This is a big change for mainstream media. Jeremy Kirk in ComputerWorld:

Google said Tuesday it is changing how it grants access to news stories through its search engine to give publishers more control over how much content people can see for free.

It’s all about the money. Prior to the change, internet users could click and read a news article for free when starting from the Google News page.

To avoid paying since there was no limit on free stories, users theoretically could go back to Google News and search for more premium content, effectively undermining the publisher’s revenues.

There’s no more free ride. Many mainstream news sites are locking down their content in a pay-per-view system because internet advertising does not bring in sufficient revenue to cover costs of lost advertising in print media.

Under the new changes, people will be able to obtain free access to participating sites’ premium content via Google a maximum of five times a day. The changes apply to searches done through both Google News and its regular Web search.

More changes to come.

It remains to be seen if Google’s new approach will temper some of the hostility of publishers. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch recently said he was considering not allowing Google to index any of the company’s publications, which include The Wall Street Journal and The Times. It was rumored News Corp. was working a deal to only allow Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing, to show the content.

‘Show the content’ if Microsoft pays for the exclusivity, of course.

Here’s the deal. Plurk is Asia’s No. 1 microblogging service (about 10 times larger than Twitter). Microsoft launched their own microblogging service (Juku) in November 2009 using the same user interface design and copied approximately 80-percent of Plurk’s proprietary interface code. Dave Thompson of Plurk:

If this was just a case of visual inspiration gone too far, we could probably have lived with it. We would have taken the time to reach out to Microsoft, get colour on the matter and try to amicably resolve it. That’s not the case here. This is something far more sinister. On closer inspection, we found that MUCH of the codebase and data structures that Microsoft’s MClub uses are identical snapshots of our code. Microsoft has taken Plurk’s custom developed libraries, css files and client code and just ported them directly over to their service without any attempt to even mask this!

Microsoft’s response?

Microsoft apologized Tuesday, saying an outside company hired to develop Juku copied a portion of the code from Plurk… The matter puts Microsoft in an unfamiliar position. The company has complained for years about the piracy of its software in China. In spite of its long experience with the issue, the software giant now finds itself apologizing for its failure to adequately safeguard the intellectual property of a rival code developer.

Why is anyone surprised by all this? It’s the culture of Microsoft.

David Coursey from PCWorld:

I am as much against smoking as anyone. I also do not want workers needlessly exposed to hazardous substances. Still, for Apple to deny warranty claims on Macs exposed to cigarette smoke seems way over the line.

From The Consumerist, where Shoppers bite back:

Consumerist has tried repeatedly to obtain some kind of answer about these two cases from Apple’s media relations department, and we have received nothing on the record after months of waiting. Mostly, we’re curious what the threshold is for smoke damage to a computer, and why this is not mentioned in the Applecare contract.

Does Apple’s ban apply to second hand smoke?

Remember those wonderfully crafted and totally misleading Laptop Hunter commercials from Microsoft. Apple pointed out a few of the lies. AdAge:

The ads, which have been running since March and were created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, are themed around the affordability PCs can offer cash-strapped consumers. In each consecutive spot in the campaign, a different set of shoppers searches for the perfect laptop computer, comparing prices of Macs and PCs—and ultimately choosing the latter.

Viewers all over the world pointed out the discrepancies in the commercials, including lies and misleading video. Apple called Microsoft and complained.

Following a complaint from Apple, Microsoft has quietly tweaked at least one of the ads in its “Laptop Hunters” campaign to reflect its rival’s lower pricing on its Mac notebooks.

Are the ads working? Microsoft’s recent financial results were their worst drop ever. In a down economy, Apple’s financial results were the best ever non-holiday quarter. Microsoft should run more Laptop Hunter commercials since they’re driving people with money to Apple’s notebooks.

You’ve seen the iPhone commercials. You’ve seen the Verizon Droid commercials. What can you learn from each? Plenty, says Mislav Marohnic:

iPhone:

While on a call you can look up stuff. There is a person holding it. It’s clear how it’s used. There seems to be a lot of useful apps. There’s copy and paste. You can send someone a map via MMS.

Verizon Motorola Droid:

It’s fast and it despises aesthetics. It is for men. It is packaged inside missiles launched by stealth jets. It is a robot and should mostly be handled by other robots.

You get the idea.