Techmeme: Apple to add Wi-Fi hotspot to GSM iPhone with iOS 4.3

9:16 AM ET, January 12, 2011

Top Items:

Mike Jazayeri / Chromium Blog:

HTML Video Codec Support in Chrome — The web's open and community-driven development model is a key factor in its rapid evolution and ubiquitous adoption. The WebM Project was launched last year to bring an open, world-class video codec to the web. Since the launch, we've seen first-hand the benefits of an open development model:

MG Siegler / TechCrunch:

So Google, You'll Be Dropping Support For Flash Next, Right? — Do you smell that? Just wait a second. You will. … The bolding is mine, but that's Google's actual statement as to why they're dropping support for the H.264 video codec from the Chromium open source browser (from which Chrome is built).

Discussion: 9 to 5 Mac and Download Squad

Arpit Mathur / Code Zen:

Why Google Was Correct In Chrome Dropping H.264 — “This is crazy, why drop support for {propriety tech} that works and was pretty ubiquitous? ” Now you can replace {propriety tech} with either H.264 or Flash. So why do we laud Apple dropping Flash but call Google's recent action a blow to the open web.

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:

Google Dropping Support for H.264 in Chrome — Mike Jazayeri, Chrome product manager: … A bold move, to be sure. H.264 is widely used. WebM and Theora aren't. Perhaps this move will push more publishers toward serving video encoded with WebM. The big problem WebM has versus H.264 …

Discussion: Softpedia News, IntoMobile, MSDN Blogs, Tim Anderson's ITWriting, TechCrunch and Google Operating System

Todd Bishop / TechFlash:

Microsoft: Apple can't claim exclusive rights to ‘App Store’ — Should the phrase “App Store” be Apple's alone? Microsoft says no, and it's fighting for the right to use those words for its own mobile application store. — The Redmond company this week escalated its battle against Apple's attempt …

Discussion: Engadget, IntoMobile, SAI, GottaBeMobile, Electronista, CrunchGear, The Next Web, WinRumors, Pocket-lint and Phones Review, Thanks:johnhcook

Stephen Lawson / PC World:
Microsoft Fights Apple Trademark on ‘App Store’

Discussion: Inquirer, The Register, 9 to 5 Mac, AppleInsider, CNET News, BGR, MobileWhack.com, TechEye, Softpedia News, WMPoweruser.com, SlashGear and Geeky-Gadgets

Evan Selleck / SlashGear:

Verizon iPhone 4 Doesn't Suffer from Death Grip — Now that the device is real, and we've managed to get some hands-on time with it, we were curious to see if Verizon's and Apple's claims that the only-slightly altered antenna version for the CDMA-based variant of the iPhone 4 (in the United States) …

Discussion: SFWeekly, Gizmodo, GeekSmack, Mobile Magazine, PC Magazine, DisplayBlog, Ars Technica, MediaFile and Cult of Mac, more at Mediagazer »

Apple:
Verizon Wireless & Apple Team Up to Deliver iPhone 4 on Verizon

Marco.org:
Who's Afraid of the Verizon iPhone?

Discussion: Coyote Tracks and TechCrunch

Chris Ziegler / Engadget:
AT&T iPhone 4 vs. Verizon iPhone 4: what's changed?

Kit Eaton / Fast Company:
Verizon Gets the iPhone, Arriving February 10th From $199

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Atlantic Online and Ars Technica

Greg Bensinger / Bloomberg:

Verizon to Sell Apple IPad That Connects Directly to Its Network — Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Verizon Wireless will sell a version of Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer that can connect directly to its network, posing another challenge to AT&T Inc. as the carrier's exclusive hold on the iPhone draws to a close.

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:

The Future Version Of Android Isn't Called Ice Cream. It's Ice Cream SANDWICH. — It's tough being a tech journalist. Countless phone calls, mountains of email, endless warring with legions of trolls. Really, you've got to be pretty hardcore to do this job. It's a wonder we ever get any posts up.

Discussion: Android Phone Fans, Clove Technology's Blog, Techie Buzz, Android Community, Geeky-Gadgets, Erictric, IntoMobile, Go Rumors, Gadgetell, pocketnow.com and Gizmodo

Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:

Formspring Closes $11.5 Million Round, Launches ‘Respond’ Button — One of the biggest phenomena of last year was Formspring, a social site that lets you invite your friends to “Ask you anything”. The site launched in November 2009 and rose from obscurity to some 40 million monthly uniques at its peak …

Discussion: The Social, Bits and NetworkEffect

Mike Melanson / ReadWriteWeb:

Yahoo TV is a Paradigm Shift for Internet TV — Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show we got a sneak peek at the latest incarnation of Yahoo Connected TV and we were excited about what we saw: the first Internet TV device to bring passive and personalized Internet content to its users.

Discussion: VentureBeat and SAI

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Bitterness, Anger And Betrayal At MySpace — An email from a reader claiming to be a MySpace employee about the layoffs today that left half of the company out of work. These things are part of life, but the bitterness, anger and feeling of betrayal are striking.

Discussion: iMediaPress, All Facebook and paidContent:UK

Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:

Google Android More Vulnerable Than IPhone, Antivirus Maker Says — Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Google Inc.'s Android operating system for mobile devices is more vulnerable to hackers and viruses than Apple Inc.'s iPhone platform, according to security-software maker Trend Micro Inc.

Discussion: TechEye, PC Magazine, Electronista, Apple Headlines, FairerPlatform and Bloomberg

David / TmoNews:

Samsung Vibrant Plus Will Offer 21+ Mbps 4G Speeds — Well, we knew the Samsung Vibrant Plus existed but we didn't know was that it's slated to be T-Mobile's first 4G phone that offers 21+ Mbps speeds. Currently, the myTouch4G and T-Mobile G2 offer 4G speeds that are capped at 14.4 Mbps.

Discussion: BGR, IntoMobile, Android Phone Fans, MobileWhack.com, Softpedia News, Engadget, Electronista, Android Community, SlashGear, AndroidGuys, MobileBurn.com and Gizmodo

Slash Lane / AppleInsider:

Apple to add Wi-Fi hotspot to GSM iPhone with iOS 4.3 - rumor — The new Personal Hotspot feature on iOS 4.2.5 will not remain exclusive to the CDMA variant of the iPhone 4, and will arrive with the release of iOS 4.3 for existing GSM-based handsets, according to a new rumor.

Discussion: BGR, MacRumors, O'Grady's PowerPage, SAI, Electronista, Examiner, Geeky-Gadgets, CrunchGear, Electricpig.co.uk, ITworld.com, 9 to 5 Mac, App Advice and Macgasm

Billy Gallagher / Stanford Daily:

The Forgotten Social Network — Zack Hoberg/The Stanford Daily — The idea that governs Facebook was created, then shut down, at Stanford years before Mark Zuckerberg appeared — Silicon Valley's Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo, Google and Facebook are some of the largest technology companies in the world.

Discussion: Venture Capital Dispatch

Evan Blass / PocketNow:

First ‘Facebook Phone’ Outed: INQ Cloud Touch With Android? — A handset known as the INQ Cloud Torch has just received Bluetooth certification, and based on the design description, we believe that it is the first of two “Facebook” phones rumored to be in development by both TechCrunch and Bloomberg.

Discussion: Electronista, SAI, Unwired View, BGR, Droid Life, IntoMobile and Electricpig.co.uk, Thanks:evan_pn

Eric Eldon / Inside Social Games:

Facebook's Big Credits Push Shows Itself in CityVille, Other Top Social Games — Over the past year, Facebook has steadily worked to make Credits the only payments option on its platform, but has given few specifics details on what it's doing during the transition.

Dan Frommer / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:

Twitter Updates Mac App, Gets Rid Of Secret Backdoor Feature, Avoids Apple's Wrath — Twitter has updated its Mac app for the Mac App Store with some modest changes, including a new, blue icon, replacing its previous black icon. — Twitter has also — as far as we can tell …

Paul Kedrosky / Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed:

Curation is the New Search is the New Curation — In the beginning there was curation, and it was good. People found interesting things, created directories of those things, and then you found what you were looking for inside those curated lists. That was the origins of the original lists and directories, from Yahoo on outward.

Thanks:richdemuro

Joan O'C. Hamilton / Stanford Alumni Association:

Separation Anxiety — Now that there's no escaping the digital world, research is getting more serious about what happens to personalities that are incessantly on. — PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY WILLIAM DUKE — THERE ARE NOW roughly 2 billion Internet users worldwide. Five billion earthlings have cell phones.

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