Top Items:
Al Franken:
Sen. Franken Demands Answers from Company Accused of Secretly Logging Location and Private Information of Millions of Smartphone Users — “Consumers need to know that their safety and privacy are being protected by the companies they trust with their sensitive information,” said Sen. Franken.
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Jaikumar Vijayan / Computerworld:
AT&T, Sprint confirm use of Carrier IQ rootkit software on handsets — Verizon, RIM, Nokia insist their handsets don't support the software — Amid what's snowballing into a major privacy controversy, AT&T, Sprint, HTC and Samsung today confirmed that that their mobile phones integrate …
Discussion:
The Verge, GigaOM, Business Insider, msnbc.com, IntoMobile, MobileBurn.com and @vzwjeffrey
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Google Nexus Android phones and original Xoom tablet do not include Carrier IQ tracking software — The Carrier IQ smartphone tracking scandal continues to grow, but we've just learned some interesting news from an extremely reliable source: the Google Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus …
Discussion:
BGR, PC Magazine, TechCrunch, Reuters, The Verge, mocoNews, Daring Fireball, Help Net Security, Washington Post, The Register, Gizmodo, GigaOM, MobileBurn.com, SlashGear, Computerworld, The Verge, Gizmodo UK, FierceMobileContent, blog.chron.com, PhoneArena, Android Phone Fans, everythingiCafe and Softpedia News
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
Phone ‘Rootkit’ Maker Carrier IQ May Have Violated Wiretap Law In Millions Of Cases — A piece of keystroke-sniffing software called Carrier IQ has been embedded so deeply in millions of Nokia, Android, and RIM devices that it's tough to spot and nearly impossible to remove …
Discussion:
Engadget, Techdirt, Gizmodo, Mashable!, Examiner, The Register, Hardware 2.0 Blog, AllThingsD, Washington Post, Guardian, The Daily Beast, Daring Fireball, 9to5Mac, LockerGnome, TechSpot, ABCNEWS, ZDNet, LAPTOP Magazine, iDownloadBlog.com, T3 News, Know Your Mobile, Business Insider, Techland, WebProNews, GottaBeMobile, gHacks Technology News, MobileSyrup.com, dailywireless.org and iClarified
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Apple: We Stopped Supporting Carrier IQ With iOS 5 — Apple has finally weighed in on the Carrier IQ debacle. In a statement issued moments ago, the company said while it has used Carrier IQ's network diagnostic software in the past, it recently stopped supporting it and plans to remove …
Discussion:
MacRumors, Daring Fireball, BGR and MobileBurn.com
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Apple Says Siri's Abortion Answers Are a Glitch — Apple said Wednesday that Siri's apparent inability to retrieve information about abortion clinics and women's health services in some areas was not intentional or deliberate. — The company attributed the problem to kinks in the product that are still being ironed out.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, The Not-So Private Parts, Ars Technica, The Atlantic Wire, Computerworld, NBC Bay Area, Washington Post, TUAW, ACLU, IntoMobile, Blog for Choice, msnbc.com, Gizmodo UK, Inquirer, WebProNews, iPhone Buzz, Digital Trends, GigaOM, TidBITS, @paulcarr, Hardware 2.0 Blog, Electronista, TechEye, Toronto Sun, Bits, The Register, SlashGear and The Loop
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Thomas / Blog for Choice:
Apple's CEO Responds to a Siri-us Matter — More on Siri, the personal-assistant application on Apple's iPhone 4S: — Yesterday, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, wrote a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing her concerns that Siri was not giving women accurate answers …
Discussion:
Between the Lines Blog, Business Insider and Betabeat
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
StatCounter: Chrome Grabs 25.7% Of Global Market, Overtaking Firefox — According to Web analytics company StatCounter, Google Chrome has surpassed Mozilla Firefox to become the second most used Web browser in the world after Internet Explorer. — I'm always a bit wary about StatCounter's claims …
Discussion:
eWeek, BetaNews, Business Wire, Wall Street Journal, InfoWorld, Between the Lines Blog, CNET News, I4U News, Digits, Engadget, DailyTech, The Domains, The Next Web and 9to5Google
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Roger Capriotti / The Windows Blog:
IE9 Leading Modern Browser on Windows 7 Worldwide — Browser market share numbers are always interesting because they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. We've said for some time now that the thing we care about most is that the web experiences we all enjoy are getting better every …
Discussion:
Computerworld, ReadWriteWeb, PC World, PC Magazine, WebProNews, TechSpot and Softpedia News
ChangeWave Research:
New Owners Survey Shows iPhone 4S More Popular than its Apple Predecessor — BETHESDA, MD - A new ChangeWave Research survey of iPhone 4S owners shows customer satisfaction ratings for the latest Apple smart phone are higher than for its predecessor, the iPhone 4. ChangeWave Research is a division of The 451 Group.
Discussion:
CNET News, Computerworld, MacRumors, TechRadar.com, AppleInsider, SplatF, iLounge, MediaPost, IntoMobile, GottaBeMobile, Macworld, GigaOM, TechEye, Fortune, BGR, Electronista, The Next Web, TUAW, iDownloadBlog.com, CNET News, Redmond Pie, VatorNews, SlashGear and Softpedia News
Chris Matyszczyk / CNET News:
Dentist charges patient for negative Yelp reviews, suit says — Online reviews are sticky little things. — I recently stayed at a hotel that someone on TripAdvisor had described as having filthy—in fact, sticky—conditions and I found it perfectly nice.
Discussion:
Screenwerk, Techdirt, Plagiarism Today and CL&
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Twitter Quietly (Finally) Launches Self-Serve Ads — It's still just in test mode, and only open to a handful of advertisers. But those who can use it can now buy ads directly via Twitter, using a credit card and a Web browser, without ever having to talk to a human being.
Discussion:
CNET News, MediaPost, Business Insider, Marketing Pilgrim, Mashable! and The Next Web
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Google+ Now Lets You Conference People Into Hangouts With Free Voice Calls — Hangouts could be the new way to conference call. Google employee Jarkko Oikarinen has just announced that free voice calls to people in the US and Canada can now be made from within Hangouts with extras.
Discussion:
Jarkko Oikarinen, 9to5Google, L.A. Times Tech Blog, The Next Web and ReadWriteWeb, Thanks:joshconstine
Lauren Goode / AllThingsD:
Vending Machine Operators Tap Google Wallet for Easy Payments — There might now be one less reason to kick the office vending machine — consumers will soon be able to pay for their snacks with a smartphone, as well as send real-time complaints about their Snickers stuck in a spiral.
Discussion:
9to5Google and GottaBeMobile
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Invents Digital Device Handshake using Next-Gen Cameras & Invisible Inks — On December 1, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an all new way of sharing data quickly and securely between two or more devices in consumer, retail and/or enterprise applications.
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Wealthfront Finally Launches, Aimed at Silicon Valley's “Richie Rich” Newbies — Wealthfront, the Silicon Valley start-up with more than $10 million in its own kitty, finally officially launched its long-planned Online Financial Advisor product today, with a focus on attracting techies interested in more easily managing their money.
Discussion:
CNET News, TechCrunch and GigaOM
Kim Zetter / Threat Level:
Exclusive: Comedy of Errors Led to False ‘Water-Pump Hack’ Report — Jim Mimlitz on vacation in Russia last June with his wife and three daughters. Photo courtesy of Jim Mimlitz. — It was the broken water pump heard 'round the world. — Cyberwar watchers took notice this month …
Discussion:
Examiner, Computerworld, Engadget, InfoWorld and Softpedia News, Thanks:rsingel
New York Post:
State probing Apple's deal for a new store in Grand Central — State watchdogs are probing Apple's sweet deal for a new store in Grand Central Terminal, The Post has learned. — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has launched an investigation into whether the Metropolitan Transportation …
Discussion:
Fortune, The Next Web, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, TUAW, Mashable!, MacNN, Macgasm, MacStories and 9to5Mac
Wall Street Journal:
Google, Retailers in Talks on Fast-Delivery Service — In a potential strike against Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. is in talks with major retailers and shippers to create a service that lets consumers shop for goods on the Web and receive orders within a day for a low fee, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Gizmodo and Electronista
Drew Olanoff / The Next Web:
The University of Utah is The Startup King — With roughly one-third the budget of MIT, the University of Utah was named the number 1 school in the U.S. for creating startup companies. It's the second year in a row that the University claimed the top spot.
Andy Greenberg / The Firewall:
WikiLeaks Unveils 160 Firms' Surveillance Gear Sales Docs, Still No Submissions System — WikiLeaks is still in the secret-spilling business. But not, apparently, in the business of accepting those secrets through the anonymous dropbox that was once its trademark.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, The Register, PC World, PC Advisor, Daily Dot, Mashable! and eWEEK Europe UK
Stacey Higginbotham / GigaOM:
Sprint swoops in with $1.6B deal to save Clearwire — We can stop wondering if Clearwire will default on its interest payment, for the time being anyhow. Sprint, which owns almost half of Clearwire, has stepped up with a plan to spend $1.6 billion over the next four years …
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Barnes & Noble Reports Q2 Net Loss Of $6.6M, Says NOOK Is Now A $220 Million Business — Barnes & Noble this morning reported sales and earnings for its second quarter ended October 29, 2011, and they're a mixed bag. Total sales decreased slightly, from $1.9 billion to $1.89 billion, compared to the prior year.
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
Awe.sm Helps Developers Track All The Key Details In Social Sharing, Raises Cool $4 Million — There are plenty of companies out there that help you monitor social media activity. Awe.sm has been going deeper into what's really going on, providing a service that lets developers track …
Discussion:
Inside Facebook, GigaOM and VatorNews, Thanks:jhstrauss
Ryan Kim / GigaOM:
Smule builds social music app empire by buying Khush — Smule, the successful iOS music app start-up behind Ocarina, Magic Piano and I am T-Pain, is making its first acquisition. On Thursday, Smule bought fellow social music start-up, Khush, in a bid to take command of what it believes …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, AllThingsD, The Tech Trade, TechCrunch, Macworld and The Technology Chronicles
Reuters:
IPhone surpasses celebs, news as most searched on Web — (Reuters) - Apple's iPhone edged past major news events, celebrities and pop stars as the top searched term on the Web in 2011, according to Yahoo! — The digital media company said the smartphone proved more popular …
Discussion:
PhoneArena
Joanna Stern / The Verge:
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime review — What does a laptop in the post-PC era look like? Is it an ultrabook with familiar internals and software in a dramatically slimmed-down shell? Or is it possible to use a modern mobile OS like Android, energy-efficient chips, and build something …
Discussion:
Washington Post, AnandTech, SlashGear, PC World, Android Central, PC Magazine, Engadget, Android Police, DailyTech, The Verge, CNET News, LAPTOP Magazine, Kotaku, Fonehome, IntoMobile, MobileBurn.com and GottaBeMobile
