Lala and Courier Go Kaput, YouTube Smoothly Modifies Its Player

• Despite promising prospects, music streaming site Lala failed to carve a successful niche in its highly competitive market. Apple recently absorbed the struggling site and will officially, and permanently, close Lala's doors May 31st. The news isn't all bad, though, as subscribers will be still able to listen to tunes until that date, after which all funds, balances and gift cards will switch over to iTunes credit. [From: Engadget]
• Engadget apparently just has to play the role of Debbie Downer today. After breaking the sad news concerning Lala's fate, the site is also reporting that Microsoft is halting the development of its Courier device. The dual touchscreen tablet generated a significant amount of excitement, but Frank Shaw, Microsoft's VP of corporate communications, admitted that "we have no plans to build such a device at this time." [From: Engadget]
• YouTube has implemented some impressive changes to its video player, and the smooth alterations may actually go unnoticed to casual users. The almost seamless updates include a move to a horizontal, unobtrusive volume bar and a slight modification to the seek bar. [From: Mashable]
• According to an Edison Research poll, Twitter awareness continues to escalate in the U.S., as an estimated 87-percent of folks surveyed know of the site. However, that says nothing for popularity: despite the billions of tweets that have been twittered, only 7-percent of the nation (17 million users) actually use the service. [From: Mashable]
• Greenpeace recently announced its "Cool IT" rankings, which lauded Cisco and Ericsson for their impressive focus on environmental issues. Google surprisingly finished in the middle of the pack, and ancient and established stalwarts Sony and Panasonic were among those bringing up the rear. [From: InfoWorld]

Tags: apple, cisco, courier, edison research, EdisonResearch, ericsson, frank shaw, FrankShaw, google, greenpeace, itunes, LaLa, Microsoft Courier, MicrosoftCourier, morningxtra, panasonic, sony, top, twitter, youtube