San Francisco - Microsoft is in talks to buy a stake in the Facebook online social network that could see the company valued at over $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. [more..]

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple on Monday warned that commercially available software programs that can "unlock" its iPhone for use on any network "cause irreparable damage" to the device, with the likely result being that such modified iPhones will become "permanently inoperable" if the user later downloads an Apple-supplied iPhone software update. [more..]

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media on Monday announced the launch of a new mobile advertising platform, which includes the introduction of free, ad-supported sites for MySpace, IGN, FoxSports.com, AskMen and RottenTomatoes.com. [more..]

Washington - Five months after announcing the deal, Harman International Industries, a manufacturer of audio products and electronic systems, said that a group of private equity firms have backed out of their $8 billion acquisition of the company. [more..]

San Diego - AnywhereCD, an online retailer started by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson that bundles MP3 albums along with physical CDs, will shut down at the end of the month, Robertson said in a post on his blog. [more..]

Seattle - Starbucks announced on Monday that it will give away over 50 million free "Song of the Day" downloads from Apple's iTunes Store, in conjunction with the launch of its partnership with Apple to offer free Wi-Fi access to the store in its cafes. [more..]

Helsinki - Disney announced on Monday that it will offer consumers in Finland the ability to pay to watch ABC TV shows online four days after they are initially broadcast in the U.S., Reuters reported. [more..]

Englewood Cliffs, N.J. - NBC Universal announced on Monday that it has begun a trial with Cox Communications, the nation's third-largest cable TV provider, whereby it will offer several of its primetime shows for free on the company's video-on-demand service. [more..]

Helsinki - Only 5% of Europeans expressed interest in watching TV or video on their cell phones in the next year, Reuters reported, citing a new study from market research firm Gartner. [more..]

New York - The former drummer of legendary punk band the Ramones has filed suit against his music publisher, as well as online retailers iTunes, Wal-Mart and RealNetworks, over the alleged unauthorized distribution of six Ramones songs he wrote between 1983 and 1987, Billboard reported. [more..]

London - Trutap, the developer of a mobile application that combines social networking, IM and photo management, has raised $6.5 million in follow-on funding for its first round of venture capital financing, which now totals $13 million, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

Dallas - Belo Corp., an owner of U.S. TV stations and newspapers, announced on Monday that it has made an undisclosed investment in Mochila, an online marketplace for text, video and photo content. [more..]

New York - Acebucks, a developer of virtual currency used within the Facebook online social network, has raised $1.5 million in new financing, AllFacebook reported. [more..]

Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times, wrote in a column yesterday that the newspaper made a mistake when it gave MoveOn.org, an organization dedicated to ending the Iraq war, a $77,508 discount on a full-page ad targeted against General David H. Petraeus. [more..]

Like CEOs, marketers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, lawyers tell their own specialized tales. Most of my experience is with lawyers who do work for tech entrepreneurs, so this is my focus, blogs Guy Kawasaki. [more..]

This post is a compilation of the lessons I learned about Twitter and an inside look at the appeal of microblogging and why smart marketers should pay attention to this trend and some ideas for the possibilities it offers, blogs Rohit Bhargava.
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Jay Baage blogs about an interesting keynote last week from Edgar Bronfman, Jr., who heads up Warner Music, one of the world's four major record labels. [more..]

Washington - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sent a new batch of 403 "pre-litigation settlement letters" to students and others at 22 U.S. universities, offering them "discounted" settlements of potential copyright infringement charges related to file-sharing before it officially files suit. [more..]

New York - Pudding Media on Monday introduced a new Internet phone service, which will monitor the content of its users' calls in order to serve them ads related their conversations, The New York Times reported. [more..]

San Francisco - ABCNews.com will not renew a one-year contract with former "Rocketboom" video blog host Amanda Congdon, CNET News.com reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - Spain-based movie distributor has announced plans to launch an online store that will sell its own catalog of 4,000 films, along with movies from other distributors, and nearly 2 million songs for download, Variety reported. [more..]

New York - Ratings provider The Nielsen Company on Monday announced the beta launch of "Hey! Nielsen," an online social network for "pop culture enthusiasts who are eager to make their voices heard to Nielsen clients and other decision-makers in the entertainment industry." [more..]

San Francisco - BitTorrent, the San Francisco-based developer of a popular file sharing network for digital entertainment, said on Monday that it has launched a Japanese subsidiary, based in Tokyo. [more..]

Southborough, Mass. - Texterity announced on Monday that it has been granted a U.S. patent for its technology that converts print magazines into digital format readable by most Web browsers. [more..]

San Diego - MotionDSP, a San Mateo, Calif.-based digital video developer, on Monday introduced a new online consumer service that it says can dramatically enhance video from any source. [more..]

San Diego - Your Truman Show, a provider of video blogging technology, on Monday debuted its VideoMap Widget, which "allows online video producers and fans to share content across popular social networks wherever it resides on the Internet, from inside the embeddable widget," the company said. [more..]

San Diego - CornerWorld on Monday introduced its free business management and social networking platform at the DEMOfall 07 conference. [more..]

San Diego - PeopleJam on Monday announced the beta launch of its social networking platform and video-sharing site, targeted at the "60 million Americans interested in 'purposeful living' and personal development," the company said. [more..]

Los Angeles - Mobile game publisher Gameloft said on Monday that it has struck a deal with CBS Mobile to develop, publish and distribute a mobile game based on the TV drama, "CSI." [more..]