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11:20 AM 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.
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 …
Discussion: PC World, App Advice, eWeek and Punit Soni
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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.
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: The Next Web
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 …
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  —  When Apple announces their earnings, they typically do so with much pomp and circumstance.  You get a superlative-laden press release, which in recent years have been more than backed up by massive numbers.  But it's the earnings call itself that is often even more interesting.
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: 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: Gizmodo
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:
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
Matt Burns / TechCrunch:
Roku Launches New Media Streamers Complete With Motion Gaming Capabilities Perfect For Angry Birds  —  Roku just announced its fourth generation of media streamers and they're unsurprisingly the best yet.  They sport more features, an even smaller physical footprint, and the same Apple TV-killing price points as before.
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.
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.)
Klint Finley / ReadWriteWeb:
The Rise and Fall of the Cisco Empire  —  Yesterday Cisco announced that it will lay off 6,500 employees and sell a manufacturing plant in Juarez, Mexico to Foxconn to shave off an additional 5,000 employees.  This follows Cisco's decision to discontinue its Flip camera products and its Eos video/social platform.
Discussion: Fast Company and BGR
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Twitter's new plan: Commerce?  —  Twitter CEO Dick Costolo discusses the company's business model, the departure of its co-founders, and its future in advertising.  —  By Dan Primack, senior editor  —  Dick Costolo  —  FORTUNE —Almost from the moment the first 140 characters were tweeted …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Lookout Mobile Security launches mobile threat protection with Verizon Wireless  —  Lookout Mobile Security has unveiled a way for mobile users to get protection from malware in an automated fashion.  The company's first partner for its Mobile Threat Network is Verizon Wireless, which will protect users of its V Cast App Store.
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Who's on pace to sell 1M phones a day?  (Hint: Not Apple)  —  Nokia has long held the top spot for handset sales, but Samsung is charging from behind.  The company expects to sell 300 million mobile phones in 2011, reports Mobile Business Briefing, up from 280 million last year.
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google Disables URL Removals After Bug Allows Anyone To Remove Any Site  —  This morning, James Breckenridge discovered a loophole within Google's Webmaster Tools that allowed anyone to remove any site from Google.  —  Both James and I sent this information to Google as soon as we heard of it.
 
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 More Items: 
Michelle Nichols / Reuters:
Tech-savvy Taliban fights war in cyberspace
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”
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Feds Charge Aaron Swartz With Felony Hacking... For Downloading A Ton Of Academic Research
Audrey Watters / Hack Education:
The Wrath Against Khan: Why Some Educators Are Questioning Khan Academy
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
Baidu Browser tips hat to old Steve Jobs quote, copies Chrome's special sauce
 Earlier Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
With $5 Million In Their Pockets, Ness Has Quietly Built A Subjective Search Engine
Discussion: PR Newswire
Daniel Eran Dilger / AppleInsider:
Apple plans incremental feature additions to new Macs and iOS devices
Alyson Shontell / The Business Insider:
Mayor Bloomberg Reveals His Plan For New York To Overtake Silicon Valley
Don Butler / Thomvest:
If History is any Guide, You've Got Two Years