Austin City Council has unanimously approved a proposal to negotiate and execute an economic development agreement with Apple Inc. that would provide for a rebate of $8.6 million in city property taxes over ten years. Travis County is expected to consider a similar plan soon. The statewide Texas Enterprise Fund will also contribute $21 million. more ›

At the Apple live education event today, the tech giant announced three major items: iBooks2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U. Here's a quick rundown. iTunes U offers full courses with video, documents, apps and book. Users can see a syllabus and follow assignments while teachers create posts and update tasks. Its integrated with iBooks notes. iBooks 2 (free) is Apple's attempt at "reinventing the textbook". Citing the iPad's already astounding impact on teachers and students (1.5 iPads in schools, over 20,000 apps used), the app enables you to "read in a text-heavy portrait or picture-biased landscape mode and there's also the option to have random pop-quizzes appear to keep you on your toes. Annotations is an integral part of the system: you can add stickies to individual pages and aggregate them into virtual 3 x 5-inch note-cards for revision during finals. You'll also get the same purchase, download and re-download rights you enjoy in the company's other stores." iBooks Author (free) allows you to start with a simple template and create an iBook with minimal tech know-how. Users will combine their templates, photos, presentations, widgets and videos using HTML5, JavaScript and publish to the iBookstore. Follow the conversation about Apple's announcements this morning and learn more about the new education-focused applications at Macworld, Slashgear, TechCrunch and Engadget. more ›

After a week of crumbling stock and mergers and American Airlines stepping from behind the curtain, it's time for a pick me up. Samsung's Northeast Austin complex, which is responsible for the production of silicon microchips, looks on target to set a company record. Their system chips for mobile devices are in high demand as the race to make the first phone to pass the turing test heats up. Their main customer? Yet another big tech company in the area, Apple. more ›

With Steve Jobs' retirement as CEO of Apple, Inc, the company enters a new and unpredictable era. more ›

Techcrunch was downtown to meet the man who was first to buy an iPad 2 at our pop-up Apple store. more ›

A confidential source has tipped Austinist off on a new Apple store possibly opening in the Scarborough building on Congress and 6th. Could it be true? Let's look at the facts: - An Apple logo sign was seen being loaded into the building. more ›

• Ta-ta UK, Hallå Sweden: Assange to be extradited
• Qaddafi loyalists mass at Tripoli, rebellion pushing west
• No plan B for Apple quite yet

• One person, believed to be a child, survives a Libya plane crash that kills 100
• Cameron takes over as British prime minister with coalition cabinet
• BP tries two-ton "top hat" plug in latest attempt to contain Gulf oil leak

• Lost iPhone gives Apple headaches.
• Half of European flights about to be given clearance to fly through ash.
• Iranian cleric blames promiscuous ladies for country's earthquakes (before you think they're backward, remember we have Pat Robertson!)

• Another earthquake, this time in China, kills 400 in remote area
• Toyota stops selling Lexus SUV deemed "unsafe" by Consumer Reports
• Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens want to arrest the pope

• No runoffs as Perry, White claim their parties' nominations for governor
• Ethics probe forces Rangel to temporarily quit key tax post
• FAA not happy after child in air traffic control tower talks to pilots

• ICYMI: Obama's State of the Union speech from last night.
• In last night's speech, the President said he will work to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'
• Summit on Afghanistan taking place in London.

• Toyota stops selling and making eight models until faulty gas pedals fixed.
• Obama to focus on jobs in tonight's State of the Union address.
• iPad? Apple expected to unveil their tablet computer today.

• Obama to schoolchildren: "You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job"
• President takes to the airwaves tonight to talk health care
• Kidnapped New York Times journalist freed in Afghan raid

• A shocking error in cancer care.
• After seven months, reporter kidnapped by the Taliban manages to escape.
• Supreme Court sides with Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (sort of) in their voting rights case.

The video, above, is a pretty nifty behind-the-scenes look at the AT&T Distribution Center in Ft. Worth, where your future phone was probably packaged for shipment. Ahh, consumerism. more ›

Reporter Saberi freed from Iranian jail Obama tells Google and Apple to stop playing footsie Some banks feeling much better, thanks Back to the moon, NASA? Really? Churches getting religion on marketing That's "Dr. Dolly" to all y'all Opinion: Don't just legalize it, tax the hell out of it more ›

• Nearly 700,000 private-sector jobs were lost in February
• 1 in 5 U.S. homeowners owe more than their property is worth
• War crimes warrant issued for the president of Sudan

• Obama eyes CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta for surgeon general
• Israel pauses Gaza strikes to allow humanitarian aid
• Mississippi passes Texas to claim nation's highest teen pregnancy rate

• Sydney -- the first major city to ring in 2009 -- celebrates with a $4M kaleidoscopic fireworks display
• Israel rejects calls for a cease-fire, attacks Gaza
• NASA reports that space shuttle Columbia astronauts were in an "unsurvivable" situation

The system maker, currently known more for its business-friendly desktops and notebooks rather than its design sensibilities, quietly shared some "early marketing collateral" to a publication about luxury goods. When NYTimes blogger Ashlee Vance queried Dell VP Michael Tatelman about the possibility of the company unveiling a Macbook Air-type product, Vance claims that "Mr. Tatelman’s mouth gaped open and his eyes darted away from my face." more ›

• Time magazine names Barack Obama as its Person of the Year 2008
• Murder case of "America's Most Wanted" host's son closed after 27 years
• SEC missed repeated opportunities to uncover alleged Ponzi scheme

• Barack and Hillary bury the hatchet.
• But how *long* until Gitmo is closed?
• India to Pakistan: Give up the suspects! Or we'll...(that's the scary part.)

• "Big Bang" machine, Large Hadron Collider (hee hee): Still, it works
• Was Obama referring to Palin when he said "lipstick on a pig"?
• Hurricane Ike enters Gulf; on path for Texas

Photos of the line at the AT&T at 5th and Lamar early this morning (and the results of the wait) taken by KEB. It seems that if you were able to buy a 3G iPhone today or perhaps attempted to upgrade the apps for your "old" iPhone, you might have come across some issues. more ›

• Just one more reason to wait for your locally-grown tomatoes.
• Seen the YouTube clip where McCain lets it be known that he thinks Vladimir Putin is doing a great job as president of...Germany?
• The Kooch is at it again.

• Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his downtown Manhattan apartment by the police. Some reports say he died from an overdose.
• Vermonters get to weigh in this week on a bill before the Legislature that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.
• Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured from the Gaza Strip into Egypt Wednesday after masked gunmen with explosives destroyed most of the seven-mile barrier dividing the border town of Rafah.

Robert Harrison’s forte has always been melodious pop music and his current outfit Future Clouds and Radar is no anomaly. The act’s stellar self-titled album (out now on Star Apple Kingdom) contains boundless hooks and plenty of Beatles-esque psychedelia, and has garnered rave reviews from a plethora of publications such as HARP, Paste, Pop Culture Press, and No Depression. Check out the video for “Dr. No.” here. more ›

Image from Clap!Clap!’s MySpace Clap!Clap! final showSaturday, December 8Emos (603 Red River St)$5 | Doors 8 p.m. | Outside[info]Local act Clap!Clap! has furnished enough dance parties around town with their brand of energetic electro-pop to command endearment and respect alike. However, last month they surprised a good amount of us with news of their demise. Needless to say we were fairly intrigued about the reasons for this culmination and also their plans for the future.... more ›

Image by the "Subway Cyrano," from GothamistNew York City was at its strangest and swellest this week. On Sunday, tens of thousands people ran in the NYC Marathon, including Mrs. Tom Cruise, aka Katie Holmes, who ran it in just under 5 hours, 30 minutes. Gothamist also found out that limes in Corona are sometimes illegal, the weird maple syrup might be back and a famous punk music pioneer-turned-real estate broker was possibly killed by... more ›