Apple removes I Am Rich, a $1,000 featureless iPhone application

"Eight people bought the software, which has no function except to alert other people that you have money"... so why did Apple blocked it? Story on the LA Times.

Google offers free music in China

The service will let users search songs by singer or song title then download them from partner website Top100.cn, a Chinese music site. From CNet.

Google Lively, a Second Life killer? Yes but a slow death.

Google launched Lively, a browser based Second Life style real-time 3d world. It looks good, clean and fun but if you thought Second Life was slow... wait till you try Lively. Will it kill Second Life? Most Second Life users don't speculate on virtual lands and use the platform to meet and chat. They are the ones most likely to be seduced by Google Lively. Especially if they are from South Korea, the country of mega-fast broadband. For everyone else, they will prefer not to use Second Life than not to use Google Lively until they get a 50MB broadband connection. Via Tech Crunch.

Nasa: There is water on Mars

From the Guardian.

Growth slump may force Italy out of eurozone

For my Italian readers. This is according to Capital Economics and the article is purposely alarmist.

Technorati state of the Blogosphere

The new results are not in but the survey leading to them is available here: http://v2.decipherinc.com/survey/mmc/mmc08001

Second Life's economy is dominated by women's clothes

At least according to this entertaining article from Michael Parsons in the Times.

Google Knol, a Wikipedia rival?

The main difference between the two is that Google Knol puts the spotlight on authors and their opinions while Wikipedia strives to be factual. To that extent it is more a Squidoo or an about.com rival. It is very early day but the obvious pitfal for such venture is to prevent articles from turning into disguised sales pitches. Another concern is that Google will favour Google Knol articles over Wikipedia in its search queries.

Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU

Visionary. Article on the Guardian.

Beyond PR #24 on top 50 PR blogs in the world

There is a bit of a ranking mania at the moment. This one was compiled by Matthew Watson from the excellent Rainier PR. All I can say is a big thank you for including Beyond PR.

Shapeways lets you create real 3D objects

Upload your 3D design on Netherlands based Shapeways' website (incubated by Philips). They will provide you with a quote for 3D printing with a choice of four kinds of plastics (metal is planned) and shipping it wherever you like. The site uses 3D industry standard file formats (STL, Collada, X3D) and the average cost of objects is $50 - $150. As seen on TechCrunch.

I am very excited about the possibilities for artists and designers, from anime figurines to limited edition jewelleries.

See how it works here:

StudiVZ sued by Facebook?

German's premier social network is apparently being sued by Facebook for "intellectual property infringement". Seen on TechCrunch.

The 10 greatest sci-fi films NEVER made

On the Times. Never say never...

Do problems with Wikipedia presage social networking’s end?

A provocative title but an otherwise thought provoking article about the fallacy of "democratic content" through user generated media. From Paul Murphy, ZDNet.

We're Investing So Much In Alternative Fuels, Sometimes We Almost Forget To Pump Oil!

Another Onion classic for CSR minded people.

The Eco Zoo

http://www.ecodazoo.com/

Is there a point to business training? Britain's most mickey mouse training courses

A funny article from Sathnam Sanghera on the Times. I am actually quite into personal development myself but the cynic in me helps maintain my sanity (and sense of humour).

Beyond PR featured in the UK top marketing blog

As seen on FasterFuture. Keep linking!

Google v. Your Privacy

Google is taking a lot of flack on user privacy. The company has been forced to handover Youtube's log data to Viacom and is now being questionned about its streetview pictures in Europe. See ZDNet Garett Rogers and dot.life for summaries/references.

Biofuels to blame for 75 per cent increase in price of food

The rise is far greater than previous estimates including a US Government claim that plant-derived fuels contribute less than three per cent to food price hikes. Telegraph.