Robert McMillan / PC World:
Microsoft Security Patch Was Seven Years in the Making  —  Some security patches take time.  —  Seven-and-a-half years, in fact, if you count the time it’s taken Microsoft to patch a security issue in its SMB (Server Message Block) service, fixed Tuesday.  This software is used by Windows …

Henry Blodget / Silicon Alley Insider:
Facebook Now Worth About $4 Billion, Revenue Light  —  Facebook’s common stock is now changing hands in private sales at about a $4 billion valuation, a source says (unconfirmed).  And Facebook CFO Gideon Yu is indeed trying to raise money in Dubai, the source says (also unconfirmed).

Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread  —  SAN FRANCISCO — What if Google knew before anyone else that a fast-spreading flu outbreak was putting you at heightened risk of getting sick?  And what if it could alert you, your doctor and your local public health officials before the […]

Chris Alden / Six Apart News & Events:
Changes at Six Apart  —  Earlier today, I published the following message on our internal company blog.  For those members of our community who wanted to know about the changes at Six Apart today, I’ve reposted it here publicly for reference.  —  Today we are making some […]

Aviv / MacBlogz:
AT&T iPhone Tethering Plan Specifics, No Unlimited Plan?  —  AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega has recently announced the arrival of an official iPhone tethering plan.  While we already knew the plan was in development prior to his announcement, little information pertaining to specific tethering offerings has been revealed.

Kasper Jade / AppleInsider:
Apple may turn to carbon fiber for lighter MacBook Air  —  Apple enthusiastically claimed ownership to the world’s thinnest notebook earlier this year with the introduction of the MacBook Air, but is rumored to be unsatisfied with the system’s weight, which it now hopes to drop below 3 pounds.

Justin Uberti / Gmail Blog:
Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat  —  I’m a big user of Gmail chat.  Being able to switch from email to chat as needed, all within the same app, is really great for productivity.  But people can only type so fast, and even with our new emoticons, there […]

Rafe Needleman / Webware.com:
Google launches video chat for Gmail  —  Google is rolling out video and voice capabilities for the chat function that is embedded in the Gmail interface.  It’s a bare-bones voice and video-conferencing service, but it’s simple to install and use and is a very good addition to Gmail.

Frederic Lardinois / ReadWriteWeb:
DeepDyve: Indexing the Deep Web  —  DeepDyve is a new search engine that is aimed at students, academics, and knowledge workers.  DeepDyve’s mission is to index the ‘deep web’ that is hidden behind pay walls and subscription fees.  We first looked at DeepDyve in September …

Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Trippin’ With Trip: One Man’s View Of Carnage To Come  —  Every month, Trip Chowdhry, the one-man band who covers all things tech under the moniker Global Equities Research, writes a piece he calls Silicon Scoop on current trends and gossip from the Valley.  It’s always a good read […]