MySpace sure likes it some lower-case i's -- and any startup with digital music expertise. On the heels of its acquisition of music service iLike -- reportedly for about $20 million -- the News Corp. unit is rumored to be in late stage negotiations to buy music streaming service imeem. "The imeem acquisition isn't yet finalized, we've heard from sources, and awaits approval from various stakeholders," report TechCrunch, which doesn't know the likely price of the acquisition. Claiming to have confirmed the negotiations, Peter Kafka at MediaMemo says he hasn't heard …

Don Dodge, an "engineering evangelist" just let go by Microsoft, has softly landed at Google, and is taking the opportunity to do a little nose-thumbing. "Thanks Microsoft, I'm going to Google!" Dodge wrote Monday on his blog, The Next Big Thing. At Microsoft, Dodge was the director of business development for the company's Emerging Business Team and acted as the human voice and face of Microsoft when dealing with startups. At Google, Dodge will assume a similar role, working as development evangelist, particularly focusing on Google Apps. He will be working under Vic Gundotra, another former Microsoft employee …

Former eBay Motors founder and chief Simon Rothman is trying to make a name for Glyde -- a new startup that serves as a place for people to buy and sell used media like DVDs, books, video games, and CDs. Given his history, he's obviously aware that eBay, Amazon, and numerous other e-commerce sites offer similar services. He's betting, however, that the whole buying and selling process can be greatly improved. The site promises to provide single-click purchasing for buyers -- after the first one, during which they have to fill in your credit-card and shipping information -- …

Facebook is restricting MySpace's social music discover site iLike from showing people's music data in their profiles -- the songs and artists they like -- or alerting them to upcoming concerts through Facebook notifications. According to TechCrunch, the ban on notifications is likely part of Facebook's recent moves to fight "app spam." It's not clear what music data will be pulled from profiles, but it could cover all the data iLike collects about users -- their music preferences and recommendations. Even though iLike is the top music app on Facebook, with 12 million active monthly users, the two …

How is Droid selling? About 250,000 of the Google Android OS-based smartphones sold in the first week vs. 1.6 million iPhone 3GS devices sold in the first weekend, according to a semi-scientific study conducted by mobile analytics company Flurry. Flurry, which tracks the usage of mobile applications across various platforms, ran a query at the behest of GigaOm's Om Malik "to get us a clearer (if not totally accurate) picture of the Droid launch and its market penetration." For the record, Malik considers himself to be part of "a small minority of folks who haven't been blown away …

Without providing any additional insights into Apple's yet-to-be-announced tablet device, CNNMoney.com gets analysts to speculate on its broader industry implications. "This will be the next big thing," says Laura DiDio, principal analyst at ITIC. "Apple is going to wow everybody with the tablet." Furthermore, analysts and investors are saying that this device could revolutionize the handheld world in the same way the iPhone changed the smartphone market. "The tablet will change the game, because Apple will throw down the gauntlet at the competitors, and force them to follow along," DiDio added. Through her sources are unclear, DiDio says …

Here's a Times story that Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is unlikely to miss. Among regular Internet users in the United States, nearly half -- or 48% -- would pay to read news online, including mobile devices, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group. Sure, we tied with Britain for the lowest figure among the nine Western countries where Boston Consulting commissioned surveys, but the number still flies in the face of those who insist that U.S. consumers are so over paid content. The Times, which nixed its subscription service TimesSelect at the end of 2007, …

Despite the (passive) aggressive "Mac and PC" TV ads that sharply, if humorously, criticize the new Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft's Bill Gates has nothing but good things to say about Apple's Steve Jobs. "He's done a fantastic job," Gates said regarding Jobs during the taping of "Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great," a 90-minute CNBC Town Hall Event hosted by Becky Quick. "Apple is in a bit of a different business where they make hardware and software together ... But when Steve was coming back to Apple, which was actually through an acquisition of NeXT …

Business Insider take an intimate look inside the Brooklyn headquarters of Etsy -- an e-commerce hub for buyers and sellers of handmade goods, vintage goods, and art supplies, which did $130 million in yearly gross merchandise sales at the end of October. That number is up from $88 million over all of 2008, and a mere $26 million in 2007. Etsy keeps 3.5% of those sales for its revenues, while other revenue streams include listing fees -- $0.20/item -- and fees for listings that appear on category searches and on a link from the homepage. Meanwhile, the company's …

Without providing any financial details Google has confirmed the acquisition of VoIP startup Gizmo5. Also unknown is what exactly Google plans to do with Gizmo5, while it says it will integrate the startup in some way with Google Voice. "We're pleased to announce we've acquired Gizmo5, a company that provides Internet-based calling software for mobile phones and computers," Wesley Chan and Craig Walker, Group Product managers at Google, said in a joint statement. "While we don't have any specific features to announce right now, Gizmo5's engineers will be joining the Google Voice team to continue improving the Google Voice and …