Techmeme
September 20, 2012, 8:35 PM

Top News

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.
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 …
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.
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 …
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.
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 Blick [Google Translate].
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.
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.
iFixit:
iPhone 5 Teardown  —  Behold, the sixth generation of iPhone!  We shall call it...iPhone 5!  Buckle down for the iPhone 5 teardown: the biggest thing to happen to teardowns since teardowns.  Follow us on Twitter for all the latest teardown shenanigans, or go on that Facebook thing to keep up with iFixit news.
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.
Bloomberg:
Microsoft Said to Ask China to Stop Piracy at Four Firms  —  Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) asked China to stop the alleged use of pirated versions of its Office software by China National Petroleum Corp. and three other state-owned companies, three people familiar with the situation said.
More: The Next Web and CNET
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.
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.
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.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Oracle Database suffers from “stealth password cracking vulnerability”  —  A weakness in an Oracle login system—used in the company's databases which grant access to sensitive information—makes it trivial for attackers to crack user passwords and gain entry without authorization, a researcher has warned.

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