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8:20 AM ET, August 26, 2010

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Robin Schriebman / Gmail Blog:
Call phones from Gmail  —  Gmail voice and video chat makes it easy to stay in touch with friends and family using your computer's microphone and speakers.  But until now, this required both people to be at their computers, signed into Gmail at the same time.
RELATED:
Ryan Singel / Epicenter:
Gmail Phone Calls Are All About Facebook, Not Skype  —  Google just made it easy for U.S.-based Gmail users to make and receive calls right inside their browsers using technology from Google Voice.  —  The move has prompted some to speculate that Google is going after Skype …
Discussion: CNNMoney.com
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google Voice Phone Booths To Start Popping Up In Airports, Universities
David Pogue / New York Times:
New Kindle Leaves Rivals Farther Back  —  Too bad there's not a reality TV show called “America's Most Freaked-Out Tech-Company Meetings,” where you watch classic panicked board meetings.  For example, when the Apple employee left an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar.
RELATED:
Kevin Rose / Digg Blog:
Digg Version 4  —  I'm excited to announce that today we opened up the newest version of our Digg platform.  We've been working hard on this next evolution of Digg (what we've been calling “v4") and everyone here is really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the changes we've made.
RELATED:
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Digg Trying Hard — Maybe Too Hard — to Stay Relevant
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
Netflix App Now Supports iPhone and iPod Touch  —  As promised, Netflix has finally updated their App Store app [iTunes Link] to support the iPhone and iPod Touch in addition to the iPad. … Netflix originally launched the app for the iPad-only and later revealed that the App would come for all iOS devices.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google's Nine Year Shopping Spree, Illustrated  —  For those that remember when Google Voice was GrandCentral ... Other than missing Like.com's acquisition on August 20th and having the DoubleClick grab plotted when Google revealed its intent to acquire in April 2007 and not when the official acquisition …
Discussion: Startup Meme and Beyond Search
Tim Conneally / BetaNews:
Adobe updates Web-based Photoshop, no longer demands membership  —  Now approaching its third year online, Adobe's Web-based photo editing suite Photoshop Express underwent a significant redesign which launched Wednesday.  Adobe Photoshop Express Editor, Organizer, and Uploader are included in the refresh.
Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac, Pulse2 and Download Squad
RELATED:
Sebastian Anthony / Download Squad:
Adobe Photoshop Express for Android taken for a spin, leaves me a little unsatisfied
Tim Stevens / Engadget:
Mophie and Intuit partner to create Complete Card Solution for iPhone, try to make Square look square  —  Who knew that credit card processing would be the new hotness for smartphones?  The Square mobile payment system has been making waves by letting small businesses receive credit card payment directly on their smartphones.
Adam Rifkin / GigaOM:
Why Google Has No Game  —  A few weeks ago, I wrote Pandas and Lobsters: Why Google Cannot Build Social Applications, a post that dissected why Google doesn't get social.  Since then, Google appears to have stepped up its efforts to develop a coherent social strategy.
Discussion: FM Blog
Evelyn Rusli / TechCrunch:
Has Google Purged Places Of Yelp?  All Signs Point To Yes.  —  Well, this is curious.  —  From our checks, it seems like Google has completely omitted Yelp reviews from Google Places.  As you may recall, Yelp has been frustrated by Google's recent decision to pump up its Places service with Yelp's content— without Yelp's consent.
Adam Smith / Adam Smith's Blog:
Thoughts After Y Combinator Demo Day  —  There's lots of motion in the ocean in the early stage investing world.  TechCrunch has a write-up on the companies that presented at Y Combinator's demo day yesterday.  I had several of my own thoughts.  —  Quality  — The average company quality is up.
RELATED:
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Google's Orkut Tweaks Point To Google Me  —  Google has made some changes to the features at Orkut, the company's lackluster social network, that could suggest the direction the search giant is going with its overall social efforts, which reportedly include a social network code-named Google …
Kim-Mai Cutler / Inside Facebook:
Slide's Max Levchin Becomes a VP of Engineering at Google  —  Max Levchin, who was the chief executive of Slide and a PayPal co-founder, has landed a new title at Google as a vice president of engineering, we've confirmed with the company.  It's the latest leadership adjustment since …
Discussion: Pulse2
Mike Prospero / LAPTOP Mag:
Android Battery Test Reveals Droid X Lasts Longest, AMOLED Handsets Trail  —  Ever since the first Android phone appeared, we've been developing a battery test that would accurately gauge their endurance, and lend some objective data to our anecdotal tests.Finally, we've come up with one …
Wall Street Journal:
The ABCs of E-Reading  —  New Devices Are Changing Habits.  People Are Reading More, Even While in a Kayak  —  People who buy e-readers tend to spend more time than ever with their nose in a book, preliminary research shows.  —  A study of 1,200 e-reader owners by Marketing …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
SCVNGR's Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck  —  Some companies keep a playbook of product tips, tricks and trade secrets.  Zynga has an internal playbook, for instance, that is a collection of “concepts, techniques, know-how and best practices for developing successful and distinctive social games”.
Discussion: SmoothSpan Blog and Android and Me
Walter S. Mossberg / Personal Technology:
Cell Towers For the Home Work Best in Worst Sites  —  If you have lousy cellphone reception in your house, you may have wished you had a cellular tower nearby.  Well, now you can buy your own and plant it right inside your home.  Verizon (VZ), Sprint (S) and AT&T (T) all have started selling gadgets …
Thanks:rawmeet
Flood Lite:
Apple's Attention to Detail  —  In July 2002, Appled filed a patent for a “Breathing Status LED Indicator” (No. US 6,658,577 B2).  They described it as a “blinking effect of the sleep-mode indicator in accordance with the present invention mimics the rhythm of breathing which is psychologically appealing.”
Thanks:atul
David Kravets / Threat Level:
Teachbook Vows Facebook Trademark Suit Fight  —  Social-networking upstart Teachbook said Wednesday it would challenge a trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Facebook, which is demanding the teacher-oriented site remove “book” from its name.  —  “It's a David and Goliath situation,” …
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Intel CEO: U.S. faces looming tech decline  —  ASPEN, Colo.—Intel Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini offered a depressing set of observations about the economy and the Obama administration Monday evening, coupled with a dark commentary on the future of the technology industry if nothing changes.
Caitlin Fitzsimmons / All Facebook:
Now QR Codes Can Generate Likes On Facebook  —  Technology that brings together the real world and the virtual world of Facebook seems to be becoming the next big thing.  Last week Facebook launched its location check-in service Places.  Yesterday we wrote about a Coca-Cola festival in Israel …
Discussion: SFGate, Thanks:srikardhanakoti
 
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 More Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Twitter Reverts Its Facebook App As Facebook Continues Friend Blockade
Matt McGee / Search Engine Land:
Bing's Market Share Up 51% In Past 12 Months
Discussion: Nielsen Wire, Neowin.net and WebProNews
Quora:
Why does the Facebook Places icon so obviously contain a “four” in a “square”?
Discussion: TechCrunch
Danah Boyd / Technology Review:
Why Privacy Is Not Dead
Thanks:rawmeet
Evan Selleck / SlashGear:
Sharper Image Literati eReader Unveiled, Features Color LCD and $159 Price Tag
 Earlier Items: 
Tom Simonite / Technology Review:
A Search Service that Can Peer into the Future
Mark Hachman / PC Magazine:
IBM Describes Fastest Microprocessor Ever
Discussion: Electronista, Obsessable and SlashGear
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Encrypted and obfuscated? Your P2P protocol can still be IDed
Emily Glazer / WSJ Blogs - WSJ:
It's Still Too Early to Value Location Services, Businesses Say
Discussion: SiliconANGLE
Ian Sherr / Wall Street Journal:
Online Coupons Get Smarter
 

 
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”

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

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

 
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