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4:50 PM ET, August 5, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Justin Hyde / Jalopnik:
This is Google's first self-driving car crash  —  This photo of what looks like a minor case of Prius-on-Prius vehicular violence may actually be a piece of automotive history: the first accident caused by Google's self-driving car.  Whose name should the cop write down on the ticket?  UPDATE!
RELATED:
Jay Yarow / The Business Insider:
Human Driver Crashes Google's Self Driving Car*  —  Google's self driving cars have gotten into their first accident, Justin Hyde at Jalopnik reports.  —  A reader sent in a photo of a Google car having rear ended another Prius.  You can tell it's a self driving car by the thing on the roof of the car.
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Facebook Cites ‘Smoking Gun’ Proof of Fraud by Man Claiming Company Stake  —  Facebook Inc. said its inspection of computers turned over by Paul Ceglia, the western New York man who claims he's entitled to half of Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's holdings in the social-networking company, shows “smoking gun” evidence of fraud.
Discussion: L.A. Times Tech Blog and All Facebook, Thanks:chadcat
Aaron Lee / DigiTimes:
Ultrabooks and tablet PCs are short-term fads, says Acer founder  —  Acer founder Stan Shih has commented that the fads for ultrabooks and tablet PCs are both short-term phenomena and urged companies in the notebook supply chain to come out with more value-added products through innovation.
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
RBC: Apple would only launch low-cost iPhone if it had ‘category-killer’ experience  —  After a meeting with two of Apple's top executives, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said the company's primary requirement for launching a lower-end iPhone is whether the handset would provide an “innovative, category-killer experience.”
RELATED:
Todd Haselton / BGR:   Low-cost iPhone could launch soon; Apple execs hope to settle patent disputes
RELATED:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
More on Google and Patents  —  Kevin Fox: … I don't think “offense” and “defense” are the right way to look at this.  It is true that Google wasn't trying to acquire these patents to sue others, but rather to keep itself (and its Android handset maker partners) from being sued.
RELATED:
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Do You Live In An Android State Or An iPhone State?  —  It is clear by now that Android is winning the overall mobile market share battle in the U.S. among smart phones.  But how does the battle break down by state?  Mobile ad network Jumptap put out a report this morning (embedded below) …
FBI:
The FBI's Child ID App  —  Putting Safety in Your Hands  —  You're shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears.  A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful.  What do you do?  —  Now there's a free new tool from the FBI that can help.
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple cracking down on non-developer devices running iOS 5 - report  —  Apple has reportedly begun closing the accounts of some developers who have inappropriately sold their account device slots, allowing them to profit from the installation iOS 5 on unauthorized non-developer iPhones and iPads.
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
Google Researcher Exposes Flaws In Sophos Software, Slams Antivirus Industry  —  The security industry usually spends its time analyzing viruses, not the programs meant to catch them.  But Tavis Ormandy has been looking instead under the hood of one antivirus firm's tools.  And he doesn't like what he sees.
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Dolby: Our technologies are not built into Microsoft's Windows 8  —  Summary: Dolby Laboratories executives shared some information about Microsoft's Windows 8 during an earnings call this week.  What are the implications of the disclosure?  —  During an earnings conference call with analysts …
Zach Epstein / BGR:
HTC acquires Dashwire to bolster cloud services - and patent portfolio  —  HTC on Friday announced that it has agreed to acquire Seattle-based cloud services company Dashwire for up to $18.5 million via its HTC America Holding division.  Dashwire currently offers a range of cloud services for carriers …
RELATED:
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Feds hack past anonymity, bust 72 users of child abuse “horror” site  —  They used proxy servers and encryption.  They used anonymous screen names like “Beast,” “Bones,” “Jailbird,” and “Johnny_5_is_@live” to post and share their child sex abuse films.  Admins carefully segregated participants according to how much they were trusted.
Robert McMillan / PC World:
Spam King Sanford Wallace Indicted for Facebook Spam  —  Notorious spam king Sanford Wallace is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly breaking into Facebook accounts and sending 27 million spam messages in 2008 and 2009.  —  Wallace, 43, allegedly used a phishing attack to steal usernames …
Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:
Porn studio loses appeal in Google copyright case  —  A U.S. Appeals court didn't accept the assertion that an adult-entertainment company was nearly driven out of business by Google search results that display thumbnail photos of the site's porn photos.  —  The 9th Circuit ruled that Perfect 10 …
AppleInsider:
Needham sees Apple stock hitting $540 on sales of 54M iPads in 2012  —  Investment firm Needham & Company on Friday upped its price target for Apple stock to $540, with projected sales of 54 million iPads and 108 million iPhones in 2012.  —  Analyst Charlie Wolf provides semi-annual updates on his AAPL 12-month price target.
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, PadGadget and TUAW
Adrianne Jeffries / Betabeat:
Rough Trades: Digital Derivatives Hit the Bitcoin Markets as Wall Street Bankers Take Interest  —  The best way to find serious traders of the digital currency Bitcoin is to log onto Internet Relay Chat—that bare-bones, plain-text experience that hasn't changed much since its creation in 1988 …
Discussion: NYConvergence.com
Steve Lohr / Bits:
A Call to Rethink Internet Search  —  “We could soon view today's keyword searching with the same nostalgia and amusement reserved for bygone technologies such as electric typewriters and vinyl records.”  —  So declares Oren Etzioni, a computer scientist at the University of Washington …
Discussion: Technologizer
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Researchers find avenues for fraud in Square  —  Zac Franken, director at Aperture Labs, holds up the Square device for processing credit cards with a mobile device.  His company has just discovered two ways to steal credit card data using Square.  —  LAS VEGAS—Researchers …
J.B. / Fusible.com:
Rumor: Next tablet for device maker Motorola will be called Kore  —  There have been rumors of Motorola making a new Android tablet device that will have a 4:3 aspect ratio, like the iPad.  —  If a company's domain registrations are any indication of what's in store, then Motorola's next tablet may be called: Kore.
Martin Fowler / Bliki:
SoftwarePatent  —  I think almost everyone I know in the software development field has a deep hatred for patents and the way they've been used in our field.  I've had a post on my todo list for ages about this and have finally been moved to write about it after a particularly good piece …
Discussion: NPR and Techdirt
 
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 More Items: 
Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
Google closes its Dictionary site, wants you to “search” for definitions instead
Tabassum Zakaria / Reuters:
Pentagon cyber program to fund hacker innovation
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
NewMe Accelerator, Aiming To Encourage Black Tech Entrepreneurs, Has Its First Demo Day
Discussion: MediaPost and CNN
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
Intel places $30 million bet on the cloud, opens two new labs at Carnegie Mellon
Discussion: CNET News and Portfolio
Joe Mullin / paidContent:
Shagbook Attacks Facebook's Trademark, Calling It Generic
Discussion: Inquirer, Techdirt, Mashable! and thinq_
 Earlier Items: 
Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
HP knocking $100 from TouchPad pricing August 5-7
Chris Eidhof:
Why I develop for iOS  —  Sometimes I ask myself the question: why do I develop for iOS?
Discussion: GigaOM
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
DirecTV Says It's Kicking Hulu's Tires, Too
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
New iPhone App Provides a Glimpse of the Moments Before a Photo is Taken
Maciek Nowakowski / Gmail Blog:
New in Labs: Preview Pane