Techmeme: Meet the network of parody Twitter account operators who earn thousands from paid ads (Ryan Broderick/BuzzFeed)

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November 9, 2014, 11:05 PM

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Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:

Apple releases web tool to deregister phone numbers from iMessage — Apple has quietly released a new tool to make switching between iOS and other smartphones a bit easier. The new web tool lets you instantly deregister your phone number from Apple's iMessage system.

More: AppleInsider, Engadget, BetaNews, MacRumors, Android and Me, CNET, The Next Web, PC Magazine, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, 9to5Mac, everythingiCafe, TechCrunch, iMore, Gigaom, App Advice, TIME, AnandTech, Cult of Mac, SlashGear, Ubergizmo, iPhone in Canada Blog, Windows Phone Central, CrackBerry.com and Android Central

Tweets: @mollywood, @panzer, @iankar_, @llsethj and @markgurman

Ryan Broderick / BuzzFeed:

Meet the network of parody Twitter account operators who earn thousands from paid ads — Meet The Network Of Guys Making Thousands Of Dollars Tweeting As “Common White Girls” — The Twitter illuminati that made “Alex From Target” an overnight sensation can drive millions of clicks with a simple retweet.

More: TechCrunch, BuzzFeed and PC Magazine

Tweets: @niallharbison, @selenalarson, @alexismadrigal, @jessicakroy, @ejbrooks and @mikeisaac

Startup L. Jackson / Startups and S**t:

Good startup ideas are not counterintuitive, but in fact obvious, if you talk to users and develop a better model of the world — The Counterintuitive Thing About Counterintuitive Things — There is a great (as in large) memes swirling around the startup world these days which posits …

Tweets: @joshelman, @monkbent, @monstro, @davemcclure, @cheeky_geeky, @seanbwalter, @cdixon, @davemcclure, @beingspencer and @joewallin

Euan Rocha / Reuters:

BlackBerry CEO sees fewer new devices, focus on profitability — (Reuters) - BlackBerry, which has completed the first phase of its two-year turnaround plan, is now focused on profitability and will not spread itself thin by attempting to launch too many new devices, its chief executive said.

More: CrackBerry.com and Financial Times

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

Mac Mini 2014 review: still a good “gateway Mac”, but less versatile than previous models — Not the upgrade we were hoping for: The 2014 Mac Mini reviewed — The 2014 Mac Mini looks the same on the outside, but on the inside it regresses in some unfortunate ways.

More: The Register. Tweets: @andrewwrites

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

Qualcomm quietly dominates mobile: every major smartphone in the US contains its hardware — This is Qualcomm's world and we're all just living in it — Guess who puts the turbo in the Droid Turbo's name — Qualcomm is the mobile industry's equivalent of a god: omnipotent and omnipresent, yet invisible to the naked eye.

Tweets: @howardlindzon

Stephen Lurie / Matter:

Wikimedia's 36 “stewards” use their global editing rights to police and manage all Wiki sites — The 36 People Who Run Wikipedia — What the weirdest, wildest, most successful participatory project in history tells us about working together.

Tweets: @jamestylerespn and @readmatter. Thanks:@srikardr

Leo Mirani / Quartz:

How tech firms use language, typography, color to make the web usable for non-English speakers — Why you probably won't understand the web of the future — This item has been corrected. — The giants of the connected world are finally waking up to one of the biggest obstacles …

More: The Loop. Tweets: @benrito and @danielpink

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft tests headset that makes cities more accessible to the blind using 3D audio cues — Microsoft had to blindfold me so I could hear the future — A simple headset could help millions through the art of sound — Microsoft blindfolded me and led me around several streets …

More: BBC, The Next Web, The Official Microsoft Blog, Telegraph, Guardian, ValueWalk, Gizmag Emerging …, Engadget, Gizmodo, Phys.org, Wareable, PC Pro, Ubergizmo, PC World and DailyTech. Thanks:@reckel

Financial Times:

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi in talks to raise close to $1.5B at valuation exceeding $40B — Xiaomi lines up $1.5B in fresh capital — Xiaomi, the fast-rising Chinese smartphone maker, is in talks to raise close to $1.5 billion in new capital at a valuation set to exceed $40 billion …

More: Forbes, BGR, CER, Barron's Online, International Business Times and Business Insider

Keith Gessen / Vanity Fair:

How Did Amazon End Up as Literary Enemy No. 1? — Amazon's war with publishing giant Hachette over e-book pricing has earned it a black eye in the media, with the likes of Philip Roth, James Patterson, and Stephen Colbert demanding that the online mega-store stand down.

More: The Digital Reader and The Awl. Tweets: @dannysullivan, @pernillet, @sethmnookin and @mattzeitlin. See also Mediagazer

Joshua Ho / AnandTech:

iPad Air 2 review: A8X's extra core and clock speed bump make for class-leading performance — The Apple iPad Air 2 Review — Introduction — As we approach the holidays, Apple has launched a new iPad as expected. As one might expect from the name, the iPad Air 2 is more of an evolution …

More: MacDailyNews. Tweets: @codinghorror

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