Techmeme: Google Given Chance to Settle Belgian Case Over Street View (Stephanie Bodoni/Bloomberg)

4:16 AM ET, August 21, 2011

Top Items:

Charlie White / Mashable!:

HP Tablet: How to Find a Deeply Discounted HP TouchPad — The discontinued HP TouchPad continues its liquidation at fire sale prices, and the frantic search for the defunct tablet at that elusive $99.99 price is one of the trending topics on Twitter today. — Use this link to search Twitter …

Discussion: @brynaathp, @joshuatopolsky, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Daring Fireball, @percival, PC World, @mrgan, @betanews and Engadget, Thanks:benparr

Phone Arena:

Best Buy does a 180 degree change, will sell HP TouchPad in U.S. stores at fire sale prices — Perhaps Best Buy's U.S. managers saw all those HP TouchPads being sold around them and decided to join in the fun, too. After saying that its U.S. stores would not partake in the fire sale of the webOS tablet …

Discussion: Engadget, TekGoblin, PC Magazine, @brynaathp, PreCentral.net and Android and Me

Bryna Corcoran / @brynaathp:

Just tuning in? #Touchpad on HP online stores in USA are sold out. More coming. Alert site server busy but keep trying: http://t.co/cQkzKCW

Joe Wilcox / BetaNews:

What does the glut of cheap HP TouchPads mean for Apple and Android tablet sales? — If you're trying to get a $99 TouchPad but can't find it anywhere, blame Best Buy. Based on calls placed to a half-dozen of the stores today, Best Buy has refused to sell its huge stock of HP tablets, choosing to return them to HP instead.

Discussion: Shiny Objects

Dan Ramirez / webOSroundup:

BREAKING: HP Crediting Fire-Sale Difference to Current TouchPad Owners — Folks, we're all a bit upset right now, and who can blame you? But it's looking to us like HP is trying to make things right for customers that took the plunge on the HP TouchPad previously. Here's what we know:

Discussion: Engadget, PC Magazine, Kindle Review, PhoneArena, Liliputing, PhoneDog.com, Gizmodo, Examiner, @bestbuy, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, PreCentral.net and Mashable!

Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
HP begins TouchPad liquidation; 16GB cut to $99, 32GB $149

Kevin Marks / Epeus' epigone:

Google Plus must stop this Identity Theatre — Bruce Schneier in Beyond Fear coined a phrase: … The Common Names debâcle at Google Plus is a variant of this, where the supposed protections are manifestly not working. Google's stated policy on this is that you should use your ‘common name’ …

Jamie Zawinski / jwz:

Nym Wars — Yes, yes, let's just get this one out of the way now. — I hadn't been paying much attention to the Google “Real Names” clusterf**k, because it was so obvious to me that they were going to lose this one in the press that it would all be over soon.

Discussion: LAUNCH and Boing Boing

Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Google+ Rolls Out Verified Profiles, Still Struggles With Real-Name Policy

Discussion: Wen-Ai Yu, PC Magazine, Search Engine Land, CNET News, PC World, Techie Buzz, Sean Percival's Blog, Computerworld, Gizmodo and WebProNews

Peter Bright / Ars Technica:

Feature: “A sort of PC”: how Windows 8 will invade tablets (and why it might work) — For the first time in fifteen or more years, Redmond faces a genuine challenge to its Windows desktop monopoly. The threat isn't coming from Linux or from Mac OS X or from any other operating system.

Discussion: Slashdot

Tom Warren / WinRumors:
Microsoft slams post-PC idea, claims “PC isn't even middle aged yet”

Discussion: AppleInsider, Electronista, WinBeta, TechNet Blogs and The Business Insider

Zach Epstein / BGR:

No, HP, you're off the mark — Oh nooo. That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I began to read Jon Zilber's post on HP's company blog. Quoting Mark Twain? Oh no he didn't. In a nutshell, Zilber's intent was to correct the world's press, which collectively played Taps while standing over webOS's grave this past week.

Discussion: The Official HP Palm Blog and blog.chron.com

Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
Kerris: work on webOS and app ecosystem will continue

Discussion: HP webOS Developer Blog, PC World, PhoneArena, Bloomberg, AllThingsD, The Next Web and Ars Technica

Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg:

Google Given Chance to Settle Belgian Case Over Street View — Google Inc. (GOOG) was offered the chance to pay Belgian authorities a penalty of 150,000 euros ($215,700) to settle a data-privacy case concerning the collection of wireless Internet data through its Street View service.

Discussion: paidContent

Edward Moyer / CNET News:

SF subway sets public debate on cell shutdown — BART, the transit system targeted by hackers after it cut cell service in its subway prior to a protest, posts a letter to customers explaining its position and announcing a public meeting on the issue.

Discussion: BART News

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Verizon Workers Plan to End Strike, Agreeing to Revive Talks Toward a Contract — Leaders of the unions that have been on strike against Verizon Communications announced on Saturday that they were ending the walkout even though the two sides had not reached an overall settlement for a new contract.

Discussion: Verizon, DSLreports, Wall Street Journal, PC Magazine, Gawker, CNET News, Associated Press, Reuters and Light Reading

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