Techmeme: Facebook Is Taking A Special Interest In RockMelt's Social Browser (Erick Schonfeld/TechCrunch)

3:50 PM ET, June 14, 2011

Top Items:

Nokia enters into patent license agreement with Apple — Apple payments to Nokia settle all litigation and have positive financial impact — Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Apple. The agreement will result in settlement …

Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:

Apple and Nokia settle patent dispute — see I told you so: Apple pays — Nokia just announced the settlement of its wide-ranging patent disputes with Apple that kept various courts in the United States and in Europe busy and in which either of the two litigants asserted dozens of patents.

Discussion: Inside Mobile Apps, MacRumors, PC Magazine, Engadget, 901am, AllThingsD, AppleInsider, Fortune, paidContent, Smartphones …, Reuters, GMSV, @asymco, Redmond Pie, Android and Me, iPhone and The Register, Thanks:fosspatents

Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
Nokia likely netted $600 million plus in Apple patent settlement

Discussion: MacRumors and Electronista

Amanda Chang / Inside Search:

Search by text, voice, or image — During our Inside Search press event in San Francisco today, we discussed how mobile search has inspired new ways to remove barriers to knowledge on the desktop and help you get to your results faster. On a mobile phone, you're not limited to typing - you can search using your voice or a picture.

Scott Huffman / Google Mobile Blog:

Introducing new features to mobile search — Our thirst for knowledge extends beyond the time we spend in front of our desktop computers. At Google, we are seeing mobile search grow at an exponential rate, increasing five-fold worldwide in just the past two years - a rate comparable to the early days of desktop Google Search.

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Next Web, PC Magazine, PC World, Computerworld, Search Engine Land, App Advice, Fast Company, Between the Lines Blog, BetaNews, TechCrunch, 9to5 Google, MacStories, Paul Kedrosky's …, MobileBurn.com, WebProNews and The Next Web

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Google Announces ‘Instant Pages,’ ‘Instant’ Image Search And ‘Instant’ Availability In 32 Languages — Google's launch of Google Instant last year was limited in its scope. At today's event Google's Amit Singhal went through some recent developments in Instant Search, which currently saves users 2-5 seconds in search.

Discussion: ReadWriteWeb, CNET News, Guardian, @google, 9to5 Google, BetaNews, Electronista, Mashable!, Lifehacker and The Next Web

Daniel Amitay / amitay.us:

Most Common iPhone Passcodes — In my last update to Big Brother Camera Security (Free), I added some code to record common user passcodes (completely anonymous, of course). Because Big Brother's passcode setup screen and lock screen are nearly identical to those of the actual iPhone passcode lock …

Discussion: Computerworld, Zero Day Blog, PC World, msnbc.com, Naked Security, GottaBeMobile, everythingiCafe, Redmond Pie and iPhone Download Blog

Clare Jim / Reuters:

Apple to sell new Macbook Air late this month: report — (Reuters) - Apple Inc will start selling its latest Macbook Air in late June with 380,000 units as the first shipment, Taiwan's Economic Daily said on Tuesday quoting industry sources. — The newspaper said together with the existing model …

Discussion: Fast Company, App Advice, PC World, Reuters, MacRumors, I4U News, TUAW, Inquirer, AppleInsider, Geek.com and SlashGear

Josh Ong / AppleInsider:

Apple now selling unlocked GSM iPhone 4 in US, starting at $649 — Apple updated its online store on Tuesday to begin offering unlocked models of the iPhone 4, starting at $649. — Both the white and black versions of Apple's bestselling smartphone are available, with the 16GB …

Horace Dediu / asymco:
iPhone liquidity: Why an unlocked Phone in the US matters

Discussion: App Advice, TUAW and Daring Fireball

Dan Sung / Pocket-lint:

Apple iCloud vs Google vs Amazon Cloud Drive vs Dropbox vs Microsoft SkyDrive — It's been a busy time for cloud storage and music services and Apple's launch onto the scene with Apple iCloud has officially declared it global war. The lines have begun to blur as to what you own …

Thanks:stuartmiles

Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:

Apple feels “harassed” by “copyist” Samsung's demands for early look at iPhone 5 and iPad 3; showdown on Friday — With all that's going on, this is already my third blog post within a few hours. After reporting on The New York Times Company's and OpinionLab's declaratory judgment actions …

Discussion: IntoMobile, AppleInsider, TUAW, SlashGear, Android Phone Fans, MobileBurn.com, MacRumors, SAI, iLounge, thinq_, MacStories, Electronista, 9 to 5 Mac, iGadgetsReport and PhoneArena

Jim Dalrymple / The Loop:

iCloud will have a Web-based interface — When Apple introduced iCloud at last week's Worldwide Developer Conference, there were no discussions about a Web-based interface for the service, which lead some to believe that there wouldn't be one. I don't believe this is the case.

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
iCloud's Missing Web Interface

Discussion: Mark Sigal's Blog and iPhone Download Blog

Wall Street Journal:

JC Penney Nabs Top Apple Executive — J.C. Penney Co. is tapping Ron Johnson, head of Apple Inc.'s iconic retail stores, as its new president and eventual chief executive, people familiar with the situation said. — The company is expected to announce Mr. Johnson's appointment later today.

Discussion: Computerworld, PC Magazine, SAI, 9 to 5 Mac, Tech Trader Daily, AllThingsD, Between the Lines Blog, BGR, SAI, CNET News, Fortune, mocoNews, 9 to 5 Mac, Ars Technica, SAI, MacRumors, Deal Journal, Pulse2, PR Newswire, TiPb, Cult of Mac, iGadgetsReport, SlashGear, iLounge, The Loop, Daring Fireball, iClarified, MacStories and @inafried

Ari Levy / Bloomberg:

Groupon Vice Chairman Leonsis Seen as Having Potential Conflict — Groupon Inc. Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis' venture firm is an investor in rival LivingSocial and has ties to its board, a relationship that could pose a conflict, according to corporate-governance experts.

Discussion: SAI and Pulse2

Ben Kuchera / Ars Technica:

Duke Nukem Forever: barely playable, not funny, rampantly offensive — In the first few moments of Duke Nukem Forever, your character pees in a urinal and then earns an achievement for reaching into a toilet and extracting a piece of human excrement. Why does the game reward you for doing this?

Discussion: Softpedia News, VentureBeat, CNET News and The Tech Herald …

Chris Ziegler / This is my next:

Vizio tablet shows up in inventory systems, celebs' hands; release coming soon? (update: $349) — You may recall that Vizio bucked its reputation as a television maker at CES this year by showing off early prototypes of an Android-powered phone and tablet. I'd personally forgotten …

Discussion: SAI, 9to5 Google, Engadget, Pocket-lint and PhoneArena

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:

Microsoft's Xbox 360 rules the U.S. console market, again — In a down month for video games, Microsoft's Xbox 360 continued to buck the trend in May, according to new data out this afternoon. — Microsoft sold 270,000 Xbox 360s in the U.S. in May, up 39 percent over the same month last year …

Discussion: BGR and Engadget

Keir Thomas / PC World:

Steve Jobs the Comic Book Hero: An Exclusive Look — A new biography of Steve Jobs will be published in August but with a difference: it's a 32-page comic book. — “Steve Jobs: Co-Founder of Apple” portrays the life of the irascible genius behind the Mac and iPhone in drawings, from his birth to modern day.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Shiny Objects, TUAW and MobileSyrup.com

Dan Primack / Fortune:

Exclusive: New stock rules proposed — Private companies may be allowed to stay private longer. — Congress may soon change the law that is compelling Facebook to go public in early 2012, Fortune has learned. — Reps. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Jim Himes (D-CT) are among those who plan …

Discussion: VatorNews, GigaOM and Betabeat

Neil Stevens / The Big Blog:

Skype announces partnership with Comcast to bring Skype (HD) video calling to more living rooms — We're excited to announce a partnership with Comcast, the largest provider of internet and cable service in the U.S. We see a lot of synergies in teaming up with Comcast to enable their customers …

Discussion: TechFlash, About Skype, Techland, ReadWriteWeb, Electronista, @avinio, Telecompetitor, Dow Jones Newswires and @timcohn, more at Mediagazer »

Ryan Kim / GigaOM:

Angry Birds looks to conjure some location-based Magic [Video] — Rovio is looking to take Angry Birds local with location-based integration, which will now enhance the game play for users when they visit real-world locations. The feature, called Magic, builds off a previously announced NFC feature …

Discussion: msnbc.com, ReadWriteWeb and PhoneArena

Ari Levy / Bloomberg:

LinkedIn-Led Web IPO Boom Separates Venture Capital Haves From Have-Nots — LinkedIn Corp. and Groupon Inc. are leading a surge in Web-company initial share sales that underscores a deepening chasm between the venture-capital industry's haves and have-nots.

Discussion: Betabeat

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

Facebook Is Taking A Special Interest In RockMelt's Social Browser — Ever since RockMelt launched its social browser, it's been known unofficially as the Facebook browser. Facebook chat, status updates and sharing are all built right into the browser. Now Facebook and RockMelt …

Discussion: Social Markets, All Facebook, BetaNews, ReadWriteWeb, RockMelt Blog, SAI and Bits, Thanks:cindywaters

Hamed Aleaziz / Mother Jones:

Why Google Earth Can't Show You Israel — Since Google launched its Google Earth feature in 2005, the company has become a worldwide leader in providing high-resolution satellite imagery. In 2010, Google Earth allowed the world to see the extent of the destruction in post-earthquake Haiti.

Discussion: PC Magazine

Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:

Comcast Taps Facebook for Enhanced TV Experience … NEW YORK - Comcast Corp. is working with Facebook, Intel and other technology firms to create what it calls a next-generation TV experience, which will make the TV screen more interactive. — “This new experience transforms …

Discussion: Gizmodo

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