Roundup: Amazon takes over reader social networking, IE8 to subtract ads, bad signs from China and more

Venture Beat — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:17:23 -0700

Amazon buys social network for book lovers — Shelfari, a small social network for bibliophiles, has been acquired by Amazon.com, according to John Cook at the Seattle PI. Amazon also has a stake in Shelfari’s main competitor, LibraryThing.

Internet Explorer to subtract some ads — A feature called InPrivate Blocking will stop tracking pixels that help advertisers see where you have been on the web, while another privacy feature will prevent information like cookies and browsing history from being saved.

China considers a stimulus package — The growth of China often pointed to as proof that the credit slowdown won’t cause a global slump. But if the country is considering a stimulus, that may indicate that matters are worse than expected.

Triphub gets deadpooled — TechCrunch has the post-mortem on the Seattle-based travel site.

Set-top box maker Vudu goes through layoffs — Hard-pressed set-top box maker Vudu, which most recently added hi-def porn to its offerings, appears to be suffering through some layoffs.

States group sues EPA — A group of 12 states is suing the Environmental Protection Agency for refusing to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a fairly necessary step in convincing industry to switch to cleaner power sources.

Micro-batteries built on viral assembly line — MIT researchers have coaxed viruses into building a dense, miniaturized battery that could be biocompatible, giving fanboys hope of one day embedding an iPhone in their arm.

Strengthening dollar may hurt tech — Large tech companies including eBay and Yahoo will be hurt by a rallying dollar, according to the LA Times.

Obama takes the title for largest mobile marketing event — A text from Barack Obama’s campaign announcing his vice presidential pick reached 2.9 million people, according to Nielsen.

Car info network DriverSide acquires fairBenjamin — The newly-launched car information site has acquired a fairBenjamin, a cost estimation and diagnostics site, which should help it keep up a healthy rivalry with RepairPal, another new site.

Silicon Valley Bank adds to Utah outpost — Could Salt Lake City be growing in importance as a tech and life sciences hub? Silicon Valley Bank must think so; it’s beefing up its presence in the area.