Techmeme
October 17, 2012, 1:30 PM

Top News

Josh Lowensohn / CNET:
Apple snaps up celebrity-backed Web app firm Particle  —  Apple has bought a San Francisco-based HTML5 Web and Web app design firm backed by Justin Timberlake.  —  Call it an “acqui-hire.”  —  Apple has snapped up Particle, a San Francisco-based creative consulting company that specializes …
Bonnie Cha / AllThingsD:
How Much Tablet Does $500 Get You?  Microsoft Surface vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Note 10.1.  —  Today, Microsoft finally revealed pricing for its upcoming Surface tablet, with the 32 gigabyte model of the Windows RT slate set to go for $499 ($599 with touch keyboard) and the 64GB model priced at $699 with the keyboard cover.
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
Windows 8 Review  —  Microsoft is giving Windows its most radical overhaul since 1995 and even its most devoted users won't recognize the venerable computer operating system in this new incarnation, called Windows 8, when it appears Oct. 26.  —  [ See post to watch video ]
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Pirate Bay Moves to The Cloud, Becomes Raid-Proof  —  The Pirate Bay is loved by millions of file-sharers but is also a thorn in the side of the entertainment industries.  —  The latter group continues to push authorities to take action against the site.  The Pirate Bay was raided back in 2006 …
Ricardo Bilton / VentureBeat:
More trouble for Color: shareholders and board vote to wind down company  —  Is the Color horror story reaching its conclusion?  —  A source within the company tells us that the company's shareholders and board last week voted to shut the business down.  —  Here's an excerpt from the email sent to employees last night:
Steven Levy / Wired:
Google Throws Open Doors to Its Top-Secret Data Center  —  If you're looking for the beating heart of the digital age — a physical location where the scope, grandeur, and geekiness of the kingdom of bits become manifest—you could do a lot worse than Lenoir, North Carolina.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
HTC J Butterfly preview: a stunning 5-inch 1080p phone for Japan (video)  —  440ppi Super LCD 3 sets the new standard in smartphone displays  —  The rumors were true: HTC has been working on a new flagship phone with a 5-inch 1080p display, and we got to see it in Tokyo today.
Adrian Chen / Gawker:
Reddit CEO Speaks Out On Violentacrez In Leaked Memo: ‘We Stand for Free Speech’  —  Reddit has been rocked by our expose of its most powerful creep, Texas programmer Michael Brutsch aka Violentacrez.  Brutsch has been defending himself on Reddit, and is even going to be interviewed by CNN.
Marcus Wohlsen / Wired:
MasterCard Is Selling Your Data Just in Time for the Holidays  —  Credit card companies make money by taking a cut every time you swipe your plastic at the checkout counter.  Now MasterCard has found a way to make those swipes pay over and over again.  —  As the Financial Times first reported …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Klout Updates iPhone App With Passbook Integration, Wants You To “Show Off” With Klout Card  —  Online social influence is something that can really rub people the wrong way.  Klout obviously believes in it wholeheartedly; others, not so much.  Now, in a move that's sure to generate …
David Talbot / Technology Review:
Computer Viruses Are “Rampant” on Medical Devices in Hospitals  —  A meeting of government officials reveals that medical equipment is becoming riddled with malware.  —  Computerized hospital equipment is increasingly vulnerable to malware infections, according to participants in a recent government panel.
Élyse Betters / 9to5Mac:
Foxconn official says iPhone 5 supply shortages caused by complicated design, productivity improving  —  The Wall Street Journal spoke with an unnamed Hon Hai executive today about why the iPhone 5 is experiencing supply shortages, and the Taiwanese manufacturer, also known as Foxconn …
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
Samsung confirms US Galaxy S III handsets will get Android 4.1 ‘in the coming months’  —  Galaxy S III owners, your wait for Jelly Bean might be nearing and end.  Samsung just confirmed that all US variants of its flagship Android phone will receive an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean …
Marcus Wohlsen / Wired:
Retail: Amazon's Next Big Business Is Selling You  —  Facebook knows who your friends are.  Google knows what you're interested in finding on the internet.  Amazon knows what you've bought, and has a pretty good idea of what you might want to buy next.  —  If you were an advertiser, which company's data sounds most valuable to you?
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
ISIS confirms October 22nd launch in Salt Lake City and Austin  —  We heard a few days ago that ISIS was finally ready to launch its mobile payment service on October 22nd, and now we can confirm that date is indeed correct.  Jaymee Johnson, head of marketing at ISIS, just emailed The Verge …
More: VentureBeat and CNET
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Mayer Tells Staff Barrett Officially Out at Yahoo  —  In news that comes as no surprise, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has told senior staff that Chief Revenue Officer Michael Barrett will be leaving the company, according to people close to the situation.  —  While the complex paperwork is still …
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
UK retailer Argos confirms Google to offer 32GB Nexus 7, available for £199.99  —  With Apple all but certain to introduce a new, smaller iPad at its San Jose launch event next week, Google appears to have plans of its own to make its popular Nexus 7 more attractive to consumers by offering …
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Wins Patents for Camera & NFC Alternative Technologies  —  The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of thirty-two newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today.  In our final granted patent report of the day we focus on Apple's new NFC Alternative technology …
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Zynga Says Former Employee Admits to Taking Confidential Files  —  A judge has granted Zynga's request to move forward in a lawsuit it filed against a former employee, who is believed to have stolen confidential documents before joining a rival social games maker.
Ari Levy / Bloomberg:
Violin Memory Said to File IPO With $2 Billion Valuation  —  Violin Memory Inc., a maker of flash memory for data centers, filed to go public last month under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, said two people familiar with the matter.  —  The deal is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Wants To Dominate Paid Discovery By Now Letting Any Developer Buy Mobile App Install Ads  —  App developers pay huge sums for ads that gets them installs, and Facebook wants to gobble up that spend.  So today Facebook begins allowing all developers to buy its recently announced app install ads …
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Rumors and Speculation of November 2 ‘iPad Mini’ Launch Building  —  Earlier today, Geeky Gadgets reported that it has received word from a retailer in the United Kingdom indicating that the “iPad mini” will be launching on November 2 in at least the United States and UK …

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Dhanya Skariachan / Reuters: