TechFast: Egypt’s Last ISP Cut Off, Facebook Comments, Apple vs. Sony

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Good morning! Here are some of today’s top tech links so far. We’ll cover a few of these throughout the day but feel free to get a head start.

Egypt Shuts Down Noor, Its Last ISP

Link: TechCrunch

The internet service provider (ISP) that grants access to Egypt’s stock exchange had remained online longer than any of the country’s other ISPs, but it too has finally been knocked offline.

Apple Moves to Tighten Control of App Store

Link: New York Times

Apple has apparently blocked an iPhone that allows people to buy electronic books that are compatible with Sony’s e-book readers. That could potentially spell trouble for Amazon’s Kindle app which has been available for a while and allows for in-app book purchases as well.

Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be head

Link: Official Google Blog

Google and Twitter have teamed up on a speak-to-tweet service that allows people inside Egypt to leave a voicemail message on one of three international phone numbers that’ll be transcribed and sent out via Twitter.

Facebook’s next big media move: Comments

Link: CNET

Rumor has it that Facebook’s working on a third-party commenting system that websites can integrate. This would be different and much larger than Facebook’s "Connect" technology that allows users to log in to existing commenting systems with their Facebook credentials.

Intel’s billion-dollar mistake: Why chip flaws are so hard to fix

Link: VentureBeat

Intel’s new Sandy Bridge platform contains a flaw that could affect the performance of its SATA connectors, commonly used to connect hard drives and optical disc drives. The impending recall will reportedly cost the company $700 million and reduce its first quarter revenue by another $300 million.

Hey iTunes, here comes Google Music, Spotify

Link: CNET

The long rumored, online-only "Google Music" service may be inching closer to release, though nothing’s been made official. Europe’s popular "Spotify" service has been trying to break into the U.S. for quite some time too and may be making some headway of its own.

Recently on Techland (in case you missed it):

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Dell’s 7-inch Tablet Hits Soon at $200, Competes with Galaxy Tab

Apple Now More Lenient On iPod Water Damage Policy

Amazon to Take on Netflix with Unlimited Video Streaming?