Top Items:
Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:
Gowalla Founders v. Gowalla Investors — Location based service Gowalla is going to shut down at the end of January. The two founders, Josh Williams and Scott Raymond, will be heading off to Facebook. Loyal Gowalla users will be stranded as the service shuts down.
Discussion:
Forbes and the Econsultancy blog
RELATED:
Josh Williams / Gowalla Blog:
Gowalla is Going to Facebook — Three years ago Gowalla's journey began when I took a photograph of Lake Tahoe on my iPhone. I had just finished a phone call with my dad, and I wanted nothing more than to share that photo and place with him. Not just in a text message or status update sort of way …
Discussion:
the Econsultancy blog, Computerworld, Bloomberg, BetaNews, The Register, Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, memeburn, MediaPost, SlashGear, PE Hub Blog, Silicon Republic, Guardian, Digits, LockerGnome, AdAge, Marketing Land, The Verge, Digital Trends, ReadWriteWeb, We Are Social, @maxvoltar, Mashable!, All Facebook, Androinica, Bokardo, www.pocketgamer.biz, Engadget, PC Magazine and About Foursquare, Thanks:philtoronto
Jakob Nielsen / Alertbox:
Kindle Fire Usability Findings … Amazon.com's new Kindle Fire offers a disappointingly poor user experience. Using the web with the Silk browser is clunky and error-prone. Reading downloaded magazines is not much better. Still, user testing with the Fire did help us understand …
Discussion:
CNET News, AllThingsD, Google Watch, Electronista, PhoneArena, GottaBeMobile, paidContent and Kindle Review, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Lance Whitney / CNET News:
Amazon Kindle Fire owners reporting Wi-Fi bug
Discussion:
Gizmodo, GeekWire, PhoneArena, Datamation.com, MacRumors and Computerworld
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
EC Opens Antitrust Proceedings To Investigate Apple, E-book Publishers ‘Cartel’ — The European Commission this morning announced that it has opened formal antitrust proceedings to investigate whether a number of international ebook publishers have engaged in anti-competitive practices affecting …
RELATED:
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Why Europe's trustbusters targeted Apple's e-book ‘cartel’ — The antitrust probe dates back to a deal Steve Jobs cut with five publishers in Jan. 2010 — The language of the European Commission's press release Tuesday announcing the start of a formal antitrust investigation of Apple …
JR Raphael / Computerworld:
Confirmed: Verizon Galaxy Nexus won't support Google Wallet (but will receive Google updates) — With the launch of Verizon's Galaxy Nexus growing closer, rumors about the device are starting to pour out at a breakneck speed. As such, I thought now might be a good time to do a quick round of fact vs. fiction.
Discussion:
ZDNet, Fast Company, Engadget, 9to5Google, SlashGear, VentureBeat, Techland, Android Phone Fans, Daring Fireball, CNET News, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, The Verge, Phones Review, Droid Life, Reuters, Electronista, SplatF, @dannysullivan, GottaBeMobile, PhoneArena, AndroidGuys, Android Community, IntoMobile, Business Insider, PC Magazine, Know Your Cell, Screenwerk, LAPTOP Magazine, The Verge and Softpedia News
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
How the iPad 2 Became My Favorite Computer — My iPad 2 and ZaggFolio, in the press room at IFA in Berlin, September 2011. — Can the iPad replace a PC? — Ever since Apple announced its tablet nearly two years ago, the Internet has been awash in discussion of this question.
Discussion:
PalmAddicts, MacStories and GottaBeMobile, Thanks:harrymccracken
Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:
Behind RIM's $485M Write-off — On December 5th, three days ago, RIM announced a $485M write-off “related to its inventory valuation of BlackBerry PlayBook tablets”. Wall Street didn't like the news and dumped the stock, it went down 9.7% in one session. One of the last analysts supporting RIM …
RELATED:
Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:
Apple television rumored to come in 3 sizes, including 32" and 55" — Apple's full-fledged television set will arrive at the end of 2012 in three screen sizes, maxing out at 55 inches, a new rumor claims. — Citing sources in Japan, Australia's SmartHouse reported this week …
Discussion:
Smarthouse, O'Grady's PowerPage, MacRumors, PadGadget, Softpedia News, iDownloadBlog.com, T3 News, Fudzilla, Mashable!, Macgasm, App Advice, iPhone, iClarified, MacDailyNews and SlashGear
Mat Honan / Gizmodo:
Siri Is Apple's Broken Promise — A long time ago, I made a compact with Apple. “You can control my entire technological life, from my computer to my phone to my stereo. I'll pay premium prices. I'll dive into your product ecosystem, and buy books and music and movies and apps from you.
Discussion:
Real Dan Lyons Web Site and Daring Fireball
Barb Darrow / GigaOM:
New Node.js blocked by Great Firewall of China — Chinese Internet censors are preventing local programmers from accessing the newest version of the popular Node.js programming framework. — The problem is that the version number — .6.4 — corresponds to the date of the June fourth incident …
Discussion:
The Next Web
Date By Categories / Nmap Hackers:
C|Net Download.Com is now bundling Nmap with malware! — Hi Folks. I've just discovered that C|Net's Download.Com site has started wrapping their Nmap downloads (as well as other free software like VLC) in a trojan installer which does things like installing a sketchy “StartNow” toolbar …
Jennifer Van Grove / VentureBeat:
Starbucks apps account for 26M mobile payments and $110M in card reloads — The Starbucks brand may be synonymous with pricey lattes, but the coffee conglomerate has pushed a number of mobile initiatives in 2011 to make its name also stand for digital innovation. New numbers released Monday suggest that the strategy is working.
Discussion:
The Verge, Mashable!, Appolicious Advisor, GeekWire, The Seattle Times and FT Tech Hub
Matt Burns / TechCrunch:
Asus: Netbooks Outsold Tablets Nearly 3 To 1 In 2011, Big Things In Store For 2012 — Netbooks are still big business for Asustek. So much so that the hotness from 2009 outsold Asus tablets in 2011. Per numbers released at the company's global sales meeting (and relayed by Digitimes) …
Discussion:
9to5Google, DigiTimes, PhoneArena, Android Community, SlashGear and Electronista
Zach Honig / Engadget:
Verizon lights one candle for LTE, confirms Xyboard Droid tablet name, December launch — Today marks one full year after Verizon first flipped the switch on LTE, with 365 days of 4G speeds for customers in 39 markets. By the end of next week, Big Red will light up a few more cities …
Inside Flipboard:
Flipboard Launches in China — Starting today, Chinese readers get their very own edition of Flipboard. It's the first international edition of Flipboard to launch, and it's in collaboration with Sina, China's largest Web portal and owner of Sina Weibo (), and Renren (.), one of China's most popular social networks.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, mocoNews, TechNodeTechNode, Reuters, MacNN and Web 2.0 Asia Blog
Dan Rosenberg / It's Bugs All the Way Down:
CarrierIQ: The Real Story — Since the beginning of the media frenzy over CarrierIQ, I have repeatedly stated that based on my knowledge of the software, claims that keystrokes, SMS bodies, email bodies, and other data of this nature are being collected are erroneous.
Discussion:
InfoWorld, Computerworld, PC Magazine, Security Watch, Examiner, Dennis Fisher, CNET News, Mobile Marketing Watch, Gizmodo, App Advice, TUAW, iClarified, MacRumors, PC World, AppleInsider and Computerworld
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
The Rise of Google, the Ascent of Facebook and the Decline of Everyone Else — If you pay the slightest bit of attention to Internet advertising, you know this. But it's always good to see it spelled out: Look how ginormous Google is! — This exclamation point comes courtesy of Zenith Optimedia …
Discussion:
The Equity Kicker
Rene Ritchie / TiPb:
iOS version code-names — While Android's dessert-derived code-names like Cupcake and Ice Cream Sandwich are publicly pitched by Google and used by media, Apple's iOS code-names don't get anywhere nearly as much attention. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith, however, gave them some Twitter love this morning.
Discussion:
Ubergizmo, SlashGear, MacNN, Techie Buzz, PhoneArena, everythingiCafe, IntoMobile, CNET News, The Verge, Cult of Mac and Gizmodo UK
Stephen Shankland / CNET News:
Don't write off Mozilla-Google revenue deal as dead — Mozilla and Google are renegotiating a deal by which Google shares ad revenue that results from searches the browser drives to its site. — The partnership, which Mozilla renewed in 2008 for three more year, was set to expire in November.
Discussion:
Softpedia News and PC World
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Hey Facebook, Where's That Timeline and Open Graph You Promised? — Two and a half months after Facebook promised that a huge revision of its self-expression and sharing tools were coming soon, users and developers are still waiting. — Way back in September, Facebook told the world …
Discussion:
Neowin.net
Vlad Savov / The Verge:
Android graphics, rendering, and hardware acceleration explained by Google — Dianne Hackborn, part of Google's Android engineering group, has taken to the company's Google+ social network to distribute some “true facts” about Android's graphics and rendering.
Discussion:
Android Phone Fans, Andrew Munn, The Register, Electronista, IntoMobile and PhoneArena
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch Europe:
HP acquires German web-to-print software solutions company HIFLEX — Hewlett-Packard has acquired a German company called HIFLEX, based in Aachen, which develops software that helps companies in the print and media industries automate their business and technical processes.
Discussion:
The Tech Trade, PC World, HP and Silicon Republic
Agam Shah / PC World:
Tablet Priced Under $100 With Android 4.0 Surfaces — A first-of-its-kind tablet with Google's Android 4.0 priced under US$100 is now available in China, and will reach other countries soon, according to companies that helped build the device. — Ainol's Novo7 tablet has a 7-inch capacitive screen …
Discussion:
eWeek, InfoWorld, MIPS Technologies Home, Electronista, Android Central, Digital Trends, Android Phone Fans, The Verge, 9to5Google, Pocketables, Engadget and SlashGear
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Longtime Google Policy Guy Andrew McLaughlin Headed to Tumblr — Andrew McLaughlin, who led global public policy at Google for five years and was deputy CTO in the Obama administration, joined Tumblr today as executive vice president. He told AllThingD he will focus on the blogging social network's growth …
Roger Cheng / CNET News:
Sprint says 4G LTE devices coming in second half of next year — Sprint Nextel is going to be a little late to the game when it comes to 4G LTE devices. — Sprint Chief Financial Officer Joseph Euteneuer today said he expects the first 4G LTE devices to hit the market in the back half of the year …
Discussion:
Engadget, TechCrunch, IntoMobile, GottaBeMobile, Android Phone Fans, Android Life and Electronista
