Microsoft ditches Metro brand after complaints, Facebook drops below $20 a share, and more

This article titled “Boot up: Microsoft ditches Metro brand after complaints, Facebook drops below $20 a share, and more” was written by Josh Halliday and Charles Arthur, for guardian.co.uk on Friday 3rd August 2012 05.31 UTC

A quick burst of five links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

Mayer Brings in First Googler — In PR — To Yahoo >> AllThingsD

And it’s Anne Espiritu, the longtime Google communications staffer.

Facebook Drops Below $20: Worth Less Than What MSFT Offered For Yahoo In 2008? >> TechCrunch

But… According to Blodget’s calculation, we will need to wait until the stock is at $16.28 before it hits Yahoo/Microsoft territory.

Exclusive: Microsoft’s Metro branding to be replaced ‘this week’ according to internal memo >> The Verge

Metro is the name for Microsoft’s new, tiled look in Windows Phone and Windows 8. From the Verge:

In it, Microsoft reveals that “discussions with an important European partner” led to the decision to “discontinue the use” of the Metro branding for Windows 8 and other Microsoft products — one that employees must adhere to immediately.

Canalys Q2: 68% Of All Smartphones Shipped Were Android; China’s The Biggest Market By A Wide Margin >> TechCrunch

From Canalys:

China had “phenomenal” growth this year, Canalys says, and that’s no understatemet. Some 42 million smartphones were shipped in China in Q2, which works out to growth of 199% over last year (and 32% over Q1). By comparison, smartphone sales worldwide grew by only 47%, says Canalys. In other words, China grew at a rate more than four times that of the rest of the world. China, it says, accounted for 27% of the world’s smartphone shipments, with number-two U.S. at 16%.

Facebook: 8.7 percent are fake users >> CNET News

How many is that? A whole 83,085,000 fake accounts.

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