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2:50 PM ET, September 29, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Planets Are Aligned: Facebook's Spartan And iPad Projects Set To Launch Early Next Week  —  Earlier tonight, Alexia found and posted some screenshots of something that sure looked a lot like the mythical “Project Spartan”.  Shortly thereafter, Facebook took down the page in question.
RELATED:
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
This Is Facebook's Project Spartan [Screenshots]  —  This Facebook mobile developers page is pretty interesting, first of all because it starts with a statistic, “350 million users access Facebook from a mobile device every month,” which was just released and then because it describes Facebook …
Jay Yarow / Business Insider:
Goldman: Microsoft Is Getting $444 Million Annually From Android Patent Licenses  —  Microsoft is will generate $444 million in revenue from Android patent deals for fiscal year 2012 (started in July 1, 2011, ends June 30, 2012), according to a note from Goldman Sachs's tech analyst team.
RELATED:
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Samsung: We can't rely on Google, so we addressed Android IP issues on our own
Chester Wisniewski / Naked Security:
Amazon Kindle Fire's Silk browser sounds privacy alarm bells  —  Amazon announced the newest addition to their Kindle line today named Fire.  The Fire is a tablet based on the Android software stack with a customized Amazon interface layered over the top.  —  The focus appears …
RELATED:
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Analyst: Amazon is likely losing $50 per Kindle Fire  —  Apple, by contrast, is probably clearing a gross margin of 30% or more on each iPad  —  Kindle Fire.  Photo: Amazon  —  The Kindle Fire that Amazon (AMZN) introduced Wednesday is not a true competitor of Apple's (AAPL) iPad …
Brad Molen / Engadget:
Ice Cream Sandwich gets a two-minute tour, courtesy of a lucky eBay shopper (video)  —  The one Android update to rule them all — better known as Ice Cream Sandwich — is penciled in for an official launch sometime in the next two months, so it's only natural for some shots to leak out.
RELATED:
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Last year, Steve Jobs tried (and failed) to defuse Samsung patent row  —  The legal fight between Apple and Samsung over claims the Korean smartphone vendor had copied smartphone and tablet designs entered new territory on Thursday after it was revealed that Apple founder …
RELATED:
Asher Moses / Sydney Morning Herald:
Apple fears Samsung tablet will ‘seduce’ customers, court told  —  Asher Moses  —  Apple fears the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will launch on to the market “with the velocity of a fire hose” and “take away iPad 2 sales so quickly” that customers may be permanently “seduced” away from Apple's iOS platform …
Bloomberg:
HP Said to Have Been Concerned Over Oracle When Switching CEOs  —  Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — Hewlett-Packard Co. directors were concerned that plummeting shares would make the company vulnerable to a bid from Oracle Corp. when they replaced Leo Apotheker with Meg Whitman, two people close to the board said.
RELATED:
Oracle:
Another Whopper from Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch
David Meyer / ZDNet:
Autonomy: Oracle is ‘confused’ over supposed sale offer
Discussion: Business Insider and Fortune
Kazunori Takada / Reuters:
Fake iPhone ring busted in China: report  —  (Reuters) - Chinese police in Shanghai have arrested five people for making and selling fake versions of Apple Inc's iPhone, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.  —  Police said those arrested were part of an organized gang that bought components …
Caleb Garling / Wired:
Ex-NASA Man Squeezes Cloud Onto USB Stick  —  Yes, you can fit a cloud on a USB stick.  —  Founded by several of the brains who conceived OpenStack - the open source software platform for building Amazon-like “infrastructure clouds” - San Francisco startup Piston Cloud Computing has squeezed …
Michael Arrington / UNCRUNCHED:
AOL + TechCrunch One Year Anniversary: A Look Back And A Look Forward  —  “So we begin another journey.  I fully intend to stay with AOL for a very, very long time.”  - Me, one year ago.  —  A year ago yesterday we announced the acquisition of TechCrunch by Aol.
Discussion: Business Insider and @paulcarr
Dennis Woodside / Google Public Policy Blog:
An update on our Motorola acquisition  —  Since we announced our plans to acquire Motorola Mobility, we've been excited about the positive reaction to the proposed deal — particularly from our partners who have told us that they're enthusiastic about our defense of the Android ecosystem.
RELATED:
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:   Google Calls Justice Department Second Request on Motorola Deal “Pretty Routine” (If Four Percent Is Routine)
John Jersin / Google Analytics Blog:
What's happening on your site right now?  —  The web is getting faster, and not just the speed of the pages, but also the speed of change.  Before, it was fine to build a website and modify it only when new products were launched.  All of us avid Analytics users know that's just not good enough.
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, Search Engine Land and The Loop, Thanks:rajupp
Bloomberg:
Microsoft Said to Add Comcast, Verizon Pay TV to Xbox Live  —  Microsoft Corp. plans to offer online pay television service from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) through Xbox Live, in an bid to channel more entertainment to its video-game console, people with knowledge of the situation said.
Brooke Crothers / CNET News:
BlackBerry PlayBook on sale at Best Buy for $299  —  That was fast.  Best Buy in the U.S. knocked the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet down to $299, apparently in response to the market-upending price of the Amazon's Kindle Fire.  —  Is RIM feeling the Amazon Kindle Fire heat?
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple is working a new Hybrid Drive System of their Own  —  On September 29, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a next generation Hybrid Drive that includes both a hard drive and Flash.  Intel will be pushing their Smart Response hybrid drive systems …
Discussion: GigaOM
Colleen Taylor / GigaOM:
Hipmunk comes to Android with a surprisingly slick app  —  Hipmunk has finally brought its travel search application to the Android operating system, with a brand new mobile app that will hit the Android marketplace Thursday.  —  Hipmunk for Android, which for now only facilitates flight searches …
Katie Marsal / AppleInsider:
Chinese carrier says Apple's iPhone 5 will support 4G-like HSPA+  —  Apple's fifth-generation iPhone will feature support for fast HSPA+ 21Mbps network speeds, sometimes advertised as “4G,” carrier China Unicom has revealed.  —  The carrier revealed the information in a presentation given at this week's Macworld Asia.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
iPhone 4S / 5 appears in Apple's inventory system, iPod touch may see price drops  —  Yesterday we reported that tweaked iPhone 4 models and white iPod touch models have appeared in Apple's internal inventory systems ahead of the October 4th Apple event.  Today, though, comes the big news …
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Q: When Will Quora Release An iPhone App?  A: Now.  —  Quora can be an addiction.  You visit the site just to see what's going on, 30 minutes later you're still there.  Today, the addiction goes mobile.  Finally.  —  The service has just released their first iOS native app.
Tom Warren / WinRumors:
Microsoft to introduce $9.99 Zune Music Pass on October 3 for U.S. & Canada  —  Microsoft is planning to introduce a lower priced version of its Zune Music Pass on October 3.  —  The software maker is planning to roll out its Zune Music Marketplace and Zune Music Pass to Canadian markets on October 3.
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Barnes & Noble: $25 Off the Nook Color if You Leave Our Stock Price Alone!  —  The looming November launch of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet means bad tidings for Barnes & Noble this holiday season.  That seems to be the market's sentiment, anyway.  —  Fearing competitive pressure …
Discussion: CNET News, TeleRead and Slate Magazine
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
In Victory For Apple, Court Upholds Ban On Mac Clones  —  Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) won an appeal yesterday that confirmed it can stop others from selling clones of its popular computers.  But the court also dealt a setback to Apple's obsession with secrecy when it rejected the company's attempts to seal documents related to the case.
Discussion: CNET News and The Next Web
 
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 More Items: 
Emily Glazer / Digits:
DirecTV Strikes Social TV Deal With GetGlue
Thanks:dorothy_jean
Carolyn Giardina / Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. to Premiere ‘Social Series’ on Facebook
Discussion: Associated Press and Reuters
Claire Cain Miller / Bits:
Should Google Tweak the News We Consume?
Anjali Mullany / NY Daily News:
Privacy for the people: Wall Street protesters use social media app Vibe to communicate anonymously
Discussion: All Facebook and Betabeat
Dan Chastney / The Big Blog:
Skype 2.5 for Android adds more supported handsets and enhanced video experience
 Earlier Items: 
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Now Fits Into an App
Kevin Kwang / ZDNet:
HTC: Windows Phone to outpace competitors
Sara Hamdan / New York Times:
All Aboard: Google Bus Seeks Start-Up Ideas
Discussion: PC Magazine
Kevin Fogarty / ITworld:
Cable company a la carte plan is more like a bait-and-switch
Emil Protalinski / Friending Facebook Blog:
Reddit users overwhelm Facebook with data requests
Discussion: Guardian, Thanks:kashhill
Michael Arrington / UNCRUNCHED:
VentureBeat Needs To Put On Their Big Boy Pants If They Want To Fight With TechCrunch
Derek Kessler / PreCentral.net:
HP TouchPad Go details galore [exclusive]
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Peter White / Deadline:
Fox and Hulu extend their content partnership, including in-season streaming rights for Fox's programming; sources: the deal is worth $1.5B over four years

Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
A Q&A with Chris Balfe, CEO of Red Seat Ventures, which has helped Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly set up their podcast and streaming businesses and sell ads

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
A New York judge finds Sirius XM liable for a difficult subscription cancellation process; Sirius says it will appeal but abide by a new “click-to-cancel” rule
 
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