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5:15 PM ET, August 5, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Justin Hyde / Jalopnik:
This is Google's first self-driving car crash  —  This photo of what looks like a minor case of Prius-on-Prius vehicular violence may actually be a piece of automotive history: the first accident caused by Google's self-driving car.  Whose name should the cop write down on the ticket?  UPDATE!
RELATED:
Jay Yarow / The Business Insider:
Human Driver Crashes Google's Self Driving Car*  —  Google's self driving cars have gotten into their first accident, Justin Hyde at Jalopnik reports.  —  A reader sent in a photo of a Google car having rear ended another Prius.  You can tell it's a self driving car by the thing on the roof of the car.
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple cracking down on non-developer devices running iOS 5 - report  —  Apple has reportedly begun closing the accounts of some developers who have inappropriately sold their account device slots, allowing them to profit from the installation iOS 5 on unauthorized non-developer iPhones and iPads.
RELATED:
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple disabling non-developer devices running iOS 5?  Doubt it.  —  According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5.  The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW.  Apple, yesterday, disabled all iOS 5 devices that were running betas 1 and 2.
Aaron Lee / DigiTimes:
Ultrabooks and tablet PCs are short-term fads, says Acer founder  —  Acer founder Stan Shih has commented that the fads for ultrabooks and tablet PCs are both short-term phenomena and urged companies in the notebook supply chain to come out with more value-added products through innovation.
RELATED:
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
RBC: Apple would only launch low-cost iPhone if it had ‘category-killer’ experience  —  After a meeting with two of Apple's top executives, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said the company's primary requirement for launching a lower-end iPhone is whether the handset would provide an “innovative, category-killer experience.”
RELATED:
Todd Haselton / BGR:   Low-cost iPhone could launch soon; Apple execs hope to settle patent disputes
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Facebook Cites ‘Smoking Gun’ Proof of Fraud by Man Claiming Company Stake  —  Facebook Inc. said its inspection of computers turned over by Paul Ceglia, the western New York man who claims he's entitled to half of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's holdings in the social-networking company, shows “smoking gun” evidence of fraud.
Discussion: All Facebook and L.A. Times Tech Blog, Thanks:chadcat
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Do You Live In An Android State Or An iPhone State?  —  It is clear by now that Android is winning the overall mobile market share battle in the U.S. among smart phones.  But how does the battle break down by state?  Mobile ad network Jumptap put out a report this morning (embedded below) …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
More on Google and Patents  —  Kevin Fox: … I don't think “offense” and “defense” are the right way to look at this.  It is true that Google wasn't trying to acquire these patents to sue others, but rather to keep itself (and its Android handset maker partners) from being sued.
RELATED:
Brian S. Hall / The Business Insider:
How Do I Hate Google? Let Me Count The Ways...
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
HTTPS Everywhere  —  HTTPS Everywhere 1.0 has been released, and the project is out of beta.  Version 1.0 includes support for over 1,000 new sites, a better UI, and performance improvements.  Click here to install it!  —  HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between …
RELATED:
FBI:
The FBI's Child ID App  —  Putting Safety in Your Hands  —  You're shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears.  A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful.  What do you do?  —  Now there's a free new tool from the FBI that can help.
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
Google Researcher Exposes Flaws In Sophos Software, Slams Antivirus Industry  —  The security industry usually spends its time analyzing viruses, not the programs meant to catch them.  But Tavis Ormandy has been looking instead under the hood of one antivirus firm's tools.  And he doesn't like what he sees.
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Dolby: Our technologies are not built into Microsoft's Windows 8  —  Summary: Dolby Laboratories executives shared some information about Microsoft's Windows 8 during an earnings call this week.  What are the implications of the disclosure?  —  During an earnings conference call with analysts …
AppleInsider:
Needham sees Apple stock hitting $540 on sales of 54M iPads in 2012  —  Investment firm Needham & Company on Friday upped its price target for Apple stock to $540, with projected sales of 54 million iPads and 108 million iPhones in 2012.  —  Analyst Charlie Wolf provides semi-annual updates on his AAPL 12-month price target.
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, PadGadget and TUAW
Zach Epstein / BGR:
HTC acquires Dashwire to bolster cloud services - and patent portfolio  —  HTC on Friday announced that it has agreed to acquire Seattle-based cloud services company Dashwire for up to $18.5 million via its HTC America Holding division.  Dashwire currently offers a range of cloud services for carriers …
RELATED:
Robert McMillan / PC World:
Spam King Sanford Wallace Indicted for Facebook Spam  —  Notorious spam king Sanford Wallace is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly breaking into Facebook accounts and sending 27 million spam messages in 2008 and 2009.  —  Wallace, 43, allegedly used a phishing attack to steal usernames …
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Feds hack past anonymity, bust 72 users of child abuse “horror” site  —  They used proxy servers and encryption.  They used anonymous screen names like “Beast,” “Bones,” “Jailbird,” and “Johnny_5_is_@live” to post and share their child sex abuse films.  Admins carefully segregated participants according to how much they were trusted.
Steve Lohr / Bits:
A Call to Rethink Internet Search  —  “We could soon view today's keyword searching with the same nostalgia and amusement reserved for bygone technologies such as electric typewriters and vinyl records.”  —  So declares Oren Etzioni, a computer scientist at the University of Washington …
Discussion: Technologizer
Adrianne Jeffries / Betabeat:
Rough Trades: Digital Derivatives Hit the Bitcoin Markets as Wall Street Bankers Take Interest  —  The best way to find serious traders of the digital currency Bitcoin is to log onto Internet Relay Chat—that bare-bones, plain-text experience that hasn't changed much since its creation in 1988 …
Discussion: NYConvergence.com
 
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 More Items: 
Martin Fowler / Bliki:
SoftwarePatent
Discussion: NPR and Techdirt
J.B. / Fusible.com:
Rumor: Next tablet for device maker Motorola will be called Kore
Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
Google closes its Dictionary site, wants you to “search” for definitions instead
Tabassum Zakaria / Reuters:
Pentagon cyber program to fund hacker innovation
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
NewMe Accelerator, Aiming To Encourage Black Tech Entrepreneurs, Has Its First Demo Day
Discussion: MediaPost and CNN
Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:
Porn studio loses appeal in Google copyright case
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
Intel places $30 million bet on the cloud, opens two new labs at Carnegie Mellon
Discussion: CNET News and Portfolio
 Earlier Items: 
Joe Mullin / paidContent:
Shagbook Attacks Facebook's Trademark, Calling It Generic
Discussion: Techdirt, Inquirer, Mashable! and thinq_
Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
HP knocking $100 from TouchPad pricing August 5-7
Electronista:
Intel ultrabook spec keeps parts sub-$710 to spar with Apple
Chris Eidhof:
Why I develop for iOS  —  Sometimes I ask myself the question: why do I develop for iOS?
Discussion: GigaOM
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles take minority stakes in The Daily Beast; Sherwood will be CEO and publisher, and Coles will be chief creative and content officer

Lucy Craymer / Reuters:
New Zealand's Stuff Group signs a deal with WBD to provide WBD's New Zealand TV channel with a 6PM daily news program; WBD plans to close Newshub on July 5

Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Disney plans old-style TV channels within Disney+, with a continuous, scheduled stream of shows that are focused on certain genres like Star Wars

 
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