Top Music Retailer in the US  —  Apple® today announced that the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) surpassed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US, based on the latest data from the NPD Group*.  With over 50 million customers, iTunes has sold …

Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Craigslist Valuation: $80 Million in 2008 Revenue, Worth $5 Billion  —  As we prepare to release our SAI 25: World’s Most Valuable Startups list, we’re running through some final valuation numbers.  One company that is a shoo-in for the list is Craigslist (yes, it has been around a while […]

Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Microsoft: June 30 Windows XP cut-off set in stone  —  Microsoft made it official on April 3: There will be no new reprieves for Windows XP (other than on Ultra Low-Cost PCs).  —  Some customers and partners had been hoping the company might extend again the deadline for […]

Don Reisinger / CNET News.com:
How much trouble is Dell really in?  —  Is it just me or was Dell on top of the world a few years ago?  Not only was it pummeling just about every other PC manufacturer in the industry, its online business was buzzing and its business integration was better than […]

New York Times:
MySpace and Record Companies Create Music Site  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In the latest effort by the ailing music industry to bolster its declining prospects, three of the four major music companies have struck a deal with MySpace to start an music Web site.  —  As part of the deal …