Techmeme
May 8, 2012, 12:25 AM

Top News

John Herrman / BuzzFeed:
Facebook Social Readers Are All Collapsing  —  Are you annoyed by all those automatic Facebook news apps?  Apparently you're not alone.  They're falling off a cliff right now.  —  The Washington Post was the first publication to experiment with a “frictionless” social reader app, which launched last year.
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
CEO Says Sorry to Yahoos for Borked Bio “Distraction” — But Will Mea Culpa Work Without an Apology and Explanation for Actual Error?  (Memo)  —  He's sorry.  Deeply regrets.  Apologizes.  Take full responsibility for the unfortunate distraction to the people.
Brandon Bailey / Mercury News:
Google infringed on Oracle copyrights, jury finds, but deals a blow to Oracle's quest for $1 billion  —  SAN FRANCISCO - A federal jury on Monday found that Google's (GOOG) popular Android mobile software infringes on copyrights held by tech rival Oracle (ORCL), in a closely watched case …
Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac:
Our Source Has Seen The Apple HDTV, Here's What It Looks Like  —  We have a source who claims to have seen a prototype Apple high-definition television set in action, indicating that Apple is readying the long-awaited device for market.  —  According to our source, who has asked …
Satya Patel / Twitter Blog:
A new standard for the mobile web  —  Today we're updating Twitter for mobile web (mobile.Twitter.com) in an effort to give every person on the planet a consistent Twitter experience.  People who access Twitter from feature phones, low-bandwidth networks or older browsers can now enjoy …
Monica Chen / DigiTimes:
Apple reportedly to release US$799 MacBook Air in 3Q12  —  Apple is reportedly considering responding to the upcoming second-generation ultrabooks by launching a US$799 MacBook Air in the third quarter of 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Stephanie Clifford / New York Times:
Amazon Leaps Into High End of the Fashion Pool  —  SEATTLE — Amazon is so serious about its next big thing that it hired three women to do nothing but try on size 8 shoes for its Web reviews.  Full time.  —  The online retailer is shooting 3,000 fashion images a day in a photo studio using patent-pending technology.
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
Amtrak to Use iPhones to Streamline Service  —  Old-school train conductors are finally ready to give up their hole punchers to try something new: the iPhone.  —  Amtrak, the government-owned corporation that oversees the nation's railroad train services, has been training conductors since November …
Cyrus Farivar / Ars Technica:
Google gets license to test drive autonomous cars on Nevada roads  —  On Monday, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles approved Google's license application to test autonomous vehicles on the state's roads.  The state had approved such laws back in February, and has now begun issuing licenses based on those regulations.
Chee Chew / The Official Google Blog:
Google+ Hangouts On Air: broadcast your conversation to the world  —  Last year we introduced Hangouts On Air to a limited number of broadcasters, enabling them to go live with friends and fans, for all the world to see.  Since then, this small community has grown the feature in lots of creative ways.
Bloomberg:
Zuckerberg Grip Becomes New Normal in Silicon Valley  —  Mark Zuckerberg's majority control over Facebook Inc. (FB), a model adopted by founders of Zynga Inc. and Groupon Inc. (GRPN), has become the new normal in Silicon Valley as entrepreneurs' desire to hold sway trumps shareholder power.
Roger Cheng / CNET:
MasterCard jumps into mobile payments with own digital wallet  —  Think there are too many digital wallets out there?  MasterCard would disagree.  The No. 2 payments processor today unveiled PayPass Wallet Services, its own take on the digital wallet.  Initially, it will pop up in the form of a payment icon at merchant Web sites.
Jason Pontin / Technology Review:
Why Publishers Don't Like Apps  —  The future of media on mobile devices isn't with applications but with the Web.  —  By the time Apple released the iPad in April of 2010, just four months after Steve Jobs first announced his “magical and revolutionary” new machines in San Francisco …
Klint Finley / DevOpsANGLE:
Dell Announces A Linux Laptop Designed for Developers  —  A few years ago Dell began offering the Ubuntu distribution of Linux on its desktops and laptaps, but quietly dropped the option from its online store in 2010 (though it's still possible to order certain machines with Ubuntu).
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Nielsen: Smartphones Used By 50.4% Of U.S. Consumers, Android 48.5% Of Them  —  Nielsen today became the latest analyst house to call it for smartphones outnumbering more basic devices in the U.S. The company says that in March 2012 smartphones were in use by 50.4 percent of consumers in the country …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Cable Fee Fight Takes Another Turn as Dish Networks Uses iTunes, Netflix and Amazon as Weapons  —  The basic contours of the TV programmer versus pay-TV provider fight are fundamental and unchanging: The programmer tries to get more money for his stuff, the pay-TV provider says that's too much, and the two sides chest-bump for a while.
More: paidContent and AdAge
Sebastian Anthony / ExtremeTech:
Microsoft creates Kinect-like system using your laptop's built-in speaker & microphone  —  Not one to be outdone by Disney's any-surface touch interface, Microsoft Research, working with the University of Washington, has developed a Kinect-like system that uses your computer's built-in microphone …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Website traffic analytics: How to read your data and take action  —  Traffic is up.  Sessions look healthy.  The dashboard is full of green arrows and yet — conversions are flat, revenue targets are slipping, and the leads coming through aren't closing.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Invest Like the Best:
Alex Sacerdote - How to Invest Through Technology Cycles
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Lenny's Podcast:
Father of the iPod and iPhone on building taste, judgment, and creativity in the AI era | Tony Fadell
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Will Apple (Finally) Get AI Right At WWDC?, Anthropic's Worry, Microsoft vs. OpenAI
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Hot I.P.O Summer + What Is A.I. Doing to Math? + HatGPT
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Vanta's Christina Cacioppo: The Underdog Turning 'Nonsense' Compliance Into A $4.2B Security Standout
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:25 AM ET, May 8, 2012.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Martin Bryant / The Next Web: