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1:45 PM ET, August 6, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
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:
Devindra Hardawar / VentureBeat:
Controversy erupts over Apple software patent “copying” existing app's home screen  —  Today's Apple controversy: Apparently, a recent mobile app patent filed by Apple is blatantly copying the home screen of an existing application — the local search app Where To — reports GigaOm.
Ortwin Gentz / The FutureBlog:
The patent case we haven't called
David Glazer / The Official Google Blog:
Google and Slide: building a more social web  —  We're excited to announce we've acquired Slide, a social technology company with an extensive history of building new ways for people to connect with others across numerous platforms online.  —  For Google, the web is about people …
RELATED:
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
Discussion: TUAW
Dean Goodman / Reuters:
Beatles, iTunes deal still at impasse — Yoko Ono  —  * Widow unveils John Lennon commemorative projects  —  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 …
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
Brandon Miniman / pocketnow.com:
New ASUS Windows Phone 7 Device Appears in Pakistan  —  We don't have much information on this (yet) but it looks like an ASUS device running on Windows Phone 7 has been spotted in Pakistan.  Unlike the LG Panther and Samsung Taylor devices that are only intended to be development devices …
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.
Kevin Michaluk / CrackBerry.com blogs:
BlackBerry Torch 9800 Teardown Photos and Video of Slider Mechanism in Action!  —  Tear down posts of a new smartphone don't normally happen until the new device is available for commercial purchase and somebody is crazy enough to sacrifice it to the tech gods.
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.
Wall Street Journal:
Google Loses Discrimination Ruling  —  The California Supreme Court ruled that an age-discrimination lawsuit filed against Google Inc. should proceed to trial, potentially paving the way for more lawsuits that previously were blocked under a theory that crude and possibly discriminatory workplace comments were merely “stray remarks.”
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Kinect patent detailed; American Sign Language supported  —  The patent for Microsoft's Kinect console has been unearthed, describing the “gesture keyboarding” system that's tracked by the special PrimeSense-developed depth camera.  Kinect builds a dynamic wireframe representation - or …
Discussion: Edge Magazine and Gizmodo
RELATED:
Dan Goodin / The Register:
Private browsing modes in four biggest browsers often fail  —  You've been warned  —  Features in the four major browsers designed to cloak users' browser history often don't work as billed, according to a research paper that warns that users may get a false sense of security when using the built-in privacy settings.
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
Discussion: PC World
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
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.
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
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.
 
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 More Items: 
Janko Roettgers / NewTeeVee:
Hadopi Gone Wild: France Plans Spyware for Three Strikes
Discussion: ZeroPaid.com
Adam DuVander / ProgrammableWeb:
Gowalla Officially Released Write API, the Right Way
Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb:
PayPal on Android Lets You Bump Phones to Send Money
Discussion: Teens in Tech
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft begins adding single-sign on support to its Azure cloud
Discussion: Softpedia News, Thanks:rawmeet
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
 Earlier Items: 
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Zynga Confirms Unoh Acquisition
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Let's Celebrate Google's Biggest Failures!
 

 
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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