iPhone 5 leaks: What all of the leaked photos tell us about Apple’s latest device. - Slate Magazine

A plausible case for incremental iPhone refinement and related expectation-setting

"Apple’s next iPhone has to be huge. It’s the company’s biggest product, and to keep Apple’s revenues growing steadily, the firm will need to sell 50 million over the holidays. The leaks, then, might be a way to tamp down the superhigh expectations that bloggers would generate in the absence of any pictures. They’re a way of getting us to understand that Apple isn’t going to kill off a great design just because we all want something novel for novelty’s sake."

iPhone 5 leaks: What all of the leaked photos tell us about Apple’s latest device. - Slate Magazine

Google Plans to Buy Frommer's Travel Guides - NYTimes.com

Brand grab

"Google will pay about $23 million for the brand, according to a person close to the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about the terms. The companies declined to comment on the purchase price. It is a small acquisition for Google, but important for several of Google’s up-and-coming businesses.
The deal shows how crucial a business local search and reviews are for Google. It is also the latest evidence that Google is trying to transform itself into a media company — making its mission not just to show the most relevant links from around the Web, but to produce that information as well."

Google Plans to Buy Frommer's Travel Guides - NYTimes.com

YouTube Is Teens' Choice for Listening to Music for Free - WSJ.com

Multimedia music mavens

"Nearly two-thirds of U.S. teenagers under the age of 18 say they use Google Inc.'s GOOG +2.73% video-sharing site to listen to music, more than any other medium, according to a new consumer survey from Nielsen Co., one of many challenges facing record companies as they transition into the digital world.
In addition to treating YouTube as a de facto free music service, young people said they are less inclined than those 18 years old and up to listen to CDs or the radio."

YouTube Is Teens' Choice for Listening to Music for Free - WSJ.com

Barnes & Noble cuts prices across its Nook lineup, vies for your budget tablet affection -- Engadget

Perhaps another inventory-clearing action

"In what could be seen as a response to the positive reaction that Google's $200 Nexus 7 has garnered, Barnes & Noble has just cut down the prices on all three of its Android-based, seven-inch Nook Tablets. The 16 and 8GB models have been respectively reduced to $199 (from $249) and $179 (from $199), while the Nook Color is priced 20 bones cheaper than before at $149."

Barnes & Noble cuts prices across its Nook lineup, vies for your budget tablet affection -- Engadget

Facebook’s Stock Has Suffered, but Some Investors See Long-Term Value - NYTimes.com

Another big Facebook milestone

"Still, some investors remain bullish. Facebook is profitable, it keeps its nearly one billion users glued to their screens longer than any other Internet site, and it is aggressively experimenting with new ways to drum up advertising — its main source of revenue. Just this month, for instance, it began offering application developers a way to focus ads, and sought to diversify revenue by opening its site in Britain to online gambling.
The next test for the stock could come soon. Over 1.6 billion shares will be eligible to come on the market in several waves, starting on Thursday, when a number of shareholders are allowed to sell. Investors may fear that an influx of shares could cause prices to fall even more."

Facebook’s Stock Has Suffered, but Some Investors See Long-Term Value - NYTimes.com

Motorola to Cut 20% of Work Force, Part of Sweeping Change - NYTimes.com

A difficult transition for Motorola Mobility, as Google lays off 4,000 people and closes a third of Motorola Mobility's 94 worldwide offices

"It was not always this way. Motorola executives like to talk about its glory days. The company, started in 1928 in Chicago, unveiled the first commercial cellphone in 1973. By 2004, it looked as if Motorola could again lead the cellphone industry when it introduced the popular Razr.
But Apple and Samsung won consumers’ hearts with the more exciting iPhone and Galaxy phones. Motorola Mobility — which split last year from Motorola Solutions, the division that makes devices like police radios — lost $233 million in its first six weeks under Google. The phone business has been unprofitable for 14 of the last 16 quarters."

Motorola to Cut 20% of Work Force, Part of Sweeping Change - NYTimes.com

The iPhone Has Passed a Key Security Threshold - Technology Review

Excerpt from an iPhone security snapshot

"In fact, in its efforts to make its devices more secure, Apple has crossed a significant threshold. Technologies the company has adopted protect Apple customers' content so well that in many situations it's impossible for law enforcement to perform forensic examinations of devices seized from criminals. Most significant is the increasing use of encryption, which is beginning to cause problems for law enforcement agencies when they encounter systems with encrypted drives."

The iPhone Has Passed a Key Security Threshold - Technology Review

Amazon’s cloud powering NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover - GeekWire

Sign of the times

"Amazon, the online super-retailer and South Lake Union Overlord, has the cloud computing system that best suits NASA’s latest and greatest mission to Mars — storing images and data from the space rover Curiosity’s mission."

Amazon’s cloud powering NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover - GeekWire

$110 Says All the New Kindles Are Coming Next Week [Gizmodo]

Gizmodo speculation about imminent Kindle updates

"So clearly Amazon's trying to unload a product it doesn't want to support any more. In fact, it hasn't supported the DX in two years. So why clear them out now? Because all those 10-inch Kindle DX boxes are taking up valuable shelf space, especially when there are 10-inch LCD models coming in to replace it.
And it's not just the DX. Every single Lightning Deal today is Kindle-related: cases, speaker docks, sleeves. Sixteen deals in all, a waterfall of discounts. It's a fire sale, if you'll pardon the pun. All of those accessories will presumably still be compatible with an updated 7-inch Kindle Fire, sure. But Amazon won't need nearly as many of them if its market is split between two sizes."

$110 Says All the New Kindles Are Coming Next Week

Mobile phones: Difference Engine: Copying the copier | The Economist

Excerpt from an Economist Apple/Samsung reality check

"Whether die-hard fans like to admit it or not, the iPhone has fallen behind in appearance as well as technology. Samsung, Motorola Mobility (now part of Google) plus all the other makers of Android phones have been delivering faster and thinner models with bigger screens and ever slicker multi-tasking software at a blinding pace. Once-loyal Apple customers have become less impressed. The new iPhone, due in late September, will be thinner and have a slightly larger screen. But by updating its devices just once a year means Apple is now continually having to play catch-up."

Mobile phones: Difference Engine: Copying the copier | The Economist

If Hemingway wrote JavaScript by fat xxx

Some classy JavaScript coding

"Recently I had a dream in which I asked Hemingway and four other literary luminaries to write some JavaScript for me; specifically a function that returned a fibonacci series of a given length. Interestingly each author chose to solve the problem in a different way. They did pretty well actually - as far as I can tell every solution works as advertised (yes, even Andre Breton’s). Here’s what I got:"

If Hemingway wrote JavaScript by fat xxx

Apple Retail Stores Begin Price Matching iPhone Discounts from Carriers and Major Retailers - Mac Rumors

Looks like it's time to clear the iPhone 4 inventory

"But a source has now revealed to MacRumors that Apple's retail stores have been given authorization to match these discounted prices from approved major retailers and carriers. In all cases, Apple will discount iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 models by $49.01 upon request to bring pricing down to $349.99/$249.99/$149.99 for the iPhone 4S and $49.99 for the iPhone 4. As with most price matching offers, consumers will likely need to cite the source offering the lower pricing in order for Apple to honor the price match. "

Apple Retail Stores Begin Price Matching iPhone Discounts from Carriers and Major Retailers - Mac Rumors

New data: Windows Phone closes gap vs. BlackBerry - GeekWire

See the article link below for details on #1 (Android) and #2 (iPhone) market momentum

"The numbers from the IDC research firm, released this morning, put Microsoft in closer proximity to BlackBerry, which saw its share of shipments fall from 11.5 percent to 4.8 percent over the same time period.
If the trends continue, Microsoft appears poised to overtake struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion as the No. 3 smartphone operating system vendor in the coming quarters."

New data: Windows Phone closes gap vs. BlackBerry - GeekWire

Social Network Size Linked to Brain Size: Scientific American

Some new Dunbar numbers

"Now, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Dunbar and his colleagues have shown that the size of each individual’s social network is linearly related to the neural volume in a frontal region of each individual’s brain, the orbital prefrontal cortex. This provides strong support for Dunbar’s original conjecture at the individual level for what was previously proposed based on species-level data: Our brains are not as large as they are in order to provide each of us with the raw computational power to think our way out of a sticky situation, instead our brain size helps each of us to deal with the large and complex network of relationships we rely on to thrive."

Social Network Size Linked to Brain Size: Scientific American

If Xerox PARC Invented the PC, Google Invented the Internet | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Excerpt from an interesting historical perspective

"Time and again, we hear the story of Xerox PARC, the Silicon Valley research lab that developed just about every major technology behind the PC revolution, from the graphical user interface and the laser printer to Ethernet networking and object-oriented programming. But because Google is so concerned with keeping its latest data center work hidden from competitors — and because engineers like Jeff Dean aren’t exactly self-promoters — the general public is largely unaware of Google’s impact on the very foundations of modern computing. Google is the Xerox PARC of the cloud computing age."

If Xerox PARC Invented the PC, Google Invented the Internet | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Building the search engine of the future, one baby step at a time | Official Google Blog

Now Google can index your email for something in addition to advertising; see the full post for more Google search updates

"Sometimes the best answer to your question isn’t available on the public web—it may be contained somewhere else, such as in your email. We think you shouldn’t have to be your own mini-search engine to find the most useful information—it should just work. A search is a search, and we want our results to be truly universal. So we’re developing a way to find this information for you that’s useful and unobtrusive, and we’d love your feedback. Starting today, we’re opening up a limited trial where you can sign up to get information from your Gmail right from the search box."

Building the search engine of the future, one baby step at a time | Official Google Blog

Light Reading Cable - Cable - Google Preps Sale of Motorola Home - Telecom News Analysis

So maybe not so much into Motorola's set-top business after all...

"Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is expected to put Motorola Mobility Inc. (NYSE: MMI)'s cable assets up for sale as early as this fall, industry sources tell Light Reading Cable.
Multiple industry insiders and people in cable M&A circles confirm that Google has not yet started the formal sales process for the Home division, which makes and sells cable modems, set-tops, video processors, edge QAMs, cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) and video navigation software. However, there's strong consensus that Google will put Motorola on the block, though there's some variance on when the process will officially get underway. Barclays Capital is rumored to be the banker Google has hired for the sale."

Light Reading Cable - Cable - Google Preps Sale of Motorola Home - Telecom News Analysis

Amazon Has Gone To War With Zynga With Its Launch Of A Social Game, Living Classics - Business Insider

 Playing for keeps

"Amazon.com has just launched its first social game, Living Classics, and unveiled a new division, Amazon Game Studios, which will launch similar titles.
This means it has effectively declared war on Zynga during a vulnerable moment for the San Francisco-based game maker, which has seen its stock get hammered amid concerns over the growth of its Facebook-based social games."

Amazon Has Gone To War With Zynga With Its Launch Of A Social Game, Living Classics - Business Insider

How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Excerpt from a security nightmare; see this page for more on Google multi-factor authentication

"In many ways, this was all my fault. My accounts were daisy-chained together. Getting into Amazon let my hackers get into my Apple ID account, which helped them get into Gmail, which gave them access to Twitter. Had I used two-factor authentication for my Google account, it’s possible that none of this would have happened, because their ultimate goal was always to take over my Twitter account and wreak havoc. Lulz."

How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Apple to Remove YouTube App From iPhone and iPad - NYTimes.com

tbd who was asking to be paid for what

"The change was noteworthy because Apple has included the YouTube app with iOS since it released the original iPhone in 2007. Its disappearance seemed to chill any remnants of the warmth that once existed between Apple and Google, which owns YouTube.
Apple said in a statement that “our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended.” It added that owners of its devices would be able to use their Web browsers to view YouTube videos, and that Google was working on a new YouTube app that would be available through the Apple App Store."

Apple to Remove YouTube App From iPhone and iPad - NYTimes.com