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September 23, 2013
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iPHONE sales break records, hackers break fingerprint security -- Microsoft unveils Surface 2 -- PAYPAL checks out Braintree -- ELLISON goes to Plaid

Edited by T. Trent Gegax & Woody Leonhard | September 23, 2013 06:00 PDT | 09:00 EDT | 13:00 UTC

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>> HITSVILLE DOES IT AGAIN: Apple announces record 9 million iPhone sales over first three days, 200 million iOS 7 updates, by Benjamin Mayo: "Apple has just announced first-weekend sales figures for the iPhone 5s and 5c. Sales for both phones total 9 million. In comparison, the iPhone 5 shipments topped 5 million in the same period. These numbers come in at the higher end of analyst estimates, with many predicting bearish sales similar to the iPhone 5 launch last year. As expected, Apple did not reveal the breakdown of sales between the different iPhone models. Alongside phone sales, the company's press release also highlights iOS 7′s successful launch. Apple has announced that 200 million devices have been updated to iOS 7 since it was released last Wednesday. This is double the rate at which iOS 6 was adopted." 9to5 Mac
>>>> Apple's new iPhones likely to set an opening-weekend sales record, by David Lieberman Deadline NY
>>>> Why the gold iPhone sold out so fast, by Matt Rosoff CITEworld
>>>> DATAVIZ: iOS7 adoption mixpanel

>> BITE OUT OF THE APPLE: Chaos Computer Club hackers trick Apple's TouchID security feature, by Nathan Mattise: "Germany's Chaos Computing Club claim to have tricked Apple's new TouchID security feature this weekend. In a blog post on the breakthrough, the CCC writes they bypassed the fingerprint-reader by simply starting with 'the fingerprint of the phone user photographed from a glass surface.' ... If you have finger-smudged glass, a 3D printer, and latex milk, you can beat it too." Ars Technica
>>>> Apple's advanced fingerprint technology is hacked; should you worry? by Ed Bott ZDNet
>>>> Police in New York really want you to download iOS7, by Arik Hesseldahl: "The new feature is called Activation Lock... [it forces] anyone who has the phone -- including anyone who has stolen it -- to enter an Apple ID and password before they can turn off the 'Find My Phone' security feature, erase it or reactivate it." AllThingsD
>>>> 64 bits. It's nothing. You don't need it. And we'll have it in 6 months, by Jean-Louis Gassee "Apple's A7 processor, the new iOS 7 and 'house' apps are all industry firsts: genuine, shipping 64-bit mobile hardware and software." Monday Note
>>>> An interim solution for iOS 'multitasking' Counternotions

>> HAPPENING TODAY: Microsoft's Surface 2 launch: What to expect, by Mary Jo Foley: "Microsoft will be launching (but not shipping) its next-generation Surface tablets... to look almost identical to the current Surfaces... same number of USB ports and they won't support LTE, just WiFi... more interesting part of Monday's Surface launch, in my view, are the new Surface peripherals." ZDNet New keyboard and docking cover, oh boy. Rumor has it the pricing won't change. "Mini" 8-inch RT coming at some point. (Will Microsoft ever get it?)
>>>> We'll be liveblogging Microsoft's Monday morning Surface 2 event at 10:30AM ET Ars Technica
>>>> Fall 2013 Windows tablet preview "Stubborn? Clueless? I guess we'll find out." Supersite for Windows
>>>> Microsoft inches toward Office on iPad, Android tablets Computerworld
>>>> Microsoft's ambitions for Windows RT revealed: Phablets InfoWorld

>>ANYTHING WITH AN OFF SWITCH CAN STAY ON: F.A.A. nears new rules on devices, by Jad Mouawad and Nick Bilton: "This week, an F.A.A. advisory panel will meet to complete its recommendations to relax most of the restrictions. The guidelines are expected to allow reading e-books or other publications, listening to podcasts, and watching videos, according to several of the panel's members who requested anonymity because they could not comment on the recommendations. The ban on making phone calls, as well as sending and receiving e-mails and text messages or using Wi-Fi, is expected to remain in place, the panel members said." NY Times (paywalled)

>> SHOPPING CART: PayPal nears deal for Braintree Payments, by Greg Bensinger: "Ebay's PayPal is near a deal to buy Braintree Payments Solutions, according to people familiar with the discussions, potentially thrusting the online payments pioneer into the center of the burgeoning mobile commerce market. The deal for Braintree would give PayPal access to data and lucrative transaction fees from Braintree's expanding network, which currently processes more than $10 billion annually for companies like OpenTable, Uber Technologies and Airbnb. Braintree charges merchants a 2.9% commission and 30-cent transaction fee." WSJ Digits

>> DEADPOOL: Former BlackBerry Co-CEO Lazaridis has talked with PE firms about bid for company, by Dana Mattioli, Mike Spector, Sharon Terlep: "Firms Mr. Lazaridis reached out to include Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group... held nearly 6% of its equity earlier this year. That stake and his knowledge of the company could come in handy for a private-equity firm considering a bid for part or all of BlackBerry." WSJ Moneybeat
>>>> Global rollout of BBM for Android and iPhone on hold CrackBerry
>>>> BlackBerry bought a huge private jet as its business imploded Business Insider
>>>> The new BlackBerry Z30 may be the last BlackBerry InfoWorld

>> MONEY SHOT: AngelList raises $24 million at a heavenly valuation, by Dan Primack: "AngelList recently raised around $24 million at a valuation in the $150 million range. Atlas Venture and Google Ventures helped lead the round, which included participation by more than 100 other institutions and individuals." Fortune
>>>> Why you need to pay attention to general solicitation "On Monday, the legal framework for startup fundraising will change." TechCrunch

>> METRO FOX: Firefox for Windows 8 Metro enters pre-beta 'Aurora' channel, by Zachary Lutz: "[Aurora] provides experienced users and tire kickers a more reliable alternative to the previous nightly builds. In this release, the browser includes touch and gesture support, and it even offers up Firefox Sync and Windows Share integration. There's plenty to appreciate on the backend, too, such as WebGL, asm.js and hardware-accelerated HTML5 video." Engadget

>> START-UP 101: Meet Grove, Sequoia Capital's new startup events and how-to content hub, by Leena Rao: "Sequoia, who earlier this year hired Ben Worthen away from the Wall Street Journal, is debuting Grove, its new portal for how-to content, videos and events... one of the key pieces of feedback that portfolio founders had begun to share with the firm over the past year was that they wished there were a centralized place where they could find advice and how-to's on important topics like hiring, fundraising and other business advice." TechCrunch

>> PLAINTIFFS YOU MAY KNOW: LinkedIn sued by users who say it hacked their e-mail accounts, by Megan Geuss: "Four plaintiffs filed a class-action suit in US district court in San Jose on Friday claiming that LinkedIn used its member's identities without consent and broke into their third party e-mail accounts to send promotional e-mails to the members' contact lists. The 46-page complaint details many instances in which users complained to LinkedIn about this practice, especially in instances where LinkedIn sent e-mails to 'the addresses of spouses, clients, opposing counsel, etc.'" Ars Technica
>>>> Setting the record straight on false accusations LinkedIn

>> FASTER THAN GOD: Oracle's Ellison promises 'ungodly' database speed with new in-memory option, by Chris Kanaracus: "... has thrown his gauntlet down in the burgeoning market for in-memory computing, announcing a new option for Oracle's flagship database at the OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. The in-memory option delivers 'ungodly' performance improvements, Ellison claimed, and targets both transactional and analytic workloads... Oracle had a goal of 100 times faster queries for analytics and a doubling in throughput for transaction processing with the in-memory option" InfoWorld
>>>> America's Cup: Chasing Larry Ellison New Zealand Herald

>> EDITORIAL: Close the NSA's back doors: "Back doors and special access routes are a terrible idea" NY Times (paywalled)
>>>> More thoughts on CPU backdoors The Invisible Things Lab

>> Microsoft may pay up to $200M for Osterhout Design Group TechCrunch

>> Intel researcher debuts 3D-printed, open source robot 'Jimmy' VentureBeat

>> The unexpected places where Artificial Intelligence will emerge io9

>> Peachy Printer -- The world's first $100 3D printer 3Ders

>> Deterministic Random Bit Generator algorithm validation list NIST

>> TWEET O' THE DAY: "To put into perspective, Apple sold 2M more iPhones in a weekend than Nokia sold Lumias in a quarter." @longzheng

FEED ME, SEYMOUR: Comments? Questions? Tips? Shoot mail to Trent or Woody. Follow @gegax or @woodyleonhard.

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