Techmeme
September 20, 2012, 4:10 PM

Top News

BBC:
New Apple maps app under fire from users  —  Users have complained about the quality of satellite images in the new software (bottom)  —  Inaccuracies and misplaced towns and cities in Apple's new map software have provoked anger from users.  —  In June Apple announced it would stop using Google Maps …
Piers Dillon Scott / The Sociable:
That's not an airport, it's a farm - Irish Minister for Justice considers Apple's iOS 6 Maps dangerous  —  Ireland's Minister for Justice has a few concerns with Apple's new iOS6 map application.  The main one being that iOS6′s new mapping app identifies Airfield Garden, a working farm in a residential area, as an actual airport.
Steve Huff / Betabeat:
iOS6 Maps are So Bad They Inspired Their Own Mocking Tumblr  —  A few days ago Waze CEO Noam Bardin kvetched that Apple's native mapping app would stink up iOS 6.  If The Amazing iOS 6 Maps Tumblr is any indication, he was right.  —  The screengrabs posted on the site come from iPhones and iPads.
Reuters:
Exclusive: Wal-Mart stops selling Amazon Kindles  —  (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer sell Amazon.com Inc's Kindle products, making the world's largest retailer the second major chain to stop selling Amazon's devices, according to an internal memo and a source familiar with the situation.
Reuters:
Exclusive: Facebook to charge merchants to run Offers  —  (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said it will start charging businesses to run Offers on its social network, turning a previously free service into a potential revenue generator at a time when Wall Street is demanding new sources of growth and profit from the company.
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Facebook tests automatic ‘Photo Sync’ uploads on Android  —  Facebook has begun testing a new feature for Android owners that syncs photos you shoot on your phone straight to your Facebook account.  It's a hybrid of Google+'s instant photo-upload feature and Apple's Photostream …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Microsoft wins third German injunction against Google's Motorola over high-power patent  —  Google just suffered a strategically very important defeat at the Munich I Regional Court, where Presiding Judge Dr. Peter Guntz just announced a ruling in Microsoft's favor against wholly-owned Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility.
Miyoung Kim / Reuters:
Samsung to add iPhone 5 to U.S. lawsuits vs Apple  —  (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co plans to add Apple Inc's iPhone 5 to existing patent lawsuits against its U.S. rival, stepping up its legal challenge to Apple as the two smartphone leaders seek to assert rights to key technologies.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Netgear Debuts New NeoTV, NeoTV PRO and NeoTV MAX Streaming Players To Take On Roku  —  Netgear unveiled an all-new lineup of streaming media players today, including the NeoTV, NeoTV PRO and NeoTV MAX, available for $49.99, $59.99 and $69.99 respectively beginning today, September 20.
Brad Stone / Business Week:
Is Amazon Preparing to Get Fresh in California?  —  Last weekend was a momentous one for about 12 percent of the country.  The state of California started requiring online retailers to collect state and local sales tax from residents.  That means that prices on Amazon, the world's largest Internet store …
Tweets: @lihall
Jeff John Roberts / GigaOM:
US government and Stack Exchange launch crowdsourced patent process  —  A new partnership between the US government and a popular Q&A site may help rid the country of the low quality patents that have produced an endless series of lawsuits that threaten to stunt parts of the technology sector.
Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:
Apple and publishers subpoena Amazon in ebook pricing case  —  Apple wants the Department of Justice to turn over the interviews it conducted with Amazon employees as part of the ebook pricing lawsuit.  In an August filing, Apple wrote, “Amazon was the driving force behind the Government's investigation …
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Major League Baseball Hopes iPhone Tickets Will Be a Hit  —  While riding to San Francisco's AT&T Park on Wednesday, an alert popped up on my phone letting me know that the Giants game was nearby, even though I was still on the train nearing the ballpark.  —  As I neared the gate …
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Pirate Bay Financier Files For Bankruptcy, Focus Shifts To Peter Sunde  —  Following their earlier convictions for copyright infringement, Pirate Bay co-founders Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij, former site spokesman Peter Sunde, and financier Carl Lundström all owe a considerable amount in damages.
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple's iTunes and Mac App Store Traffic Increases Ninefold for iOS 6 Launch Day  —  Networking company Sandvine today took a look (via The Loop) at Apple's iTunes Store and Mac App Store traffic yesterday as compared to the previous two Wednesdays, noting that traffic spiked to nine times …

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More News

Matthew Moskovciak / CNET:

Earlier Picks

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: