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8:00 PM ET, December 8, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Twitter Blog:
Let's Fly  —  Today we introduce a new version of Twitter.  We've simplified the design to make it easier than ever to follow what you care about, connect with others and discover something new.  You'll see this new design both on Twitter.com and mobile phones, so that you'll have a familiar experience any time, anywhere.
RELATED:
Cotton Delo / AdAge:
Twitter Joins Facebook, Google, Launches ‘Brand Pages’ For Marketers  —  Brands Get a Home on Twitter With More Functionality  —  Twitter is looking to strengthen its relationship with advertisers by launching brand pages that will be unveiled today as part of a more comprehensive redesign.
Jolie O'Dell / VentureBeat:
Here's a first look at the “New-New Twitter”  —  This morning, Twitter started its launch of a brand-new interface.  —  The changes are fairly drastic, but they have a suprising and delighting effect (as opposed to a shocking and awing one).  It might remind you a bit of the design …
Jolie O'Dell / VentureBeat:
Twitter hits the big time with its new Art Deco headquarters (pics)  —  We got a sneak peak at Twitter's new headquarters today during a press event about the site's full-fledged overhaul.  —  But the site isn't the only thing that's getting an overhaul: In about six months …
Discussion: The Next Web
Brian Anthony Hernandez / Mashable!:
Twitter Unleashes Embeddable Tweets
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:   Apple iOS 5 Integration Boosted Twitter's Monthly Signups By 25 Percent
Jonathan S. Geller / BGR:
Samsung to beat Apple to market with Retina-resolution tablet in February  —  BGR has learned from a trusted source that Samsung is set to launch an 11.6-inch tablet running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich next year, and it will most likely be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February.
RELATED:
Jay Yarow / Business Insider:
The Next iPad Will Launch In February — Citi  —  Apple is ready to roll with a new iPad, says Citi analyst Richard Gardner in a note today.  —  According to “several sources” the next iPad will launch in February, and it will sport a screen with double the resolution of the current model.
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Google:
Google launches Currents, new social reading platform for iOS and Android  —  Following an extensive period of beta testing and refining, a promising new Google product is ready for prime time.  Today, the search Goliath took the wraps off of a brand new social publishing platform that used to be known under the ‘Propeller’ code-name.
RELATED:
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google Currents: First Impressions Of Google's Flipboard Competitor
Discussion: PC World and PC Magazine
Stoyan Stefanov / Facebook Developer Blog:
Introducing the Subscribe Button for Websites  —  In September we introduced Subscribe to make it easier for people who want to share their public updates with more than just friends to build an audience of subscribers.  Today we're launching the Subscribe button for websites …
Ed Sutherland / Cult of Mac:
AT&T Starts Throttling Heavy iPhone Data Users To 2G Speeds  —  If you've been whining about why the iPhone 4S has no 4G, get ready for a real letdown — 2G speeds.  The move by AT&T to throttle its top 5 percent of data users to a snail's pace is an unwelcome Christmas present for many iPhone users.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Apple Picks Instagram As The “iPhone App Of The Year”  —  Apple released its iTunes Rewind 2011 and App Store Rewind 2011 today, the company's annual lists detailing of the top selling apps, music, TV shows, movies and podcasts for the year.  This year, the biggest winner on the apps front was Angry Birds …
RELATED:
Nathan Beach / Google Mobile Blog:
Tablet image results in new carousel view  —  In July, we started to evolve the Google design and experience on Android and iOS tablets by updating features like larger touch targets and enhanced image viewing to make searching faster and easier.  Today, we're building on that foundation …
Horace Dediu / asymco:
How productive is an Apple store employee?  —  Apple publishes data about its “retail segment” which ifoAppleStore.com catalogs.  Here are some statistics I was able to compute from the data:  — The stores generate over $100k per employee per quarter.  In 2010, revenue was $481,000 per employee.
Discussion: @nicholeprovatas
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Social networking's salad days are ending, Forrester says  —  Forrester CEO George Colony speaks at LeWeb.  —  PARIS—Bad news, would-be social networking start-ups.  —  “Social is running out of hours.  Social is also running out of people,” concluded George Colony …
Discussion: Tech Europe
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Sorry, Folks, Bill Gates Is Not Coming Back to Microsoft  —  While it is fun to play “what if” games, the fact is that Bill Gates is not planning a return to Microsoft, the software giant he founded with Paul Allen decades ago.  —  Folks are getting worked up about a Fortune magazine piece …
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
YouMail yanked from Android Market due to T-Mobile complaint  —  YouMail, a mobile voicemail and visual message management app, suddenly disappeared from Google's Android Market on Thursday.  The free app is still available in Apple's iTunes Store for iOS devices, but Android users looking for the software won't find it.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Google Launches Schemer, An Activity Recommendation Engine To ‘Discover New Things To Do’  —  We've been wondering exactly what Google Schemer is for some time now.  Google has just officially launched Schemer, a new activity recommendations portal that allows people to 'discover new things …
Discussion: VentureBeat, Mashable! and WebProNews
Kashmir Hill / The Not-So Private Parts:
Why An Investment Firm Was Awarded $2.5 Million After Being Defamed By Blogger  —  No miscarriage of justice here.  —  It was the $2.5 million dollar lawsuit heard round the blogosphere.  The Seattle Weekly reported that an “Oregon blogger” had been found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay an investment firm $2.5 million.
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Facebook Countersues Timelines.com  —  On the same day that Facebook announced the launch of Timeline in New Zealand, the company took another decisive step in rolling out its digital scrapbook feature in America.  On Tuesday, it filed a counter lawsuit against a small Chicago company …
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Facebook Confirms Reorg, Names Five Product Heads  —  Facebook today confirmed our report from last night that it has shaken up its organization around major product areas.  —  Here's the statement:  —  “We can confirm that in order to streamline the product development process …
Mat Smith / Engadget:
Jawbone offers ‘no questions asked’ refund for troubled Up band, even if you keep it  —  While Jawbone attempts to fix the handful of substantial issues plaguing its new Up lifestyle band, it's now announced that it will begin giving free refunds to dissatisfied customers — and you can even keep hold of the band afterwards.
Alex Heath / Cult of Mac:
TweetDeck Releases HTML5-Based App In The Mac App Store  —  Following the release of Twitter 4.0 for iPhone, TweetDeck has released a new, HTML5-based version of its Mac app in the Mac App Store.  Unlike TweetDeck's previous Adobe AIR apps, this new version is simply a web-based client.
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Microsoft: We can remotely delete Windows 8 apps  —  Like Apple and Google, Windows Store will include a ‘kill switch’ to disable or eliminate rogue apps  —  Microsoft will be able to throw a “kill switch” to disable or even remove an app from users' Windows 8 devices …
Kyle Orland / VentureBeat:
Zynga bets on Google TV with new Texas HoldEm Poker app  —  Zynga is finally bringing its mega-popular Texas HoldEm poker game to the living room TV set, but it's not going through a major video game console manufacturers to get there.  —  In addition to its social media and mobile gaming apps …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
French court denies Samsung request for iPhone 4S ban — UPDATED with copy and analysis of decision  —  Via Twitter I learned that the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, the first-instance court for all French patent lawsuits, has denied Samsung's request for a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S.
 
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 More Items: 
Jim Edwards / Business Insider:
Facebook Studied Users' Brainwaves For Its Advertisers
Business Week:
Voice Control, the End of the TV Remote?
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
WikiLeaks Posts Spy Firm Videos Offering Tools For Hacking iTunes, Gmail, Skype
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Moms Love Daily Deals: Plum District Raises $20 Million, Acquires Chatterfly & DoodleDeals
Discussion: AllThingsD and Mashable!
Scott Gilbertson / Webmonkey:
Google Adds Google+ Info to Gmail Contacts
Yun-Hee Kim / Wall Street Journal:
ZTE to Launch High-End Smartphone in U.S.
 Earlier Items: 
Jim Finkle / Reuters:
Verizon Wireless blames technical issue for outage
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review
Discussion: Technologizer and Digits
Brian Caulfield / Shiny Objects:
Apple's New Campus Will Put On A Spectacular Show Every Year, Starting On Steve Jobs' Birthday
Discussion: The Verge
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Michael S. Rosenwald / New York Times:
Mike Shatzkin, a publishing consultant who was among the first in the industry to shake publishers into confronting the digital disruption, died on Nov. 7 at 77

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
 
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