The XBIZ Weekly Tech Watch

This week's tech watch includes more grim signs that the Web 2.0 bubble has burst, while other pundits speculate about the Internet's role in electing Barack Obama.

• MySpace is getting ready to follow Facebook's example and offer virtual gifts and payment over the Internet.

• In the iPhone application market, a new gizmo called Ocarina lets users listen to music playing live all around the world.

• Social networking aggregator FriendFeed can now send alerts to users over instant message systems.

• In the wake of Barack Obama's resounding win, pundits ask: Did the Internet make the difference?

• A new application for mobile phones called Friend View lets people micro-blog while keeping an eye on where their friends are located.

Snapily.com lets users make their own interactive online business cards.

• Here's one of the tackiest conceivable stocking stuffers: a gold-plated phone headset for an iPhone.

• Apple and AT&T are moving toward letting people use their iPhones as makeshift modems for their laptops.

• Is Google's Android operating system "financially unsound"?

• Social-bookmarking website Delicious recently celebrated its fifth birthday.

• LG is about to start offering digital Bluetooth TV.

• A new service called Pluck on Demand will let online publishers quickly and easily add relevant content to websites and blogs.

• Here's the latest bad news about the Web 2.0 bubble: LinkedIn has cut 10 percent of its staff, while Veoh has cut 18 percent.

• Twitter's Japanese counterpart, Twicco, has added groups functionality to its service.

• Version 6.5 of the Windows Mobile operating system is on the way. Also, Windows is returning to a numerical naming convention for the release of Windows 7, which is due midway through 2009.

• Steampunk enthusiasts will appreciate these clockwork motorcycles.

• This one is for hardcore video-gamers only: An XBOX controller that's been retrofitted to maximize efficiency while playing first-person shooting games.

• Adult industry professionals with money to burn might be interested in these egg-shaped chairs, last seen in the movie "Men In Black."

• Duracell is now offering a small generator called the Powerpack 450.

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