Techmeme: Online ad spending poised for 20 percent jump this year (Ryan Kim/GigaOM)

1:50 PM ET, June 8, 2011

Top Items:

Monica Chen / DigiTimes:

Microsoft reportedly considers launching own-brand tablet PC — Microsoft is reportedly considering to launch an own-brand tablet PC that features Windows 8 by the end of 2012 with cooperation from Texas Instruments and Taiwan-based OEMs/ODMs, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Discussion: PC World, BetaNews, SAI, CNET News, VentureBeat, GeekWire, AllThingsD, The Next Web, Reuters, Seattle Times, Electronista, TechSpot, IntoMobile, PadGadget, Geeky-Gadgets, CrunchGear, Windows 8 Beta, I4U News, Engadget, GottaBeMobile, PhoneArena, Hardware 2.0 Blog, The Tech Report, Techie Buzz, WinRumors, MacHackPC, Geek.com, SlashGear, Windows 8 Center and Neowin.net, Thanks:michaelkroker

Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:

Could and should there be a Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet? — Could there be a Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet coming to market next year? Sure. But should there be? I'd argue no. — Digitimes is citing chip-supplier sources claiming that Microsoft is contemplating whether to launch its own Microsoft-branded tablet.

Dave Caolo / TUAW:

iOS 5 hints at iPhone, iPad updates — TUAW sources inspecting the USB device files in yet-unreleased iOS 5 firmware have discovered suggestions of two future iPad 3 models as well as a pair of iPhone 5 models. What's most surprising is a big omission: no mention of an iPod touch 5.

Discussion: App Advice, CNET News, iLounge, Edible Apple, Techland, Fast Company, MacRumors, I4U News, AppleInsider, Redmond Pie, GottaBeMobile, Geeky-Gadgets, MacHackPC, Appletell, Neowin.net, MacStories, iPhone Download Blog and TiPb

Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:

How to Upgrade to iOS 5 Today, Without Any Developer Account — One day and iOS 5 has been hacked already. Gizmodo reader and Apple lover Mert Erdir has discovered how to upgrade to iOS 5 without developer accounts, using a simple backdoor. Everyone can do it following these extremely simple instructions:

Steve Kovach / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:

iOS 5 Is Amazing — You Have To See It To Believe It! — For most people, iOS 5 is still a few months away. It's likely that it won't launch until September, when Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5. — But iOS developers get to try the version 5 beta now, and we just loaded it on our own iPhone 4.

Discussion: App Advice and 9 to 5 Mac, Thanks:alleyinsider

Jordan Golson / MacRumors:
iOS 5 Works Just Fine On iPhone 3GS

Discussion: Quick Online Tips, PhoneArena, ZDNet, Softpedia News and GottaBeMobile

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Jobs To Cupertino: We Want A Spaceship-Shaped, 12K Capacity Building As Our New Apple Campus — After having a banner WWDC start yesterday, Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs humbly presented his idea for a new Apple campus at the Cupertino City Council today.

Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:

Facebook to Be Probed in EU for Facial Recognition in Photos — Facebook Inc. will be probed by European Union data-protection regulators over a feature that suggests people's names to tag in pictures without their permission. — A group of privacy watchdogs drawn from the EU's 27 nations …

Discussion: AllThingsD, All Facebook, Friending Facebook Blog, paidContent, DailyTech, Mashable!, BBC, GMSV, SlashGear, Techie Buzz and Gawker

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Facebook's Facial Recognition Fiasco: Those Words Sound Scary!

Discussion: The Register and TG Daily

Justin Mitchell / Facebook Blog:
Making Photo Tagging Easier

Discussion: eWeek, Mobile Marketing Watch, Fast Company, PC World, DailyFinance.com, Guardian, Mashable!, Tools, Geeky-Gadgets, Shelly Palmer Digital Living, OUT-LAW News, Disruptors, Gizmodo, Bits and VentureBeat

Arild Moen / Dow Jones Newswires:

Samsung Declines Comment On Nokia Bid Speculation — HELSINKI (Dow Jones)—Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) Wednesday declined to comment on market speculation that it could be preparing a bid for ailing Finland-based handset maker Nokia Corp. (NOK). — “It seems like a market rumor …

Discussion: CNET News, Between the Lines Blog, VentureBeat, SAI, The Next Web, IntoMobile, TechEye, Electronista, MobileSyrup.com, Android Phone Fans, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, Pocket-lint, MobileBurn.com and FierceWireless

Carolyn Penner / Twitter Blog:

Link sharing made simple — We've been working on a bunch of features to make Twitter easier to use. Today, we're releasing something that many of you have been asking for - automatic link shortening on Twitter.com — How does it work? — Just paste a link of any length into the Tweet box on Twitter.com.

Discussion: PC Magazine, ReadWriteWeb, Reuters, Geek.com, lalawag, PC World, Ubergizmo, msnbc.com, Geeky-Gadgets, AllTwitter, Drew B's take on tech PR, WebProNews, The Next Web, @jason, Softpedia News, SAI, Digital Trends and SiliconFilter

Robert X. Cringely / I, Cringely:

iCloud's real purpose: kill Windows — Apple's announcements yesterday about OS X 10.7 pricing (cheap), upgrading (easy), iOS 5, and iCloud storage, syncing, and media service can all be viewed as increasing ease of use, but from the perspective of Apple CEO Steve Jobs they perform an even more vital function — killing Microsoft.

Adrienne Walker / Google Chrome Blog:

A new stable release of Chrome: safer and snazzier — Today's new stable release of Chrome brings improvements in security, privacy, and graphics to Chrome's 160 million users. — Chrome is now more secure, thanks to enhancements to our Safe Browsing technology.

Discussion: Computerworld, PC Magazine, Google Chrome Releases, 9to5 Google, USA Today, eWeek, Softpedia News, Techie Buzz, Electronista, The Download Blog, Google Operating System and TechSpot, Thanks:arpitnext

Sasha Gontmakher / Google Mobile Blog:

Know when your bus is late with live transit updates in Google Maps — (Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog) — Often when I'm taking public transit, I arrive at my stop on time only to anxiously check my watch and look down the street for my bus, which is running late once again.

Bill Coughran / The Official Google Blog:

Changes to the open Internet in Kazakhstan — The genius of the Internet has always been its open infrastructure, which allows anyone with a connection to communicate with anyone else on the network. It's not limited by national boundaries, and it facilitates free expression …

Discussion: Search Engine Land, Tech Europe, WebProNews, Gizmodo, Washington Post, ITworld.com, SlashGear, Softpedia News, ONI, TechEye, Bloomberg, The Register and CNET News

Claire Cain Miller / Bits:

Thiel: Tech Bubble? What Tech Bubble? — There has been lots of chatter about a technology bubble in Silicon Valley. LinkedIn's initial public offering, Groupon's upcoming I.P.O. and bloated start-up investments and valuations are bringing back painful memories of the dot-com bubble's burst roughly a decade ago.

Discussion: Venture Capital Dispatch

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Vidyo launches low-cost HD video chat for up to 20 people at once — Vidyo is seeking to disrupt the market for “telepresence” systems that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It will do so with the launch of Vidyo Panorama, a video conferencing system that delivers high-speed …

Discussion: Reuters and Venture Capital Dispatch

Brad McCarty / The Next Web:

CloudFlare: A website security product accidentally makes sites 60% faster — I remember sitting in the front row of TechCrunch: Disrupt when CloudFlare was giving its pitch. At the time I commented to some other people around about how the service was answering a lot of questions …

Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:

Forget About 99 Cents, What If You Could Rent Mobile Games for 25 Cents? — T-Mobile USA is teaming up with WildTangent to test out a Netflix-like model for renting mobile games on Android smartphones. — Instead of having to purchase a game without knowing if it's any good, users will have the ability to rent the game for a day.

Discussion: Guardian, VentureBeat, GeekWire, GigaOM and Electronista

Don Reisinger / CNET News:

Apple now world's largest semiconductor buyer — Apple is the easily outstripping all other hardware makers in semiconductor spending, a new report from IHS iSuppli has found. — According to the research firm, Apple spent $17.5 billion on semiconductors in 2010, representing …

Discussion: MacRumors, eWeek and iSuppli

Tom Warren / WinRumors:

Microsoft details Windows Phone Mango SkyDrive improvements — Microsoft has detailed its Windows Phone Mango improvements for SkyDrive on Tuesday. — The software giant describes SkyDrive and Windows Phone Mango as the “deepest connection to cloud storage available on a smartphone” …

Discussion: Engadget and The Windows Blog

Ryan Kim / GigaOM:

Online ad spending poised for 20 percent jump this year — Strong demand for U.S. display advertising is helping pump up projections for the overall online advertising market, which is now set to grow by 20 percent this year to $31.3 billion, according to new estimates from eMarketer.

Discussion: All Facebook, Mobile Marketing Watch, TechCrunch and eMarketer

Todd Haselton / BGR:

BlackBerry PlayBook now available from Sprint for $499 — We had heard early rumors, but now it's official — the 16GB Wi-Fi edition of RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is now available from Sprint for $499.99. If you're unfamiliar with the specs, here's a quick rundown of what the tablet has to offer …

Discussion: GottaBeMobile and Tools

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Square Raising New Round, Joining Billion Dollar Valuation Club — There are a bevy of startups in the process of raising big rounds of capital at billion dollar or higher valuations - something that was a rare occurrence even a few months ago. We're tracking most of these deals (and have written about the ones we've confirmed).

Discussion: VentureBeat and SAI

SuperSite for Windows:

Three Screens: Celebrating Microsoft'S Cohesive New User Experience Strategy — Three different products, one cohesive user experience: Suddenly, Microsoft has a strategy that makes sense. — In March 2010, I met with several members of the Windows Phone team in Redmond to discuss …

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb and LiveSide.net

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