nyt

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Microsoft helps the feds bring down a large e-mail spam outfit.

The New York Times announces its pricing structure for access to digital editions.

Microsoft launches a mobile app to help men be cool.

The FCC may not allow cell phone boosters.

Samsung launches 3D video on demand in Korea.

Cupertino finally allows apps written in other languages but says No to "amateur hour" and more fart simulators. Also, Verizon may ban Google Search from its Android phones; the New York Times will eventually give up on print; and the Web knows how to dance.

On today's episode, we discover that frenemies make for great collusion, everyone at the White House is suddenly sorry they bought all those iPads, the iPhone 4 doesn't actually have an eyeball, and only birds are now allowed to "tweet."Oh, and everything's better if you're naked.

AOL says it's hiring hundreds of journalists, which they seem to do all the time, and then they're never heard from again ... hmm. In other news today, Pulse seems to have a pulse again, while the New York Times is on life support and doesn't even know it, and we're putting together a little hit list of doomed Twitter-related apps. Oh, and if you pirated the "Hurt Locker" movie, we totally know your IP address.

On today's show, Podfather Adam Curry joins us for gloves-off battles about everything from whether Apple should put out the iPhone for Verizon (Adam says no) to what Nokia used to produce (boots, turns out), and just what exactly is wrong with Nokia. Be warned, today's episode pushes the boundary of indeterminate length!

I am a willing subscriber to The Wall Street Journal's online edition. It's $100 a year, which is a lot for online content, especially considering that you can generally find a way to get for free. But I'm a professional writer, and times are hard for all of us. I consider it a professional courtesy to pay, even handsomely, for excellent work. What I won't do is pay for twice. Unfortunately, that's what the WSJ wants me to do:

I recently downloaded the iPhone app for the WSJ, and discovered that getting access to the … Read more

The monarchy comes to Twitter, but of course the Queen doesn't sully her fingers on the keyboard, she has a royal twitterer do that. We also discuss whether the new Universal Music Group deal with TuneCore will change the landscape of music. We also absolve North Korea of the botnet.

Universal/TuneCore deal opens major doors for indie artists http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/07/universaltunecore-deal-opens-major-doors-for-indie-artists.ars http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10283224-27.html

Korean DDoS Bots To Self-Destruct http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/07/10/0452256/Korean-DDoS-Bots-To-Self-Destruct … Read more

AT&T unveils its new prepaid plan, which we think only Jason Bourne could love. Also, analysts say Android is poised for 900 percent growth, the University of Missouri gets in bed with the iPhone and iPod Touch, and we give cute nicknames to some of our fave technologies.

Google Android will grow 900 percent in 2009, analysts say http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Google-Android-Will-Grow-900-Percent-in-2009-Analysts-Say-557897/

http://www.gizhq.com/2009/05/11/analysts-expect-android-to-grow-900-percent-in-2009/

University of Missouri requires students buy iPhone or iPod http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/University-of-Missouri-Requires-Students-Buy-iPhones-540478/ … Read more

The $100, er, $200 laptop just got a glowing review from The New York Times' top tech reviewer.

Nicholas Negroponte's project to bring laptop computing to developing nations has been plagued by delays, price hikes and bad publicity. But according to David Pogue, the XO is "a wonder" to behold and a "technological breakthrough."

Writes Pogue:

"The truth is, the XO laptop, now in final testing, is absolutely amazing, and in my limited tests, a total kid magnet. Both the hardware and the software exhibit breakthrough after breakthrough--some of them not available on any … Read more