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11:20 AM ET, August 6, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Mark Gurman / 9 to 5 Mac:
Apple opens “Try Before You Buy” section in App Store, Step to fight app piracy  —  Apple seems to be adding to and changing up their App Store's featured sections quite frequently.  Today Apple added a new section dedicated to promoting free applications on the App Store.
RELATED:
Gizmodo:
Apple Should Enable 24-Hour Trials for All Paid Apps  —  Apple has a new App Store category called Try Before You Buy, which features free lite versions of popular paid apps.  Nice idea, but not good enough.  Apple, we want a full 24-hour trial period on all apps.
Discussion: TUAW
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Not a Joke: An Apple App Patent (Pic) That Looks Like an Actual App Selling on the App Store  —  Updated at 8.15::  Apple apparently has started filing patents for certain applications.  And one of them looks exactly like an actual app — Where To — that has been available on the iTunes app store for a long time.
RELATED:
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Apple Patent Diagrams Send The Wrong Message To Developers  —  To the left, a recent diagram included in a travel app patent filed by Apple.  To the right, the homescreen interface for existing third party travel app “Where To,” which has been in the app store since 2008.
Ortwin Gentz / The FutureBlog:
The patent case we haven't called
Discussion: Cult of Mac, Tech Eye and The Next Web
Oleoleolson / AlterNet Blogs:
Massive Censorship Of Digg Uncovered  —  A group of influential conservative members of the behemoth social media site Digg.com have just been caught red-handed in a widespread campaign of censorship, having multiple accounts, upvote padding, and deliberately trying to ban progressives.
RELATED:
Josh Halliday / Guardian:
Digg investigates claims of conservative ‘censorship’
Discussion: The Huffington Post
Arn / MacRumors:
New Images of 4th Generation iPod Touch LCD with FaceTime Camera  —  An iPhone parts supplier sent us these photos of what are claimed to be the front LCD and bezel of the upcoming 4th generation iPod Touch.  The new part clearly shows a front-sided hole that would leave room for a front-facing FaceTime camera.
Dean Goodman / Reuters:
Beatles and iTunes deal still at impasse: Yoko Ono  —  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Don't hold your breath waiting for Beatles songs to go on sale at iTunes or other online retailers, Yoko Ono said on Thursday.  —  The Fab Four have long resisted the allure of digital downloads …
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Let's Celebrate Google's Biggest Failures!  —  “We celebrate our failures,” Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday when speaking at the Techonomy confernce, in response to the surprise closure of his company's Google Wave product.  When it comes to failures, Google's celebrating more than you might realize.
RELATED:
Nick Saint / Silicon Alley Insider:
Once Upon A Time, Google Wave Was The Next Big Thing
Discussion: PC World
Bangkokpost.com:
Saudis block BlackBerry messaging  —  Saudi Arabia suspended BlackBerry messaging services on Friday, users said as concerns spread across the Middle East and parts of Asia over security issues with the popular smartphones.  —  BlackBerry subscribers in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom …
RELATED:
Computerworld:   RIM holds talks with UAE and Saudi Arabia
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Introduces us to the Smart Bike  —  On August 5, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced Smart Bicycle System in development.  The premise is rather like Apple's Nike + iPod system for runners except for cyclists.
Kelvin Soh / Reuters:
Apple in talks to buy China's Handseeing  —  (Reuters) - Apple Inc is in takeover talks with Chinese software maker Handseeing, an executive of the Chinese company said on Friday.  —  The deal would be the iPhone maker's first major acquisition in the country.
John Siracusa / Ars Technica:
Can you buy me now?  Apple and the war for the mobile market  —  The short history of the computer industry is dominated by two well-known stories of business triumph and defeat.  The first is the story of how mainframe makers failed to take the personal computer seriously until it was too late.
Discussion: Daring Fireball and MacDailyNews
Paul Carr / TechCrunch:
Rdio Gaga: How Spotify's Inferior Rival Is Playing America Like A Violin  —  Poor old Spotify.  Less than a week after Billboard magazine reported that the music-on-demand service had “rebooted” its negotiations with US labels, rival service Rdio has just opened its doors in both the US and Canada …
Discussion: Newsome.Org and Computerworld
Edward Wyatt / New York Times:
F.C.C. Chief Opposes Fees for Internet Priority  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that he believed it was “unacceptable” for Internet service providers to offer faster Internet transmission to content providers willing to pay higher fees.
Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:
Quora Opens Up To Search Engines As Facebook Looms  —  Quora is pushing forward with the continued opening of their service as Facebook Questions continues through a relatively rocky start.  Given that it has become relatively obvious that Facebook Questions is nothing short of a direct attack against Quora …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Twitter's Social Graph Is About To Get Pumped Up.  “Who To Follow” Is Social Steroids  —  Last week, Twitter started testing out a “Who to follow” feature.  Basically, it's a recommendation engine for who you should follow, similar to ones that Facebook and others use.
Discussion: Stowe Boyd, broadstuff and Fast Company
Macduff Hughes / Gmail Blog:
Access two Gmail accounts at once in the same browser  —  I have a couple different Gmail addresses that I use for different purposes.  Historically, Google Accounts - including Gmail accounts — have only let people access one account at a time per browser, so using both accounts has been a bit inconvenient.
Ian / Nokia Conversations:
No holds barred: @NiklasatNokia on Twitter  —  NEW YORK, United States - We're not entirely sure what Niklas Savander, Nokia's head of sales and marketing, was expecting when he agreed to answer your questions live on Twitter.  But one thing's definitely true: he certainly got stuck in.
 
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 More Items: 
Dan Goodin / The Register:
Private browsing modes in four biggest browsers often fail
Discussion: BBC and V3.co.uk
Marina Zaliznyak / TechCrunch Europe:
C2Call closes a $2m series A round for its browser-based VoIP phone
Discussion: VentureBeat, VatorNews, Xconomy and mocoNews
Jonathan Zittrain / Technology Review:
Technology Lessons from the Wikileaks Saga
Thanks:atul
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Zynga Confirms Unoh Acquisition
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Foursquare Cleans Up Profile Pages, Hints At Key New Metrics?
Discussion: Mobile Marketing Watch, Thanks:bobcaswell
 Earlier Items: 
Paul Graham:
The Future of Startup Funding
Thanks:atul
Sarah Lacy / TechCrunch:
Here's What Everybody Made From The Slide Sale
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Internal memo: Hearst Magazines president announces layoffs as part of a decision to “reallocate resources” to “continue our focus on digital innovation”

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced she will leave the agency on January 20; she was the first woman to be confirmed to lead the agency

Lachlan Cartwright / The Ankler:
Sources: MSNBC renewed Rachel Maddow's contract early this fall, but with a pay cut; MSNBC bosses' plan to shake up daytime and weekend programming

 
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