Kindle Free Pick of the Week: A Little Death In Dixie

It's by Lisa Turner, and it's free in the Kindle Store this week. 

The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis' most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she's off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day's work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider's web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy's own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves.

A mystery that will suck you right in.

Facebook Serious about "Places"

So serious that Facebook bought Hot Potato, an online "check-in" service that lets users report their whereabouts and activities to friends, the company announced on Friday.

It is the most recent development in Facebook's efforts to juice up the location-based aspect of its hugely popular service, which lets people connect with friends and family via the Web and share thoughts, links, photos, and more.

This week Facebook unveiled Facebook Places, a feature that enables Facebook account holders to advertise their current location to friends, and lets users of check-in sites such as Foursquare to  post such location-based reports to those sites and to Facebook at the same time.

 Hot Potato didn't give any financial details of the buyout. Figures tossed around during earlier, and ultimately fruitless, buyout talks between Facebook and Foursquare were in the neighborhood of $120 million to $140 million, but at this point it's anyone's guess as to whether such figures are apropos to the Hot Potato acquisition.

Hot Potato said it was no longer accepting new registrations for its service and that it would give current users some time to download the information they'd posted to Hot Potato, should they want to preserve it in some way. The service also said that in about a month, it would shut its doors and all user data would be deleted, and not automatically passed on to Facebook. The company said it would keep current users posted until then.

Location-based check-in services have been generating buzz for some time now, with services like Hot Potato putting a new spin on pioneer Foursquare's initial model, where friends share their neighborhood secrets.

What will be Facebook's next move?

HP Confirms it will Take on iPad

Hewlett-Packard will ship a tablet-style computer based on the company's WebOS operating system in the first part of next year. The computer maker also plans to release a tablet that runs Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, according to a company executive.

"You'll see us with a Microsoft product in the near future, and a WebOS-based product in early 2011, said Todd Bradley, the head of HP's Personal Systems Group, in a conference call Thursday in which HP disclosed fiscal third quarter earnings.

HP acquired WebOS through its $1.2 billion acquisition of mobile device manufacturer Palm earlier this year.

I'm looking forward to seeing the WebOS tablet, I still have doubts whether there will be a Windows 7 tablet.

HP is hoping to replicate Apple's success with the iPad in the nascent market for devices that bridge the gap between PCs and smartphones. Apple sold more than three million iPads in the first 80 days the product was on the market. Dell also recently entered the arena with the debut of the Google Android-based Streak.

Facebook now has a Check-in Feature

On the heels of Foursquare and Gowalla, Facebook now has a check-in feature of its own.

Facebook executives on Wednesday announced the launch of Facebook Places, which -- similar to services such as Foursquare and Gowalla -- will allow people to use the GPS on their mobile phones to let friends know exactly where they are.

Facebook Places is available immediately in the United States through the latest version of Facebook's iPhone app and through the company's site for advance mobile devices.

Foursquare has become the clear leader or check-in apps and a darling of tech media, even as it looks for ways to turn a profit. Boasting a half-million users at the start of SXSW, Foursquare doubled that in about a month then needed only another three months to reach 2 million users.

In regards to check-in apps, users "check in" at restaurants, bars, movie theaters or just about anywhere else they visit. The idea is twofold -- to let friends know what you're up to while racking up points and earning virtual badges in the application's gaming element.

The potential for Facebook Places is huge.  With a half-billion users, if Facebook doesn't blow it, they should be able to take this area over.  We''ll have to see what early reviews look like and how fast it starts taking off.

iPad Free App of the Week: Fwix

With Fwix you can read news articles and blog posts that are relevant to a certain region.  So far about 200 cities in the U.S.,Canada. Ireland, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand are available. 

Fwix selects news sources and blogs that it thinks are related to each city, and also uses automated algorithms to determine when other content might also be relevant. Fwix has also recently tweaked its algorithm and offerings to include “nearby” local content features. So content on Fwix displays relationships between both topics and nearby location.  Very handy and easy to use.

The app is sort of like reading your local newspaper, when it was good.  A couple more features.  Fwix’s app allows you to view news stories in a map format, showing you the exact geographic location of news. You can access news by your location and then filter stories by subject (i.e. sports, arts, politics, crime). And you can share all content on Facebook, Twitter or via email.

It's news, it's local, and it's free.  What more can you ask for?