Techmeme
February 14, 2012, 8:25 PM

Top News

Nick Wingfield / Bits:
Apple Chief Unveils a New Product: Himself  —  When he was alive, Steven P. Jobs, Apple's former chief executive, treated investors as if they were biohazards, rarely deigning to meet with them.  The disdain was not mutual, as an Apple stock chart for the last ten years shows.
Wall Street Journal:
Apple, Suppliers Test Tablet With Smaller Screen  —  TAIPEI-Apple Inc. is working with component suppliers in Asia to test a new tablet computer with a smaller screen, people familiar with the situation said, as it looks to broaden its product pipeline amid intensifying competition and maintain its dominant market share.
Bloomberg:
Amazon Has Fewer Prime Subscribers Than Estimated  —  Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)'s Prime service, a linchpin of its effort to keep customers loyal and fuel long- term profit, has attracted fewer than half as many members as analysts estimate, three people familiar with the matter said.
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Yahoo Asia Deal Talks Off for Now  —  According to sources close to the situation, the discussions between Yahoo and its Asian partners have hit a potentially deal-breaking impasse over the efficacy of the centerpiece of the complex negotiations — a cash-rich split-off — and several other issues.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Zynga beats earnings estimates for its first-ever quarterly report as a public company  —  Zynga reported a modest profit for the fourth-quarter in its first-ever quarter financial report today.  —  The non-GAAP earnings per share were five cents, or $37.1 million, for the quarter.
Evan Blass / pocketnow.com:
Motorola's First, Intel-Powered Ice Cream Sandwich Revealed (Images)  —  We've just gotten some imagery and a few details pertaining to a phone that will allegedly be Motorola's first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-powered handset.  What's more, this unnamed device will also be one of Motorola's …
Kunur Patel / AdAge:
Apple Slashes iAd Pricing Again as Mobile Ad Share Declines  —  Reacting From Competition From Google, and Realities of Mobile Ad Market  —  Apple is once again slashing the minimum amount it charges advertisers to run a campaign on its iAd mobile ad system, as well as boosting the amount …
Tatsuo Nomura / Google LatLong:
An easy way to access directions and locations you care about  —  If you're anything like me, you might use Google Maps to look up the same places and directions more than once, like the location of your hotel while you're on vacation, or directions to a friend's house that you've visited before.
Kim-Mai Cutler / Inside Mobile Apps:
Download bots were the “well-known secret” of the app ecosystem  —  It's remarkable how widely-known the phenomenon of fraudulent download bots was throughout the iOS developer community.  Essentially, bots or automated programs have been used for well over a year to download apps until …
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Worry About an Apple Television?  Don't Make Samsung Laugh.  —  Smug complacency.  —  That seems to be the standard TV industry response to rumors of an Apple HDTV.  Back in December, Sharp's Kozo Takahashi dismissed the potential threat Apple might pose to the TV market …
John Markoff / New York Times:
Flaw Found in an Online Encryption Method  —  SAN FRANCISCO — A team of European and American mathematicians and cryptographers have discovered an unexpected weakness in the encryption system widely used worldwide for online shopping, banking, e-mail and other Internet services intended to remain private and secure.
Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
Senate cybersecurity bill leaves Internet alone, exempts tech companies from oversight  —  The Senate Homeland Security Committee has introduced the broad cybersecurity legislation promised late last year by Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV).  But contrary to the fears of many …
More: CNET and Bits
Italovignoli / The Document Foundation Blog:
The Document Foundation announces LibreOffice 3.5: “the best free office suite ever”  —  Berlin, February 14, 2012 - The Document Foundation announces LibreOffice 3.5, the third major release of “the best free office suite ever”, which shows to end users the improvements derived …
Jennifer Van Grove / VentureBeat:
Your address book is mine: Many iPhone apps take your data  —  Path got caught red-handed uploading users' address books to its servers and had to apologize.  But the relatively obscure journaling app is not alone.  In fact, Path was crucified for a practice that has become an unspoken industry standard.
Boonsri Dickinson / Business Insider:
Inside OkCupid Labs: The Modern Matchmakers Of Silicon Valley  —  Inside the new offices of OkCupid Labs, you won't find beakers.  —  The experiment happens here on the couch, where engineers brainstorm ways they can use data to be the ultimate matchmaker.

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More News

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:

Earlier Picks

Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint:
Bloomberg: