Techmeme: Intellectual Ventures: Patent Troll Funds Startups, New Products (Ashlee Vance/Businessweek)

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September 4, 2014, 8:50 PM

Top News

Brian X. Chen / New York Times:

New, larger iPhones to offer one-handed mode for easier typing; iWatch circuit board is “tiny” — Apple Nears Introduction of Smartwatch and Bigger iPhones — SAN FRANCISCO — When Apple wants to make a big splash, it returns to its history.

More: 9to5Mac, Engadget, The Register, TUAW, iMore, TIME, MacRumors, Ubergizmo, Pocketnow, TechnoBuffalo, Business Insider, BGR, The Verge, AppleInsider, TechCrunch, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Pocket-lint, Valleywag, MacDailyNews, iDownloadBlog.com, Cult of Mac, Neowin, Gotta Be Mobile, iPhone in Canada Blog and App Advice

Tweets: @shearm, @stevekovach, @tomwarren and @zibapdx

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Apple announces live stream for Sept. 9 iPhone/iWatch event — Apple has just announced that it will be live streaming its upcoming event later this month on September 9th. Its website also includes a countdown clock pictured above and a link for Apple users to add the event to their calendar.

More: Computerworld, PC Magazine, CNET, BGR, AppleInsider, Mercury News, MacRumors, iMore, Laptop Mag, ZDNet, Business Insider, Softpedia News, Macworld and The Next Web

Tweets: @tim_cook and @9to5mac

Wall Street Journal:

Apple's smartwatch will come in two sizes, both with curved OLED screens and NFC — Apple's Watch to Usher In Short-Range Wireless — Coming Smartwatch, iPhone Will Have Technology to Provide Tap-to-Pay Features — Apple Inc. plans to include short-range wireless technology in its coming smartwatch …

More: Wall Street Journal, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, VentureBeat, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, AppleTell, BGR, Gizmodo, Gigaom, The Verge, iPhone in Canada Blog, AppleInsider and MacRumors

Noah Everett / Twitpic Blog:

Twitpic to shut down September 25, citing trademark dispute with Twitter — Twitpic is shutting down — Twitpic will be shutting down September 25th. You will be able to export all your photos and videos. We'll let everyone know when this feature is live in the next few days.

Ian Kar / Bank Innovation:

Apple Said to Negotiate Deep Payments Discounts from Big Banks — Apple reportedly has reached deals to lower its card transaction fees with five of the largest financial institutions in the nation as part of the Silicon Valley giant's to-be-launched payments venture.

More: AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, Electronista, 9to5Mac, Ubergizmo, Pocketnow, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, iPhone in Canada Blog, BetaBoston, iDownloadBlog.com and InvestorPlace. Tweets: @benbajarin

Nancy Scola / Washington Post:

White House names Google's Megan Smith US CTO, Twitter's Alexander Macgillivray Deputy US CTO — White House names Google's Megan Smith the next Chief Technology Officer of the United States — The White House announced Thursday that it has named its next Chief Technology Officer.

More: White House.gov Blog, Re/code, CNET, Bloomberg, Tech Times, FedScoop, Gigaom, The Verge, Engadget, TechCrunch, Mashable, Valleywag, 9to5Google, Gizmodo, The Hill, Fortune, The Next Web and BetaBoston

Tweets: @smithmegan, @amac, @danprimack, @sacca, @nelson, @lesbiantech, @karaswisher, @danprimack and @dannysullivan

Sven Grundberg / Wall Street Journal:

LG G Watch R will be available in retail stores Oct. 14 with a price tag higher than original $230 LG G Watch — LG Sets a Date for Its New Round-Faced Smartwatch — South Korea's LG Electronics on Thursday spilled out some more details on its coming G Watch R smartwatch …

More: BGR, Gotta Be Mobile, Pocketnow, Tech Times, Gigaom, Phandroid, Business Insider, 9to5Google, Phones Review and Android Police

Dana Wollman / Engadget:

A closer look at LG's circular G Watch R (hands-on)

More: The Verge, SlashGear, Wearable Tech Insider and Gizmodo

Robert Purchese / Eurogamer.net:

Oculus founders interviewed, say they want the consumer Rift to sell in $200-$400 price range — Oculus answers the big Rift questions — Does it still care about games? — A year ago I told Palmer Luckey's story, about how he'd invented what would become Oculus Rift in his parent's garage.

More: Engadget, Ars Technica, Gizmodo UK, ExtremeTech, Gizmodo and The Verge

Joseph Ax / Reuters:

Getty Images sues Microsoft over Bing Image Widget tool, citing “massive infringement” — Getty Images sues Microsoft over new online photo tool — (Reuters) - A new Microsoft Corp product that allows website publishers to embed digital photographs on their sites is a …

More: BetaNews, Wall Street Journal, GeekWire, WebProNews, ZDNet and Neowin. See also Mediagazer

Matt Mullenweg / WordPress News:

WordPress 4.0 released with easier embeds, a plugin browser, and an auto-expanding editor — WordPress 4.0 “Benny” — Version 4.0 of WordPress, named “Benny” in honor of jazz clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard.

More: The Next Web, TechSpot, Computerworld and WP Engine

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

Facebook asking users to perform “Privacy Checkup”, which reminds them about app permissions and who they're sharing with — As Promised, Facebook's Privacy Checkup Has Arrived — Facebook doesn't want you over-sharing — seriously! — and it's ready to prove it.

More: Facebook, CNET, Gizmodo, BGR, Gigaom, Inside Facebook, TechCrunch, Engadget and USA Today

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Facebook's updated Slingshot lifts reciprocation burden, allows sending of “unlocked” photos and videos — Facebook's Slingshot: Send Unlocked Photos and Videos — Facebook today updated its Slingshot app for Android and iOS, changing the only feature that makes the app unique.

More: Slingshot Blog, Inside Facebook, TechCrunch and The Verge

Ben Dummett / Wall Street Journal:

Hootsuite raises $35M led by Fidelity Investments at an $800M valuation — Canada's Hootsuite Secures $35 Million Investment from Fidelity-Led Group — Investment Raises Media Company's Value to Nearly $800 Million — TORONTO—Canada's Hootsuite Media Inc. has secured $35 million …

More: VentureBeat and BetaKit

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Hootsuite Buys Brightkit For Gamefied Social Marketing Campaigns, Passes 10M Users

More: Hootsuite, Hootsuite Social Media …, Hootsuite Media, Techvibes Global News, VentureBeat and ZDNet

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

Reddit, Kickstarter, and others plan net neutrality ‘day of action’ on September 10th — With public comments closing on September 15th, the clock is ticking — As the FCC prepares to close public comments on its net neutrality proposal, major internet companies are organizing a protest to raise awareness.

More: Guardian, CNET, The Register, Ars Technica, PandoDaily, Consumerist, Entrepreneur, Inquirer, TIME and Light Reading

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

Most of the US has no broadband competition at 25Mbps, FCC chair says — FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler speaking to the cable industry in April 2014. — NCTA — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler today stated what is obvious to US Internet users: for broadband speeds fast enough …

More: Techdirt, Washington Post, Consumerist, SiliconBeat, The Hill, Bloomberg, Reuters and Variety. See also Mediagazer

Yoree Koh / Wall Street Journal:

Twitter's CFO hints that the company's product priorities include group chat, improving search, and surfacing older tweets — Twitter's Product Checklist: Better Search and Group Chats? — A souped-up search engine. An improved algorithm. Group chatting.

More: Gigaom, Forbes, Guardian, Gigaom, Business Insider, digiphile, Engadget, TechnoBuffalo, Medium, The Daily Dot, Mashable, Yahoo Tech, Phandroid and Marketing Land

New York Times:

Labor groups claim Apple supplier failed to provide adequate protective equipment, facility maintenance, and fire training; Apple is “investigating” — Groups Accuse Apple Supplier in China of Labor Violations — HONG KONG — With its stock near a high and its latest iPhone expected …

More: china labor watch, CNET, MacRumors, Macworld, iPhone in Canada Blog, Cult of Mac, Wall Street Journal, Electronista, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Reuters and Re/code

Bloomberg:

Baidu says its computing cluster will be 100 times more powerful than “Google Brain” — Baidu Builds Largest Computer Brain for Online Queries — Baidu Inc. is building the world's largest and most powerful computer cluster to improve image recognition as online queries move away from text.

More: Gigaom and Search Engine Land

Rachel King / ZDNet:

Nvidia launches patent suit against Qualcomm, Samsung — Summary: Besides damages, Nvidia wants the ITC to ban select Samsung Galaxy devices running on Qualcomm chips. — In a fresh patent suit for the tech world, Nvidia is launching a legal battle against Qualcomm and Samsung.

More: NVIDIA, CNET, eWeek, Gigaom, Re/code, TechCrunch, BGR, Electronista, Bloomberg, RTTNews and Ubergizmo

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Google Unveils The Cartographer, Its Indoor Mapping Backpack — If you have been following the development of Google Maps over the years, you are probably familiar with the Trekker, the backpack that includes a complete Street View camera setup for mapping anything from hikes into the Grand Canyon …

More: Google LatLong, The Verge, Gizmodo and The Next Web

Matthew Miller / ZDNet:

Huawei announces flagship Ascend Mate 7 with 6" display, 8 cores, and fingerprint scanner — IFA 2014: Huawei announces Ascend Mate 7; huge display, minimal bezel, eight cores — Summary: Huawei continues to release high quality phones at reasonable prices and the upcoming Mate 7 looks …

More: Engadget, TechRadar.com, Laptop Mag, Tech Times, Pocket-lint, Gizmodo UK, Inquirer, Android Police, Droid Life, eWeek, Phandroid, IntoMobile, Phones Review and Electronista

Ashlee Vance / Businessweek:

Intellectual Ventures: Patent Troll Funds Startups, New Products — The dietary habits of Finland's populace went through a drastic change in 2011. Thanks to the low-carb craze and a rising preference for all-natural products, Finns started eating butter with impunity.

More: Daring Fireball and Techdirt

Ben Woods / The Next Web:

Nest Protect updates bring new Pathlight controls and Steam Check, but no return of Wave feature — Nest, the Google-owned company behind the ‘conscious’ in-home thermostat and Nest Protect smoke alarm, has announced today that a range of new features will soon start rolling out to Nest Protect users around the world.

More: Wall Street Journal, Engadget, Android Police, The Airbnb Blog and 9to5Google

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