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12:45 PM ET, July 20, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Apple:
Apple Updates MacBook Air With Next Generation Processors, Thunderbolt I/O & Backlit Keyboard  —  Apple® today updated the MacBook Air® with next generation processors, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, a backlit keyboard and Mac OS® X Lion, the world's most advanced operating system.
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The MacBook Is Dead.  Long Live The (New) MacBook Air.  —  “At this point, I'm thinking Apple should just replace the standard MacBook with the Air.”  —  Yes, I just quoted myself.  But I have a good reason.  I wrote that on October 21 of last year, after one day of playing with the just-released new MacBook Air.
Nilay Patel / This is my next:
Apple kills white MacBook, 11.6-inch Air is the new entry level Mac  —  Say goodbye to the plastic MacBook: it's no more.  The $999 11.6-inch MacBook Air is Apple's only entry-level machine now — and with the bump to a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, it's probably just as capable as the old 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook.
Apple:
Mac OS X Lion Available Today From the Mac App Store  —  CUPERTINO, California—July 20, 2011—Apple® today announced that Mac OS® X Lion, the eighth major release of the world's most advanced operating system with more than 250 new features, is available today as a download from the Mac® App Store™ for $29.99.
RELATED:
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
Apple's Lion Brings PCs Into Tablet Era  —  With its iPhones and iPads, Apple has led people toward a new way of operating digital devices that relies on direct manipulation of items with finger gestures, not a mouse and scroll bars.  App icons are arrayed front and center …
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google+ Now The Top Free App In The Apple App Store  —  After less than 24 hours of being live, the Google+ iPhone app has hit the number one free spot in the Apple app store, beating out “Draw ‘n’ Go: Awesomeness!” for the top slot.  —  This is quite impressive considering that the app …
RELATED:
Kyung Lah / CNN:
Chairman: Google should have gone social earlier  —  Tokyo (CNN) — Looking back on his decade as Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt said the company should have focused more on connecting people — a hole that allowed the emergence of rival internet giant Facebook.
Discussion: SlashGear and The Next Web
Paul Allen / Google+:
Google+ Update: Membership May Pass 18 Million Mark Today  —  The viral growth of Google+ has slowed somewhat over the past few days, but my new-and-improved 1,000 surname model shows that more than 750,000 people joined the site on Monday, bringing the total user base to just under 18 million.
Apple:
Apple Updates Mac mini  —  Apple® today updated the Mac® mini with next generation Intel core processors, new discrete graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and Lion, the world's most advanced operating system.  The new Mac mini delivers up to twice the processor …
RELATED:
Matt Burns / TechCrunch:
Apple Updates The Mac Mini: Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs, Thunderbolt, And Even A OS X Lion Server Model
Discussion: CNET News, Gizmodo and The Next Web
Ross Miller / This is my next:
Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display now available: FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system, and $999 price tag  —  New Mac Minis?  MacBook Airs?  Apple knows what you're really wanting is an excuse to upgrade your almost-but-not-quite two-year-old Cinema Display — only now, it looks like Apple's opted for new naming convention.
RELATED:
Apple:
Apple Introduces World's First Thunderbolt Display
Discussion: Digital Trends and Gizmodo
Apple:
Apple Reports Third Quarter Results  —  CUPERTINO, California—July 19, 2011—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 third quarter ended June 25, 2011.  The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $28.57 billion and record quarterly net profit of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share.
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Key Subtle Notes From Apple's Earnings Call
Lee Youkyung / YONHAP NEWS:
Samsung to release Galaxy S2 in U.S. next month  —  Samsung Electronics Co. will release its flagship Galaxy S2 smartphone in the U.S. market next month, the chief of its mobile business division said Wednesday, a move that will likely pit the product against the forthcoming iPhone.
RELATED:
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:   Who's on pace to sell 1M phones a day? (Hint: Not Apple)
Joanna Stern / This is my next:
Lenovo announces Android-based ThinkPad Tablet and IdeaPad K1, forgets to cancel Windows 7 P1  —  Well, Lenovo is certainly making up for lost time today.  After first revealing its IdeaPad U1 about a year and a half ago at CES 2010 and some juicy ThinkPad tablet leaks …
RELATED:
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Netflix to stream natively from HDMI-equipped tablets (updated)
Ryan Lawler / GigaOM:
Tango raises $42M, will fight Skype on the desktop  —  How hot is the mobile video chat market?  So hot that one of the leading technology companies in the space, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tango, has raised $42 million aimed at rapidly growing its workforce to compete with startups like ooVoo and industry heavyweights like Skype.
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Amazon Pulls a Netflix, Adds (Old) CBS Shows  —  Amazon, which is trying to build up a digital video service that can rival the one Netflix has built, has added a bunch of TV shows from CBS — just like Netflix did earlier this year.  —  The deal is more or less a replica of the pact CBS …
Nathan Myhrvold / Bloomberg:
Myhrvold: Tech Giants Discover Value of Patents  —  Myhrvold: Tech Giants Discover Value of Patents  —  Patents rarely make headlines, but they did this month when Nortel Networks Corp., the defunct Canadian telecommunications giant, auctioned off its patent portfolio and drew …
Discussion: open and Paul Kedrosky's …
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
T-Mobile to Offer Lower Rate Plans to Those Who Bring Own Phone (Or Pay Full Price)  —  T-Mobile is rolling out a set of new “value” rate plans that cut the monthly costs for people that either have their own phone or are willing to pay full price in exchange for the lower service fees.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
China not only fakes iPhones... but Apple Stores, too!  —  China might be known as the home of the fake iPhone, but what about whole stores?  Surprising almost no one, China is indeed home to the fake Apple Store.  These pictures from BirdAbroad (via IFOAppleStore), show a fake Apple Store complete …
Colleen Taylor / GigaOM:
VC funding for web reaches 10 year high  —  Venture capital investments continued to grow at a rapid clip in the second quarter of 2011, with VC firms investing $7.5 billion across 966 deals, according to the latest MoneyTree report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA.)
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Zillow Soars 200 Percent In First Trade With Over $1 Billion Valuation  —  Shares of real estate listings site Zillow began trading on the NASDAQ under the symbol ‘Z’ today, opening at $60 per share.  This gives the company a whopping $1.6 billion valuation.
Michelle Nichols / Reuters:
Tech-savvy Taliban fights war in cyberspace  —  (Reuters) - The war in Afghanistan entered cyberspace on Wednesday when the tech-savvy Taliban said their phones, email and website had been hacked to spread a false report that the movement's spiritual leader, Mullah Omar, was dead.
Discussion: Digital Trends
Paul Ford / New York Magazine:
Facebook and the Epiphanator: An End to Endings?  —  I do not enjoy Facebook — I find it cloying and impossible — but I am there every day.  Last year I watched a friend struggle through breast cancer treatment in front of hundreds of friends.  She broadcast her news with caution …
Spencer Ackerman / Wired.com:
Meet the ‘Keyzer Soze’ of Global Phone-Tracking  —  Chances are you've never heard of TruePosition.  If you're an AT&T or T-Mobile customer, though, TruePosition may have heard of you.  When you're in danger, the company can tell the cops where you are, all without you knowing.
 
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 More Items: 
Phil Goldstein / FierceWireless:
Reports: Google interested in scooping up InterDigital
Discussion: mocoNews and Wall Street Journal
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Facebook For Latinos Quepasa Buys myYearbook For $100 Million In Cash And Stock
Sarah McBride / Reuters:
Twitter's Costolo: private markets a “distraction”
Klint Finley / ReadWriteWeb:
The Rise and Fall of the Cisco Empire
Audrey Watters / Hack Education:
The Wrath Against Khan: Why Some Educators Are Questioning Khan Academy
 Earlier Items: 
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:
Adobe makes its first foray into the Mac App Store with Photoshop Elements
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs quote, copies Chrome's special sauce
Daniel Eran Dilger / AppleInsider:
Apple plans incremental feature additions to new Macs and iOS devices
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Twitter's new plan: Commerce?
Don Butler / Thomvest:
If History is any Guide, You've Got Two Years
 

 
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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