Techmeme
August 8, 2012, 10:25 PM

Top News

The Official Google Blog:
Building the search engine of the future, one baby step at a time  —  Larry Page once described the perfect search engine as understanding exactly what you mean and giving you back exactly what you want.  It's very much like the computer I dreamt about as a child growing up in India …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google Search app for iPad and iPhone adds voice-based answers, available in the ‘next couple of days’  —  Google has updated its search app for iOS to include voice-based questions and answers.  You can “ask for the weather in a natural way” and it will provide results.
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Google Adds Personal Gmail Results Into Search  —  In a major move to integrate personal search and Web search, Google is adding some users' Gmail into their search results as a “limited field trial,” it said today.  —  So when participating users search for “Amazon,” information …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
The New York Times Is About to Say Goodbye to About.com  —  The New York Times' time with About.com may be coming to an end.  The paper has been looking to get rid of the struggling Web site, which produces high-volume, low-cost content, and has a deal in place to sell it to Answers.com.
Dalton Caldwell:
App.net is not vaporware  —  We shipped an alpha version of App.net.  You can browse the global feed at alpha.app.net.  This is a webapp that we built in the last two weeks on top of our documented API.  Think of this web application as a “proof of concept”.
More: The Next WebTweets: @janole
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
HP incurs $8 billion Q3 impairment charge, as it tries to limit damage from 27,000 job cuts  —  As part of its ongoing restructuring plans, HP announced today that it has appointed Mike Nefkens to lead its Enterprise Services division, also appointing Jean-Jacques (JJ) Charhon as the new COO …
Alan Henry / Lifehacker:
Current Caller ID Supercharges Your Phone's Caller ID with Social Info, Best Times to Call, and More  —  Android: Current Caller ID is a free utility for Android that turns every incoming call into a dashboard full of information about the caller, complete with social updates, weather where they are …
Michael McWhertor / The Verge:
Valve to sell non-gaming software on Steam starting September 5th  —  Valve is opening up Steam to non-gaming software, the company announced today, bringing applications ranging from “creativity to productivity” to the digital distribution platform.  The first software titles will be released on September 5th.
Anita Li / Mashable!:
Mars Landing Broadcast on Ustream Outperforms Cable TV  —  New stats from Ustream suggest that more people are forgoing television for online sources when it comes to getting news.  —  More than 3.2 million people tuned in to the live streaming platform to see Sunday night's landing …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
After 5 Years With Facebook, Ben Blumenfeld Leaves To Beautify The Future At Designer Fund  —  A designer's eye can change the world, but some don't know how to build a company.  So today, veteran Facebook designer Ben Blumenfeld revealed to me that he's moving on to co-direct Designer Fund …
Jon Russell / The Next Web:
IDC: Android and iOS now power record 85% of all smartphones shipped, as RIM hits 3-year low  —  If you own a smartphone, the chances are it is an iPhone or powered by Google's Android operating system.  That observation has rung true for some time but the two platforms have taken their domination …
Lance Whitney / CNET:
Apple, Samsung U.S. smartphone sales jump 43 percent  —  The top two smartphone players saw their combined sales in the U.S. rise 43 percent last quarter, while sales for other vendors dropped 16 percent, says NPD Group.  —  Apple and Samsung continue to grab smartphone sales from the rest of the industry.
Groklaw:
SCO Files for Chapter 7: “There is no reasonable chance of ‘rehabilitation’”  —  SCO Group has now filed [PDF] for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.  They are in Chapter 11 now.  What is the difference?  Chapter 11 means you are trying to reorganize and survive as a corporate entity.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:25 PM ET, August 8, 2012.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks