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8:40 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.
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.
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) …
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.
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
HTTPS Everywhere  —  HTTPS Everywhere 1.0 has been released, and the project is out of beta.  Version 1.0 includes support for over 1,000 new sites, a better UI, and performance improvements.  Click here to install it!  —  HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between …
Corynne McSherry / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Court Refuses to Return Seized Domain Name, Claims Shutting Down Speech Doesn't Cause a Substantial Hardship  —  In a cursory opinion issued today that left us scratching our heads, a federal judge has ruled that the government does not have to return a domain name seized by Immigration …
RELATED:
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Domain Seizures Do Not Violate Free Speech, U.S. Court Rules
Discussion: TechEye, Electronista and Slashdot
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple disabling non-developer devices running iOS 5?  Doubt it.  —  According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5.  The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW.
RELATED:
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple cracking down on non-developer devices running iOS 5 - report
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Groupon Will Dump Controversial ACSOI Accounting in Amended IPO Filing  —  According to numerous sources close to the situation and after regulatory pressure, Groupon will amend its S-1 public offering filing to remove references to an unusual accounting treatment that has attracted controversy.
Discussion: VentureBeat and CNET News
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
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.
Joanna Stern / This is my next:
Motorola Droid 3 review  —  The original Motorola Droid was a trailblazing phone when it launched.  In fact, it's a historical device — one of the very first Android phones and the very first to take on Verizon's Droid moniker.  But beyond all that, it boasted features unlike any other phone at the time …
Discussion: Gizmodo
Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic Online:
Why Facebook and Google's Concept of ‘Real Names’ Is Revolutionary  —  The primary version of identity online is a radical departure from what we expect in real life  —  Should you have to use your real name online?  It's an issue that's long simmered among social media critics and supporters alike.
Discussion: danah boyd
Alistair Barr / Reuters:
Exclusive: Groupon subscribers jump to 115 million  —  (Reuters) - Groupon Inc subscribers have more than doubled to 115 million so far this year, according to a person familiar with the situation.  —  Groupon had 50.58 million subscribers at the end of 2010.  That jumped 64 percent to 83.1 million at the end of the first quarter.
Discussion: VatorNews and The Business Insider
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
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 …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
In dispute with Google, Oracle asks Chicago court to compel deposition of Motorola Mobility  —  Oracle's lawsuit against Google has been going on for almost exactly a year before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco), and one particular element of the dispute …
Discussion: PC World and Electronista
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.
Discussion: The Business Insider
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:
John Cook / GeekWire:
Mobile phone back-up service Dashwire sells to HTC for $18.5M
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Kindle 3 refurb prices slashed: Fourth-gen update imminent?  —  Amazon's rumored Kindle refresh could be fast incoming, with the retailer seemingly clearing inventory of the existing third-gen model with a refurb price cut.  Having been roughly $10 cheaper than new models since March …
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
 
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 More Items: 
J.B. / Fusible.com:
Rumor: Next tablet for device maker Motorola will be called Kore
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
Feds hack past anonymity, bust 72 users of child abuse “horror” site
Paul Sawers / The Next Web:
Google closes its Dictionary site, wants you to “search” for definitions instead
AppleInsider:
Needham sees Apple stock hitting $540 on sales of 54M iPads in 2012
Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, PadGadget and TUAW
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
 Earlier Items: 
Greg Sandoval / Media Maverick:
Porn studio loses appeal in Google copyright case
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
Google Researcher Exposes Flaws In Sophos Software, Slams Antivirus Industry
Steve Lohr / Bits:
A Call to Rethink Internet Search
Discussion: Technologizer
Joe Mullin / paidContent:
Shagbook Attacks Facebook's Trademark, Calling It Generic