Techmeme: Sequoia Leads $15 Million Round In Wireless Networking Company Meraki (Leena Rao/TechCrunch)

4:20 AM ET, February 9, 2011

Top Items:

Apple's New iPad in Production — Apple Inc. has started production of a new version of its iPad tablet computer, said people familiar with the matter. — The new device will be thinner, lighter and will come with a faster processor, more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, said the people familiar with the matter.

Mark Gurman / 9 to 5 Mac:

WSJ on iPad 2: FaceTime, thinner, lighter, faster, 1024 x 768 display — The well-informed Wall Street Journal has backed up just about every iPad 2 rumor we have heard so far. The WSJ says the iPad 2 will have a front facing camera for FaceTime video calling, in addition to a new lighter, thinner design.

Discussion: SlashGear

Chris Ziegler / Engadget:

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop rallies troops in brutally honest ‘burning platform’ memo? (update: it's real!) — “The first iPhone shipped in 2007, and we still don't have a product that is close to their experience. Android came on the scene just over 2 years ago, and this week they took our leadership position in smartphone volumes.

Wenzhang Zhu / Google Mobile Blog:

Introducing the Google Translate app for iPhone — Back in August 2008, we launched a Google Translate HTML5 web app for iPhone users. Today, the official Google Translate for iPhone app is available for download from the App Store. The new app has all of the features of the web app …

Charles Starrett / iLounge:

Verizon iPhone 4 antenna problems persist (video) — In the course of conducting our standard suite of iPhone 4 performance tests, iLounge has discovered that the Verizon CDMA iPhone 4 suffers from signal attenuation problems similar to ones discovered in the original GSM version of the iPhone 4.

Discussion: IntoMobile, Redmond Pie, Examiner, MacRumors, PhoneArena, Computerworld, MacStories, TechCrunch, SlashPhone, GottaBeMobile, MobileCrunch, Pulse2, 9 to 5 Mac, ThinkMobile, Erictric and Gizmodo, Thanks:starrett

Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Apple's Verizon iPhone 4 has improved antenna, integrated GPS

Discussion: iSuppli, IntoMobile, eWeek, PC Magazine, BGR and AppAdvice

Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:

Mahalo's Calacanis: Time To End The Content Farm Arms Race — No stranger to controversy, Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis threw down a gauntlet at his “content farm” competitors, arguing they're polluting the web and angering Google, to the detriment of searchers and their own companies.

Discussion: MediaPost, Thanks:bobcaswell

Farhad Manjoo / Slate:
Search engine optimization won't work forever.

Discussion: Bloomberg, @dannysullivan and DealBook, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Carr / TechCrunch:

Valleywag's Ryan Tate Publishes Photo of Zuckerberg's House; Days Later, Stalker Shows Up — A few months back, I had a few harsh words for Valleywag editor Ryan Tate over his decision to pay a paparazzo for photographs of Mark Zuckerberg's house and girlfriend. — Specifically I said...

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Arnold Kim / MacRumors:

Verizon iPhone 4 Now Available for Online Orders — Verizon and Apple have opened their website to accept orders for the Verizon iPhone. The Verizon iPhone was available for pre-orders for existing customers last week, but is now available for the general public.

Discussion: AppleInsider, Engadget, TUAW and The Register

Ron Carmel / 2D Boy:

Analysis: World of Goo's iPad Launch — We attempted, and failed, to bring World of Goo to iPhone in the summer of 2009. Development was sporadic and slow as we worked with a series of four different contractors who, for various reasons, did not bring the project to completion. So we dropped it.

Discussion: VG247, MacStories, AppleInsider, Joystiq, Touch Arcade, Gamasutra, www.pocketgamer.biz and Slashdot

Matt Baume / NBC Bay Area:

Mayor Lures Twitter to Dangerous Skid Row — Mayor Ed Lee wants to keep Twitter in San Francisco. So why is he offering them office space in the worst part? — Ed Lee is expected to announce tax credits targeted specifically at companies like Twitter, according to the Gate.

Eve Batey / SF Appeal:
Proposed Tax Cuts For Twitter Raise Questions Of “Corporate Blackmail …

Discussion: San Francisco Chronicle

Leslie Katz / CNET News:

Dell unveils 10-inch Windows 7 tablet — Steven Lalla, vice president and general manager of Dell's commercial client product group, holds up a non-working mockup of the company's new commercial Windows tablet. — Dell expanded its foray into tablets today with a new 10-inch Windows 7-based device designed …

Mark Milian / CNN:

Verizon plans 4G internet calling service — Basking Ridge, New Jersey (CNN) — Verizon Wireless is close to launching a new cellular calling service that offers better sound quality than its current network and is capable of doing video chat. — The new voice and video protocol …

Discussion: Android Phone Fans, CNET News, Mashable!, SlashGear, IntoMobile, Gadget Lab, PhoneArena, GottaBeMobile, VentureBeat, FierceWireless, PR Newswire, PhoneNews.com, GigaOM, Droid Life, Tecca, Engadget, Electronista and DSLreports

Seth Weintraub / Fortune:

Industry first: Smartphones pass PCs in sales — International Data Corp is showing that in the final quarter of 2010, smartphones passed global PC shipments for the first time in history. — As predicted a few months ago, Smartphones have passed PCs in global numbers.

Discussion: Geek.com, ReadWriteWeb and SlashGear, Thanks:llsethj

Mike Davies / < isolani />:

Breaking the Web with hash-bangs — Lifehacker, along with every other Gawker property, experienced a lengthy site-outage on Monday over a misbehaving piece of JavaScript. Gawker sites were reduced to being an empty homepage layout with zero content, functionality, ads, or even legal disclaimer wording.

Dan Goodin / The Register:

Microsoft finally says adios to Autorun — Worm bait purged from older Windows — After a decade of abuse, Autorun is finally being retired in older versions of Windows. — On Tuesday, Microsoft began pushing an update that changes the way Windows Server 2008 and earlier versions …

Discussion: TechNet Blogs, InfoWorld and Security Watch

Nick O'Neill / All Facebook:

Facebook Rolls Out Major Upgrades To Ad System — This evening Facebook has rolled out a number of significant upgrades to the company's self-serve advertising system which will benefit those marketing their Facebook Pages as well as advertisers in general. — Sponsored Stories

Ross Miller / Engadget:

PS3 ‘jailbreak code’ retweeted by Sony's Kevin Butler, no punchline needed — Oh, honey. Sony PlayStation's (entirely fictional) Kevin Butler holds many (also fictional) positions within the company, but apparently none of them require him to keep up with (very real) news events.

Discussion: @jonfildes, @maymaym and @gjmf

David Kravets / Threat Level:
Sony Lawyers Expand Dragnet, Targeting Anybody Posting PlayStation 3 Hack

Discussion: Techdirt, Redmond Pie, Pulse2, Examiner, Engadget, TechSpot, CrunchGear, Electronista, The Register and TG Daily

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Facebook Makes It Official: We Bought The Old Sun Campus In Menlo Park (And Don't Forget We're Hiring!) — Why has Facebook brought together big time press from Agence France, ABC 7 and TechCrunch together here at Menlo Park City Hall? Because it's hiring, and it wants to announce it by purchasing a building.

Discussion: Digits, VatorNews, Computerworld, Pulse2, BetaNews, Bits, @blam, NBC Bay Area, @furrier, Mashable!, Inside Facebook, All Facebook, Between the Lines Blog, SFGate, The Register, Xconomy and @gartenberg

Matt Rosoff / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Facebook Will Move This Summer

Discussion: NBC Bay Area

BBC:

Newspaper publishers warn Apple over iTunes sales — Apple is being warned against trying to squeeze cash out of the newspaper industry by controlling subscriptions for iPads and iPhones. — The European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA) says it is concerned by the company's plans to direct online sales through iTunes.

Discussion: Nicke's shared items … and AppleInsider

Bloomberg:

EBay to Unveil Plan to Help PayPal Repel Google, Apple Threats — EBay Inc., preparing for a day when its PayPal online-payment unit is its biggest source of revenue, will lay out a three-year plan tomorrow for expanding the business and warding off threats from Google Inc. and Apple Inc …

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

Sequoia Leads $15 Million Round In Wireless Networking Company Meraki — Meraki, the cloud-based wireless networking company, has raised $15 million in Series C funding led by Sequoia Capital. This brings Meraki's total funding to $40 million. Previous investors include Google, DAG Ventures and Northgate Capital.

Discussion: Mashable!, @loic, VentureBeat and Pulse2

Laura Kusisto / New York Observer:

Apple's Next Stop? Grand Central — Apple has begun a super-secret quest for a store in historic Grand Central Terminal, potentially creating a hive of buzzing techies in the glamorous Beaux Arts landmark. — Reliable sources tell The Observer that the maker of ubiquitous iGadgets …

Discussion: TUAW, AppleInsider, MacRumors, Erictric, MacDailyNews, 9 to 5 Mac and ifoAppleStore

Megan Friedman / TIME:

Smartphone Sins: Catholic Church Approves Confession by iPhone — First came the iPod, then the iPhone. Now there's iPrayer. — The Catholic Church in America has approved Confession: A Roman Catholic App, for use among churchgoers and lapsed Catholics alike.

Discussion: App Advice, Engadget, MobileWhack.com, Digital Trends, Pulse2, SAI, TUAW, BBC, AppScout, I4U News, ITProPortal, USA Today, Reuters, everythingiCafe, The Register and Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check

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