Techmeme
October 31, 2012, 12:15 PM

Top News

Joshua Topolsky / The Verge:
iPad mini review  —  Apple takes on a new market with a smaller tablet  —  The iPad mini has arrived — and so has our review.  Just last week, Apple introduced the world to the newest member of its wildly successful tablet line, an adorable, diminutive slate with a 7.9-inch display.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The iPad Mini  —  “Wow, it feels like a Kindle.”  —  “Ew, the screen is terrible.”  —  That was my wife's initial reaction when I handed her the iPad Mini to see what she, an avid daily user of an iPad 3, thought.  Her initial reaction matched mine exactly, and perfectly encapsulates the experience.
Scott Stein / CNET:
iPad Mini review: The perfect size, but at a price  —  The good: The iPad Mini's ultra-thin and light design is far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna, and general functionality offer a full iPad experience.
Eva Dou / Digits:
Asustek: Nexus 7 Sales Approaching 1 million a Month  —  Sales of Google Inc. 's Nexus 7, made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. , are closing in on 1 million units a month, the Taiwanese maker revealed.  —  The 7-inch tablet has created a big buzz this year with its low starting price of US$199 …
Greg Sandoval / CNET:
Right on Cue: Can iTunes chief fix Apple's maps and Siri?  —  An executive shuffle has dropped two troubled services into the hands of Eddy Cue.  CNET has a behind-the-scenes look at Apple's master negotiator and product resuscitator.  —  Few consumers know his name, but Eddy Cue …
Tweets: @pkafka
Eric Savitz / Forbes:
Apple Slides As Investors React to Management Shake-Up  —  Apple shares slid back below the $600 level Wednesday morning as investors finally got a chance to react to Monday's management shake-up.  —  While most Street analysts who follow the stock see little to worry about in the departure …
Barb Darrow / GigaOM:
Dave Lee / BBC:
Kickstarter crowdfunding website launches in the UK  —  The Kickstarter site lists projects that are seeking financial backing  —  Crowdsourced funding website Kickstarter has launched in the UK.  —  The site, on which users seek money for creative or product-based ideas …
Jeremy Kirk / ITworld.com:
Irked by cyberspying, Georgia outs Russia-based hacker — with photos  —  In an unprecedented move, Georgia reveals startling details of a hacker it says is stealing its confidential information  —  In one of the photos, the dark-haired, bearded hacker is peering into his computer's screen, perhaps puzzled at what's happening.
Mark Milian / Bloomberg:
Wal-Mart to Sell Boxee TVs Challenging Apple and Roku  —  In a coup for New York-based startup Boxee Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) will sell and promote its new Web-connected device that brings live television and online video together, the companies said.
Eliza Kern / GigaOM:
Say hello to another video app: Threadlife wants to give you three seconds of fame  —  In launching a new social video startup, Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn and Blitz co-founder Ken Martin know they're jumping into a crowded space that hasn't exactly taken off yet.
Leslie Katz / CNET:
Samsung solar-powered school shines in rural South Africa  —  Samsung turns a shipping container into a portable wired classroom to bridge the divide between rural and urban South African schools.  —  There's something new(ish) under the sun in the rural South African village of Phomolong …
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Microsoft sued for infringing patent on Live Tiles  —  The trolls rise to the Surface  —  Microsoft's been touting its Live Tiles concept ever since Windows Phone 7 launched two years ago, but the launch of Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and particularly the Surface tablets appear to have given …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Apple Delays iTunes Refresh  —  Apple surprised lots of people yesterday.  Here's a smaller bit of unexpected news: The company is delaying the update of its iTunes software.  —  Back in September, Apple said an iTunes overhaul would be out in October.  Now it's pushing that back a month.
Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
Firefox lost 6-9 million downloads in EU browser choice ‘glitch’  —  Summary: Mozilla's general counsel estimates between 6-9 million lost Firefox browser downloads thanks to Microsoft failing to include the ‘browser choice’ screen in latest versions of Windows 7.  —  Zack Whittaker
Micah Lee / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Privacy in Ubuntu 12.10: Amazon Ads and Data Leaks  —  Earlier this month the eagerly awaited free software operating system Ubuntu 12.10 was released, and it includes a slew of new features (YouTube link), some of which have infuriated users because of privacy concerns.
Reuters:
Seagate sees weak PC sales, lower prices hit current quarter  —  (Reuters) - Storage device maker Seagate Technology Plc (STX.O) reported a first-quarter profit below analysts' expectations and forecast weak current-quarter revenue, hurt by slowing PC sales and lower prices.
More: ZDNet, Seagate and Forbes

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Earlier Picks

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch: