AP - For her college interview, Avery Cullinan put on her best outfit but didn’t bother with shoes. She sat in her living room, smiled into her computer’s webcam and told an admissions officer more than 800 miles away that Wake Forest University was right for her.

NewsFactor - Which retailers will thrive in 2009 and which will have an uphill battle? A survey of customer satisfaction during the holiday season may shed light on those issues.

NewsFactor - Bloggers are taking another bite of the Apple, but analysts say they may have bit off more than they can chew. The rumors on Wednesday speculated about a bigger, better iPod touch with a larger screen.

AP - Before he steps down as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin still hopes to win approval for his plan to auction off a slice of the airwaves for a free nationwide wireless broadband network.

PC World - Google’s Android App Market will begin selling applications in early 2009, according to blogger and app developer Martin Drashkov. Drashkov and other developers have been receiving e-mail from Google alerting them of upcoming plans for the Android Mobile OS and the system’s App Market. In a blog post, Drashkov says that the paid Market will first hit the U.S. and the U.K with roll-outs to Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain shortly thereafter. Not all of these countries have an Android-based phone available to them yet, and Google also has to set up payment systems for many of these countries. Unlike Apple’s iTunes Store, Google does not have the ability to collect money from retail sales across the globe.

AP - Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers have taken their battle to the Internet.

NewsFactor - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told media outlets this week that he is willing to drop a porn-blocking provision to win approval of a free U.S. wireless broadband service.

AFP - US online retail spending fell three percent over the holiday season compared with the same period last year, the first decline after eight years of growth, digital research firm comScore reported.

NewsFactor - While the rumor mill is focused on Apple developing a larger-screen iPod touch, the blogosphere is churning with angry reports about frozen 30GB Microsoft Zunes.

PC World - What is it about the Wii and video games and screaming kids that fascinates us? I’d sure love to ask the 108,911 folks who’ve viewed the YouTube clip below.