Linked List: May 16, 2008

Friday, 16 May 2008

Condé Nast/Wired Acquires Ars Technica for Like $25 Million ★

Which sites aren’t for sale?

iPhone’s Spread Around Globe Continues ★

Associated Press:

France Telecom’s Orange said in a one-sentence statement that it will sell the handset in Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and African markets later this year.

France Telecom spokesman Bertrand Deronchaine said Orange will be the exclusive iPhone provider in Belgium and Romania, with co-exclusive or non-exclusive deals in other countries. He declined to offer more details about the arrangement.

I get the feeling these one-sentence press releases are part of the deal these carriers are making with Apple. Mum’s the word until WWDC.

Political Capital ★

Today:

Saudi Arabia Friday rebuffed President Bush’s request to immediately pump more oil to lower record prices, saying it does not see enough demand to increase production.

Eight years ago:

Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality, by creating enough political good will with oil-producing nations that they would increase their supply of crude.

“I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply,” Mr. Bush, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, told reporters here today. “Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot.”

Apple Wins Two D&AD Black Pencil Awards ★

International design award so prestigious that it isn’t even awarded some years; Apple’s won six since 1999.

Chris Bowler Interviews Dan Benjamin ★

Thoughtful interview, but Bowler should have asked Dan what he really thinks about WordPress.

Carl Icahn Launches Yahoo Challenge ★

The problem with Icahn’s argument is that Yahoo’s stock price remains significantly above where it was prior to Microsoft’s offer. Yes, it’s still below what Microsoft offered, but not by much.

App Engine Launcher for Mac OS X ★

Nifty convenience wrapper for developing with Google App Engine on Mac OS X, from Googlers John Grabowski, John Skidgel, and Brett Slatkin.