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11:45 PM ET, November 15, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Nancy Gohring / Macworld:
Venture capitalist: Jobs wanted own network with unlicensed spectrum  —  Steve Jobs initially hoped to create his own network with the unlicensed spectrum that Wi-Fi uses rather than work with the mobile operators, said wireless industry legend John Stanton.
iFixit:
Amazon Kindle Fire Teardown  —  Amazon proposes to offer users a full media experience with their $199 tablet.  It didn't take long until we decided to see what they crammed inside this value package.  Did this teardown kindle a fiery passion for gadget disassembly in you?
RELATED:
Brian Heater / Engadget:
Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet unboxing and hands-on (video)  —  Look what we got in our grubby hands — it's the new Nook Tablet, Barnes & Noble's attempt to elbow in on this holiday season's crowded tablet landscape.  At $249, the slate is being positioned as a direct competitor to Amazon's budget Kindle Fire.
Reuters:   Amazon tablet has chips from TI, Samsung, Hynix
Thomas Houston / The Verge:
Microsoft Socl: inside the company's secret social network (exclusive)  —  Earlier this summer, a teaser page appeared at Socl.com revealing Tulalip, an oddly named service from Microsoft promising a new way to “Find what you need and Share what you know.”  Facebook and Twitter sign-ins were offered …
Bloomberg:
Google Music Store Chases Apple's ITunes  —  Google Inc. (GOOG) is entering the online music market almost a decade too late to pose a threat to Apple Inc. (AAPL), the largest seller of songs on the Web.  —  The service, scheduled to be unveiled at a Google event in Los Angeles today …
Discussion: 9to5Google and parislemon
RELATED:
MG Siegler / parislemon:
“Greater Choice”  —  Late last night, I linked to a blog post Google put up and jotted down some initial thoughts.  Given the response (thousands of views, 100+ notes, etc.), I thought it was only fair that I elaborate a bit.  Google's post is entitled “Greater choice for wireless access point owners”.
Discussion: @ed, @parislemon, @mattcutts and @fromedome
RELATED:
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Apple Names Levinson Chairman of the Board; Disney's Iger Tapped as Director  —  Apple has tapped long-time board member Art Levinson as non-executive chairman of its board, replacing co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away last month after a long battle with cancer.
RELATED:
Reuters:   Apple, with eye on media, names Disney's Iger to board
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Speak Out Against SOPA: Send Congress A Physical Letter In Just A Few Clicks  —  The web community is currently in an apprehensive uproar over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which threatens to create an Internet blacklist that operates at the DNS level in a misguided attempt to curb piracy.
Discussion: Reuters
RELATED:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Facebook, Twitter, eBay & Other Big Internet Companies Come Out Against SOPA
Foursquare Blog:
The magic of foursquare discovery, now on your big-screen devices. #new4SQ  —  NOTE (Tuesday, 1:30pm EST): Now live for all!  Enjoy!  —  As foursquare has evolved, the focus has turned from simply ‘checking in’ to sharing our experiences and expertise, unlocking rewards and deals, and exploring the world around us.
Steven Sinofsky / MSDN Blogs:
Minimizing restarts after automatic updating in Windows Update … When it comes to Windows Update, one of the most discussed topics is the disruptiveness of restarts in the course of automatic updating.  And for good reason—restarts can interrupt you right in the middle of something important.
Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
DOJ: Lying on Match.com needs to be a crime  —  The U.S. Department of Justice is defending computer hacking laws that make it a crime to use a fake name on Facebook or lie about your weight in an online dating profile.  —  In a statement obtained by CNET that's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow …
Tom Loftus / Digits:
Facebook Blames ‘Coordinated Spam Attack’ for Surge in Porn Imagery (Update)  —  Facebook said today that a “coordinated spam attack” was to blame for the posting of pornographic and violent images on the news feeds of unsuspecting Facebook users.  —  The issue, which first started appearing …
Corin Anderson / Inside Search:
Search using your terms, verbatim  —  Behind the simplicity of Google search is a complex set of algorithms that expands and improves the query you've typed to find the best results.  Automatic spelling correction ([vynal] to “vinyl") and substituting synonyms (matching [pictures] to “photos” …
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
Sony Considers Internet Rival to Cable TV  —  Sony Corp. is considering launching an Internet-based alternative to cable-TV service, say people familiar with the situation, the latest threat to cable and satellite operators that now dominate pay television.  —  The Japanese electronics …
Sara McKinley / Inside AdWords:
Third Party Tools To Help Manage Your Google+ Page  —  Labels: google+, Google+ Pages, pages for businesses  —  Last week, we announced Google+ Pages, which provide a new way for businesses, brands, products, organizations and other entities to build a public identity on Google+.
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Sean Parker: “Little Startups Are Ridiculously OverFunded”  —  Speaking at the Techonomy conference today, Sean Parker warns about the downside of the explosion of seed-stage startups.  “Little startups are ridiculously overfunded,” he say.  “The market is ridiculously overcrowded with early stage investors.
Pew Research:
Why Americans Use Social Media  —  Two-thirds of online adults (66%) use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn.  These internet users say that connections with family members and friends (both new and old) are a primary consideration in their adoption of social media tools.
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Visa Names New PayPal-Like Digital Wallet Services V.me  —  The brand that consumers will see when Visa's digital wallet launches early next year won't be the Visa logo.  —  The payments company will be using the new name V.me to differentiate it from its more well-known services found …
Discussion: Electronista
Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
Tor launches do-it-yourself privacy bridge in Amazon cloud  —  The Tor Project, the development team behind the Tor anonymizing network, has developed a version of its software packaged for Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud.  Tor Cloud provides a way for users of the network to create a “bridge” …
Discussion: TechFlash
Gina Trapani / Smarterware:
ThinkUp Archives and Analyzes Your Social Media Life  —  The software I've been building for the past two years, ThinkUp, left beta today.  Download ThinkUp 1.0 to install on your web server, or launch ThinkUp on Amazon EC2 in under 60 seconds.  Here's a rundown of what ThinkUp is, what it does, and why it's important.
Discussion: Expert Labs, Anil Dash and ReadWriteWeb
Tricia Duryee / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: LivingSocial Launches “Room Service” Food Delivery (Cloth Napkins Included)  —  Today, LivingSocial is announcing Room Service, which delivers high-end meals to your door — complete with dishes, candles and cloth napkins.  —  The Washington, D.C.-based company will also be trying …
Anne Trafton / MIT:
Mimicking the brain, in silicon  —  New computer chip models how neurons communicate with each other at synapses.  —  Anne Trafton, MIT News Office  —  For decades, scientists have dreamed of building computer systems that could replicate the human brain's talent for learning new tasks.
Matthew Lasar / Ars Technica:
RIAA wants ReDigi out of the business of selling “used” iTunes tracks  —  ReDigi bills itself as “The World's First Online Marketplace For Used Digital Music,” but the RIAA is not impressed.  Categorically rejecting the “first sale” doctrine as a safe harbor, the Recording Industry Association …
Jay Greene / CNET News:
Ballmer sees no value in splitting Microsoft up  —  Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at the company's 2011 annual meeting.  —  BELLEVUE, Wash.—Microsoft's chief executive told the company's shareholders at its annual meeting this morning that there is no benefit in breaking the company up.
Sean Ludwig / VentureBeat:
Ditch those coupons: Square updates iOS and Android apps with loyalty features  —  Mobile payments startup Square has updated its popular iOS and Android apps to include loyalty tracking and discounts for regular customers and further hardware support for brick-and-mortar stores, the company revealed today.
Brad McCarty / The Next Web:
Google Voice for Android Now Has Offline Voicemail and Group Texting  —  Just a quickie here for you, but it's an important one.  Users of Google Voice on the Android platform get a couple of special treats today.  There's a new update for the Google Voice app that brings along with it some surprises.
 
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 More Items: 
Roger Cheng / CNET News:
Qualcomm's vision: A Snapdragon processor in your TV?
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Pentagon: Offensive cyber attacks fair game
Discussion: Reuters and Stars & Stripes
Bloomberg:
Ericsson Eyes Sales From Mobile Industry's Top Patents Trove
Sean Ludwig / VentureBeat:
MOG launches first on-demand streaming service for cars with BMW & Mini
Discussion: Variety
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Wins 31 Patents Covering NFC, Location, the Magic Mouse +
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
4chan hit by DDoS attack, struggling to get back online
Discussion: Netcraft
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Google+ Gets an API for Photos and Videos (Updated: Not Quite Ready Yet)
Discussion: CNET News and The Next Web
 Earlier Items: 
Kim-Mai Cutler / Inside Mobile Apps:
App Updates, New Releases May Be Delayed or Unavailable During Christmas Week, Apple Warns
Discussion: 9to5Mac
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
The making of the Xbox: Microsoft's journey to the next generation (part 2)
Myles Jordan / Google LatLong:
See your rated places and discover new ones directly on the map
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Gartner:
Gartner Says Sales of Mobile Devices Grew 5.6 Percent in Third Quarter of 2011; Smartphone Sales Increased 42 Percent
 

 
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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