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6:50 PM ET, August 5, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Justin Hyde / Jalopnik:
This is Google's first self-driving car crash  —  This photo of what looks like a minor case of Prius-on-Prius vehicular violence may actually be a piece of automotive history: the first accident caused by Google's self-driving car.  Whose name should the cop write down on the ticket?  UPDATE!
RELATED:
Jay Yarow / The Business Insider:
Human Driver Crashes Google's Self Driving Car*  —  Google's self driving cars have gotten into their first accident, Justin Hyde at Jalopnik reports.  —  A reader sent in a photo of a Google car having rear ended another Prius.  You can tell it's a self driving car by the thing on the roof of the car.
Aaron Lee / DigiTimes:
Ultrabooks and tablet PCs are short-term fads, says Acer founder  —  Acer founder Stan Shih has commented that the fads for ultrabooks and tablet PCs are both short-term phenomena and urged companies in the notebook supply chain to come out with more value-added products through innovation.
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Facebook Cites ‘Smoking Gun’ Proof of Fraud by Man Claiming Company Stake  —  Facebook Inc. said its inspection of computers turned over by Paul Ceglia, the western New York man who claims he's entitled to half of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's holdings in the social-networking company, shows “smoking gun” evidence of fraud.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Do You Live In An Android State Or An iPhone State?  —  It is clear by now that Android is winning the overall mobile market share battle in the U.S. among smart phones.  But how does the battle break down by state?  Mobile ad network Jumptap put out a report this morning (embedded below) …
RELATED:
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
RBC: Apple would only launch low-cost iPhone if it had ‘category-killer’ experience  —  After a meeting with two of Apple's top executives, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said the company's primary requirement for launching a lower-end iPhone is whether the handset would provide an “innovative, category-killer experience.”
RELATED:
Todd Haselton / BGR:   Low-cost iPhone could launch soon; Apple execs hope to settle patent disputes
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
HTTPS Everywhere  —  HTTPS Everywhere 1.0 has been released, and the project is out of beta.  Version 1.0 includes support for over 1,000 new sites, a better UI, and performance improvements.  Click here to install it!  —  HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between …
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple disabling non-developer devices running iOS 5?  Doubt it.  —  According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5.  The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW.
RELATED:
FBI:
The FBI's Child ID App  —  Putting Safety in Your Hands  —  You're shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears.  A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful.  What do you do?  —  Now there's a free new tool from the FBI that can help.
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Groupon Will Dump Controversial ACSOI Accounting in Amended IPO Filing  —  According to numerous sources close to the situation and after regulatory pressure, Groupon will amend its S-1 public offering filing to remove references to an unusual accounting treatment that has attracted controversy.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
More on Google and Patents  —  Kevin Fox: … I don't think “offense” and “defense” are the right way to look at this.  It is true that Google wasn't trying to acquire these patents to sue others, but rather to keep itself (and its Android handset maker partners) from being sued.
RELATED:
Brian S. Hall / The Business Insider:
How Do I Hate Google? Let Me Count The Ways...
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Dolby: Our technologies are not built into Microsoft's Windows 8  —  Summary: Dolby Laboratories executives shared some information about Microsoft's Windows 8 during an earnings call this week.  What are the implications of the disclosure?  —  During an earnings conference call with analysts …
Alistair Barr / Reuters:
Exclusive: Groupon subscribers jump to 115 million  —  (Reuters) - Groupon Inc subscribers have more than doubled to 115 million so far this year, according to a person familiar with the situation.  —  Groupon had 50.58 million subscribers at the end of 2010.  That jumped 64 percent to 83.1 million at the end of the first quarter.
Discussion: The Business Insider
Zach Epstein / BGR:
HTC acquires Dashwire to bolster cloud services - and patent portfolio  —  HTC on Friday announced that it has agreed to acquire Seattle-based cloud services company Dashwire for up to $18.5 million via its HTC America Holding division.  Dashwire currently offers a range of cloud services for carriers …
RELATED:
Martin Fowler / Bliki:
SoftwarePatent  —  I think almost everyone I know in the software development field has a deep hatred for patents and the way they've been used in our field.  I've had a post on my todo list for ages about this and have finally been moved to write about it after a particularly good piece …
Discussion: NPR and Techdirt
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Life At AOL - The Expenses War  —  I've said this before, but working at AOL is my first experience working at a “big” company.  I've watched, mostly with amusement, as a Dilbert cartoon has come to life around me.  Some of the policies and bureaucracy are useful (I'll think of some examples, just give me a second).
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
Google Researcher Exposes Flaws In Sophos Software, Slams Antivirus Industry  —  The security industry usually spends its time analyzing viruses, not the programs meant to catch them.  But Tavis Ormandy has been looking instead under the hood of one antivirus firm's tools.  And he doesn't like what he sees.
Adrianne Jeffries / Betabeat:
Rough Trades: Digital Derivatives Hit the Bitcoin Markets as Wall Street Bankers Take Interest  —  The best way to find serious traders of the digital currency Bitcoin is to log onto Internet Relay Chat—that bare-bones, plain-text experience that hasn't changed much since its creation in 1988 …
Discussion: NYConvergence.com
J.B. / Fusible.com:
Rumor: Next tablet for device maker Motorola will be called Kore  —  There have been rumors of Motorola making a new Android tablet device that will have a 4:3 aspect ratio, like the iPad.  —  If a company's domain registrations are any indication of what's in store, then Motorola's next tablet may be called: Kore.
 
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 More Items: 
Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:
Why Facebook and Google's Concept of ‘Real Names’ Is Revolutionary
Discussion: danah boyd
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Feds hack past anonymity, bust 72 users of child abuse “horror” site
Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
Google closes its Dictionary site, wants you to “search” for definitions instead
AppleInsider:
Needham sees Apple stock hitting $540 on sales of 54M iPads in 2012
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, PadGadget and TUAW
Tabassum Zakaria / Reuters:
Pentagon cyber program to fund hacker innovation
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
NewMe Accelerator, Aiming To Encourage Black Tech Entrepreneurs, Has Its First Demo Day
Discussion: MediaPost and CNN
 Earlier Items: 
Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:
Porn studio loses appeal in Google copyright case
Steve Lohr / Bits:
A Call to Rethink Internet Search
Discussion: Technologizer
Joe Mullin / paidContent:
Shagbook Attacks Facebook's Trademark, Calling It Generic
Discussion: Inquirer, Techdirt, Mashable! and thinq_
Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
HP knocking $100 from TouchPad pricing August 5-7
Robert McMillan / PC World:
Spam King Sanford Wallace Indicted for Facebook Spam