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5:45 AM ET, August 18, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Shadi Mahassel / The Big Blog:
Skype WiFi - now available on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch  —  Skype WiFi (formerly known as Skype Access) is coming to iOS.  We've just launched a new iOS application that's free to download from Apple's App store.  —  With the new Skype WiFi app, you can go online on your iPhone …
RELATED:
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Skype WiFi Comes to iOS: Get Online for $0.06 Per Minute
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
IBM produces first working chips modeled on the human brain  —  IBM has been shipping computers for more than 65 years, and it is finally on the verge of creating a true electronic brain.  —  Big Blue is announcing today that it, along with four universities and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency …
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Apple's Mobile Ad Head Andy Miller Departs for Highland Capital  —  Andy Miller (pictured here), the high-profile VP of mobile advertising at Apple, is planning on leaving the company, according to sources close to the situation.  —  Sources said Miller — who sold Quattro Wireless …
RELATED:
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Mac:
Prodigy visual interface designer leaves Apple for Square
Discussion: Edible Apple and Electronista
Reuters:
Apple, Qualcomm, others eye InterDigital  —  (Reuters) - Apple Inc, Nokia and Qualcomm Inc are among several technology companies pondering bids for InterDigital Inc, sources familiar with the situation said.  —  The auction of the wireless telecommunications specialist …
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
Welcome to the patent valuation bubble
Jeremy Keeshin / thekeesh.com:
Who Does Facebook Think You Are Searching For?  —  Have you ever wondered how Facebook orders your search results?  Clearly they have some ordering about who they think you are looking for, and they seem to guess pretty well.  I can only guess, but it seems like they order it based on who you interact with …
Discussion: TechCrunch and Mashable!
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple's Online Store Gets More Social With Twitter and Facebook Links  —  Following today's mysterious downtime for Apple's online stores, users have been scouring the store pages to look for any changes.  While the store remains largely unchanged with no major new product offerings …
Matt Rosoff / The Business Insider:
Android Boss Andy Rubin Split His First Huge Bonus Check With His Employees  —  When the first Android phone shipped in 2008, Andy Rubin received a multimillion dollar check from his bosses at Google.  —  He turned around and gave some of the money away to the 100 or so employees on the Android team.
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Ashton Kutcher Is a Massive Whore  —  Not only did Ashton Kutcher pose for the cover of Details' September issue, he also edited a special “online only” version, out today.  Turns out Hollywood's prettiest boytoy is one compromised whore of a magazine editor, directing most of his recommendations …
Discussion: Details and @dondodge
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Why your next smartphone may have a larger HD screen  —  Samsung is reportedly shrinking down the size of full high-definition screens and will create them for large smartphones and small tablets.  The company's Super AMOLED Plus technology, which arrived earlier this year …
Brad Molen / Engadget:
AT&T streamlining individual messaging plans August 21st, leaving unlimited as the sole survivor  —  Do not adjust your computer screen, because the screenshot you're seeing above is real.  Confirmed by multiple sources, we've exclusively learned that AT&T — the protagonist of choice …
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Judge bounces Google's complaint over Android code viewing  —  ITC rejects Google effort to block expert testimony in Microsoft-Motorola patent battle  —  Computerworld - A U.S. trade judge has rejected Google's move to block the testimony of a Microsoft expert witness in the latter's 10-month dispute …
RELATED:
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Miami court deals huge setback to Motorola Mobility's defense against Microsoft
Discussion: Electronista, Examiner and ITProPortal
Henry Blodget / The Business Insider:
Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But Groupon Is Running Low On Cash  —  One of the fastest-growing companies in the history of the world, Groupon, is now running seriously low on cash.  —  The company is not broke, by any means.  It can also presumably raise additional capital in the private markets if its IPO gets further delayed.
Discussion: HBR.org, Fortune, reDesign and LAUNCH
Matt Rosoff / The Business Insider:
Windows 8 Will Have An App Store And A “Human Interaction Platform”  —  Microsoft's Windows chief Steve Sinofsky said he was ready to start talking about Windows 8 on Monday, and today he followed up on his promise by listing the feature teams who are working on the next version of Microsoft's flagship product.
Andrew Harris / Bloomberg:
Motorola Mobility Faces Suit Over $12.5 Billion Google Sale  —  Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and its chief executive officer, Sanjay Jha, were sued by a shareholder claiming they failed to get the best price when they agreed to sell the company for $12.5 billion to Google Inc.
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Facebook Says ‘Authentic Contract’ E-Mailed by Ceglia to Lawyer  —  Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Paul Ceglia, the western New York man claiming part-ownership of Facebook Inc., e-mailed the “authentic contract” disproving his claim to a law firm in 2004, a lawyer for the company told a judge.
Lydia Leavitt / Engadget:
Apple snags MagSafe patent for iOS devices (update: it's a movable magnetic coupling)  —  We've all tripped on power cords, sending laptops or other precious items tumbling to the ground.  With the introduction of the MagSafe connector, back in 2006, Apple fixed the problem for clumsy MacBook owners …
Discussion: Gizmodo, SlashGear, TUAW and MobileWhack.com
Wolfgang Gruener / ConceivablyTech:
Beyond Windows 8: Patent Hints To A Future Streaming OS  —  Microsoft already has an idea how the Windows operating system may evolve after Windows 8.  A patent filing entitled “Fast Machine Booting Through Streaming Storage” describes a chain of storage devices with different priorities …
Discussion: Ubergizmo, Electronista and WinRumors
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Google Launches A Music Blog To Remind People That Google Music Beta Still Exists  —  Music Beta, remember it?  It's the online music locker service that Google unveiled at I/O in May.  But the keyword in the title very much remains “Beta” — as in, not in any way ready for prime time.
Vincent Messina / AndroidGuys:
Come Tomorrow, More Than Half of the U.S. Population will Have Access to Verizon's 4G LTE Network  —  Verizon announced it will be flipping the 4G LTE switch on for another 15 cities come this Thursday, an announcement that will bring Verizon's 4G LTE network to more than half of the U.S. population.
Discussion: PR Newswire, DSLreports and Gizmodo
Frank X. Shaw / The Official Microsoft Blog:
The Future of the Living Room  —  Summer is a transition time for many people: the break between school years; a vacation before tackling another year of work; and for network television that's been a guest in our living rooms for so long, summer is a time of transition between seasons.
Daniel Eran Dilger / AppleInsider:
Verizon's Android share down dramatically following iPhone 4 launch  —  In less than six months, Verizon Wireless' share of Android phones sold in the US has eroded from 51.4 percent to 41.1 percent, indicating a huge shift among Verizon subscribers to iPhone 4.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Square Co-Founder And Others Put $17M In Online Merchant Lender Kabbage  —  Atlanta-based startup Kabbage, which provides working capital to online merchants, has raised $17 million in Series B funding led by Mohr Davidow Ventures with BlueRun Ventures, David Bonderman, founder of TPG Capital …
Bloomberg:
Jive Software Said to Hire Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs for IPO  —  Jive Software Inc., a maker of social-networking software for businesses, picked Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to lead an initial public offering, said three people familiar with the matter.
Discussion: AllThingsD and Bloomberg
 
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 More Items: 
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Fanbois treat criticism of favorite brands as threat to self-image
Discussion: Wired Science and PetaPixel
John Hiesler / Edible Apple:
Delta deploying iPads to pilots as electronic flight bag replacements
Discussion: AppleInsider, Thanks:edibleapple
Brad Sams / Neowin.net:
Microsoft issues statement on cloud downtime
Discussion: Neowin.net
 Earlier Items: 
Terry Baynes / Reuters:
AT&T sues customers seeking to block T-Mobile deal
Discussion: SlashGear, CNET News and Gizmodo
Jeremy Ford / Singularity Hub:
$80 Android Phone Sells Like Hotcakes in Kenya, the World Next?
Discussion: TechCrunch and Android Phone Fans
Richard MacManus / ReadWriteWeb:
Tech Media Obsessed With Deals & Rumors - Bring Back Ideas
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, Google+ and @digiphile
Betabeat:
Jumo ‘Acquired’ for $0 and a Graceful Exit
Roger Cheng / CNET News:
It's iPad or nothing, survey says
Adrian Glick Kudler / Curbed LA:
Someone Wants to Build a Glass-Roofed Apple Store on the Third Street Promenade
Amar Toor / Engadget:
Motorola's new Droid HD makes cameo alongside Droid Bionic
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
The FTC bans noncompete clauses that restrict job switching, potentially complicating hiring in Hollywood as firms try to protect trade secrets and other info

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
An interview with NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who defends NPR and accuses critics of “bad faith distortion” of her past comments about the First Amendment

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Apollo-backed US investment group Concord increases its bid for Hipgnosis Songs Fund, to $1.5B, just over the last offer from Blackstone

 
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