Techmeme
October 10, 2012, 9:25 PM

Top News

Lance Ulanoff / Mashable!:
Want to Dispose of Apple's iPod Packaging?  Just Add Water  —  This is a first, at least from Apple.  A portion of the new Fifth-Generation iPod Touch and Seventh Generation iPod Nano's packaging is biodegradable.  Just add water and the EarPod holder dissolves.
David Pierce / The Verge:
Apple iPod touch review (2012)  —  Part MP3 player, part tablet — part point-and-shoot?  —  It all started with an iPod touch, a gift from my parents years ago.  I've since bought a half-dozen more iPods, two iPhones, an iPad, and a MacBook Air.  Somehow I'm sure Apple planned it that way.
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
PC shipments to decline in 2012 for the first time since dot-com bust, can Windows 8 save the day?  —  The global PC market will see worldwide shipments decline this year, which will mean a drop for the first time in 11 years, according to IHS' iSuppli.  More specifically …
Jason Del Rey / AdAge:
Here's Business Insider's Crazy New Strategy to Boost Ad Revenue  —  Sponsored Content Business, ‘Brand Insider’ Expected to Generate 50% of Ad Revenue  —  Get ready for more slideshows on Business Insider, but this time with a twist: they'll be paid for by an advertiser and likely include some nod to a brand's product or service.
Josh Lowensohn / CNET:
Developers: We warned Apple about iOS maps quality  —  Developers say they gave Apple plenty of warning about issues with its iOS maps app revamp.  —  To the casual observer it might appear that Apple was caught off guard by just how bad its its in-house maps app was.  But the company had plenty of warning.
Richard Barley / The TweetDeck Blog:
A new look for TweetDeck  —  Today we updated the TweetDeck app on all our supported platforms - web, Chrome, Mac and Windows.  The update is live now on web.tweetdeck.com.  If you use the Windows app, just restart to trigger an auto-update.  Chrome app users should restart Chrome to update …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Live From New York: Walt Mossberg, Kara Swisher Interview Eric Schmidt  —  You wanted new news from Eric Schmidt about the state of the Apple-Google war?  So did all of us.  But the Google chairman was mostly mum on that subject.  He was happy, however, to tell Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher about how …
Mike Dano / FierceWireless:
HTC tablets fade from U.S. market, but firm keeps options open  —  SAN DIEGO—HTC has discontinued sales of tablets in the United States.  However, a company executive said the Taiwanese handset maker could re-enter the space if it builds a tablet that could “make a splash.”
Amar Toor / The Verge:
Samsung to unveil 4-inch ‘mini’ Galaxy S III on October 11th  —  JK Shin, head of Samsung Mobile Communications, confirmed today that his company will be releasing a four-inch version of the Galaxy S III on October 11th in Germany.  Shin announced the news during a meeting with Korean press on Wednesday.
Harrison Weber / The Next Web:
eBay announces site redesign, Pinterest-like discovery feed and the debut of eBay Now in NY and SF  —  Today in New York at its “Future of Shopping” event, eBay has redesigned its site to be much neater and more consistent, featuring a cleaner search page, product page and a streamlined, 1 page checkout experience.
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google Images Dominated By Pictures Of Romney For “Completely Wrong” Search  —  It's not a Google Bomb, but that doesn't make it less embarrassing for US presidential candidate Mitt Romney or Google, that a search on Google Images for “completely wrong” brings up results that are dominated by Romney's picture.
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
Google tweaks mobile home page with new hidden services sidebar  —  Google offers a host of apps for both Android and iOS, but that doesn't mean it is neglecting its mobile web presence.  The company often rolls out little tweaks to various services, the latest of which is a redesign of its mobile search homepage.
David Kravets / Wired:
Judge Says Fair Use Protects Universities in Book Scanning Project  —  A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a copyright infringement lawsuit against universities which participated in a massive book digitization project in conjunction with Google without permission from rights holders.
More: The LaboratoriumTweets: @amac
Owen Thomas / Business Insider:
Yahoo CTO Ash Munshi Has Left  —  Yahoo CTO Ash Munshi has left the company, a spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider after we inquired.  —  He was at Yahoo for about a year, having been appointed shortly after Carol Bartz was fired as CEO.  A source familiar with Yahoo's inner workings told us …
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Facebook confirms researcher exploited privacy settings to quickly collect user phone numbers  —  Update at 6:00PM EST - How to protect your phone number on Facebook: Three options you and your friends need to know about  —  On Friday, a researcher by the name of Suriya Prakash claimed …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Starts Showing Birthdays And Selling Gifts At The Top Of The Mobile News Feed  —  Facebook Gifts could make a lot of money on mobile by getting you to buy presents for friends, but birthdays were buried in Events and celebrations weren't shown on mobile.
Kara Swisher / Harpers Bazaar:
The Other Zuckerberg  —  In the summer of 2005, Randi Zuckerberg was 23 years old and ensconced in her dream job at the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather in New York City, when her brother, Mark, then 21, sent her an e-mail.  He followed it up with an instant message and a JetBlue ticket.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Canonical asks desktop users to “pay what you think Ubuntu is worth”  —  Canonical has long made the most popular desktop version of Linux, but actually making money off Ubuntu is easier said than done.  When a typical user downloads Ubuntu for free and installs it on a computer …
Bloomberg:
Sprint Said to Hold Off on MetroPCS Counterbid for Now  —  Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is holding off on an immediate counterbid for MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS) to gain time to scrutinize the carrier's planned combination with T-Mobile USA Inc., said people familiar with the situation.
More: CNET, DSLreports, GigaOM and BGR
Sven Grundberg / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify Signs TV Deal With Samsung  —  STOCKHOLM—South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Wednesday unveiled a deal with Anglo-Swedish music streaming service Spotify Ltd., that will allow direct streaming of music from Samsung television sets.  —  The consumer electronics giant …
Simon Goodley / Guardian:
Facebook accused of taking UK for a ride over taxes  —  Figures suggest only 11% of sales in UK are declared, with company benefiting from basing its HQ in Dublin  —  Facebook has been accused of taking the British taxpayer for a ride after experts suggested the company had depressed sales figures …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Twitter Says Its Ads Make Money for Politicians  —  Can you sway someone's vote with 140 characters?  Hard to tell.  But you can get them to cough up some money for your campaign.  —  That's the thrust of a new study from Twitter and Web traffic tracker Compete out this afternoon.
Ryan Kim / GigaOM:
Oyster gets $3M to become the Spotify of books  —  While Amazon launched its own lending library on top of its Amazon Prime service, there's still an opportunity for other competitors to create a Spotify or Netflix for books.  That's the hope of New York City-based Oyster …

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