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Tumblr Takes Fight Against SOPA Up A Notch, ‘Censors’ User Dashboards — Congress is in the process of kneecapping the web as we know it with a House bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act (a similar bill, called the Protect IP Act, is in the Senate). In a misguided attempt to curb piracy on the web …
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At Web censorship hearing, Congress guns for “pro-pirate” Google — The House Judiciary Committee today held an important hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act with a hugely stacked deck of witnesses—Google's lawyer was the only one of the six to object to the bill in a meaningful way.
Discussion:
Techdirt, Technology Liberation Front, New York Times and techPresident, more at Mediagazer »


Chief Sponsor Wavers on Web Censorship Bill in Charged Hearing — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, right, accompanied by Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., discuss their efforts to modify the internet's workings to fight copyright …

Internet Community Shut Out of Stop Online Piracy Act Hearing - Again — Internet Community Shut Out of Stop Online Piracy Act Hearing - Again — This morning, EFF's staff and concerned netizens across the country tuned into the live webcast of the House Judiciary Committee's hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261).
Discussion:
TorrentFreak, The Firewall, Business Insider, The Register, CNET News and The Next Web, more at Mediagazer »


New flap over SOPA copyright bill: Anti-Web security?
Discussion:
ESET ThreatBlog, House Judiciary Committee and Techdirt


Google Music launching with EMI, Sony Music, and others; offering free, exclusive music — As rumored, Google Music launched its music store today with a range of new content partnerships, letting users buy millions of songs from the Google Marketplace. Sony Music Entertainment …
Discussion:
The Verge, Associated Press, Gizmodo, 9to5Google, Macworld, WebProNews and IntoMobile
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Google Announces Google Music, Storage and Streaming Free for All up to 20K Songs, Only in U.S. so Far — Google has today introduced its Google Music product for Android at the “These Go to Eleven” event in Los Angeles. Google Music is going live for all users in the U.S. and will be free.
Discussion:
@google, AllThingsD, Wall Street Journal, Evolver.fm, Neowin.net and CNET News


Google launches music store with social sharing, indie artist hub — Google opened up its music service to the public today, making it possible to buy millions of songs both through a renewed Android Music app as well as the web version of the Android Market.

Google Music Purchases Can Be Billed Directly to T-Mobile Accounts
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, mocoNews, VentureBeat, Engadget, TechCrunch and Between the Lines Blog

Gmail app for iOS available in the App Store (again) — Two weeks ago, we introduced our Gmail app for iOS. Unfortunately it contained a bug which broke notifications and displayed an error message, so we removed it from the App Store. We've fixed the bug and notifications are now working, and the app is back in the App Store.

Samsung modified and relaunched Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany, may steer clear of design right infringement — In its intellectual property spat with Apple, Samsung proves resilient, perseverant, and courageous. If there ever was any doubt about those virtues (not on my part anyway) …
Discussion:
mocoNews, BGR, The Verge, Engadget, AllThingsD, MacDailyNews, SlashGear, MobileBurn.com, Gizmodo UK, The Next Web, Android Phone Fans, OSNews, CNET News, Liliputing and Electronista


Steve Jobs Secret Meeting to Explore an iPod Phone is Revealing — In our special report today we present you with a fascinating account of one of Steve Jobs' secret meeting that involved creating the iPhone and how the iPod Phone almost came to be. It was much closer to reality than any us could have ever imagined at the time.


Facebook tracking is under scrutiny — In recent weeks, Facebook has been wrangling with the Federal Trade Commission over whether the social media website is violating users' privacy by making public too much of their personal information. — Far more quietly, another debate is brewing …
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog
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Senate to hold hearing on Facebook tracking
Discussion:
Hillicon Valley, Thanks:brendansasso


Evernote Takes On Web Reading With Clearly — Evernote, an application that has gained momentum by providing an easy way for people to quickly capture things they want to remember, is determined to branch out past its humble note-taking origins. — First, the company bought Skitch …
Discussion:
paidContent, Mashable!, GigaOM, TrendSlate, TechCrunch and The Next Web


Amazon Releases Kindle Fire Source Code — Developers looking to “hack it up” with Amazon's latest, greatest, and only Android-powered tablet can now download the source code behind the Kindle Fire. In order to comply with Android licensing agreements, Amazon's required to release this code for external developers.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Android Phone Fans, eWeek, Good E-Reader, The Digital Reader, TUAW, GottaBeMobile, Gizmodo, 9to5Google and Android Phone Fans, more at Mediagazer »


Nook Tablet limits internal storage for non-B&N purchased content to 1GB — Well, this is definitely a bummer. Barnes & Noble has spent a fair amount of time talking up all of the Nook Tablet's internal advantages over the Kindle Fire, a list that includes 16GB of storage to the Fire's 8GB.
Discussion:
PC World, Liliputing, Computerworld, Between the Lines Blog, Macworld, VentureBeat, Geek.com, Forbes and Electronista


Report: 61 Percent Of Top Brands Have Created Google+ Pages, But No One Is Following — SEO firm BrightEdge is reporting that 61 percent of world's top 100 brands have already created Google+ pages. As we reported last week, Google launched “Pages” for Google+ to allows brands, products …
Discussion:
Newsroom, WebProNews and Mashable!


The Rootkit Of All Evil - CIQ — And the spy and invasion of privacy saga continues, but this time XDA Recognized Developer TrevE seems to have hit the very core of most of what is happening with devices. You may recall from a few articles back that we started talking about something called CIQ or Carrier iQ.


Qualcomm announces a slew of new Snapdragon processors, upgrades, mobile games — It's shaping up to be a busy morning for Qualcomm. The San Diego-based mobile chipmaker issued a bunch of announcements today, including a number of additions to its S4 line of next-generation processors.
Discussion:
LAPTOP Magazine, CNET News, PhoneArena, GigaOM, Qualcomm, Qualcomm, Electronista, Android and Me, Android Phone Fans and TechCrunch


Few AT&T iPhone Users Fleeing to Verizon, Sprint — Though you might assume otherwise, the iPhone's debut on rival networks Verizon and Sprint hasn't really fazed AT&T. In fact, the carrier doesn't seem to miss the iPhone exclusivity it once had at all. Nor does it have reason to …
Discussion:
BGR, PC Magazine, The Next Web, Between the Lines Blog, Total Telecom, CNET News, GigaOM, iDownloadBlog.com, everythingiCafe, Electronista, PhoneArena and MacRumors


Boxee Box Live TV dongle shipping for $49 in January 2012, pre-orders open today — No point in hiding in plain view, eh? Boxee has just affirmed that the leaked Live TV dongle is legit, and it'll be splashing down on North American shores in January. The Boxee Box Live TV dongle …
Discussion:
BetaNews, Boxee Blog, Betabeat, GigaOM, AllThingsD, TechCrunch, paidContent, VatorNews, Mashable!, Zatz Not Funny!, The Verge, Business Insider, Gizmodo, SlashGear and Electronista


Chill brings live chat to Hulu's catchup TV — Chill.com launched a major update to its site Tuesday that included new content from Hulu, bringing the latest episodes of popular shows like House, Castle and Dancing with the Stars to the social video chat site.
Discussion:
Mashable! and socalTECH.com


HTC Vivid incites cease and desist letter from porn company claiming trademark infringement — HTC's flamboyant product naming scheme has gotten it into trouble once again. Vivid Entertainment, one of the big adult movie studios (that very recently announced it's going to have a Google TV channel) …
Discussion:
BGR, The Next Web, TechCrunch, Geek.com, PhoneArena, Electronista, Ubergizmo, Android Life, Android Community, Gizmodo UK, Android Phone Fans, TechnoBuffalo, SlashGear, IntoMobile and WebProNews


Angie's List Prices Offering at $13 — After an extended pause, Internet start-ups are slowly finding their way to the public markets again. — On Wednesday, Angie's List, a reviews site for local services like home repair and catering, priced its shares at $13 per share, at the top end of its expected range.


Why I'm treating startups more critically lately — I've noticed that lately I'm treating startups much more critically. Today I chewed into an entrepreneur who was pitching me a new thing that was sort of like Oink, or maybe it was Foursquare, or maybe it was Foodspotting.

EU Started Samsung, Apple Probe Into Patents on Own Initiative — Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) — European Union regulators started an antitrust probe into Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.'s use of smartphone patents on their “own initiative” without waiting for a competitor to formally raise the issue.
Discussion:
Electronista


Zappos founder launches RNKD to connect brands and the people who love them (video) — Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn wants to see a picture of everything in your closet. — In return, he'll give you badges and even discounts on clothing brands that you love. — He's not a creep (as far as I know).
Discussion:
Digits, Mashable!, Business Insider, AllThingsD, Social Markets and CNET News