Techmeme
May 15, 2012, 7:25 PM

Top News

CNBC:
As Investors Fawn Over Facebook, Poll Finds User Distrust, Apathy  —  Facebook's initial public offering will be the largest and perhaps the most highly anticipated Internet deal in history.  —  Faced with great expectations, however, Facebook is staring down some unnerving obstacles …
Chris Dixon:
Facebook's business model  —  Startups usually succeed because of a single major product or business innovation.  Google is unusual in that they succeeded because of two major innovations: their core search product, and their keyword advertising business model.
More: Slate
Robin Wauters / The Next Web:
Amir Efrati / Wall Street Journal:
Google to Expand Android Mobile-Device Partnerships  —  Google Inc. plans to give multiple mobile-device makers—rather than just one partner—early access to new releases of its Android mobile operating system and to sell those devices directly to consumers, said people familiar with the matter.
Wall Street Journal:
GM to Stop Advertising on Facebook  —  General Motors Co. GM -1.04% plans to stop advertising on Facebook after the company's marketing executives determined their paid ads had little impact on consumers, people familiar with the matter said, a move that comes as more companies question …
Jay Yarow / Business Insider:
Google's Chrome Browser Is Coming For iOS, Says Macquarie  —  Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter has a surprising report out this morning.  —  He writes, “Google Chrome browser for iOS is coming.”  —  He adds, “Apple may already be reviewing Google's submitted code for a Chrome browser for iOS.”
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
T-Mobile USA's Philipp Humm announces restructuring, ‘difficult decisions’ to staff  —  T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm had previously announced a round of layoffs with a net loss of some 1,000 jobs back in March, and the company's restructuring continues today with another memo sent to employees.
Jeff Atwood / Coding Horror:
Please Don't Learn to Code  —  The whole “everyone should learn programming” meme has gotten so out of control that the mayor of New York City actually vowed to learn to code in 2012.  —  A noble gesture to garner the NYC tech community vote, for sure, but if the mayor of New York City actually needs …
Mat Honan / Gizmodo:
How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet  —  Web startups are made out of two things: people and code.  The people make the code, and the code makes the people rich.  Code is like a poem; it has to follow certain structural requirements, and yet out of that structure can come art.
Matt Galligan:
Socialcam's Shady Secret  —  I had a hunch that Socialcam was doing some really shady tactics to get more of a bump in engagement at the detriment of user experience.  Looks like my hunch was right.  The app has been on quite the tear lately with how much it's growing and getting insane engagement.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple also working on MacBook Airs and iMacs with Retina Displays  —  Mockup showing Retina Display 11 and 13 inch MacBook Airs  —  On Monday we broke the news that Apple is readying a brand-new 15-inch MacBook Pro with cornerstone features like an ultra-thin design and USB 3 ports for incredibly fast data transfers.
Nitasha Tiku / Betabeat:
Kevin Ryan Asks Jetsetter CEO Drew Patterson to Step Down After ‘Mutiny’ From Staffers  —  Gilt Groupe founder Kevin Ryan and Gilt Groupe chairman Susan Lyne spent Monday in meetings at the offices of Jetsetter, an independent deals site for luxury travel bookings under the Gilt umbrella.
More: Tnooz
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
Oracle makes 11th-hour proposal to keep big payday hopes alive  —  If there's one thing the Oracle vs. Google trial hasn't been short of, it's plot twists and turns.  The trend continued today courtesy of Oracle counsel David Boies, who made a principled plea to Judge Alsup over what he felt Oracle …
More: CNET
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple introduces the Steering Wheel Remote Control  —  The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-one newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today.  The most surprising one of them all is one that snuck through the patent system until today.
Sharif Sakr / Engadget:
Those suave Google glasses are now patent-protected  —  Google has successfully patented the “ornamental design” of its augmented reality eyewear.  To you, me and Aunty Dee they might look almost like regular Ray-Bans, but there's a lot of secret technology concealed within those sleek lines …
Nicholas Carlson / Business Insider:
EXCLUSIVE: How Mark Zuckerberg Booted His Co-Founder Out Of The Company  —  Ahead of Facebook's $15 billion IPO later this week, Billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has renounced his US citizenship in order to avoid a boatload of taxes.  —  One reason this is possible: Saverin no longer works at Facebook.
More: CNET, WebProNews and Gizmodo
David Carr / New York Times:
Audiences Now Rarely Drawn to Live Television  —  This week, when they ring the bell on the television upfronts, the annual orgy of advertising buying, I hope the industry isn't counting on my house to lift ratings.  —  So far in the month of May, our household has watched exactly two minutes and one second of live television.

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