Techmeme
October 7, 2012, 7:25 PM

Top News

Tom Simonite / Technology Review:
Google Puts Its Virtual Brain Technology to Work  —  A powerful new approach to artificial intelligence is ready to improve many Google products.  —  This summer Google set a new landmark in the field of artificial intelligence with software that learned how to recognize cats, people …
Roger Cheng / CNET:
Motorola confirms death of Webtop, laptop accessories  —  The company said adoption wasn't strong enough to justify additional resources.  —  Motorola Mobility's Webtop concept, which enabled its phones to act as the brains of a laptop or television entertainment hub, has quietly been killed off, the company confirmed to CNET today.
Lauren Schuker Blum / Wall Street Journal:
Tech Titans Peter Thiel, Matt Jacobson, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Mich Mathews, Elon Musk Buy Homes in Los Angeles  —  As Silicon Valley moguls go on a home-buying spree in Los Angeles, they're reshaping the real-estate landscape  —  Andrew Frame, founder of the Internet-telephone company Ooma …
Tweets: @hunterwalk
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple Publicly Responds to Complaints of Purple Lens Flare on iPhone 5 Photos  —  Soon after the release of the iPhone 5, some users began noticing a purple flare or halo showing up in photos taken with the device's camera pointed at or near bright light sources.
Wall Street Journal:
Silicon Valley's Stock Funk  —  Sliding shares of newly public Internet companies are depressing employees—and their finances—after years of long hours and high expectations.  —  Rank-and-file workers at four of the highest profile Internet companies that began selling shares in the past 16 months …
Amy O'Leary / New York Times:
Worries Over Defense Dept. Money for ‘Hackerspaces’  —  This fall, 16 high schools in California started experimental workshops, billed as a kind of “shop class for the 21st century,” that were financed by the federal government.  And over the next three years, the $10 million program plans …
Tweets: @timoreilly
Alec Liu / Motherboard:
What Happened to Diaspora, the ‘Facebook Killer’?  It's Complicated  —  It's impossible to grasp the consequences or outcomes of new technology, especially when that technology is developed by a twenty-something hacker.  —  That much was already clear in January 2010 …
Reuters:
Foxconn denies China iPhone plant hit by strike  —  (Reuters) - Foxconn, the Taiwanese made-to-order electronics giant that assembles Apple Inc's products, denied reports that a plant in China was crippled by a strike, saying on Saturday that its production is on schedule at an important time for Apple.
Mat Honan / Wired:
Why We'll Never Stop Talking About Steve Jobs  —  Steve Jobs is our era's Edison, Ford or Tesla.  Illustration by Simon Lutrin  —  Let's talk about Steve Jobs.  I know, I know.  It's been a year since his death.  What is there possibly left to say about him, and why are so many people still saying it?
Declan McCullagh / CNET:
Robert Bork on antitrust: Google is no Microsoft  —  The onetime Supreme Court nominee, who once attacked Microsoft over antitrust, says competitors are “seeking to use antitrust law” to punish Google.  Meanwhile, the FTC is beginning to wrap up its probe.  —  Robert Bork, the fiery former …
Roger Cheng / CNET:
Android users outraged over Motorola's broken promise  —  Company concedes some customers got “a raw deal” in decision not to upgrade 2011 flagship devices to Ice Cream Sandwich  —  Doran Else bought his Photon 4G last October, lured by the fast dual-core processor and by the close relationship …

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