Amazon’s looking to hook ‘em while they’re young. The online retailer has launched a program for college students — appropriately called Amazon Students — that offers a free one-year subscription to its premium Amazon Prime service, which normally runs $79 a year. The program also promises exclusive deals and promotions

Facebook is steadily converting partners like Zynga away from their home grown payment product to Facebook Credits. And to date there’s just one alternative for users who want to complete offers like getting a Netflix subscribtion in exchange for Farmville credits, or whatever – Trialpay . Offerpal , one of the largest offer providers, is responding to that decision.

As the great race to become America’s favorite source of full-length TV and movie streams gets underway, two of the favorites in that race are Hulu and Netflix. Hulu has a fairly large headstart

This morning Google officially unveiled App Inventor for Android , giving non-developer Android users the ability to build their own applications using a visual, puzzle-like interface.

If you follow Jobs-related news closely (and I have reason to believe that you do, dear reader) then you might have chuckled with cruel mirth at that man’s recent comparison of Blu-ray to “one of the high end audio formats that appeared as the successor to the CD.” Those with extensive SACD collections will consider that a compliment, but the other 99.9% of us felt the sting. The music industry underestimated how easily its product would move on the internet, and the humbling process is well underway for them. But high-definition video is not so easily traded and stored — need Blu-ray fear the same fate?

Popular stream reader TweetDeck turned two on July 4th, and founder Iain Dodsworth just put up a post giving an update on the company’s progress. Tweetdeck now employs 15 people and recently raised more than $3 million in a series B round, led by betaworks.

I get the feeling that AT&T hates me. That’s okay, I’m not too fond of them either

In case you missed the Chatroulette fad, a new Facebook application, VChatter , allows you to have a similar experience — if you’re willing to take the same sorts of exposure risks. Beyond Chatroulette, the experience of using VChatter is similar to using Skype or any other video chat service, but on Facebook.

No worries, guys, because Microsoft is “hardcore” about tablets. Well, “hardcore” about Windows 7-based slate computers.

EcoMotors announced today a $23.5 million series B funding round from Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates that the company will use to build and test its eco-friendly engine, known as an Opposed Piston Opposed Cylinder (OPOC) engine. EcoMotors makes engines that run on diesel or gasoline but have greater power density, weigh less and produce lower carbon emissions than conventional engines.