Arn / MacRumors:
‘Push’ Notifications Coming in iPhone 2.2.1?  —  RussianiPhone.ru claims that they have seen iPhone 2.2.1 Beta 1 and that it implements Push notifications as well as over-the-air MobileMe syncing with Notes support.  —  As proof they’ve posted a screenshot showing the Notes and Calendar applications …

John Waples / Times of London:
Microsoft in $20bn Yahoo deal  —  SOFTWARE giant Microsoft is in talks to acquire Yahoo’s online search business for $20 billion (£13 billion).  —  The proposal forms the centrepiece of a complex transaction that would see Microsoft support a new management team to take control of Yahoo.

John Markoff / New York Times:
You’re Leaving a Digital Trail.  What About Privacy?  —  HARRISON BROWN, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in mathematics at M.I.T., didn’t need to do complex calculations to figure out he liked this deal: in exchange for letting researchers track his every move, he receives a free smartphone.

Jeffrey Rosen / New York Times:
Google’s Gatekeepers  —  In 2006, Thailand announced it was blocking access to YouTube for anyone with a Thai I.P address, and then identified 20 offensive videos for Google to remove as a condition of unblocking the site.  —  ‘If your whole game is to increase market share,’ says Lawrence […]

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Three Reasons Why Netbooks Just Aren’t Good Enough  —  The debate about Netbooks, which are very small and very cheap laptop devices, is beginning to heat up.  The category is only about a year old but sales are expected to top 5 million this year.  —  Lots of people think Netbooks […]

Tim O’Reilly / O’Reilly Radar:
Why I Love Twitter  —  If you care what I think, you know that Twitter is just about the best way to learn what I’m paying attention to.  I pass along tidbits of O’Reilly news, interesting reading from mailing lists and blogs I follow, and of course, tidbits from the […]

Tony Levene / Guardian:
Porn bill for couple who can’t download  —  Innocent people are getting letters from lawyers claiming they should pay for films they’ve never seen.  Tony Levene investigates  —  Consumers have received bills for downloads they know nothing about  —  A Hertfordshire couple in their 60s …

Harrison Hoffman / The Web Services Report:
Joost gets back on our radar with iPhone app  —  Men in Black playing on Joost’s new iPhone app.  —  If ever there was a Web service that experienced a rapid fall from grace, it was online video start-up Joost.  What started out as a much anticipated new […]

Business Technology:
Retail Sites Crash as Shopping Season Opens  —  Several retail Web sites experienced technical problems Friday, the latest reminder of one of the Internet’s oldest rules: If you encourage people to visit your Web site, make sure the site can handle the extra traffic.