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Get Wired's take on technology business news and the Silicon Valley scene in the Epicenter blog, including Yahoo, Sun, Apple, Microsoft, YouTube, Google, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, mobility, broadband, video, design, security, software, startup, internet, online, web, and IPOs.

Get Your ID War On -- Google Friend Connect Goes Live, TooYesterday

Never one to be outdone, Google released its Friend Connect technology as a public beta Thursday. The timing is curious, as it came within hours of Facebook's announcement that it had released its own Facebook Connect technology, which accomplishes a similar task -- data portability between social websites.

But while Facebook's system uses proprietary code and serves to establish relationships between Facebook users, the participating website and Facebook itself, Google's system is more open.

Friend Connect is built with open-source code, namely the open stack of OpenID, OAuth and OpenSocial. It makes social sharing easier across the broader web, not just on Facebook and it's partner websites.

Here's a 90-second video that explains how Friend Connect works:

WordPress.com Snags Pre-release FeaturesYesterday

Popular blogging software WordPress's latest version, a JavaScript-heavy, major update, has officially been released to the WordPress.com site. Millions of bloggers now automatically have access to the new features before the official release. Those who host their own copy of WordPress can nevertheless see the new version by downloading the preview version.

By upgrading the WordPress.com site, Automattic, the company behind WordPress, is signaling that it thinks the latest version of the open source software is ready for general use. The full release of the installable version is expected next week.

Among the largest changes is the updated, Ajaxified dashboard. Modules can be dragged around to organize the page. Plus, there is quick access to common tasks, such as writing posts and replying to comments. Last month the team created an excellent dashboar

Facebook Connect Is Now Generally Available. Let the Identity Wars BeginYesterday

Facebook flipped the switch on its single sign-on technology Thursday. Facebook Connect can now be implemented by any site on the internet on a self-service basis through the company's platform for web developers.

The company says over 100 websites have added Facebook Connect during the testing period or will release it within the coming weeks. Several high-profile websites are on the list, including Digg, CNET, Gawker, Vimeo and several universities.

The system is a proprietary creation of Facebook, and it presents a challenge to the open source technology known as OpenID.

Facebook Connect lets Facebook's 125 million users participate on other websites using their Facebook IDs. Along with an easy login, the user gets the option of re-broadcasting whatever they do on the third-party site to all of their friends within Facebook. The user can also match existing friend relationships on Facebook with those on the third-party site.

For example, users who wants to vote on or leave a comment on a Digg story will be able to log in to Digg.com using their Facebook ID and password. They can participate on Digg just like a registered D

DOJ Ace: Google Dodged Monopoly Lawsuit By 3 HoursYesterday

Newsflash: The feds think Google has a monopoly over search advertising. (Ya' think?)

So it's a good thing Google ditched its controversial ad partnership with Yahoo, because the search juggernaut was just three hours away from being sued by the Justice Department, according to the ace antitrust litigator brought on by the feds to investigate the deal.

"We were going to file the complaint at a certain time during the day," Sandy Litvack told AmLawDaily, a legal blog produced by the American Lawyer magazine. "We told them we were going to file the complaint at that time of day. Three hours before, they told us they were abandoning the agreement."

Google had little appetite for a legal battle with the Justice Department, so the company bailed on the plan, leaving Yahoo out to dry.

"We're of course disappointed that this deal won't be moving ahead," Google's top lawyer David Drummond wrote. "But we're not going to let the prospect of a lengthy legal battle distract us from our core mission. That would be

Flickr Updates Mobile Site, Adds Video Playback for iPhonesYesterday

Flickr is rolling out a new and improved version of its mobile website, the company announced Thursday. In addition to some enhancements to the mobile site's user interface, the update adds video playback capability -- something previously missing from the Flickr mobile experience.

Video playback will only work on the iPhone and iPod Touch right now, but Flickr plans to add support for other smart mobile devices in the coming weeks and months.

A strong mobile experience in a must for the photo-sharing site, especially now as camera-equipped mobile devices become ubiquitous. Almost everyone carries around personal photos and short videos on their phones, and the folks at Flickr are eager to make it easier for more people to share these things online.

The interface enhancements themselves are numerous. Go to m.flickr.com to check it out. There's a new menu structure that gives better visibility to the site's social features, like recent activity of your contacts and the latest entries in the "Interestingness" pool of photos from the entire community. The tweaks are very much in line with the