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8:55 AM ET, December 9, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Twitter Blog:
Let's Fly  —  Today we introduce a new version of Twitter.  We've simplified the design to make it easier than ever to follow what you care about, connect with others and discover something new.  You'll see this new design both on Twitter.com and mobile phones, so that you'll have a familiar experience any time, anywhere.
RELATED:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The New Twitter (R.I.P. Tweetie)  —  Twitter today unveiled a new UI, debuting first in updated versions of its official iPhone, Android, and web clients.  Coming soon: an updated version of their iPad app.  (No mention of the Mac app — a sign of the times.)  —  This is more than an update.
Nick Bilton / Bits:
A Twitter for My Sister  —  In the early days of Twitter the company's founders repeatedly said that expanding the service was like building a rocket ship in mid-flight.  Twitter grew so quickly that it was almost impossible to add new features because engineers spent their time trying to keep …
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
The new, new Twitter: 10 big takeaways  —  Twitter launched a major new version of its service today with many components: A significant redesign; a more common user experience between Twitter-the-website and its various apps; more features for brands; and new versions of TweetDeck for the web, Mac, and PC.
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Twitter's Ryan Sarver Explains New-New Twitter: We Want to Focus on Simplicity
Discussion: TechCrunch, Gizmodo and The Next Web
Jonathan S. Geller / BGR:
Samsung to beat Apple to market with Retina-resolution tablet in February  —  BGR has learned from a trusted source that Samsung is set to launch an 11.6-inch tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich next year, and it will most likely be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February.
RELATED:
Jay Yarow / Business Insider:
The Next iPad Will Launch In February — Citi  —  Apple is ready to roll with a new iPad, says Citi analyst Richard Gardner in a note today.  —  According to “several sources” the next iPad will launch in February, and it will sport a screen with double the resolution of the current model.
Amy Pyett / Reuters:
Australia court lifts Samsung Galaxy Tab sales ban
Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
webOS all-hands meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning - it all finally comes to a head  —  We've just received word that tomorrow will finally bring the answers for which we have been waiting.  HP CEO Meg Whitman has weighed the options for what to do with webOS, and tomorrow at 10:30 AM Pacific Time we should finally get and answer.
Darren Murph / Engadget:
AT&T's 4G LTE network is live in San Francisco  —  New York City by the end of 2011?  How's about San Francisco by the end of December 8th?  We can't say for certain that it's lit up for good ("testing," you know), but at least for now it's absolutely screaming on our LTE-equipped AT&T handsets in downtown SF.
Stoyan Stefanov / Facebook Developer Blog:
Introducing the Subscribe Button for Websites  —  In September we introduced Subscribe to make it easier for people who want to share their public updates with more than just friends to build an audience of subscribers.  Today we're launching the Subscribe button for websites …
RELATED:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook One-Ups Twitter With Subscribe Button That Tells Friends When You Click
Discussion: ITProPortal
Cecilia Kang / Washington Post:
Verizon ends satellite deal, FiOS expansion as it partners with cable  —  Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said the telecom giant plans to end its wireless partnership with satellite provider DirectTV and will stop its buildout of FiOS television and Internet services in the next couple years.
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Google:
Google launches Currents, new social reading platform for iOS and Android  —  Following an extensive period of beta testing and refining, a promising new Google product is ready for prime time.  Today, the search Goliath took the wraps off of a brand new social publishing platform that used to be known under the ‘Propeller’ code-name.
RELATED:
Jaikumar Vijayan / Computerworld:
Google's Schmidt calls Carrier IQ software a keylogger  —  It actually records keystrokes, he says at a conference in the Netherlands  —  Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt today distanced his company from Carrier IQ's software, even as he described the technology as a keylogger.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Google nabs Square Enix and other game developers to do native client Chrome games  —  Google announced today that its three-year effort to create a muscular browser technology that can run heavy duty apps such as console-like games is now ready for prime time.
Discussion: CNET News and TekGoblin, Thanks:deantak
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Panasonic's 4.3-inch ultra-thin Android smartphone headed to Europe in March  —  SOURCE  —  REUTERSPANASONIC  —  THERE ARE 11 COMMENTS.  ADD YOURS.  —  That's a really nice design.  —  ... What IS that, anyway?  —  Aaand the image has changed.  Never mind...
Gary Ng / iPhone in Canada Blog:
Apple Pulls ‘TV Shows’ Menu from Apple TV in Canada  —  Last night, Apple TV units in Canada were silently given an over the air update to introduce the TV Shows menu.  Everything looked fine and dandy, however users were unable to purchase rentals, watch previews and more.  It was essentially a useless update.
Thomas Baekdal / Baekdal.com:
Apple Never Designed the iPad - They Undesigned it  —  You have probably heard about the continual struggle between Apple and Samsung over similarities in their designs.  Apple is suing Samsung and asking the courts to block the sale of the Galaxy Tab in many countries (and succeeding).
Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
Spotify Radio gets a big makeover, goes truly unlimited  —  Spotify has already had a busy year, what with international roll-outs, its Facebook tie-up and its recent ‘Spotify as a platform for apps’ announcement.  —  Now, Spotify has given one of its earliest features a complete makeover.
Koushik Dutta / Google+:
The Unintended Effects of Driverless Cars  —  Google has been working on driverless cars for a few years now.  The obvious selling point is that the cars will be much safer without a human behind the wheel.  —  Currently, a car spends 96% of its time idle.
Discussion: TechCrunch
Ed Sutherland / Cult of Mac:
AT&T Starts Throttling Heavy iPhone Data Users To 2G Speeds  —  If you've been whining about why the iPhone 4S has no 4G, get ready for a real letdown — 2G speeds.  The move by AT&T to throttle its top 5 percent of data users to a snail's pace is an unwelcome Christmas present for many iPhone users.
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Twitter Bots Drown Out Anti-Kremlin Tweets  —  Thousands of Twitter accounts apparently created in advance to blast automated messages are being used to drown out Tweets sent by bloggers and activists this week who are protesting the disputed parliamentary elections in Russia, security experts said.
Discussion: Boing Boing
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Mark It Down: June 6, 2012  —  “Six months from now you'll say the opposite.  Because ultimately applications vendors are driven by volume.  And the volume is favored by the open approach that Google is taking.”  —  That was Google Chairman Eric Schmidt speaking at LeWeb a couple days ago.
Discussion: Julian Yap and AppleInsider
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Apple 3D display & Kinect-style tracking system still in labs  —  A newly filed Apple patent application suggests the company is still working on a Kinect-style 3D motion tracking system, that could create a virtual desktop responding to a user's hand and finger movements rather than keyboard and mouse actions.
David Lee / daslee.com:
What We Look For  —  Like many investors, we often get asked “what we look for” when evaluating startups.  I recently did an interview (humblebrag) with Tarang Shah for his new book, “Venture Capitalists at Work” where he asked me that question.  (Incidentally the book is a great read …
Discussion: Business Insider
Elizabeth Woyke / Mobilized:
BlackBerry Owners Want iPads And So Do Android And Windows Phone Owners: Survey  —  A new survey provides details on the percentage of non-Apple smartphone users who want to buy iPads.  —  Nearly two years after its debut, Apple's iPad still dominates tablet sales.
Discussion: Electronista, PhoneArena and BGR
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
Ness Adds Social Sharing To Its Mobile Restaurant Recommendation App  —  Ness Computing has just launched a new version of its restaurant search engine app that takes its existing recommendations technology and adds in new sharing services.  Yes, there are plenty of restaurant recommendations apps out there …
Discussion: Social Markets and VentureBeat, Thanks:malouie
DigiTimes:
OEM shipments of Nook Tablets to Barnes & Noble reach one million units, say sources  —  Barnes & Noble should have so far taken delivery of one million units of Nook Tablet PCs from OEM production partners, according to an estimate by sources at upstream suppliers.
Discussion: Softpedia News
 
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 More Items: 
AppleInsider:
Rare Apple '80s MultiServer, '70s Apple II ROM prototypes appear on eBay
Discussion: Electronista
Amar Toor / Engadget:
Motorola's Droid Xyboard tablets go up for sale at Verizon, prices start at $430
Discussion: CNET News and Electronista
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
T-Mobile Offers Square Mobile Payment Readers With Smartphone Upgrades
Discussion: PhoneArena and TmoNews
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Amazon signs deal with mobile payment specialists Bango, operator billing incoming?
Emily Steel / Wall Street Journal:
New ‘Adware’ Apps Bug Facebook, Google
Discussion: AdExchanger.com
Sebastian Anthony / ExtremeTech:
IBM Watson to battle patent trolls
Discussion: Engadget and Gizmodo
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Groupon In Talks To Acquire Clever Sense, The Startup Behind ‘Alfred’
 Earlier Items: 
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
Why Google is bending to Verizon over Google Wallet
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Social networking's salad days are ending, Forrester says
Discussion: Tech Europe
Horace Dediu / asymco:
How productive is an Apple store employee?
Discussion: PC Magazine and @nicholeprovatas
Kashmir Hill / The Not-So Private Parts:
Why An Investment Firm Was Awarded $2.5 Million After Being Defamed By Blogger
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Indian streaming service JioCinema launches an ad-free subscription plan with the lowest tier costing $0.35/month for a single device, undercutting rivals

Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide:
Warner Music Group sells Uproxx, HipHopDX, and other assets to a new company, Uproxx Studios, formed by Jarret Myer, Rich Antoniello, and will.i.am

New York Times:
Sources detail NPR's struggles with declining audiences, falling sponsorship revenue, internal conflicts over turning things around, and a diversity push

 
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