Techmeme
September 17, 2012, 7:35 PM

Top News

Apple:
iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Top Two Million in First 24 Hours  —  Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 5 topped two million in just 24 hours, more than double the previous record of one million held by iPhone 4S.  Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority …
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Google takes on Instagram and Facebook by acquiring top iOS photo app Snapseed  —  Google has agreed to acquire Nik Software, the German developer of photography app Snapseed, for an undisclosed amount.  Sources close to the deal tell The Verge that while Nik Software produces all sorts …
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Failure is a feature: how Google stays sharp gobbling up startups  —  I stepped out of my car in the parking lot of Google's Mountain View headquarters and, not having a clue which way to go, started following the man ambling down the sidewalk wearing a very odd backpack.
Robin Wauters / The Next Web:
Nokia confirms: Amazon has licensed its Location Platform for maps and geocoding  —  It's not that a big surprise anymore, after Reuters earlier reported that Amazon teamed up with Nokia for mapping services, but to my knowledge the Finnish smartphone and mobile software maker has never actually confirmed this to date.
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Square Finally Closes $200 Million Round at a $3.25 Billion Valuation  —  Square has finally closed its fourth round of funding, which values the three-year-old company at a jaw-dropping $3.25 billion.  —  The payments company is perhaps best known for allowing small businesses …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft confirms October 25 launch for Windows 8  —  Summary: Microsoft officials are now confirming the Windows 8 — and Surface RT — launch will be on October 25 in New York City.  —  Mary Jo Foley  —  It's not a big surprise to readers of this blog, but Microsoft officials confirmed …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Office 2013 packages start at $139.99 or $99.99 per year for a subscription version  —  Microsoft is revealing the final pricing structure for its Office 2013 packages today.  After introducing a preview of Office 2013 in July, Microsoft is planning to offer a subscription version of Office 2013 …
Ben Worthen / Wall Street Journal:
H-P Tries On a Sleeker Look  —  Taking a Cue From Apple, CEO Whitman Makes Better Design Central to Turnaround  —  When Meg Whitman took over as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. a year ago, she got a company-issued laptop.  —  “They gave me a brick,” she said, referring to the device's weight and chunky appearance.
Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:
Sorry, Developers: Don't Expect Facebook's F8 Conference This Year  —  Last year around this time, Facebook was gearing up for F8, the social giant's conference in San Francisco to address the thousands of developers creating applications and Web sites that work with Facebook's ecosystem.
Larry Dignan / ZDNet:
Asus Windows 8 tablet pricing comes in high; Demand likely low  —  Summary: Asus' Windows 8 tablet pricing will start at $599 and run to $1,299.  In other words, tablets will be more than laptops in some cases without any enterprise heft to justify a premium.  —  Larry Dignan
Chris Welch / The Verge:
JetBlue to roll out in-flight Wi-Fi in Q1 2013, will launch free of charge  —  JetBlue travelers, the wait for in-flight W-Fi is nearly over: an internal company email today revealed the airline intends to roll out high-speed wireless networking in the first quarter of 2013.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Skype preparing to launch video messaging and ‘Metro’ design  —  Skype is preparing to update its range of clients to support a new video messaging option, The Verge has learned.  The feature will launch in time for the holidays, possibly as early as next month — according to sources familiar with Skype's plans.
Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:
Appeals court halts proceedings in Google Books case  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today granted a stay in the long-running copyright case between the Authors Guild and Google over the search giant's book scanning project.  —  In its order, the New York court agreed …
More: CNET
Michael Gorman / Engadget:
AMD CFO Thomas Seifert calls it quits, Devinder Kumar takes his place on an interim basis  —  Advanced Micro Devices' Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Seifert, has decided to leave the AMD three short years after joining the company.  As you may recall, Seifert briefly took …
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
New Fitbits can sync with iPhones, Androids via Bluetooth 4.0  —  Fitbit users: ever think to yourself, “I wish this thing would just sync wirelessly with my phone and be done with it?”  Your wish has now been granted.  Fitbit has announced that it's offering two new products targeted …
Ian Steadman / Wired.co.uk:
App-controlled LIFX bulbs reinvent the humble household light  —  For years and years, the dimmer switch was about as fancy as it got for lightbulbs — but a team of designers is intending to change all that.  —  The LIFX lightbulb (pronounced “life ex") is a Kickstarter project that seeks to “reinvent” the humble household light.
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:
First third-party Lightning to 30-pin adapters show up on Amazon for $10-18 (Ebay too)  —  Look what just popped up on Amazon: A company called Nanotch is offering pre-orders for 30-pin to Lightning adapters.  There had been concern when a report last month said the 9-pin adapters …

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Ellyne Phneah / ZDNet: