Top Items:
Elizabeth Woyke / Mobilized:
Source: iPhone 5 May Have NFC Contactless Capability — Apple's iPhone 4 doesn't have NFC. But could the iPhone 5? — One of the latest, juiciest rumors about Apple's upcoming iPhone, dubbed iPhone 5, is that the device will not include a wireless technology known as Near Field Communication or NFC.
Discussion:
PC World, Digital Trends, Cult of Mac, 9 to 5 Mac, TUAW, Geek.com, AppleInsider, O'Grady's PowerPage, Gearlog, SAI, SAI, everythingiCafe, Edible Apple, Pocket-lint, The Next Web, Apple Bitch, fox @ fury, MacStories, Electronista, MacRumors, Electricpig and Phones Review
Nick Wingfield / Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft, Feds Pull Plug on Spam Network — Microsoft Corp. and federal law enforcement agents seized computer equipment from Internet hosting facilities across the U.S. in a sweeping legal attack designed to cripple the leading source of junk email on the Internet.
Discussion:
TechFlash, Inquirer, Softpedia News, The Next Web, CNET News, VentureBeat, GeekWire, Reuters, TechNet Blogs, thinq_, @briankrebs, WinRumors, Digits, Business Wire, Zero Day Blog and Krebs on Security
RELATED:
TechNet Blogs:
Taking Down Botnets: Microsoft and the Rustock Botnet — Senior Attorney, Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit — Just over a year ago, we announced that the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), in cooperation with industry and academic experts, had successfully taken down the botnet Waledac in an operation known as “Operation b49”.
Discussion:
Help Net Security, The Register, Computerworld, The Loop, Download Squad and thinq_
Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
Q&A: New York Times Digital Czar Martin Nisenholtz on the Paywall, Pricing, Google and Apple — A lot of you have done a lot of reading, and a lot of writing, about the New York Times' digital paywall/subscription plans. And if any of you who care about this stuff haven't read Ken Doctor's dissection …
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
The Google Loophole Has Become The Facebook/Twitter Loophole — There are a lot of interesting angles to the news this morning about The New York Times' new paywall. Top news will remain free, a set number of articles for all users will remain free, there will be different pricing tiers …
Discussion:
paidContent, New York Times, Poynter, MediaPost, Scripting News, Epicenter, VentureBeat, L.A. Times Tech Blog, FM Blog, Daggle, TechFlash, SteveOuting.com, Engadget, SAI, Techdirt, Technologizer, VentureBeat and MediaFile, more at Mediagazer »
Business Week:
Are Four Words Worth $25 Billion for Groupon? — Inside Andrew Mason's plan to remake Groupon, fend off copycats, and change your spending habits forever — On a frigid Chicago morning in early March, Andrew Mason stood on a street corner outside his company's offices to reveal …
Discussion:
Fast Company, DealBook, Appolicious Advisor, Mashable!, Bloomberg, Techland and SAI
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Scott Austin / Venture Capital Dispatch:
Groupon Valued At $25B? That Would Top Google At IPO
Discussion:
Softpedia News, The Register, NBC Bay Area, Fortune, TechCrunch, SAI and GeekWire
Jay Yarow / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Exclusive: Yahoo Is About To Sell Delicious For $1-$2 Million — Yahoo is about to close a deal to sell bookmarking site Delicious for $1-$2 million, says a source familiar with the discussions. — Our source isn't sure what company is buying it, but says it's a “strategic partner,” something like StumbleUpon.
Discussion:
PC World, The Register, Guardian, Softpedia News, Gearlog, Techland, Pocket-lint, Marketing Pilgrim, Guardian, The Tech Trade, @dannysullivan, The Next Web and WebProNews
Farhad Manjoo / Fast Company:
Google: The Quest — How New CEO Larry Page Will Lead The Company He Cofounded Into The Future — It's not Helen of Troy or the assassination of an archduke, but this spelling-bee-worthy 10-cent word also launched a war, the Great Search Engine War of 2011, between Google and Microsoft.
Wall Street Journal:
RIM, Carriers Fight Over Digital Wallet — BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. is locking horns with wireless carriers over control of mobile-payment data, in an example of the battles erupting as smartphones evolve into electronic wallets. — The dispute centers on where key data related …
Discussion:
The Register, thinq_ and Electronista
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Why the Nitro JavaScript Engine Isn't Available to Apps Outside Mobile Safari in iOS 4.3 — Along a similar line to today's story about the performance differences between Mobile Safari and the system-wide UIWebView control in iOS 4.3, was Tuesday's mini-brouhaha about web app performance outside Mobile Safari.
Discussion:
everythingiCafe, TiPb, Network World, The Loop and CNET News
RELATED:
Cade Metz / The Register:
Apple: Yes, Safari outperforms embedded iOS web viewer
Discussion:
@diveintomark, Blaze.io, Mobile Entertainment, Fonehome, everythingiCafe, Download Squad, eWeek, TUAW, Daring Fireball, Computerworld, Electricpig, 9 to 5 Mac, The Next Web and The Loop
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Not Even Kevin Rose Really Uses Digg Anymore — How bad are things at the once-mighty Digg these days? Not so good. It's been months since Digg relaunched in August in a quest for relevance. They had 18 million unique worldwide visitors that month according to Comscore.
Thanks:worldblotter
Richard Gaywood / TUAW:
AT&T aggressively moving against unauthorized tethering — AT&T is ruining a lot of people's days with a customer mailshot explaining that its “records show that you use [tethering] but are not subscribed to our tethering plan.” iOS, of course, will disable the built-in tethering facility if you do not have an appropriate carrier plan.
Discussion:
GigaOM, DSLreports, App Advice, OS X Daily, mocoNews, BGR, TiPb, Cult of Mac, DailyTech, blogs.chron.com, TechCrunch, Thoughts from the Sidelines, GottaBeMobile, everythingiCafe, MacDailyNews, Electronista, PhoneArena and The Next Web, Thanks:penllawen
Andrew Rassweiler / iSuppli:
Japanese Earthquake Poses Potential Supply Problems for iPad 2 — The aftermath of the Japanese earthquake may cause logistical disruptions and supply shortages in Apple Inc.'s iPad 2, which employs several components manufactured in the disaster-stricken country—including a hard …
Christian Zibreg / 9 to 5 Mac:
Fan backlash over adverts injected in Angry Birds HD — Last night, an update to Angry Birds HD dropped on iPad with fifteen new levels, a new golden egg and a “feature” that has immediately angered loyal fans - adverts. No, not the unobtrusive types of an AdMob or AdSense variety seen in some apps.
Discussion:
Techland, ThinkMobile, Pluggd.in, SlashGear, App Advice and Phones Review
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Saying “SXSW Is Over” Is Over — A lot of the talk surrounding SXSW this year has reminded me of one of my favorite skits from IFC's show Portlandia. It starts off with a guy peering into the window of a bar and telling the locals inside how much he loves the place.
Discussion:
Andy Budd::Blogography …, TechCrunch, Logic+Emotion, This is going to be BIG! and Mashable!
RELATED:
Othman Laraki / Othman's Blog:
The Economics of Dissent: How Twitter and Facebook Tipped the Revolutionary Equation — Perhaps it is time to update the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword” to “The Internet is mightier than dictators” — While this statement is made tongue-in-cheek, it is undeniable that we are living through a time of accelerated change.
Discussion:
NetworkEffect and Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check
Ben Horowitz / ben's blog:
Titles and Promotions … Often when I meet with startups, the employees have no job titles. This makes sense, because everybody is just working to build the company. Roles needn't be clearly defined and, in fact, can't be, because everyone does a little bit of everything.
Discussion:
Venture Capital Dispatch
Reuters:
Toshiba LCD plant out, Lenovo frets about supplies — (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said an assembly line in Japan making small liquid crystal displays would be closed for a month, and PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd voiced worries over parts, highlighting the threat to global supply chains from Japan's devastating earthquake.
Discussion:
Reuters, Inquirer, Ubergizmo, DisplayBlog and Engadget
Gavin Clarke / The Register:
RIM PlayBook to sync with Microsoft Exchange cloud — Office 365 in your lap — The PlayBook - the iPad challenger from BlackBerry maker RIM - is following Apple's device into the workplace with the assistance of Microsoft. — People getting Exchange emails will be able to synchronize …
Discussion:
eWeek, Dow Jones Newswires and Bloomberg
Josh Lowensohn / Crave: The gadget blog:
Mac App Store low on freebies, high on games — A new report released by market research group Distimo shows that Apple's now three-month old Mac App Store is off to a slower start than its iOS counterparts in terms of app volume, though is becoming a bellwether for more gaming opportunities on the Mac OS platform.
Discussion:
mocoNews, Electronista, Softpedia News and SAI
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
FriendFinder Revisits Plans To Go Public — More than a year after cancelling its IPO, citing terrible market conditions, FriendFinder this morning announced that it has filed an amendment to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 with the SEC in connection with a re-launch of its proposed initial public offering.
Discussion:
PR Newswire, paidContent and VentureBeat
CNET News:
Criminal probe into iPhone prototype nears end — A probe into a prototype iPhone 4 purchased by a gadget blog is nearing its end, with investigators expected to report their findings soon. — Stephen Wagstaffe, district attorney for the county of San Mateo, Calif., told CNET today that …
Discussion:
Fast Company, Digital Trends, 9 to 5 Mac and Electronista
