Techmeme
October 31, 2012, 1:10 PM

Top News

Joshua Topolsky / The Verge:
iPad mini review  —  Apple takes on a new market with a smaller tablet  —  The iPad mini has arrived — and so has our review.  Just last week, Apple introduced the world to the newest member of its wildly successful tablet line, an adorable, diminutive slate with a 7.9-inch display.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The iPad Mini  —  “Wow, it feels like a Kindle.”  —  “Ew, the screen is terrible.”  —  That was my wife's initial reaction when I handed her the iPad Mini to see what she, an avid daily user of an iPad 3, thought.  Her initial reaction matched mine exactly, and perfectly encapsulates the experience.
Eva Dou / Digits:
Asustek: Nexus 7 Sales Approaching 1 million a Month  —  Sales of Google Inc. 's Nexus 7, made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. , are closing in on 1 million units a month, the Taiwanese maker revealed.  —  The 7-inch tablet has created a big buzz this year with its low starting price of US$199 …
Greg Sandoval / CNET:
Right on Cue: Can iTunes chief fix Apple's maps and Siri?  —  An executive shuffle has dropped two troubled services into the hands of Eddy Cue.  CNET has a behind-the-scenes look at Apple's master negotiator and product resuscitator.  —  Few consumers know his name, but Eddy Cue …
More: Business Insider.  Tweets: @pkafka
Eric Savitz / Forbes:
Apple Slides As Investors React to Management Shake-Up  —  Apple shares slid back below the $600 level Wednesday morning as investors finally got a chance to react to Monday's management shake-up.  —  While most Street analysts who follow the stock see little to worry about in the departure …
Colleen Taylor / TechCrunch:
Uber Kills Surge Pricing In NYC For Customers, Drivers Paid 2X Rate To Meet Post-Sandy Demand  —  With the subway system down for the count in the wake of mega-storm Sandy, it's very, very tough to get around New York City today.  And this morning, people who opened up their Uber apps to hail …
More: Betabeat and Free Press.  Thanks:@jordanrcrook
Dave Lee / BBC:
Kickstarter crowdfunding website launches in the UK  —  The Kickstarter site lists projects that are seeking financial backing  —  Crowdsourced funding website Kickstarter has launched in the UK.  —  The site, on which users seek money for creative or product-based ideas …
Jeremy Kirk / ITworld.com:
Irked by cyberspying, Georgia outs Russia-based hacker — with photos  —  In an unprecedented move, Georgia reveals startling details of a hacker it says is stealing its confidential information  —  In one of the photos, the dark-haired, bearded hacker is peering into his computer's screen, perhaps puzzled at what's happening.
Eliza Kern / GigaOM:
Say hello to another video app: Threadlife wants to give you three seconds of fame  —  In launching a new social video startup, Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn and Blitz co-founder Ken Martin know they're jumping into a crowded space that hasn't exactly taken off yet.
Lee Hutchinson / Ars Technica:
More on Fusion Drive: How it works, and how to roll your own  —  It's not Intel SRT, it's not file-based, and it works on OS X right now.  —  Two blog posts by Tumblr user Jollyjinx have shed some more light on the inner workings of Apple's Fusion Drive.  Announced last week at Apple's event …
Leslie Katz / CNET:
Samsung solar-powered school shines in rural South Africa  —  Samsung turns a shipping container into a portable wired classroom to bridge the divide between rural and urban South African schools.  —  There's something new(ish) under the sun in the rural South African village of Phomolong …
Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
Firefox lost 6-9 million downloads in EU browser choice ‘glitch’  —  Summary: Mozilla's general counsel estimates between 6-9 million lost Firefox browser downloads thanks to Microsoft failing to include the ‘browser choice’ screen in latest versions of Windows 7.  —  Zack Whittaker
Micah Lee / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Privacy in Ubuntu 12.10: Amazon Ads and Data Leaks  —  Earlier this month the eagerly awaited free software operating system Ubuntu 12.10 was released, and it includes a slew of new features (YouTube link), some of which have infuriated users because of privacy concerns.
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Marissa Mayer Makes a Media Deal  —  The Marissa Mayer messaging is that Yahoo's new CEO is about product, not media.  But that doesn't mean she's shutting down everything her predecessor Ross Levinsohn was working on.  —  Example: Yahoo has struck a deal with Wenner Media …
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
“Six Strikes” Evidence Re-reviewed to Fix RIAA Lobbying Controversy  —  Starting next month the file-sharing habits of millions of BitTorrent users in the United States will be monitored as part of an agreement between the MPAA, RIAA, and five major ISPs.  —  The parties launched the Center …

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work  —  Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
Zoho:
How WCAG compliance makes modern workplaces more accessible  —  A workplace's approach to inclusivity starts with its everyday tools.  Some of them can create barriers that inadvertently shut people out.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
WebBrain:
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser  —  Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox.  Use local models or your preferred AI provider.  Get started free.

Featured Podcasts

Machine Gods:
Jensen Huang's Nvidiotic Spy Scandal + Can Dems Pass AI Regulation?
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Encore: Chuck Klosterman on Why Football Owns TV (and Why It Won't Forever)
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Zach Reitano - Building Ro and Why Healthcare Should Be 50% of GDP
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Sources:
Amazon AWS CEO: AI boom is just getting started
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Cheeky Pint:
Nik Storonsky: The most uncompromising banking CEO
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Big Technology Podcast:
Jensen and The Honeypot
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:10 PM ET, October 31, 2012.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks