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5:30 AM ET, August 20, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Facebook Effect: Foursquare Had Its Most Signups Ever Today  —  Leading up to Facebook's location announcement, there were two schools of thought.  Either you thought Facebook Places was going to destroy Foursquare.  Or you thought that this new service would help the startup by bringing more awareness to the location field.
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
The Confusing Stages Of Opting Into Facebook Places  —  Earlier today we had a bit of a fire-drill at TechCrunch Headquarters.  As I checked into TCHQ on Facebook Places, I also tagged a few of my coworkers, fully expecting their checkins to be delayed until they actually opted into the feature …
Discussion: Gawker
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
One Big Reason Why Facebook Places Beats Foursquare: Clarity of Identity  —  So Facebook has begun rolling out Places, its answer to Foursquare, Gowalla, MyTown, and every other mobile service that lets you broadcast your location by checking into local businesses and other locations.
Vic Gundotra / Google Mobile Blog:
To 100 million and beyond with Google Maps for mobile  —  Almost five years ago, we launched Google Maps for mobile to help you get where you needed to go from your phone instead of a paper map.  Today, more than 100 million people a month are now using Google Maps for mobile to get from point A to point B …
RELATED:
Sid Yadav / VentureBeat:
Google's social czar picks a location fight with Facebook  —  Google's timing can be peculiar — but rarely coincidental.  A day after Facebook launched its first location feature, the search giant revealed in a blog post Thursday that more than 100 million users check Google Maps on mobile devices.
Discussion: CNET News
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google Tries To Steal Facebook's Thunder, Plays Up Impressive Maps Userbase
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Time Inc. breaks the iPad logjam  —  This week's People app is free to subscribers.  Time, SI and Fortune are expected to follow  —  Image: Time Inc.  —  There's more to the iPad issue of People that appeared on the Apple (AAPL) App Store this morning than Sandra Bullock's new joy.
RELATED:
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
People Magazine Subscribers to Receive Free Access on iPads
Discussion: Gizmodo
Mike Fleming / Deadline.com:
Google Founders Sergey Brin And Larry Page Get Feature Film Treatment  —  EXCLUSIVE: The founders of Facebook aren't the only game-changing geeks poised to have their story told on a movie screen.  Michael London's Groundswell Productions has teamed with producer John Morris to acquire movie rights …
Brooke Crothers / CNET News:
Intel exec Renee James discusses goals for McAfee (Q&A)  —  Renee J. James, senior vice president and general manager of the Software and Services Group at Intel, discussed Intel plans to buy security company McAfee for $7.68 billion in an interview with CNET on Thursday.
Discussion: CircleID and ZDNet
RELATED:
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Intel Buys Cyber Security Giant McAfee For $7.68 Billion In Cash
Sean Hollister / Engadget:
Exclusive: Dell Thunder prototype preview (video)  —  Christmas came early at Engadget HQ this year, as evidenced by the picture above — you're looking at two Dell Thunder prototype smartphones, each with some surprising quirks, and hints that they might include global HSPA, AWS for T-Mobile, and maybe even a dash of CDMA support.
Kasper Jade / AppleInsider:
Apple testing iOS 4.1 alongside next-gen iPod touch, iPad and ‘unknown’ product  —  Apple is internally testing the first material update to its iOS 4.0 mobile operating system against a handful of new devices, including next-generation iPod touches, an iPad revision, and an “unknown” product, AppleInsider has discovered.
Liz Shannon Miller / NewTeeVee:
Auto-Tune the News Hits the Billboard Top 100  —  Online video stars The Gregory Brothers continue making strides towards world domination.  Their latest hit Auto-Tune the News single, Bed Intruder, debuted at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 today.  —  Billboard uses a number …
David Pogue / New York Times:
State of the Art: OpenDNS Simplifies Life for Web Users  —  I'm about to make your life better.  No need to thank me.  —  But first, a warning: On the way to understanding how your life will get better, you'll have to read about some technical, fairly arcane topics.  Trust me: It'll be worth it.
Marco Arment / Marco.org:
A smartphone retrospective  —  This is what high-end smartphones looked like in 2007:  —  Smartphones were an established consumer-electronics market with devices that people thought were pretty cool, but often frustrating and with serious shortcomings and design flaws.  —  Then this happened:
Discussion: Scripting News
Eliot Van Buskirk / Epicenter:
Why Are There So Many Porn Ads on Britney Spears' Facebook Page?  —  Britney Spears' official Facebook page, which has over four million fans, is rife with links to escort services.  —  Apologies for the link-bait, but it's true: Britney Spears' Facebook page is overrun with erotic pictures …
Discussion: the Econsultancy blog
Chris Tolles / TechCrunch:
When Attorneys General Attack  —  Earlier this year Topix CEO Chris Tolles got the call no one wants to get - that they are under investigation by a government entity.  Two attorneys general, one of which was deep into his senate run, were leveling accusations of abuse at Topix.
James Niccolai / Computerworld:
HP: WebOS tablet coming early next year  —  Hewlett-Packard will release a tablet PC based on Palm's webOS operating system in “early 2011,” the head of HP's PC division said Thursday.  —  Hewlett-Packard will release a tablet PC based on Palm's webOS operating system in “early 2011,” the head of HP's PC division said Thursday.
RELATED:
Jim Dalrymple / The Loop:
Apple adds “Compare Macs” option to Apple Store  —  Apple on Thursday added a new option to its online Apple Store called “Compare Macs.”  —  The new option allows customers to quickly bring up specs on the hardware, included software and technical specifications for each system.
Mark Milian / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
What's that phone number?  Google disables area code look-up tool  —  Got a call from a strange number?  If you were in front of a computer, you could have used Google to look up where that caller probably was phoning from before you heard the second ring.
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Rogue Apple Exec Trashes Rivals' ‘Mediocre Engineers’  —  It's amazing that Phillip Shoemaker still works at Apple.  The app store director obsessed with porn and escorts, as we reported yesterday, has also used Twitter to attack execs at rival companies and media critics, we've learned.
Michael Yang / iSuppli:
Will $1 Per Gigabyte NAND Resuscitate Solid State Drives?  —  After two years of inflated prices, NAND flash memory at the end of 2010 is set to return to the key $1 per gigabyte level considered a key threshold to drive adoption of Solid State Drives (SSD), but the cost reduction may come …
Discussion: Computerworld
Justin Uberti / juberjabber:
Google voice and video - now available for Linux!  —  Google voice and video chat is now available in Gmail for Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions.  As the comments on this blog indicate, I know many folks have been waiting very patiently for this day!
 
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 More Items: 
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Teevox Turns Your iPhone Into A Computer TV Remote Control
John Cook / TechFlash:
OggiFinogi raises $2 million for interactive media ad system
Tricia Duryee / mocoNews:
BlackBerry Takes Larger Cut Of Developer Revenues In Updated App World
Discussion: Electronista, IntoMobile and App Advice
Justin Smith / Inside Facebook:
Facebook Moving Toward IFrames Over FBML for Canvas Apps and Page Tabs
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Dish Network survey hints at Google TV pricing options
Discussion: Home Theater Blog
 Earlier Items: 
Jay Yarow / Silicon Alley Insider:
Groupon Having A $4 Million Day Thanks To The Gap
Joe Rauch / Reuters:
BofA to test retail payments with cell phones
Gautham Nagesh / The Hill:
Music industry questions Google on piracy
Dan Frommer / Silicon Alley Insider:
Apple Shutting Down Quattro Wireless Network On Sept. 30 To Focus Exclusively On iAd
Hugo Miller / Bloomberg:
RIM Said to Adopt BMW, Crusher Tank Software for Planned Tablet Computer
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Richard Parsons, who had a long career as chairman, CEO, and as a board member of media companies including CBS and Time Warner, died at 76 of bone cancer

Inside Radio:
iHeart reduces its total debt by over $440M and extends most of its debt maturities by three years, by using debt exchange transactions

Reuters:
Palestinian sources say an Israeli airstrike killed five journalists from Al-Quds Today; the Israeli military called the five “operatives posing as journalists”
 
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