Techmeme: States reach $69 million ebook pricing settlement with publishers (Laura Hazard Owen/paidContent)

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August 30, 2012, 5:10 PM

Top News

Reuters:

Exclusive: Google, Apple CEOs in talks on patent issues — (Reuters) - Google Inc CEO Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes conversations about a range of intellectual property matters, including the ongoing mobile patent disputes between the companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

This is the new Amazon Kindle Fire — We've just been sent a purported shot of the next Kindle Fire, Amazon's Android-based tablet that's expected to be announced next week after the current model “sold out” earlier today. We're being told that a “pair” of Fires is likely — a 7- and a 10-incher …

Matt Brian / The Next Web:

A best-seller sells out: Amazon pulls Kindle Fire sales ahead of September 6 tablet refresh — With its September 6 event circled on its calendar in big red ink, Amazon has announced today that its Kindle Fire tablet is “Sold Out,” pulling the tablet from sale as it looks to its “exciting roadmap ahead.”

More: parislemon, Amazon.com, AllThingsD, AppleInsider, BGR, BGR, Digits, Forbes, paidContent, Gizmodo, The Loop, Ars Technica, ReadWriteWeb, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Pocket-lint, Ubergizmo, Reuters, BuzzFeed, VentureBeat, ZDNet, bizjournals, 9to5Google, The Verge, Business Insider, Engadget, TechCrunch, paidContent and Macworld. Tweets: @reneritchie. See also Mediagazer

Kevin Weil / Twitter Advertising:

Interest targeting: Broaden your reach, reach the right audience — Twitter brings you closer: Closer to people, to world events, to professional athletes, musicians, laureates, and world leaders — whatever your interests are. Our advertising products use this real-time interest graph …

More: Gizmodo, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, VatorNews, BBC, The Verge, Marketing Land, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, AllTwitter, Media Money … and Mashable!

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

Twitter launches targeting for Promoted Tweets and Accounts advertising based on user interests

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Twitter Tries Cranking Up the Money Machine: More Precise Targeting = More Ad Dollars

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @pkafka

Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:

HBO cuts the cord for international launch — Nordic region won't need pay-TV subscription to get net — HBO will make the Nordic region the first market where its programming will be available to consumers without requiring that they have a pay-TV subscription.

More: TechCrunch, The Verge and Ars Technica. Tweets: @pkafka

Wired:

Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes — It seemed like a simple enough idea for an iPhone app: Send users a pop-up notice whenever a flying robots kills someone in one of America's many undeclared wars. But Apple keeps blocking the Drones+ program from its App Store — and therefore, from iPhones everywhere.

More: Washington Post, The Atlantic Online, Gizmodo, Daring Fireball, InvestorPlaceGadgets …, TUAW, PhoneArena, everythingiCafe, Geekosystem, WebProNews and Kotaku

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

Lenovo's new S-series laptops bridge the ultrabook-netbook gap, starting at $499 (hands-on pictures) — Not so long ago, Lenovo's S-series stood for inexpensive, underpowered netbooks. That seems to have changed: Lenovo's new IdeaPad S300, S400 and S405 are still fairly budget-friendly machines …

More: AllThingsD, Mashable!, Pocket-lint, LAPTOP Magazine and CNET

Brad Chacos / LAPTOP Magazine:

Lenovo's New Android Tablet Trio Includes 9-inch Quad-Core Slate for $299 — Lenovo is placing a bit bet on Windows 8 and touch with the ThinkPad Tablet 2 and IdeaPad Yoga, but it's pushing full steam ahead on Android slates, too. The company just launched three new Android 4.0 IdeaTab tablets …

More: Inquirer, Engadget, LAPTOP Magazine, ITworld.com and Mashable!

Andy Greenberg / Forbes:

Oracle Quietly Releases Fix For Serious Java Security Bug—Months After It Was Reported — Oracle just scored points with the security community for rushing out an early patch for a critical security flaw in Java that was already being widely exploited by the cybercriminal underground.

More: TechCrunch, MacRumors, Computerworld and Naked Security

PC World:

Oracle Knew About Currently Exploited Java Vulnerabilities for Months, Researcher Says

More: The Oracle Software …, Computerworld, Ars Technica, Reuters, Ars Technica, The Register, WebProNews, SC Magazine, Naked Security and The Verge

Zach Epstein / BGR:

Bernstein Research: People don't want Windows Phones — Nokia's (NOK) stock got a big boost recently as investors identified positive trends despite three consecutive billion-dollar quarterly losses. According to Bernstein Research analyst Pierre Ferragu, however, Nokia's second big Windows Phone push is destined to fail.

More: The Verge, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Internet2Go, Fortune, WMPoweruser and Forbes

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

The myth of pinch-to-zoom: how a confused media gave Apple something it doesn't own — In 2007, Steve Jobs stood on stage, listing the benefits of Apple's then-new iPhone touchscreen. “You can do multi-finger gestures on it,” he said, moving his hands back and forth in the now-familiar pinch-to-zoom motion.

More: BuzzFeed. Tweets: @daanno

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Bing Now Lets You Search And Browse Your Friends' Facebook Photos — Microsoft just launched a new search feature for Bing that lets you search your friends' photos on Facebook. This new tool, says Microsoft, is essentially an expansion of the photo experience Bing introduced as part of Bing's redesign earlier this year.

More: PC World, GeekWire, CNET, VentureBeat, The Verge, Search Engine Land, AllFacebook, The Next Web, Gizmodo, WebProNews and Bing

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

States reach $69 million ebook pricing settlement with publishers — Ebook-buying consumers in 49 states (all except Minnesota) and five territories are set to receive $69 million as the result of a settlement between the states and HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster.

More: CNET, PC World, Ars Technica, CT.gov Portal, Engadget, The Verge and Good E-Reader. See also Mediagazer

Victor H. / PhoneArena:

Samsung will sue Apple immediately if it releases an LTE device, allegedly partnering with Microsoft to cut dependency on Android — Samsung's recent loss in court might have triggered some interesting processes inside the company pushing it to develop closer ties with Microsoft to cut its dependency on Android.

More: Digital Media Wire, AppleInsider, DSLreports, Computerworld, GigaOM, The Korea Times and iClarified. Tweets: @panzer

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

The 30% faster Parallels 8 brings Retina and tighter integration with OS X to Windows virtual machines — If you've ever fired up a virtual machine on your Mac, then there's a good chance you did so with one of the top two suites out there: Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion.

More: TechCrunch, Engadget, PC World, GigaOM, Macworld, GadgeTell, Softpedia News, TUAW, Electronista, AppleInsider, MacRumors, The Verge, GeekWire and Ars Technica. Thanks:@robinwauters

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

IDC: Android-Crazy China Passes U.S. As Smartphone Leader, But India's Growing The Fastest — The latest figures out from IDC confirm that this is the year that China will overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest smartphone market, with its 25.5% share a significant lead over the U.S.'s 17.8%.

More: IDC, VentureBeat, GeekWire, NYT Bits, The Verge, VatorNews and dailywireless.org

Sean Buckley / Engadget:

Zune's last days: Microsoft pulling Zune HD apps, select features on August 31st — Microsoft's oddly named music service put its official resignation in earlier this summer, but the Zune brand isn't in its coffin just yet — although Redmond is certainly driving in the nails.

More: VentureBeat, Joystiq, WebProNews and SlashGear

Vernon Silver / Bloomberg:

Spyware Matching FinFisher Can Take Over IPhones — FinFisher spyware made by U.K.-based Gamma Group can take control of a range of mobile devices, including Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM)'s BlackBerry, an analysis of presumed samples of the software shows.

More: BGR, The Citizen Lab, The H Security, ESET ThreatBlog, SecurityWeek, iPhone in Canada Blog, iDownloadBlog.com and Phones Review

Robert Hof / Forbes:

Poof! $1 Billion Slashed From 2012 Facebook Revenue Forecast — Facebook's revenues, particularly from advertising, won't grow as fast as expected this year, according to a revised forecast from market researcher eMarketer. — EMarketer today said the No. 1 social network …

More: CNET, NYT Bits, eMarketer and VentureBeat. Tweets: @pkafka

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Wolfram Alpha launches Facebook personal analytics reports — Wolfram Alpha is continuing to expand into the data analytics space with a feature that will likely be more popular amongst regular users than its professional data analysis service: personal analytics reports based on Facebook.

More: TechCrunch, Wolfram and Gizmodo

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

AT&T readies ‘flagship’ store in Chicago: more (genius) bars in more places — Americans: when you think of AT&T, what comes immediately to mind? — For many, the answer might involve a four-letter word or two. Huge tech corporations are rarely celebrated for their attention to quality …

More: Computerworld, CNET, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, IntoMobile, TechCrunch, Business Insider, iDownloadBlog.com and Gizmodo

Larry Powelson / Google LatLong:

Half a gigameter of biking navigation in 12 countries in Google Maps for Android — (Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog) — Whether you're a seasoned century rider or a casual beach cruiser, finding the best biking routes can be a challenge. That's why today we're bringing mobile …

More: PC Magazine, The Verge, Android News, Rumours …, GadgeTell, SiliconANGLE and The Next Web

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