AppleInsider:

New photo reveals MacBook Pro, new display also expected [Updated x3]  —  A new photo showing a fully assembled next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro with a black display bezel has surfaced, which AppleInsider can confirm is legitimate.  Separately, Apple is believed to be readying a new breed …

Chris Morrison / VentureBeat:

Shadowy government project spins off Siri to help direct your affairs  —  Conspiracy theorists will love this one: A computerized assistant that can help you manage your day to day life, built atop an artificial intelligence platform developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency …

Nilay Patel / Engadget:

Mr. Blurrycam reveals the updated MacBook Pro, $899 laptop model shows up in Apple inventory systems  —  Well, maybe — we’re not calling it official until Steve pulls the cloth off himself tomorrow morning .  Still, there’s no denying the similarities between this image …

John Casasanta / tap tap tap:

Severance / new beginnings  —  It’s been a pretty long time since our last post.  For good reason… I’m just going to get to the point and let everyone know that we’re in the process of splitting up tap tap tap.  —  A few weeks ago, I was about to announce the addition of a couple of new members to our team.

Stephanie Condon / CNET News:

Bush signs RIAA-backed intellectual-property law  —  Updated at 12:45 p.m. PDT with quotes.  —  President Bush on Monday signed into law an intellectual-property enforcement bill that would consolidate federal efforts to combat copyright infringement under a new White House cabinet position.

Robin Wauters / The Next Web:

The 15 dumbest names for Web 2.0 startups  —  Robin Wauters, Next web enthusiast & Plugg organizer  —  I’m someone who frantically scours the web for interesting new online trends, concepts, startups and projects at any given time of any day.  It’s something I simply can’t turn off …

Mike Nash / Windows Vista Team Blog:

Introducing Windows 7  —  Hi there, Mike Nash here.  —  For me, one of the most exciting times in the release of a new product is right before we show it to the world for the first time.  And that time is right now.  —  In a few weeks we are going to be talking about the details of this release at the PDC and at WinHEC.

Dion Almaer / techno.blog:

Joining Mozilla to create new developer tools for the Web; Hoping to create a new chapter in the book of Mozilla  —  I just announced that Ben and I are joining Mozilla.  Alongside Ben, I will be leading a brand spanking new developer tools group.  —  To say that I am excited is a huge understatement.

Karin Matussek / Bloomberg:

Google Loses German Copyright Cases Over Image-Search Previews  —  Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular Internet-search engine, lost two copyright lawsuits in Germany over displaying photos and artworks as thumbnails in a preview of search results.

Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:

Silverlight 2: Google Chrome support, yes; iPhone, no  —  Microsoft announced, as expected, on Monday that the second version of its Silverlight browser plug-in is done and will be available imminently for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.