Top Items:
Jim Dalrymple / The Loop:
Apple says developers are licensed for Lodsys patents — In a letter sent to Lodsys on Monday, Apple asked that the company withdraw letters sent to app developers demanding they license the technology. “Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patents and the App Makers are protected by that license …
Discussion:
AllThingsD, Technologizer, TechCrunch, Fortune, ReadWriteWeb, Computerworld, MacRumors, GigaOM, GottaBeMobile, 9 to 5 Mac, AppleInsider, App Advice, Hardware 2.0 Blog, CNET News, MacStories, @fosspatents and World of Apple, Thanks:jdalrymple
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Mark Small / Macworld:
Full text: Apple Legal's letter to Lodsys — [Below is the full text of the letter Apple Legal sent to Lodsys regarding its patent dispute with app developers. Read the full story here. -Ed.] — BY EMAIL AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL — Chief Executive Officer — Lodsys, LLC — [Address information removed]
Discussion:
Digital Trends, Marco.org, FOSS Patents, paidContent, PC Magazine, GigaOM, IntoMobile, Gizmodo, This is my next, Gadget Lab, I4U News, TiPb, Appolicious Advisor, @pkedrosky, TidBITS, www.pocketgamer.biz and Techland
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Analysis of Apple's letter to Lodsys — The first app devs to have received Lodsys's letter were only a few days away from a deadline to respond, and under that circumstance I already felt forced to recommend to app developers to be cooperative and ask Lodsys to provide its license agreement for review …
Discussion:
Daring Fireball, Inside Mobile Apps, SAI, The Register, mocoNews, Ars Technica, BGR, Engadget, MacStories, The Loop and Edible Apple
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Square's Disruptive New iPad Payments Service Will Replace Cash Registers — Mobile payments startup Square is announcing big numbers today—500,000 Square card readers shipped, 1 million Square transactions in May, and the startup is now processing $3 million in mobile payments per day.
Discussion:
BetaNews, Computerworld, Between the Lines Blog, Bits, Engadget, SAI, MacRumors, GigaOM, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Neowin.net, VentureBeat, PadGadget, Gizmodo, @jack, Mashable!, mocoNews, SFGate, MacStories, Appolicious Advisor, Electronista, AllThingsD, @square, San Francisco Chronicle and The Next Web
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Mason Cohn / Fortune:
Dorsey's Square tries to eliminate the card swipe by bringing back the tab
Discussion:
RazorianFly, CNN, 9 to 5 Mac, TechCrunch, TUAW and Electronista
Matt Rosoff / SAI: Silicon Alley Insider:
Windows 8 Could Make Its Public Debut Next Week — Windows chief Steven Sinofsky has just been confirmed to appear at the ninth D: AllThingsDigital conference next week, and the smart odds are that he'll use the high-profile event to give the public its first view of Windows 8, the next version of Microsoft's operating system.
Discussion:
BetaNews, AllThingsD, This is my next, WinRumors, The Seattle Times, Electronista, LiveSide.net, SlashGear, PhoneArena, The Next Web and Windows 8 News
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Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft's Ballmer says next-gen Windows systems due in 2012 — During remarks at a developers conference in Japan on May 23, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer referred to the next version of Windows as “Windows 8.” He also said the next generation of Windows systems will be out next year.
Discussion:
Microsoft, The Microsoft Blog, PC World, PC Magazine, SAI, GeekWire, Engadget, The Next Web and Neowin.net
Surur / WMPoweruser.com:
Over 500 new features coming in Windows Phone 7.5 — Apologies for the low volume. — Microsoft has been speaking at the Japanese Microsoft Developer Forum 2011 and amongst the wide range of topics he covered he also spoke about the next version of Windows Phone 7.
Discussion:
CNET News, Engadget, SlashGear, Inquirer, WinRumors, MobileCrunch, Engadget, PC World, GottaBeMobile, All about Microsoft Blog, pocketnow.com, Geek.com, BGR, Softpedia News, SAI, MacHackPC, GSMArena Blog, GeekWire, SAI, Pocket-lint, Recombu and The Microsoft Blog
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Amazon Almost Giving Away Lady Gaga's New Album — It's not free, but it's close: Amazon is selling digital downloads of “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga's newest album, for 99 cents. — That gets you 14 songs and a digital booklet. The same album goes for $11.99 at Apple's iTunes …
Discussion:
CNET News, MacRumors, VatorNews, bub.blicio.us, TechnoBuffalo, louisgray.com, 9 to 5 Mac, GeekWire and NBC Bay Area
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Dennis Crouch / Patent Law Blog:
Apple Buys 200+ Patents from Freescale Semiconductor — Apple Inc. recently recorded the receipt of 200 patents and pending patent applications from the electronics company Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. Although not recorded until May 18, 2011, the assignment is dated April 11, 2011.
Discussion:
AppleInsider, MacRumors and TUAW
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google Buys Sparkbuy: Comparison Shopping Site Now Closes, Team Remains — Google has acquired Sparkbuy, a comparison shopping site that has focused on laptops. The site closed today as part of the purchase; the three person team will continue on with Google. — Was this a talent acquisition, then?
Discussion:
SAI, TechFlash, The Seattle Times, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, GeekWire, Xconomy and Pulse2
Matt Warman / Telegraph:
HP: ‘Touchpad will be better than number one’ tablet — HP talks up forthcoming Touchpad tablet ahead of European launch later in the year and announces first app partners — HP will emulate its PC market success in the tablet world when it launches the Touchpad over the summer, the company's European head Eric Cador has claimed.
Discussion:
Electronista, Neowin.net, PC Magazine, I4U News, Gadgetell, 9 to 5 Mac, PreCentral.net, SAI, Internet2Go, DailyTech, 901am, CrunchGear, LAPTOP Magazine, Pulse2 and TiPb
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Exclusive: France Telecom CEO on Apple, Android and How You Can Kiss Your Unlimited Plan Goodbye — Stephane Richard knows a thing or two about the iPhone. — In addition to carrying one of Apple's iconic smartphones, Richard is also the CEO of France Telecom, whose networks carry traffic …
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac and Ubergizmo
Stuart Elliott / Media Decoder:
YouTube Extends Plans for Ads Before Videos — In the early days of online video, commercials that appeared before viewers could watch clips, known as preroll, got “thumbs down” from most computer users. That attitude seems to have softened more recently, a change of heart that Web giants have noticed.
Discussion:
The Next Web, Thanks:beet_tv
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Do@ Gets $7 Million to Try to Disrupt Mobile Search — Search is a market many assume is over as far as startups are concerned. After all, how could anyone compete with Google and Microsoft? A new service called Do@ thinks there is still room to change the way we search, however …
Discussion:
Bits, VentureBeat, Epicenter, Search Engine Land, TechCrunch, Digits, Pulse2, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, Scobleizer and The Next Web
Abe Murray / Google Book Search Blog:
Google eBooks: By the Numbers, Then and Now — It's been about six months since we launched Google eBooks. Now, we're happy to report there are more than three million free Google eBooks available in the U.S. for your enjoyment and enlightenment (as compared to more than two million at launch).
Discussion:
Pulse2, more at Mediagazer »
John Cook / GeekWire:
Zillow.com selects “Z” for ticker symbol, trims Q1 net loss — Zillow.com plans to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the one letter ticker symbol Z when it expects to debut later this year. That's slightly unusual, since most of the tickers on the exchange such as Microsoft (MSFT) …
Discussion:
Pulse2
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Ashton Kutcher Teams With UberMedia To Launch A.plus, His Own Custom Twitter App — Ashton Kutcher fans who can't get enough of the star on Twitter are about to get some very good news. And the rest of you — even if you aren't necessarily huge Ashton fans — will want to pay attention too.
Discussion:
PC Magazine, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Lost Remote, AllThingsD, AllTwitter, WebProNews and Techland
DigiTimes:
Apple said to introduce curved-glass iPhone 5 — There has been a fair amount of buzz on the iPhone 5, and the latest being circulated around the supply chain in Taiwan is that Apple is going to adopt a curved cover glass for its next generation model, according to industry sources.
Discussion:
MediaFile, Network World, PhoneDog.com, Gadget Lab, WebProNews, Shoutpedia, PC World, GottaBeMobile, I4U News, TG Daily and PC Magazine
Kunur Patel / AdAge:
One Year Later, AdMob Making Its Mark on Google — Mobile Display and Search Integrated Into Larger Infrastructure — One year after regulators gave Google the green light to acquire AdMob, the union of search giant and mobile ad network is beginning to bear fruit.
Federico Viticci / MacStories:
iPad 2 Head Tracking + Glasses-free 3D App Now Available — Back in April, you might remember we posted a video showing a software experiment by Jeremie Francone and Laurence Nigay from the Laboratory of Informatics of Grenoble at the EHCI Research Group aimed at bringing glasses-free 3D to the iPad's screen.
Discussion:
9 to 5 Mac, Tools and MacRumors
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Foursquare and Groupon Planning Distribution Deal — Daily deals leader Groupon and social location innovator Foursquare are in partnership talks, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. — The arrangement is likely to see Groupon deals targeted to Foursquare users' check-ins.
Discussion:
Screenwerk, Mashable!, TechCrunch, SAI, Mobile Marketing Watch and NYConvergence.com, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Liberty Says Nook Inspired B&N Bid — Liberty Media Corp. executives laid out their rationale for their surprise bid for Barnes & Noble Inc., touting the potential of the bookseller's Nook e-reader and the vast network of retail stores it can use to promote it.
Mike Swift / Mercury News:
Facebook to assemble global team of ‘diplomats’ — With 70 percent of its more than 600 million members outside the United States, Facebook is creating its own foreign service, hiring a network of ambassadors from India to Ireland to represent the Palo Alto-based social network with foreign governments and cultures.
Discussion:
techPresident
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Jive Buys Microsoft Office Collaboration Plugin OffiSync For Up To $30 Million — Social enterprise giant Jive is continuing its shopping spree today, picking up OffiSync, an Israeli startup that adds a collaboration layer to Microsoft Office applications, we've confirmed.
Discussion:
TechFlash, PC World, Social Markets, SAI, ReadWriteEnterprise and AllThingsD
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Sonar Finds You The Most Relevant People In The Room — Using almost every publicly available profile, Facebook, Linked, Foursquare, Instagram, Eventbrite etc, mobile app Sonar, shows you who, how many, and why particular people are relevant to you in a room.
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Social game leader CrowdStar raises $23M — Social game leader CrowdStar has raised $23 million in a first round of funding led by Intel Capital and Time Warner Investments. The company plans to use the money to double its headcount and expand on a global scale.
Discussion:
VatorNews, mocoNews, Inside Social Games, Pulse2, AllThingsD, PE Hub Blog, TechCrunch and GigaOM
