Check out Mini-Techmeme for simple mobiles or Techmeme Mobile for modern smartphones.
10:50 PM ET, September 19, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Osama Bedier / The Official Google Blog:
Launching Google Wallet on Sprint and working with Visa, American Express and Discover  —  In May we announced Google Wallet—an app that makes your phone your wallet—with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and First Data.  With Google Wallet, you can tap, pay and save using your phone and near field communication (NFC).
RELATED:
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Google Wallet Goes Live, But You Probably Won't Be Able to Use It Yet  —  As rumored, Google just announced that it is officially launching its cell phone-based mobile payment solution Google Wallet today.  After introducing the service in May and launching a limited trial at the time …
Chris Ziegler / This is my next:
Google Wallet review: photos, videos, and availability  —  After a reveal back in May and the promise of a summer launch in New York and San Francisco, Google and its partners have started rolling out an update to Sprint's Nexus S 4G today that enables Google Wallet — the most ambitious US deployment …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Source: Facebook To Launch Read, Listened, Watched, And Want Buttons  —  The cat is out of the bag that Facebook is going to launch something big at its developer conference f8 this week.  We've heard about the social music services that could be debuting in a few days …
RELATED:
Eric Mack / CNET News:   Facebook hides ‘Poke’ button ahead of rumored redesign
Bill Gurley / abovethecrowd.com:
Understanding Why Netflix Changed Pricing  —  Many journalists have offered their opinion on Netflix's recent changes, its stock price decline, and their even more recent branding changes (Qwikster).  Yet in each article, it appears as if the journalist all agree that the price move …
RELATED:
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
10 things to remember about Netflix while scratching your head about Qwikster
Discussion: Fast Company
Reed Hastings / The Official Netflix Blog:
An Explanation and Some Reflections
Aaron Smith / Pew Internet:
Americans and Text Messaging  —  Some 83% of American adults own cell phones and three-quarters of them (73%) send and receive text messages.  The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project asked those texters in a survey how they prefer to be contacted on their cell phone and 31% …
Topher Kessler / CNET News:
OS X Lion passwords can be changed by any local user  —  In OS X, user passwords are encrypted and then are stored in files called “shadow files” which are placed in secure locations on the drive.  Based on system permissions, the contents of these files can then only be accessed and modified by the user …
Chris Ziegler / This is my next:
Exclusive: unannounced Motorola Android tablet caught on film, possibly a 7-incher  —  We've obtained exclusive footage this morning of a new Motorola tablet (shown above) that looks to be a lot sleeker and thinner than the 10-inch Xoom that launched earlier this year; the slightly angled corners …
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Why Verizon just launched a $99 LTE phone  —  Verizon introduced a new Android smartphone on Monday.  The Pantech Breakout runs on Verizon's fast 4G network but will only cost $99 after rebate when it appears in stores on Thursday.  The low purchase price requires a two-year contract …
RELATED:
PC Magazine:
AT&T vs. Verizon: LTE, Head-to-Head
Discussion: GSMArena Blog and FierceWireless
Telegraph:
Animal rights group PETA to launch pornography website  —  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), no stranger to attention-grabbing campaigns featuring nude women, plans to launch a pornography website in the name of animal rights.  —  Imogen Bailey appears in a PETA advert.
Discussion: PC Magazine
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
The Guy Behind The Qwikster Twitter Account Realizes What He Has, Wants A Mountain Of Cash  —  Last night, Jason went to bed a normal man, with a normal Twitter account (albeit one with a weed-smoking Elmo as the avatar), and a few dozen followers.  —  This morning, Jason woke up to an inbox full …
Discussion: @qwikster
RELATED:
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Uh Oh ... Qwikster Already Has A Lively Twitter Account, But It's Not Owned By Netflix
Mike Shields / Digiday:
Microsoft Pins TV Hopes on Xbox  —  Many in the media industry have wondered whether Microsoft's Xbox gaming console represents a looming threat to the cable industry, given its growing library of video options, including TV and movie rentals and Netflix streaming.  It turns out Xbox might replace the cable box.
Bloomberg:
AT&T Said to Seek Asset Sales to Save Bid for T-Mobile  —  AT&T Inc. (T) is approaching smaller rivals including MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS) and Leap Wireless International Inc. (LEAP) to sell spectrum and subscribers as part of an attempt to save its $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA Inc. …
Electronista:
Google asks Android devs to prep apps for Ice Cream Sandwich  —  Google teaches devs to allow, block phones in ICS  —  Google gave notice to developers that they should change their apps to support Ice Cream Sandwich.  Anyone writing apps for Android 3 (Honeycomb) has been asked …
Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:
Why this image is most likely a retooled iPhone 4 prototype, not the iPhone 5 [Updated]  —  A new image has been posted on China's Weibo social news site that shows a front panel, battery and processing chip of an iPhone.  The parts that are displayed have led some to believe …
Jake Smith / 9to5Mac:
As iCloud and iOS 5 launch nears, Apple plans iCloud backup reset for Sept. 22  —  According to a posting on the Apple Developer boards this afternoon, Apple will be resetting iCloud Backup data on Thursday, September 22nd.  We believe Apple is performing this reset for the release of iOS 5 GM …
Discussion: Guardian, SlashGear, PadGadget and I4U News, Thanks:jakeosmith
Maija Palmer / Financial Times:
Dell shrugs off harbingers of PC doom  —  Michael Dell says he has little interest in buying Hewlett-Packard's PC business, but the Dell chief executive says his computer company is poised to gain market share as its larger rival undergoes a comprehensive restructuring.
Nilay Patel / This is my next:
HP's 7-inch TouchPad Go leaks out on Chinese forum  —  The seven-inch TouchPad Go (codenamed “Opal") was reportedly just weeks away from shipping before HP suddenly decided to kill off webOS hardware entirely, and it appears a few units made it out into the wild — check out these photos …
Frank Gruber / Tech Cocktail:
Groupon Co-Founders Purchase The Historic Wrigley Building  —  Today it was confirmed that the Wrigley Building has been purchased in a joint venture that includes investor Byron Trott and the co-founders of Groupon Inc., Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky.  We first reported the potential acquisition …
Discussion: Chicago Sun Times and Bloomberg
Nate Hoffelder / The Digital Reader:
Updated: Amazon Appstore Expands to Australia, Netherlands, India - Elsewhere?  —  I've just gotten word from an Australian gadget blog I follow that Amazon have quietly expanded their Android Appstore to include Australia.  It's not mentioned on their support pages, so I'm still waiting for confirmation.
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Techmeme at 10:50 PM ET, September 19, 2011.

View the current page or another snapshot:


 
 Techmeme Sponsor Posts: 
Tribe AI:
Build AI that works  —  Tribe builds tech for top AI companies.  Get in touch to learn how our bench of 500+ engineers and researchers can accelerate your roadmap.
Prospect:
A running list of the best startups to join  —  We've analyzed thousands of startups using the same data VCs use and distilled our list down to the top 2%.  Discover and join the next Stripe, Airbnb, or Coinbase today.
Zoho:
Empowering the frontline  —  Your frontline employees are the face of your brand.  But are they feeling undervalued and out of the loop?  Here are the key takeaways to bridge the gap and empower your frontline …
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Sponsor Techmeme
 
 See Also: 
Techmeme: site main
Techmeme River: reverse chronological Techmeme
Techmeme Mobile: for phones
Techmeme Leaderboard: Techmeme's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Techmeme RSS feed
Techmeme on X
Techmeme on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Dan Reimold / MediaShift:
Google+: Social Media Upstart ‘Worse Than a Ghost Town’
Arif Durrani / MediaWeek:
Embattled Yahoo prepares Livestand launch with magazine publishers
Twitter Comms / @twittercomms:
Goodbye, @twitterglobalpr. It was fun while it lasted but we're ready for a new username. Say hello to @twittercomms! http://t.co/Z1T7jfz5
Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:
Apple closes trading at all-time high of $411.63, up 10.1% since Jobs stepped down
Discussion: Bits and AppleInsider
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Manifesto-Driven Unthink Promises a Social Network Where Users Own Their Accounts
Discussion: VatorNews
Gautham Nagesh / Hillicon Valley:
Senators have privacy issues with background screening firm
Thanks:gnagesh
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Viacom Demands to Be Repaid $131 Million From Shareholders of ‘Rock Band’ Maker
 Earlier Items: 
Brandon Bailey / Mercury News:
Google's Page and Oracle's Ellison meet for settlement talks
Discussion: Bloomberg and GMSV
Bruce Houghton / hypebot:
MySpace Delays Announcement As Traffic Tumbles
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Philip Delves Broughton / Financial Times:
Book review: The Lean Startup
Avril Ormsby / Reuters:
News International to pay $4.7 million to settle hacking case
Rich Miller / Data Center Knowledge:
Twitter Adding More Data Center Space (Again)
 

 
From Mediagazer:

New York Times:
Sources: Sony Pictures and Apollo Global formally express interest in acquiring Paramount for ~$26B; Paramount's negotiating period with Skydance ends May 3

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fubo reports 1.51M FuboTV subscribers at the end of Q1, down from 1.61M in Q4, revenue up 24% YoY to $394M, and a $56.1M loss, down from $83.6M a year ago

Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: MLB is in advanced talks to make Roku the new home for Sunday morning baseball this season, in what would be Roku's first major live rights deal

 
Sister Sites:

Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page