Aussie iPad lovers won’t wait. With the Australian launch of the iPad less than 24 hours away, Apple will be hoping that sales figures here reflect those recorded overseas. When the iPad launched in the US in April, more than 300,000 units were reportedly sold in the first day alone and more than 1 million in the first month.

Thanks to a multitude of reviews, Australians have had the best part of two months to assess whether the iPad is worth the $600-plus price tag with some have been unwilling to wait for tomorrow’s launch. An eBay analyst has revealed that, as of last Friday, more than 1700 iPads have been bought by Australians on eBay, at an average price of $US829. It remains to be seen whether the number of eBay buyers will affect the initial sales figures for the Australian launch. If the first-day figures from the US are anything to go by, probably not. — Crikey intern Matt de Neef

Pay-for-Times won’t show articles to Google

“The Times and Sunday Times’ upcoming paid sites will not allow their articles to appear in search engines like Google. That was one nugget gleaned during a preview of the attractive forthcoming relaunches Monday night. Times Online has relaunched as two separate editions and will go paid within about four weeks. But the sites will only show their homepages, not articles, to search engines.” — paidContent

Pictures of the prophet

“The Mail & Guardian newspaper says it will not apologise for a Zapiro cartoon it published on Friday depicting Prophet Muhammad. The newspaper was due to meet with the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) tomorrow to discuss the cartoon, which has been greeted with outrage in the Muslim community.” — AllAfrica

How to publish 4000 pieces per day

“In an era overwhelmed by FlickrYouTubeWikipedia-BloggerFacebookTwitter-borne logorrhea, it’s hard to argue that the world needs another massive online content company. But what Demand has realised is that the internet gets only half of the simplest economic formula right: It has the supply part down but ignores demand.” — Wired

Murdoch increases WSJ readership

“Readership of the Wall Street Journal has jumped 20% since News Corp acquired the paper in 2007, according to a new study by The Media Audit. During the same period, readership of The New York Times remained higher but flat.” — Editor and Publisher

Google boosts business despite privacy concerns

“Google Inc highlighted its positive impact on small business and the broader economy through a report and series of news conferences on Tuesday, at a point when the online giant is facing mounting criticism over its privacy practices and alleged anti-competitive behaviour.” — San Fransisco Chronicle

Apple faces the music in iTunes investigation

“The Justice Department is examining Apple’s tactics in the market for digital music, and its staff members have talked to major music labels and internet music companies, according to several people briefed on the conversations.” — New York Times

Defining the news: new media versus old media

“Social media and the mainstream press embrace different news agendas, and the former have much shorter attention spans than the latter when dealing with news items.” — The Guardian

Facebook users outnumber Arab newspaper readers

“The research by Spot On Public Relations, a Dubai-based agency, says there are more than 15 million subscribers to the social network. The total number of newspaper copies in Arabic, English and French is just under 14 million.” — BBC News

The New Yorker’s one-price-plan

“The New Yorker wants to let readers pay once for digital access across the iPad, the Kindle and other platforms, hoping to improve on the current industry practice of charging even subscribers for each edition on each device.” — Advertising Age

Kids lead the way in new media age

“The future of the internet is about real time. It’s about feeling the experience, it’s about convergence. Whether our future is one of random video chat, Skype or people living through the internet, a Tsernovskiy suggested, people are connecting and consuming new and different media — rapidly.” — Huffington Post