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3:50 PM ET, October 14, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Bradley Horowitz / The Official Google Blog:
A fall sweep  —  We aspire to build great products that really change people's lives, products they use two or three times a day.  To succeed you need real focus and thought—thought about what you work on and, just as important, what you don't work on.  It's why we recently decided to shut …
RELATED:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google Axes More Services: Jaiku, Buzz, Code Search & More  —  According to a new post by Google VP of Product Bradley Horowitz, on the official company blog, Google is delivering the death blow to several more products and services, including its code search engine, Buzz, Jaiku …
Discussion: @ded and silicontap.com
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
AT&T Activations Servers Overloaded with iPhone 4S Launch  —  As has happened in the past, it seems AT&T's activation servers are having problems with the large influx of activations with the iPhone 4S launch.  A quick search of Twitter shows many having problems activating their AT&T iPhone 4Ss due to server issues.
RELATED:
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Mac:
Apple already spent $750 million on the iCloud building alone?  —  CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the iPhone 4S unveiling shipments of 250 million iOS devices since the original iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007.  The iPhone 4S, the latest and greatest new model, has marked a shift in focus …
Miro / iFixit Blog:
iPhone 4S Camera Made by Sony
AppleInsider:
iPhone 4S launch draws crowds at Apple stores around the world  —  The debut of Apple's latest smartphone on Friday has drawn huge crowds at Apple stores around the world, including a long, rain-soaked line at the company's flagship Fifth Avenue store.  —  Today the iPhone 4S launches in the U.S. …
RELATED:
Retrevo:
Who Is Going to Buy an iPhone 4S?  —  The iPhone 4S is due to go on sale October 14th.  At the announcement for the iPhone 4S you could sense a mild disappointment when everyone realized there wasn't going to be Jobs' trademarked, “one more thing.”  Aside from the lack of a redesigned case …
CNET News:
iPhone 4S goes on sale (semi-live blog)  —  Lines outside the Apple store on Fifth Ave. wrap around the block as people wait for the iPhone 4S.  —  After a longer than usual wait for Apple iPhone fans, the newest iPhone-the iPhone 4S-is finally hitting store shelves today all across the U.S. and in six other countries.
Microsoft:
Microsoft Officially Welcomes Skype  —  Microsoft and Skype will empower people and businesses to connect in new ways.  —  Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT") has closed its acquisition of Skype Global S.à r.l.  Negotiations of the definitive agreement under which Microsoft would acquire Skype …
RELATED:
Jeffrey Meisner / TechNet Blogs:
Tony Bates Weighs in on Microsoft's Acquisition of Skype  —  I am delighted to announce the deal with Microsoft has formally closed, and Skype is now a division of Microsoft.  This represents a huge leap forward in Skype's mission to be the communications choice for a billion people every day.
Reuters:
Samsung loses Dutch bid to ban Apple products  —  * Says two companies should negotiate licensing deal  —  * Ruling may help Apple in other European court cases (Adds response from Samsung and Apple)  —  A Dutch court on Friday turned down Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction …
RELATED:
Dan Levine / Reuters:
Apple must show patents valid in Samsung case: judge
Asher Moses / Sydney Morning Herald:
Apple fails in new Samsung court bid
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
iPad 3 Headed Into Production  —  With the iPhone 4S arriving at market today, the never-sated Apple rumor mill is clamoring for more grist.  And, as always, there's plenty of it to be had, this time involving the iPad 3.  —  According to Susquehanna Financial analyst Jeff Fidacaro, the device is headed into production.
Jonathan S. Geller / BGR:
Motorola DROID HD (RAZR/Spyder) specs revealed; said to be ‘faster than the iPhone 4S’  —  We just confirmed some of the specifications for the upcoming Motorola DROID device (DROID HD / DROID RAZR / Spyder) that Verizon Wireless and Motorola are rumored to be announcing next week, and they are monster.
MG Siegler / parislemon:
Just Win, Baby  —  The biggest challenge I faced as a tech blogger was a simple one: motivation.  By that, I don't mean that it was hard to write — it never was.  But towards the end, it was getting hard to get excited to write on a daily basis.  I needed to be driven.  That's when I'm at my best.
Discussion: @karaswisher
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Jail Sentence for Pirate Bay Co-Founder Made Final  —  November last year, the Swedish Appeal Court found three people behind The Pirate Bay guilty of contributory copyright infringement offenses.  The trio were handed prison sentences and ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages.
Discussion: The Next Web
Candice Katz / Spotify:
Spotify and Boxee, together at last  —  Today we're excited to announce that Spotify is available on Boxee.  —  For those of you who don't know about Boxee yet, it's a great device that finds many of your favorite shows and movies on the Internet and puts them on your TV.  Now you can add music to that list.
David Kravets / Threat Level:
U.S. Copyright Czar Cozied Up to Content Industry, E-Mails Show  —  Top-ranking Obama administration officials, including the U.S. copyright czar, played an active role in secret negotiations between Hollywood, the recording industry and ISPs to disrupt internet access for users suspected …
Discussion: Techdirt and Plagiarism Today
Noah Davis / Business Insider:
BUSTED: Groupon And Living Social Caught Inflating Regular Prices To Make Deals Look Better  —  Groupon and LivingSocial succeed because consumers perceive them as great deals.  But is that true?  —  Perhaps not.  —  Thumbtack.com called 10 vendors offering daily deals …
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Congress, wary of Amazon's Silk browser, demands answers on privacy  —  Congress is trying to wrap its collective head around Amazon's new Silk Web browser.  —  At a privacy hearing yesterday, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) expressed outrage at the way Silk's “split” design can funnel all user browsing data through Amazon's backend servers.
 
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 More Items: 
Brian Carter / All Facebook:
The Average Facebook Post Lives 22 Hours And 51 Minutes
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Paul Carr's ‘The New Gambit’ Wants To Be ‘The Economist,’ But Funny (And Tablet-Only!)
Discussion: Blog.
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Mozilla bashes Microsoft's browser security test
Discussion: WinRumors
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
Amazon Lists All Its Verizon Phones For One Penny With A New Contract
Discussion: CNET News
Dana Wollman / Engadget:
Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review
Discussion: TechCrunch
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Files for iPhone 4S, Siri & Assistive Touch Trademarks While Fulfilling another UI Patent
Sean Ludwig / VentureBeat:
Eduardo Saverin-backed Jumio to launch mobile payments service
Discussion: NBC Bay Area
 Earlier Items: 
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Motorola Mobility Stockholders To Vote On $12.5 Billion Google Merger On Nov 17, 2011
Zachary Lichaa / Business Insider:
Are You Cool? If So, 25 Startups Are Willing To Give You Equity For Free
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: Twitter's VP Engineering Mike Abbott Departs
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Google Said to Be Planning an MP3 Store
 

 
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”

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

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
 
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