Top Items:
Jason Cross / PC World:
Windows Laptop Makers Can't Catch Up to the MacBook Air — The PC world is buzzing lately about how laptop manufacturers are struggling to compete with Apple's MacBook Air, which has exploded in popularity since the introduction of the third-gen model in 2010.
Discussion:
ZDNet and TechPinions
Mike Isaac / Gadget Lab:
Google Steps Up to Defend Android Developers From Patent Lawsuit — Google has intervened in an ongoing intellectual property dispute between smartphone application developers and a patent-holding firm, Wired.com has learned, marking the Mountain View company's first public move …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Electronista, CNET News and TiPb, Thanks:mj_isaac
RELATED:
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Google's reexamination requests against two Lodsys patents don't stand on their own
Discussion:
The Next Web
Dale W. Eisinger / NBC New York:
The Game Tweets up a Telephone Flash Mob — Phone tag is no game to the Los Angeles Police Department. — A police investigation has been opened in LA concerning the source of Twitter messages sent from the account of the LA-based rapper The Game. The LA Times reports that Friday around 5 p.m …
Discussion:
Examiner, Associated Press, CNN, New York Magazine, ktla.com and L.A. NOW
RELATED:
Kimi Yoshino / L.A. NOW:
Twitter timeline of The Game's ‘telephone flash mob’ — Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials are continuing their investigation into rapper The Game and the tweets that sparked a “telephone flash mob” Friday night that jammed emergency phone lines. — Authorities say the rapper sent …
Wolfgang Gruener / ConceivablyTech:
Apple To Eliminate Printer Drivers — Apple has filed two patent applications that describe an approach as well as file formats and APIs to eliminate the printer driver as a requirement for users to access a printer and print documents. Software drivers have been one of the big inconveniences in mainstream computing.
Discussion:
Slashdot
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
City of Cupertino posts further details, renders of Apple mega-campus — The City of Cupertino has revealed more details and renderings regarding Apple's plans to build a 2.8 million square-foot spaceship-like circular office building in the city. — The city is currently in the midst of its review process of Apple's plans.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Engadget, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, AllThingsD, cupertino.org, Neowin.net, Fortune, Gizmodo, TUAW, NBC Bay Area, The Business Insider, CNET News, TreeHugger, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada Blog, Electronista and The Loop
Felix Salmon / Reuters:
How the NYT paywall is working — When I wrote about the success of the NYT paywall last month, I got a lot of pushback in the comments and on Twitter. Here's a sample: … But of course the paywall is working — with the emphasis very much on the “pay” rather than on the “wall”.
Discussion:
GigaOM
Nick Pinto / Runnin' Scared:
Your Phone Numbers and Facebook: What You Should Actually Worry About — If you're on Facebook, you've likely seen the panicky message that's been circulating, warning that the social networking behemoth has started publishing all your phone contacts for everybody to see:
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
RELATED:
Zach Epstein / maramine blog:
The Greatest Trick the Devil Ever Pulled Was... Disclaimer: The Devil Doesn't Pull Tricks
Discussion:
App Advice, Gizmodo, InfoWorld, TiPb and Android and Me
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Dropbox Chooses Investor Group, Valuation Set at $5+ Billion — We've been tracking the twists and turns of the Dropbox mega funding round feeding frenzy for over a month now. In July Sarah Lacy wrote that they'd be raising $200 million to $300 million at a $5 billion or higher valuation.
Discussion:
The Business Insider
Ed Bott / The Ed Bott Report Blog:
Windows Security wrap-up: praise for Vista and a historic first — Summary: At last week's Black Hat conference, a security expert who spent time “beating up Vista” talks about Microsoft's approach to security. Microsoft falls off a top 10 list. And you should visit Windows Update now to get a new Critical update for IE.
Discussion:
Global Security Mag Online and Computerworld
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Mozilla Brings The Sign In Button To The Browser Level — If you're on a website that uses accounts, the sign in button can be anywhere. Sure, there are some common best practices, but I can think of dozens of sites that put them all over the place. Mozilla is looking to fix that, by bringing the sign in to the browser level.
Discussion:
Examiner and Identity at Mozilla
Meghan Kelly / VentureBeat:
Roku grabs $8M, weeks after releasing Roku 2 — Roku, a device that streams web content to televisions, has collected $8 million in funding, according to a form D filed with the SEC today. Roku confirmed the round and its lead investors Globespan Capital Partners and Menlo Ventures.
Discussion:
GigaOM
Eva Galperin / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
BART Pulls a Mubarak in San Francisco — This week, EFF has seen censorship stories move closer and closer to home — first Iran, then the UK, and now San Francisco, an early locus of the modern free speech movement. Operators of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) …
Discussion:
Softpedia News, AllThingsD, PhoneArena, ZeroPaid.com, Examiner and Boing Boing
RELATED:
Eve Batey / SF Appeal:
BART Defends Decision To Cut Off Cell Service After Civil Rights, FCC Concerns Raised
Discussion:
PC Magazine, SFGate, Marvin Ammori &, Washington Post, TechCrunch, @jilliancyork, @eff, Marvin Ammori &, @ioerror, @evanchill, Digital Trends, Hillicon Valley, Your Anon News, Bits, SFGate, GigaOM, Crave, Electronista, textually.org, Gawker, IntoMobile, SFGate, The Snitch and CNET News, Thanks:violetblue
