Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Facebook, FTC Near Privacy Settlement — Facebook Inc. is finalizing a proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it engaged in deceptive behavior when changing its privacy settings, according to people familiar with the situation.
Discussion:
Digital Trends, Search Engine Land, Inside Facebook, @dkberman, The Register, VentureBeat, Computerworld, New York Times, The Verge, Neowin.net, PC Magazine, PC World, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Pulse2, Between the Lines Blog, Reuters, Mercury News, ReadWriteWeb, Washington Post, @dannysullivan, Mashable!, Gawker, Electronista, Gizmodo, CNET News and Business Insider
RELATED:
Matthew Panzarino / The Next Web:
Facebook to make all sharing related privacy settings ‘opt-in’ instead of ‘opt-out’ — Facebook is near an agreement that will settle a case with the Federal Trade Commission by making all of its privacy settings opt-in instead of opt-out, reports the WSJ. That means that you will not share anything …
Discussion:
TechCrunch
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Zynga's stock ‘scandal’ — What did I do? — There is no joy in Cityville — the mighty Pincus was called a lout. — Zynga this morning woke up to a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal, accusing the social gaming company and its CEO Mark Pincus of strong-arming employees into giving up previously-granted stock options.
Discussion:
ITworld.com, Washington Post, Kotaku, Betabeat, @rk, I4U News, Broken Toys, CNET News and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Exclusive: Mark Pincus memo to Zynga employees — Earlier today the Wall Street Journal suggested that social gaming giant Zynga had strong-armed employees into giving up previously-granted stock options. I wrote a follow-up post, arguing that the WSJ made things sound much worse than they really were.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Pulse2, VG247 and The Technology Chronicles
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Reveals New Powerful Gestures in the Works for iOS Devices — On November 10, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a series of new gestures that will provide users with a number of advantages. It will allow users to view clusters …
Discussion:
everythingiCafe, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, CNET News, iDownloadBlog.com and SlashGear
Todd Haselton / BGR:
Sony CEO: We're building ‘a different kind of TV set,’ just like Apple — All eyes have been on Apple to reinvent the television set, but Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently confirmed that Sony, too, is working on re-imagining the TV. “There's a tremendous amount of R&D going into a different kind of TV set …
Discussion:
Shiny Objects, Dow Jones Newswires, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, iClarified and MacNN
Jason Kincaid / TechCrunch:
Google Acquires Katango, The Automatic Friend Sorter — Back in September we broke the news that Google was in talks to acquire Katango, a small Kleiner Perkins-backed startup that launched this past summer. Today, they've made it official: Katango just announced that it's been acquired by Google …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Search Engine Land, AllThingsD, Pulse2, ReadWriteWeb, SlashGear, SiliconFilter and MediaFile
Lance Whitney / CNET News:
Voice behind Siri goes public despite warning from Apple — The voice behind the U.K.'s Siri speaks. — Former technology journalist Jon Briggs has revealed himself as the voice of Siri in the United Kingdom, despite a warning from Apple to keep silent. — In an interview …
Discussion:
Telegraph, App Advice, GottaBeMobile, TUAW, iDownloadBlog.com, everythingiCafe, Technologizer, The Next Web and SlashGear
RELATED:
Matt Warman / Telegraph:
The voice behind Siri breaks his silence
The voice behind Siri breaks his silence
Discussion:
Examiner, Computerworld, Business Insider, NBC Bay Area, Gadget Lab, VentureBeat, Softpedia News, The Verge, PalmAddicts, Washington Post, MacRumors, PC Magazine, Edible Apple, Pulse2, PhoneArena, WebProNews, Phones Review, Inquirer, Gizmodo, iClarified, SlashGear, Tech Europe and Know Your Mobile
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
How does Sony make money? — Sony's consumer electronics business — led by TVs, videogames, and computers — still generates about half of the company's sales. — But Sony's profits these days come from what may seem like an unexpected source: Its financial services business …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Google Buys Contextual Rich News Browsing Startup Apture To Beef Up Chrome — Google has acquired Apture, a startup that brings instantaneous search to content on the web, we've confirmed with both companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Discussion:
mocoNews, Digits, MediaPost, LAUNCH, Pulse2, 9to5Google, ReadWriteWeb, WebProNews, VentureBeat, @rafat, MarketingVox News & Trends, silicontap.com, AllThingsD, Between the Lines Blog and socalTECH.com
Stephen Schenck / pocketnow.com:
Amazon Updates Appstore in Anticipation of Kindle Fire Arrival — Amazon's first Android tablet, the Kindle Fire, is set to finally come out next week. In advance of its arrival, Amazon is pushing-out an update for its Appstore, bringing the app up to version 2.0 and getting a makeover to fit with the new Fire aesthetic.
Discussion:
Android Police and Engadget
RELATED:
Seth Fiegerman / Mainstreet.com:
Exclusive: Amazon's $79 Kindle Costs $84 to Make
Exclusive: Amazon's $79 Kindle Costs $84 to Make
Discussion:
PC Magazine, VentureBeat, SlashGear, Mashable!, Inquirer, Gizmodo, Electronista, Business Insider, Computerworld and VatorNews
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
Exclusive: Nokia, AT&T collaborating on Lumia 800 with LTE — We've learned from people familiar with the matter that Nokia's delayed entry into the US is partly due to the fact that it wants to attack with LTE — and that's a feature that Windows Phone 7.5 doesn't presently support.
Discussion:
BGR, WinRumors, CNET News, WinRumors, Pocketables, Softpedia News, PhoneDog.com, MobileWhack.com, Seattle Times, Geek.com, IntoMobile, BGR, PhoneArena, TechCrunch, GottaBeMobile, Electronista, FierceWireless, SlashGear, Gizmodo, MobileBurn.com, WMPoweruser, Business Insider, LAPTOP Magazine and Windows Phone Sauce
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
What's next for the iPod Shuffle/Nano? A Speaker Clip of Course — On November 11, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's mini media players such as the iPod shuffle and iPod nano.
Discussion:
AppleInsider, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Gadget Lab, Geek.com, iPodNN, MacDailyNews and Gizmodo
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
1% Of Nothing Launches To Get Startups Donating Equity — Shervin Pishevar and Matt Galligan have just formally announced the beta launch of their new organization 1% of Nothing. It's aimed at inspiring early-stage companies to donate 1% of their equity to a cause of their choice.
Discussion:
1% of Nothing, Thanks:joshconstine
Jessica E. Vascellaro / Wall Street Journal:
Tech Start-Ups Rethink Worth of Patents — As Silicon Valley behemoths such as Apple Inc. engage in what some fear is patent Armageddon by challenging competitors' technology, smaller tech companies and venture capitalists are changing their long-held view that it isn't worthwhile for start-ups to file for patents.
Emil Protalinski / Friending Facebook Blog:
German state to sue Facebook over facial recognition feature — Summary: German authorities are looking to sue Facebook over its use of facial recognition technology. The argument is over opt-in versus opt-out. Facebook insists the latter is compliant with the law.
Discussion:
CNET News, Deutsche Welle and The Next Web
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Against Apple Over ‘iBrick’ — A California woman accused Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) last year of using an underhanded trick to force iPhone users to buy a newer model. This week she struck out in court after a federal judge concluded that Apple's software upgrades are free and do not qualify as a sale.
Discussion:
TUAW and Electronista
Mary Himinkool / The Official Google Blog:
Supporting entrepreneurs around the world with Startup Weekend — We recognize the transformative power of startups and the entrepreneurs behind them that have the passion and courage to pursue a dream; the impact they can make on society can be significant.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, GeekWire, VentureBeat and Google Code Blog
J.B. / Fusible.com:
Twitter wins dispute over highly trafficked typo domain Twiter.com — Twitter, Inc. has won a dispute over the highly trafficked typo domain name Twiter.com that led visitors to an online scam survey site. — A panel with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ruled in favor of Twitter.
Discussion:
The Next Web, Search Engine Land and The Verge, Thanks:fusible
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Can A Twitter Account Be A Company Trade Secret? — There has been an ongoing tug-of-war between journalists and publishers over who gets to keep digital possessions after a break-up. The debate took a new twist this week after a court issued a ruling in the case of a tech reporter who walked …
Discussion:
Technology & … and The Register, Thanks:spark_pr
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Apple Releases Software Update Designed to Fix iOS 5 Battery Issues — Apple on Thursday issued a minor software update to the operating system that powers the iPhone designed to fix several bugs that Apple says are to blame for the lower-than-expected battery life some users have been seeing.
Discussion:
Technologizer, The Next Web, Mashable!, TechCrunch, @0xcharlie, Bits, BGR, eWeek, Ars Technica, The Loop, BetaNews, GigaOM, The Verge, IntoMobile, LAPTOP Magazine, Gizmodo, Macworld, Engadget, Lifehacker and The Seattle Times
Brian Ambrozy / Icrontic Gaming:
Steam user database compromised — Today a message will be going out to all Steam users. According to Valve, the Steam forums were compromised on November 6th, but further investigation revealed that the damage went further than just the forums: The Steam user database was also compromised.
Discussion:
Kotaku, GeekWire, Technologizer, Ars Technica and TechCrunch, Thanks:icrontic
Bloomberg:
Groupon Stock Among Most-Expensive to Short, Data Explorers Says — Groupon Inc., which just completed the biggest initial public offering by a U.S. Internet company since Google Inc. (GOOG) sold shares in 2004, is among the most difficult stocks for short sellers to borrow and bet against.
Discussion:
New York Times, Silicon Valley Watch and Business Insider
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Pandora CTO Reveals Half of The U.S. Pays $0 For Music — Today at GigaOm's RoadMap conference in San Francisco, Pandora CTO Tom Conrad revealed that his company aims to monetize the vast majority of listeners who pay little or nothing per year for music. Conrad explained that …
Discussion:
IntoMobile