Techmeme
June 19, 2012, 7:45 PM

Top News

Ashlee Vance / Business Week:
Why Microsoft's Surface Tablet Should Shame the PC Industry  —  On June 18, Microsoft (MSFT) beckoned 200 or so members of the media to an industrial, grimy part of Hollywood for what it described as a can't miss affair.  The dutiful reporters met at the appointed hour—3:30 p.m. …
More: PC World and ZDNetTweets: @maryjofoley and @valleyhack
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft Surface tablets: Reading the fine print  —  Summary: Here are a few more hidden tidbits about Microsoft's new Surface tablets, launched in Los Angeles on June 18.  —  Yesterday Microsoft announced it would be making two Windows tablets of its own — one Windows8-based and another Windows RT-based.
Joshua Topolsky / The Verge:
With the Surface, Microsoft just started writing its next chapter  —  I first met Steven Bathiche when I took a trip to Microsoft's campus to check out what the company had been doing in the research and development department.  Microsoft PR had sworn to me that I would be blown away by the …
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Google Threatens To Sue Huge YouTube MP3 Conversion Site  —  YouTube is without doubt the biggest free resource of videos and music available online today.  It can be enjoyed on the site itself, embedded in any webpage, or accessed via YouTube's Application Programming Interface.
Robert Kim / Google Mobile Blog:
Google Offers app now available on iPhone  —  Today we're announcing the new Google Offers app for iPhone.  Now, iPhone users can discover, buy and redeem Google Offers, as well as deals from our partners, on-the-go.  Some of the features of the new Google Offers app for iPhone include:
Rip Empson / TechCrunch:
Ex-Googlers Launch MightyText, An iMessage For Android Users  —  During their lengthy careers at Google in both senior technical and product management roles, Maneesh Arora and Amit Sangani were able to geek out on products like AdSense, AdWords, and the now-defunct Google Health.
Jun Yang / Bloomberg:
LG To Sideline Tablet Development To Focus On Smaller Devices  —  LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world's No. 4 mobile-phone maker, will sideline tablet computer development to focus more on smaller devices rather than compete head-on with Apple Inc.'s iPad.
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Google partners with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams to the app  —  Speaking at Le Web '12 in London, Google's Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz announced that it has partnered with Flipboard, adding Google+ streams in the app.  The streams will launch soon.
Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:
Facebook Adds Subscription Billing For App Developers, Backs Away From Credits As Primary Currency  —  Facebook is adding subscription billing for app developers, in what should help gaming and media companies earn more revenue from their most loyal users.  Starting next month …
Michael Larabel / Phoronix:
NVIDIA PR Responds To Torvalds' Harsh Words  —  NVIDIA's PR department has issued a statement following the harsh comments by Linus Torvalds last week where he referred to the graphics company as the single worst company they have ever dealt with, called them out on not supporting Optimus, and other issues.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Formspring Relaunches As An Interest-Based Social Network  —  Q&A site Formspring is today announcing what the company says is its biggest news since its original launch back in 2009.  Yes, Formspring has been overhauled.  The company is shifting its focus from social Q&A …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Spotify Finally Launches Web Radio, For Real.  And That's a Problem For Pandora  —  A lot of people confuse Spotify's streaming music service with Pandora's streaming music service.  —  Now they're going to be a lot more confused.  In a way that's good for Spotify and a problem for Pandora.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
A Redesigned, Slicker PayPal Is Coming Tomorrow; Some Seeing New Look Today  —  PayPal, the eBay-owned online payments service that is making significant inroads into mobile, is giving its website an overhaul to make it easier for its 100 million+ users to pay and get paid, find help …
Vlad Savov / The Verge:
New Gmail custom themes let you set your own background image  —  For those of us still staying true to Gmail's web interface and resisting the lure of dedicated clients like Sparrow, Google is today rolling out a pair of custom theme options.  Using the basic Light and Dark Theme presets …
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
BlackBerry 10 hands-on (video)  —  Like any good show pony, BlackBerry 10's been trotting around the world, strutting the fairly limited elements of its known UI in an effort to court developers.  The platform, without question the nail upon which RIM's fate and fortune hangs …
Nick Bilton / Bits:
Shapeways, Having Printed 1 Million Objects, Secures More Financing  —  People sure do like printing things in 3-D.  —  Shapeways, a company that enables people to print 3-D objects, announced on Tuesday that it had completed a $6.2 million series B round of financing from Lux Capital, a New York venture capital firm.
Daniel Cooper / Engadget:
Google's Project Glass trackpad gets swaddled in patent protection  —  Remember when Sergey Brin was on The Gavin Newsom Show showing off Project Glass' right-sided physical trackpad?  Today, that element of the tech was given the official thumbs-up by the US patent and trademark office.

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Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

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