Techmeme: Microsoft's SQL Server 2012: What's coming in the three main editions (Mary Jo Foley/All about Microsoft Blog)

2:30 PM ET, November 3, 2011

Top Items:

APPLE: The Kindle Fire Is Good For Us Because It's More Android Fragmentation — Apple executives are saying that the low priced Kindle Fire could actually be a good thing for the iPad because it introduces another level of fragmentation in the Android platform.

Discussion: mocoNews, MacRumors, Gizmodo, GMSV, Tech Trader Daily, BGR, PhoneArena, SlashGear and iLounge

Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
Apple's Android fragmentation, Kindle Fire case: Does the argument hold up?

Discussion: 9to5Google

NielsenWire:

Generation App: 62% of Mobile Users 25-34 own Smartphones — Nielsen's third quarter survey of mobile users reveals that while only 43 percent of all US mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, a mobile phone with a powerful operating system, the vast majority of those under the age of 44 now have smartphones.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Nielsen: Android's U.S. share steady at 43%, iPhone at 28%

Discussion: BGR, CNET News, Bits, AllThingsD and Electronista

Wall Street Journal:

Amazon, Now a Book Lender — Kindle Owners Who Subscribe to Prime Service Will Be Able to Borrow E-Titles — As the e-reader and tablet wars heat up, Amazon.com Inc. is launching a digital-book lending library that will be available only to owners of its Kindle and Kindle Fire devices …

Devindra Hardawar / VentureBeat:

Got Amazon Prime and a Kindle? Now you can borrow one book a month for free — Making its ecosystem just that much sweeter, Amazon today announced that Kindle owners subscribed to its premium Amazon Prime service will be able to borrow one e-book a month for free.

Discussion: CNET News, ReadWriteWeb and Between the Lines Blog

Amit Singhal / The Official Google Blog:

Giving you fresher, more recent search results — Search results, like warm cookies right out of the oven or cool refreshing fruit on a hot summer's day, are best when they're fresh. Even if you don't specify it in your search, you probably want search results that are relevant and recent.

Discussion: Bits, Business Insider, MarketingVox News & Trends, Search Engine Land, Marketing Pilgrim, Mashable!, msnbc.com and The Next Web

Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter: Google Launches Major Update that Will Impact 1 Out of 3 Searches

Pauli Olavi Ojala / Naming Things:

Why the Mac App Sandbox makes me sad — Apple announced today that, starting in March 2012, all apps on the Mac App Store will be required to run in the so-called “App Sandbox”. — The sandbox is an environment that locks down the Mac in ways that match (and exceed) the limitations found on iOS.

Discussion: Technologizer, Inquirer, Apple Developer News, Softpedia News and CNET News

Chris Rawson / TUAW:

Apple to require sandboxing in Mac App Store apps as of March 2012 — Apple sent an email to registered developers today that's bound to ruffle some feathers — again. As of March 2012, Apple will require all apps submitted to the Mac App Store to implement sandboxing.

Discussion: MacRumors, MacStories and @ia

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

Really? Two New iPads and a Reboot of Apple's Entire Product Portfolio Next Year? — Break out the salt lick for this one, because it'll take more than a grain ... Apple typically updates many of its products each year, sometimes extensively, sometimes less so. But in 2012 it's got big plans for a number of them.

Discussion: Digital Trends, The Tech Trade and PalmAddicts

Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
Rumor: Suppliers say Apple will overhaul all product lines in 2012

Eric Rosenblum / Google Mobile Blog:

A new Android app for Google Offers — Today we're announcing our new Google Offers mobile app, that allows you to discover, buy and redeem your favorite deals on the go. The free app will notify you about all the great Offers that match your interests. You can purchase offers …

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, Search Engine Land, Computerworld, PC Magazine, 9to5Google, AllThingsD, Engadget, IntoMobile, Google Commerce, PhoneArena, Android and Me, Lifehacker, Ubergizmo, Android Phone Fans, Marketing Pilgrim and The Next Web

Jolie O'Dell / VentureBeat:

Google+ is not a social network, but it's not a graveyard, either — Over the past couple of weeks, the Internet's frothy enthusiasm over Google+ has dried into proclamations of its imminent death. — Social media experts and bloggers who were one month ago hailing the fledgling service …

Discussion: Business Insider, All Facebook and GigaOM Pro

Roger Cheng / CNET News:

Sprint: 'We're taking the iPhone 4S speed issue seriously' — Sprint Nextel is working with Apple to figure out the connection issue affecting some iPhone 4S devices on its network, but doesn't yet have an answer for the problem. — “We're taking the reports of problems from a small number …

Discussion: O'Grady's PowerPage, TUAW, Electronista, iDownloadBlog.com and PhoneArena

Matt Burns / TechCrunch:

Do A Barrel Roll! In Google! Right Now! — Everyone, stay alert. Do a barrel roll! Or let Google do it for you. No, seriously. — Go to Google and type in “Do a barrel roll” and watch, well, I won't ruin it for you. (LMGTFY link) Alternatively you could type “z or r twice” …

Discussion: Google Operating System and @eldon

Andrew Allemann / Domain Name Wire:

Apple Fights for iPhone Porn Domain Names Including iphone4s.com — Company files complaint over seven domain names that forward to mobile porn site. — If you really want to piss off a large company, just put some porn up on domain names that include its brands.

Discussion: The Register, Gizmodo, AppleInsider, GigaOM, PhoneArena, MacDailyNews, MacNN and MacRumors

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

Apple Confirms iOS 5 Bugs Causing Battery Issues for Some iPhones — Apple on Wednesday said it had found a few problems that are leading some iPhone customers to experience less-than-expected battery life with iPhones running its latest software. — “A small number of customers …

Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:

Racism: The Game — Advice from friends and mentors has been clear: just stop talking. And yet the tweets, emails and other messages just keep rolling in, featuring some of the most hateful stuff I've ever read. They range from the fascinating “I don't think you're a racist!” to …

Discussion: Why does everything suck? and VentureBeat

Johan De Gelas / AnandTech:

Facebook's “Open Compute” Server tested — Facebook had 22 Million active users in the middle of 2007; fast forward to 2011 and the site now has 800 Million active users, with 400 million of them logging in every day. Facebook has grown exponentially, to say the least!

Thanks:anandshimpi

Joanna Stern / The Verge:

Slate 2: HP tries tablets again with Windows, Swype, and a stylus for $699 — If you had asked us six months ago which tablet HP would still be making come November — the TouchPad or the Slate — the obvious answer would have been the TouchPad. But just as HP's exiting the webOS hardware business …

Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:

Dialing Up 20 Years of Gadget Reviews — I began writing these Personal Technology columns 20 years ago, in October 1991, with the aim of reviewing computers and other digital products for average, mainstream users. The first line of my first column was: “Personal computers are just too hard to use, and it's not your fault.”

Discussion: The Orange View

Alex Wilhelm / The Next Web:

The curious case of Microsoft's stock — The following post is a meditation on a number of market dynamics. It should not be treated as investment advice, as it isn't. — Microsoft's stock is trading at roughly the same level as it did in 1998. Chew on that for a minute.

Dana Wollman / Engadget:

Jawbone Up detailed: tracks activity, food intake and sleep cycles, available November 6 for $100 (video) — Back in July, Jawbone did something puzzling. The company, best known for its Bluetooth headsets, teased a photo of a colorful wristband called the Up — a deceptively simple thing …

Discussion: VentureBeat, 9to5Mac, PC Magazine, SlashGear, Business Week, GottaBeMobile, Mashable!, Fortune, Electronista, T3 News, The Next Web, Insanely Great Mac, Macworld, AllThingsD and Gadget Lab

Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:

Google debuts slick YouTube player for Google+ and wider Chrome integration — Google has today announced a new, closer integration with YouTube and Chrome in its Google+ social network. The closer integration will come in the form of two Chrome extensions and a new YouTube “slider” right in your Google+ stream.

Discussion: VentureBeat, Search Engine Land, 9to5Google, The Official Google Blog, TechCrunch and Lifehacker

Dan Frommer / SplatF:

Amazingly, AOL still has 3.5 million dialup subscribers — Laugh all you want, but as of the end of September, AOL still had 3.5 million subscribers to its dialup Internet access service — a lot more than the number of people who pay for, say, Spotify. And the decline from last year …

Discussion: AfterDawn.com

Darrin / Darrin's Blog:

Introducing Plex for Google TV — It turns out that work on a fully functional myPlex client was not the only thing the Plex for Android team has been up to these days. We're happy to say that we were one of the 50 companies that Google invited to prepare an app in time for the initial release of Google TV.

Discussion: 9to5Google, SlashGear, Engadget, The Verge, Gizmodo and GigaOM

Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:

Microsoft's SQL Server 2012: What's coming in the three main editions — Summary: Microsoft is adding a brand-new business-intelligence SKU and core-based licensing to its coming SQL Server 2012 database offering due next year. — SQL Server 2012, which will launch some time in the first few months …

Discussion: The Next Web

Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:

YouTube Tests a New Interface — YouTube experiments with a new interface that uses a gray background, muted colors, redesigned buttons and new icons for the like/dislike buttons. There aren't many changes, but the gray background is depressing. — To try the new interface …

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