TechBloggin.com

A growing number of bloggers are inspiring conversation on subjects that strike a local nerve.

Source: By BOB TEDESCHI

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Yahoo said it would allow users to turn off the customization of advertising on the pages of Yahoo.com, as such advertising comes under increased scrutiny.

Source: By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

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NewsFactor - When the executives of social-networking Web site Facebook sued a German-based business that had launched a copycat site, it was accepted as a good move — but was Facebook just sour over an offer gone bad?

Source: NewsFactor

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AP - Want to break into the computer network in an ultra-secure building? Ship a hacked iPhone there to a nonexistent employee and hope the device sits in the mailroom, scanning for nearby wireless connections.

Source: AP

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CNET - On this week’s EIC Squared podcast, ZDNet’s Larry Dignan and I talk about the big story of this month–the Olympics.

Source: CNET

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AP - Yahoo Inc. will let its Web visitors decline ads targeted to their browsing habits, becoming the latest Internet company to break from a common industry practice as Congress steps up scrutiny of customized advertising and consumer privacy.

Source: AP

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Filed under: Transportation

Ad Astra’s VASIMR plasma rocket is about ready for testing, only problem is it requires the vacuum of space to do it in. NASA is now considering taking the rocket up to the International Space Station, clipping it on and firing her up — perhaps even using it to reposition the station. Formerly of NASA, Franklin Chang Diaz left to form Ad Astra and perfect his plasma rocket, which he hopes will be able to take space vehicles from low-earth orbit to the moon. The rocket draws its own power from solar cells, and then uses radio waves to heat argon into plasma, and directs that plasma using magnets. Pretty fancy stuff, and since the rocket is reusable and can propel payloads double the size of equivalent chemical engines, there could be cost savings in the long run. Right now it seems the main hang ups for NASA are where to attach the rocket to the ISS where it won’t be interfered with, and how to get it into space after the space shuttle is retired in 2010

[Via Newlaunches.com]

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Source: Paul Miller

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Stitcher, the personalized streaming radio service, is releasing its native iPhone application in a limited private beta. The first 100 TechCrunch readers to submit their email addresses here will be eligible to participate. Note that you’ll have to submit your iPhone’s serial number, which is required by Apple’s Ad Hoc beta program (as is the 100 user limit).

Stitcher can best be described as Pandora for everything but music, allowing users to compile a playlist of audio feeds from hundreds of sources, including news sites and radio stations. The site also employs a small team to read popular blogs and websites aloud so you can listen to them on the go.

When I first covered Stitcher in May, I wrote that the site’s mobile service had a lot of potential, but that its iPhone web app was slow and clunky (which was more an issue with Mobile Safari than Stitcher).

The demo video below shows that Stitcher’s native app has resolved these issues - there’s no longer any lag when switching stations, and the interface is much cleaner and more intuitive. Once it launches on the App Store, Stitcher will see no shortage of competition from other audio streaming apps including Pandora (one of the most popular apps in the store), AOL Radio, and a number of others.

You can see a demo of the app below. Note that Stitcher is a work in progress, and that the team is still making improvements as it builds up to public release:

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: Jason Kincaid

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