Ballmer: We can compete with Google

[Newsfactor] At the Web 2.0 Summit, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave full recognition to Google's search strategy: "The most valuable advertising real estate, in a sense, comes out of search," he said. "You're never going to grow a big advertising base, never going to attract a critical mass of advertisers if you can't be credible in search."

13,000 Daily Show clips online - legit

[NYT] Videos of every skit, every joke and every guest are available for free, fully searchable on TheDailyShow.com. According to Comedy Central, 13,000 videos will be stored in the database.

Open iPhone shows error of AT&T deal

[Newsfactor] Given that Apple had been saying since the phone's launch that it would support third-party software only through Safari, the move also represents a retreat from the original game plan in which Apple would have exclusive access to the device's native features. The Web plan failed, several analysts said, in part because of the slowness of AT&T's Edge network. Apple's current concession to developers can be directly linked to the "mistake" of the exclusive deal with AT&T.

iPhone sales start to blossom

[Wired] A new report by research group Strategy Analytics says the iPhone is now the fourth best-selling handset in the U.S. As AT&T's top-selling device during the third quarter -- accounting for nearly 13 percent of overall sales -- the groups says the device could even usurp the Motorola RAZR V3 (currently the No. 1 U.S. phone) in the coming quarters.

Digital music firesale

[News.com] Prices will probably continue to drop until the retailers have no margin left. In other words, to make a business out of selling digital music, you have to have an attached product that's actually profitable. In Apple's case, it's hardware. In Amazon's case, they must be hoping it draws users to the site, where they eventually will buy other products.

Leopard mania!

[CRN] "We've probably doubled the backorders of Leopard, compared to what we did with Tiger," said Patrick Brown, CEO of Brown Computer Solutions, a Brattleboro, Vt.-based solution provider and Apple specialist. "With the Intel Macs, Apple has significantly increased the installed base. We do expect a very successful launch."

Your dashboard, open

[News.com] Dash now plans to ship its GPS product for cars, the Dash Express, in early 2008. Its key differentiator from other GPS units is that it will always be connected to the Internet. The new news is that the Dash will have an open platform, so people can build interesting apps for it.