Check out Mini-Techmeme for simple mobiles or Techmeme Mobile for modern smartphones.
2:45 PM ET, October 20, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
AT&T:
AT&T Activates One Million iPhone 4S'  —  Activations Surpass All Previous Launches; Customers Prefer AT&T Speed Advantage  —  AT&T today announced it activated more than 1 million iPhone 4S' as of Tuesday, making it the most successful iPhone launch in the company's history.
RELATED:
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
AT&T third quarter on target: iPhone, Android split improves
Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:
Microsoft to Help Halve Phone Costs Next Year in ‘Volume’ Drive  —  Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. expects production costs of handsets using Windows Phone 7 software next year to drop by more than half from when the platform was introduced.  —  Cooperation with parts makers including Qualcomm Inc …
RELATED:
Darren Murph / Engadget:
Microsoft's Andy Lees: Nokia will announce ‘its Windows Phones’ at Nokia World  —  No surprise here, but you can officially mark Nokia World 2011 down as must-watch TV.  Andy Lees just confirmed here on stage at AsiaD that the London-based event, which kicks off on October 26th, will be the launchpad for Nokia's Windows Phones.
Ben Rudolph / The Windows Blog:
First Look: AT&T's new HTC TITAN, Samsung Focus S and Samsung Focus Flash  —  Just a few minutes ago at the All Things D Asia conference, Windows Phone President Andy Lees gave the world its first look at AT&T's new lineup of new Windows Phones.  We talked speeds and feeds on the blog a few weeks ago …
Dieter Bohn / This is my next:
Andy Lees: Windows Phone to get NFC and ‘wider hardware choice’ next year
Alan Green / Official Google Reader Blog:
Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-up  —  In the next week, we'll be making some highly requested changes to Google Reader.  First, we're going to introduce a brand new design (like many of Google's other products) that we hope you love.
RELATED:
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:   Google Reader: It's Still Alive and Getting a Facelift, But Will Lose its Social Features
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Android Chief Says Your Phone Should Not Be Your Assistant  —  Andy Rubin thinks there is a lot of potential for phones to be more useful companions, but says he is not interested in turning Android devices into personal assistants.  —  “I don't believe that your phone should be an assistant …
RELATED:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Let's Take This One With a Grain of Salt  —  Ina Fried, covering some conference in Asia on some website: … What do you expect him to say about Siri, though?  “Well, Apple really pulled ahead of us there.”  ? Not going to happen.  The truth is, Google has been working on voice-driven stuff for mobile devices for years.
Discussion: Computerworld and GottaBeMobile
Feross Aboukhadijeh / Feross.org:
HOW TO: Spy on the Webcams of Your Website Visitors  —  Update (10/19): CNET says that Adobe is working on a fix and it could be ready by end of week.  —  Update (10/19): Adobe emailed me and said “our product team is wrapping up their investigation and is now working on a fix, which should not require a Flash Player update”.
RELATED:
Elinor Mills / CNET News:
Adobe to plug Flash-related Webcam spying hole  —  A video demonstrates how the attack could be accomplished.  In this screenshot, a series of blue buttons are clicked on as part of a game and the webcam is turned on.  —  Adobe Systems is working on a fix for a Flash-related vulnerability …
Andrew Rassweiler / iSuppli®:
iPhone 4S Carries BOM of $188, IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Reveals  —  On the outside, the iPhone 4S may have disappointed some with its perceived lack of new features.  But on the inside, the latest member of the iPhone line includes a wealth of innovation, including a new wireless module …
RELATED:
Yun-Hee Kim / Wall Street Journal:
Samsung Beats Apple in Smartphone Shipments  —  HONG KONG—Samsung Electronics Co. shipped more than 20 million smartphones in the quarter ended Sept. 30, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday, beating market leader Apple Inc. as well as Nokia Corp., the world's biggest cellphone maker by volume.
Darren Murph / Engadget:
ASUS' Jonney Shih unveils Transformer Prime Android tablet: 10-inch, 8.3mm, quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3  —  Whoa, Nelly!  ASUS head honcho Jonney Shih just revealed the “next-generation Transformer tablet” here at AsiaD!  It's the same one that we saw teased just yesterday …
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Not Just Google: Siri Searches Bing And Yahoo Too  —  Earlier tonight Danny Sullivan discovered that Siri will also search Bing and Yahoo, though it searches Google by default.  If you say, “Search the web for . . .” or you ask Siri a question it can't answer it will search Google (the iPhone's default search engine).
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Google+ Guru Bradley Horowitz On Products, Platforms and that Pesky Memo  —  While Google has struggled mightily in its early efforts to “get the social thing,” it has managed to get more than a few people to try out its latest effort, Google+.  —  But the question of just how compelling …
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Yahoo's Jerry Yang: There Are Plenty of Options Beyond Sale  —  Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang said on Thursday that the company's board continues its strategic review process, but that there are a number of options beyond just selling the company.  —  “The intent going in is not to put ourselves for sale,” Yang said, speaking at AsiaD.
Matt Rosoff / Business Insider:
This Is The Google Music “Twist”: You Can Share Songs After Buying Them  —  Yesterday, Google mobile head Andy Rubin said that the company's long-awaited music store will have some kind of twist.  —  Now we know what it is.  —  A person in the recording industry who has been briefed …
Discussion: VentureBeat
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Visual.ly Raises $2 Million To Make Even More Infographics  —  Visual.ly, the team built from the infographics team behind Mint's spectacular infographics, has raised $2 million in seed funding, led by Crosslink Capital, SoftTech and 500 Startups as well as angels Kapor Capital, Giza Ventures …
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Working on a Thinner MacBook Pro Design  —  While Intel is obsessed with pushing their Ultrabooks into the market to attack Apple's MacBook Air, Apple is working on producing a thinner MacBook Pro for road warriors who need the convenience of an optical drive.
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
A New Look for Gmail  —  A video from Google's YouTube channel (update: the video is now private, but there's a mirror here) introduces a new Gmail interface.  It's based on the Preview theme that's already available in Gmail, but there are many other changes: an action bar that uses icons instead …
Mark Kleinman / Kleinman:
Exclusive: Kingdom Eyes Twitter Stake  —  The ultra-wealthy Saudi investor who owns stakes in Citigroup and News Corporation is examining a swoop on the internet industry that would involve acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of shares in Twitter, I have learned.
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Coupon Craze Continues With CouponCabin Raising $54 Million  —  Investors are seeing a smart shopping opportunity in the age-old practice of saving and redeeming coupons.  —  CouponCabin.com of Whiting, Ind., is the latest online coupon company to raise capital.  The company has raised $54 million in its first round of funding.
Jim Puzzanghera / L.A. Times Tech Blog:
Facebook partners with Labor Department to help job-seekers  —  The Labor Department is hoping a popular new friend can help unemployed workers find jobs.  —  Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Thursday announced a partnership with Facebook designed to connect the jobless with companies that are hiring.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates: Exclusive bio excerpt in Fortune Monday  —  They were the best of frenemies for nearly 30 years.  Walter Isaacson has the inside story.  —  Click to enlarge.  Image: Time Inc.  —  The first excerpt from the year's most eagerly awaited — and carefully guarded …
Discussion: 9to5Mac, TUAW and Fortune, Thanks:philiped
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple taking iOS 5 on a world tour for developers November through January  —  In past years, Apple has held “Tech Talk World Tours” for developers, covering their latest version of iOS.  Now that iOS 5 has been released into the wild, Apple has announced that the iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour …
Discussion: AppleInsider, TechCrunch and App Advice
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of Techmeme at 2:45 PM ET, October 20, 2011.

View the current page or another snapshot:


Page version:
 
 Techmeme Sponsor Posts: 
Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
UiPath Unveils 10 Innovations that Will Shape the Agentic Future  —  Orchestration engine, API workflows and agentic testing among key features of new UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation, launched at UiPath DevCon 2025
Zoho:
Pay bosses in units of purpose  —  On average, it takes just 14 seconds for candidates to decide whether to apply for a job.  How can you craft job descriptions that truly connect — from entry-level to C-suite?
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Sponsor Techmeme
 
 See Also: 
Techmeme: site main
Techmeme River: reverse chronological Techmeme
Techmeme Mobile: for phones
Techmeme Leaderboard: Techmeme's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
Techmeme RSS feed
Techmeme on X
Techmeme on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
On the scene: Microsoft opens its first Seattle store
Discussion: WinRumors
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Foursquare's Crowley Reveals The Strategy Behind Radar, Siri, And Mobile's New Push Interface
comScore, Inc.:
Social Networking On-The-Go: U.S. Mobile Social Media Audience Grows 37 Percent in the Past Year
Loretta Chao / Digits:
Twitter Founder: Can't Compete in China
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
The Multitasking Jack Dorsey on the Inspiration of Steve Jobs
Discussion: L.A. Times Tech Blog
Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:
Venture Capitalists, Secondary Markets And How Everyone Is A Facebook “Investor”
Rip Empson / TechCrunch:
Khan Academy Triples Unique Users To 3.5 Million
Discussion: Hack Education
 Earlier Items: 
Laura Kusisto / Wall Street Journal:
Google Hits Space Bars
Discussion: @amir_efrati
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Ski Lift Ticket Retailer Liftopia Raises $1.3 Million
Bloomberg:
Nokia Reports Smaller Loss as Sales Beat Estimates
Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:
Why Do We All Praise Startups When They Receive Funding?
Jon Orlin / TechCrunch:
TechCrunch TV Launches On Your TV
Danielle Sacks / Fast Company:
Bill Nguyen: The Boy In The Bubble
Laura M. Holson / New York Times:
Randi Zuckerberg, on Her Own Now
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Memo: David Leavy, who became CNN's COO in 2023, is leaving; sources say the longtime key lieutenant of David Zaslav is returning to Warner Bros. Discovery

Lachlan Cartwright / Breaker:
Email: a senior business reporter at The New York Post says an editor spiked a story about Terry Cole, Trump's pick to lead the DEA, slated to run on March 22

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Tamar Riley, global managing director at Refinery29 since July 2022, is set to join The Standard, formerly The Evening Standard, as CEO on July 14
 
Sister Sites:

Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
memeorandum
 What US political commentators are discussing online right now
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page