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September 20, 2012, 5:35 PM

Top News

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

Apple: Maps is a “major initiative...the more people use it, the better it will get” — Apple issued a statement today regarding the much maligned maps in iOS 6. It says that it launched the service knowing that it is a ‘major initiative’ and that it is just getting started with it.

More: AllThingsD and 9to5Mac. Tweets: @sammywalrusiv

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Wrong turn: Apple's buggy iOS 6 maps lead to widespread complaints — Apple has a maps problem. — The major new feature of the company's new iOS 6 mobile operating system is a new mapping module developed by Apple itself — a replacement for the Google-supplied maps that have been standard on the iPhone since it debuted in 2007.

More: TheJournal.ie, SplatF, Reuters, Real Dan Lyons, GeekWire, The Next Web, BuzzFeed, TUAW, New York Magazine, TechWeekEurope UK and MobileSyrup.com

Tweets: @sammywalrusiv, @ios6maps and @cnet

Jake Smith / 9to5Mac:

Google has an iOS 6 Maps app awaiting approval. It is solely up to Apple to approve. — Previous version of Google Maps on iOS. — If you are missing Google Maps after updating to iOS 6 over the past 24 hours, good news may be just around the corner. As previously rumored …

More: MacRumors, Guardian, Business Insider, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, The Tech Block, iDownloadBlog.com, Pocketnow, Redmond Pie and 9to5Google. Tweets: @stroughtonsmith

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.

More: TheJournal.ie, TechCrunch, Examiner, Guardian, iMore.com, TPM IdeaLab, Search Engine Land and The Next Web. Tweets: @lessien

Steve Huff / Betabeat:

iOS6 Maps are So Bad They Inspired Their Own Mocking Tumblr

More: Technology Review. Tweets: @jasonsantamaria, @xdamman, @tomwarren, @sirkneeland, @tim, @clairecm and @mathewi

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.

Jordan Golson / MacRumors:

Swiss Federal Railways Says Apple Copied Its Iconic Railway Clock — Switzerland's Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, or Swiss Federal Railway service, has accused Apple of using their iconic clock in its Clock app for iPad without permission, according to a report in the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger [Google Translate].

More: Ars Technica, TechCrunch, CNET, Business Insider, Android News, Rumours …, Forbes, The Tech Block, Macgasm, ValueWalk, Mashable!, iDownloadBlog.com, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac and TUAW

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

IFTTT forced to remove Twitter triggers on September 27th to comply with new API policies — The internet service glue product IFTTT has been forced to remove its Twitter triggers after recent changes to Twitter's API policies. The change was confirmed in an email sent out to IFTTT users today.

More: BuzzFeed, The Verge and TechCrunch

Tweets: @eldon, @stephtara, @elliottlpayne, @xdamman and @ablaze

Thanks:@getboyce

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.

More: SiliconANGLE, Los Angeles Times, Marketing Land, CNNMoney.com, the Econsultancy blog, Business Insider, CNET, Forbes, Inside Facebook, TechCrunch, Marketing Pilgrim, Pulse2 Technology …, The Tech Block, VentureBeat and Techie Buzz. Tweets: @eldon

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 …

More: Engadget, Inside Mobile Apps, digitaltrends.com, VentureBeat, CNET, WebProNews, Android News, Rumours …, MyBroadband Tech and IT News, Softpedia News, LAPTOP Magazine, 9to5Google, Pulse2 Technology …, The Next Web, Techie Buzz, Gizmodo UK and Gotta Be Mobile

Richard Rubin / Bloomberg:

Microsoft Avoided Billions in U.S. Tax, Senate Memo Says — A U.S. Senate committee memo said Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) used aggressive international tax maneuvers to avoid billions of dollars in taxes over the past three years. — The report, released in advance of a 2 p.m. hearing in Washington today …

More: The Next Web, CNET, CNET, GeekWire, SlashGear, Computerworld, Pulse2 Technology … and Seattle Times

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.

More: BBC, BGR, CNET, AllThingsD, PC Magazine, TechSpot, WMPoweruser, Associated Press, PandoDaily, WebProNews, iDownloadBlog.com, PhoneArena and The Tech Block. Tweets: @fosspatents

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.

More: AllThingsD, DSLreports, Examiner, FOSS Patents, digitaltrends.com, Mobile Magazine, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Phones Review, DailyTech, MacRumors, IntoMobile, TechCrunch, Mashable!, GigaOM and ZDNet

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.

Ganesh T S / AnandTech:

Netgear Updates Entertainment Lineup with Push2TV 3000 and NeoTV 300 Series

More: The Verge

Deborah Gage / Wall Street Journal:

The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Fail — It looks so easy from the outside. An entrepreneur with a hot technology and venture-capital funding becomes a billionaire in his 20s. — But now there is evidence that venture-backed start-ups fail at far higher numbers than the rate the industry usually cites.

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

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Business Card Upstart Moo.com Buys Flavors.me To Expand Its Digital Profile — Moo.com, the online-to-print business card company that was one of the UK's earlier startup successes, is branching out: it is buying all of the assets of Flavors.me, the site where people can create online personal profiles …

More: Wired.co.uk, VentureBeat, Flavors.me Blog, Forbes, Techie Buzz, GigaOM and PandoDaily

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.

More: StackExchange Blog, Ars Technica, The Verge and Techdirt

Eric Savitz / Forbes:

Unwired Planet Sues Apple, Google With Infringing 10 Patents Each — Unwired Panet, the wireless Internet technology company formerly called Openwave, this morning said it has filed patent infringement complaints against both Apple and Google in federal court in Nevada.

More: TechCrunch, CNET, Business Wire, AllThingsD and bizjournals. Tweets: @inafried

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Facebook Android Update: You Can Now Text Using Facebook Messenger; Messages Section Redesigned — A lot of news coming out of Facebook today, it seems. This afternoon, the social network is also announcing a series of updates for Android users, which include improvements to both the Facebook for Android and Facebook Messenger apps.

More: CNET, AllFacebook, 9to5Google, Gizmodo, The Verge, AllThingsD, Facebook Newsroom, The Next Web and VentureBeat

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Facebook launches Shared Activity plugin to help users control what they are sharing through apps — Facebook today announced a new plugin called Shared Activity, which lists a user's activities published from a given app to Facebook, including Open Graph activities, Like button stories, and comment plugin activities.

More: PC Magazine, VentureBeat, The Verge, CNET, BuzzFeed and AllFacebook. Tweets: @launchticker

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