Techmeme
August 9, 2012, 8:35 AM

Top News

The Official Google Blog:
Building the search engine of the future, one baby step at a time  —  Larry Page once described the perfect search engine as understanding exactly what you mean and giving you back exactly what you want.  It's very much like the computer I dreamt about as a child growing up in India …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Amir Efrati / Wall Street Journal:
Borrowing from Google, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Begins Makeover  —  Yahoo Inc.'s rookie chief executive Marissa Mayer has made one thing clear to employees at the outset of her bid to revive the Internet company: Product comes first.  —  Since taking over Yahoo three weeks ago …
Joanna Stern / ABCNEWS:
ThinkPad Celebrates 20 Years, Announces Windows 8 ThinkPad Tablet 2  —  1992 was a big year.  Bill Clinton was elected president.  Price Charles and Diana separated.  And the first ThinkPad laptop was released by IBM.  —  Twenty years have passed now and a lot has changed.
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Zynga's COO John Schappert Steps Down, Effective Immediately  —  Zynga has announced that the company's COO John Schappert has stepped down from the company and its board of directors, effective immediately.  —  This comes as perhaps no surprise given that last week it leaked …
Cade Metz / Wired:
If Xerox PARC Invented the PC, Google Invented the Internet  —  The truth about Jeff Dean appeared on April Fool's Day 2007.  —  Somewhere inside Google, a private website served up a list of facts about Dean, one of Google's earliest employees and one of the main reasons the web giant handles …
Cyrus Farivar / Ars Technica:
Burner wants to help you temporarily obfuscate your phone number  —  “Burning” a communication device has been a mainstay of those interested in privacy, from the IMF (you know, from Mission: Impossible), the corner boys on The Wire, and everyone in between.
Rip Empson / TechCrunch:
Amid Lawsuits From Publishers, Boundless Launches A Free, Open Alternative To Textbooks  —  Since it first appeared earlier this year, Boston-based educational startup Boundless has been on a mission to ensure that college students have a free alternative to the pricey and bulky world of physical textbooks.
Chitika Insights:
Samsung Galaxy S III Usage Growing Significantly Since its Release  —  Available to consumers for just over a month, the Samsung Galaxy S III has emerged as one of the hottest Android phones on the market, boasting positive reviews along with impressive sales figures.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Pinterest Finally Ditches Invitations, Now Lets Anyone Sign Up  —  Calling all chefs, wedding planners, stylists, and crafty-types: Pinterest has just opened registration to the public after two years of requiring an invite to join.  Anyone can now sign up with Twitter, Facebook, or just an email address.
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Akamai: peak internet speeds jumped 25 percent year-to-year in Q1, Germany tops the mobile world  —  If you thought world internet access speeds were facing a large-scale slowdown, you can stop fretting for now.  Data from Akamai suggests that average speeds were just 2.6Mbps …
More: TechCrunch
Grant McCool / Reuters:
U.S. will not challenge computer fraud case to high court  —  (Reuters) - The government has decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a divided appeals court ruling in a criminal case that drew attention to a 28-year-old computer hacking law that critics argue is being used too broadly.
More: The Verge and CNET
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
Nikon rumored to launch Android-based Coolpix S800 with Google Play access on August 22nd  —  If you've been waiting for something new from the compact camera market, Nikon might have a doozy coming soon — if the latest rumors are to be believed.  Nikon Rumors is reporting that the company …
Yezel Rosales / The Big Blog:
Introducing new Skype Cards in Mexico  —  Skype is always working towards more and more ways to bring people together whenever they are apart.  At Skype today we are happy to introduce a new payment option for the Mexico market, Skype Cards.  —  Skype users in Mexico will now have all the benefits …
Alex Wilhelm / The Next Web:
40% of top brands use Instagram, love image filters  —  Today, Seattle-based Simply Measured launched its Instagram analytics tool for both the public, and its enterprise customers.  In conjunction with that release, the company made public a study that it executed of the Interbrand 100 firms, concerning their usage of Instagram.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Zoho Webinar: A look back at 2025  —  As 2025 comes to a close, it's the perfect time to look back at how Zoho Webinar has transformed the way businesses connect, engage, and grow.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Big Technology Podcast:
2025 In Review, 2026 Predictions — With Reed Albergotti
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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 8:35 AM ET, August 9, 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

Michael McWhertor / The Verge: