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8:55 AM ET, August 18, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Brad Molen / Engadget:
AT&T streamlining individual messaging plans August 21st, leaving unlimited as the sole survivor  —  Do not adjust your computer screen, because the screenshot you're seeing above is real.  Confirmed by multiple sources, we've exclusively learned that AT&T — the protagonist of choice …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
IBM produces first working chips modeled on the human brain  —  IBM has been shipping computers for more than 65 years, and it is finally on the verge of creating a true electronic brain.  —  Big Blue is announcing today that it, along with four universities and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency …
Zach Epstein / BGR:
Most Android apps sit idle, top-50 apps make up 61% of all usage, Nielsen finds  —  Nielsen on Thursday ushered in a new era of mobile device usage reporting brought about by customer metering software installed on thousands of iOS and Android devices around the U.S. Rather than relying …
Reuters:
Apple, Qualcomm, others eye InterDigital  —  (Reuters) - Apple Inc, Nokia and Qualcomm Inc are among several technology companies pondering bids for InterDigital Inc, sources familiar with the situation said.  —  The auction of the wireless telecommunications specialist …
RELATED:
Eric Savitz / The Tech Trade:
Kodak: Patents For Sale
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
Welcome to the patent valuation bubble
Matt Rosoff / The Business Insider:
Android Boss Andy Rubin Split His First Huge Bonus Check With His Employees  —  When the first Android phone shipped in 2008, Andy Rubin received a multimillion dollar check from his bosses at Google.  —  He turned around and gave some of the money away to the 100 or so employees on the Android team.
RELATED:
Shadi Mahassel / The Big Blog:
Skype WiFi - now available on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch  —  Skype WiFi (formerly known as Skype Access) is coming to iOS.  We've just launched a new iOS application that's free to download from Apple's App store.  —  With the new Skype WiFi app, you can go online on your iPhone …
RELATED:
Andrew Harris / Bloomberg:
Motorola Mobility Faces Suit Over $12.5 Billion Google Sale  —  Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and its chief executive officer, Sanjay Jha, were sued by a shareholder claiming they failed to get the best price when they agreed to sell the company for $12.5 billion to Google Inc.
Daniel Eran Dilger / AppleInsider:
Verizon's Android share down dramatically following iPhone 4 launch  —  In less than six months, Verizon Wireless' share of Android phones sold in the US has eroded from 51.4 percent to 41.1 percent, indicating a huge shift among Verizon subscribers to iPhone 4.
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Miami court deals huge setback to Motorola Mobility's defense against Microsoft  —  Motorola Mobility's defense strategy against Microsoft's patent infringement lawsuit just suffered a major setback.  The best defense in patent disputes is a good offense, but after an order issued today …
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Apple's Mobile Ad Head Andy Miller Departs for Highland Capital  —  Andy Miller (pictured here), the high-profile VP of mobile advertising at Apple, is planning on leaving the company, according to sources close to the situation.  —  Sources said Miller — who sold Quattro Wireless …
RELATED:
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Mac:
Prodigy visual interface designer leaves Apple for Square
Discussion: Edible Apple and Electronista
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Apple, It's Time To Block iOS 5 Beta Users From Reviewing Apps  —  “Yeah, each new iOS announcement is very... bittersweet.  We love it because it means new APIs for us to build on, bug fixes for things we've had to work around, and, ideally, more people buying the platform we build for.
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Why your next smartphone may have a larger HD screen  —  Samsung is reportedly shrinking down the size of full high-definition screens and will create them for large smartphones and small tablets.  The company's Super AMOLED Plus technology, which arrived earlier this year …
Jeremy Keeshin / thekeesh.com:
Who Does Facebook Think You Are Searching For?  —  Have you ever wondered how Facebook orders your search results?  Clearly they have some ordering about who they think you are looking for, and they seem to guess pretty well.  I can only guess, but it seems like they order it based on who you interact with …
Discussion: TechCrunch and Mashable!
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Windows Phone games: Details on Microsoft's ‘Fast Async’ service  —  As part of an update about upcoming Windows Phone gaming features, Microsoft this week offered a teaser about a new service called “Fast Async” — promising that it will improve gameplay for turn-by-turn (a.k.a. asynchronous") Xbox Live games on the phones.
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple's Online Store Gets More Social With Twitter and Facebook Links  —  Following today's mysterious downtime for Apple's online stores, users have been scouring the store pages to look for any changes.  While the store remains largely unchanged with no major new product offerings …
Henry Blodget / The Business Insider:
Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But Groupon Is Running Low On Cash  —  One of the fastest-growing companies in the history of the world, Groupon, is now running seriously low on cash.  —  The company is not broke, by any means.  It can also presumably raise additional capital in the private markets if its IPO gets further delayed.
Discussion: HBR.org, reDesign, Fortune and LAUNCH
Ryan Tate / Gawker:
Ashton Kutcher Is a Massive Whore  —  Not only did Ashton Kutcher pose for the cover of Details' September issue, he also edited a special “online only” version, out today.  Turns out Hollywood's prettiest boytoy is one compromised whore of a magazine editor, directing most of his recommendations …
Discussion: Details and @dondodge
Electronista:
Apple only major PC builder in Western Europe still growing  —  Mac grows in Europe in Q2 2011 while Windows falls  —  Apple was the only major computer manufacturer in Western Europe to keep growing this past spring, Gartner uncovered in a continent-wide breakdown on Wednesday.
Discussion: AppleInsider, CNET News and TechFlash, Thanks:jonfingas
Matt Rosoff / The Business Insider:
Windows 8 Will Have An App Store And A “Human Interaction Platform”  —  Microsoft's Windows chief Steve Sinofsky said he was ready to start talking about Windows 8 on Monday, and today he followed up on his promise by listing the feature teams who are working on the next version of Microsoft's flagship product.
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Facebook Says ‘Authentic Contract’ E-Mailed by Ceglia to Lawyer  —  Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Paul Ceglia, the western New York man claiming part-ownership of Facebook Inc., e-mailed the “authentic contract” disproving his claim to a law firm in 2004, a lawyer for the company told a judge.
Wolfgang Gruener / ConceivablyTech:
Beyond Windows 8: Patent Hints To A Future Streaming OS  —  Microsoft already has an idea how the Windows operating system may evolve after Windows 8.  A patent filing entitled “Fast Machine Booting Through Streaming Storage” describes a chain of storage devices with different priorities …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Google Launches A Music Blog To Remind People That Google Music Beta Still Exists  —  Music Beta, remember it?  It's the online music locker service that Google unveiled at I/O in May.  But the keyword in the title very much remains “Beta” — as in, not in any way ready for prime time.
 
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 More Items: 
ConsortiumInfo.org The Standards Blog:
W3C Launches New “Agile” Standards Development Platform
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Fanbois treat criticism of favorite brands as threat to self-image
John Hiesler / Edible Apple:
Delta deploying iPads to pilots as electronic flight bag replacements
Discussion: TUAW and AppleInsider, Thanks:edibleapple
Bloomberg:
Jive Software Said to Hire Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs for IPO
Discussion: Bloomberg and AllThingsD
 Earlier Items: 
Brad Sams / Neowin.net:
Microsoft issues statement on cloud downtime
Discussion: Neowin.net
Terry Baynes / Reuters:
AT&T sues customers seeking to block T-Mobile deal
Discussion: SlashGear, Gizmodo and CNET News
Jeremy Ford / Singularity Hub:
$80 Android Phone Sells Like Hotcakes in Kenya, the World Next?
Betabeat:
Jumo ‘Acquired’ for $0 and a Graceful Exit
 

 
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”

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

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
 
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