Top Items:
Sydney Morning Herald:
Bill Gates Confirms He Won't Return To Microsoft — Bill Gates refutes a full-time return to Microsoft, the company he founded, to spend the rest of his life working for his foundation. — Bill Gates today ruled out ever returning to the helm of Microsoft and dismissed harsh barbs by his former arch-rival Steve Jobs.
Discussion:
Digital Trends, TechEye, Business Insider, Inquirer, TechCrunch, Between the Lines Blog, Techie Buzz, Electronista, NEWS.com.au, Delimiter and Silicon Republic
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Galaxy Nexus now on sale from Verizon for $299.99 with next day shipping — It's December 15th in parts of the US which means that the Galaxy Nexus is now available to purchase from Verizon. It'll cost you $299 plus a two-year contract but you already knew that.
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Next Web
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
An iPhone Lover's Take On The Galaxy Nexus — You have to hand it to Google. They know that I prefer Apple products and have been generally critical of many Google moves in the past couple of years. And yet, they're unafraid to give me their newest products to test out.
Zach Honig / Engadget:
Verizon posts Galaxy Nexus simulator, doesn't cap your virtual data
Discussion:
BGR, Ubergizmo, BGR, Pulse2, GottaBeMobile, Digital Trends, Daring Fireball, The Verge, Gizmodo, GottaBeMobile, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, The Verge and Electronista
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Universal has ‘Tech News Today’ episode yanked from YouTube for reporting on MegaUpload promo video — We're still not sure what to make of the strange war that's erupted between file sharing service MegaUpload and Universal Media Group after MegaUpload posted a promo video that appears …
Discussion:
Electronista, @acedtect, @joshuatopolsky and Tom Merritt
RELATED:
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Will.i.am: I Did Not Authorize Megaupload Video Takedown
Discussion:
Gizmodo, MediaPost, Media Decoder and Threat Level
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
The fall of Microsoft's Andy Lees: inside the Windows Phone power shift — Over the past couple days we've gotten some additional details surrounding the circumstances that led to Andy Lees' removal from his role at the top of the Windows Phone org chart inside Microsoft.
Discussion:
SlashGear, IntoMobile, Electronista, mocoNews, Business Insider, WMPoweruser and Neowin.net
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
My new job at ReadWriteWeb, and what it means for SplatF — If you follow me on Twitter, or follow tech news in general, you may have seen the announcement this morning that I'll be joining ReadWriteWeb as Editor At Large starting in January. — SAY Media, my business-side partner for SplatF, just acquired RWW.
Discussion:
ReadWriteWeb, TechCrunch, PE Hub News, ReadWriteWeb, CNET News and 9to5Google, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Slater Tow / Facebook Blog:
Timeline: Now Available Worldwide — We recently announced our plans to introduce Facebook Timeline, an entirely new kind of profile. — Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments. It also lets you share new experiences …
Discussion:
Engadget, Inside Facebook and Ben Parr's Entrepreneurial …
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Samsung's snarky TV ads have harshed the iPhone's vibe — Samsung's “buzz score” has overtaken Apple's in a key demographic, says YouGov — Click to enlarge. — The chart at right says it all. — Starting around Nov. 28 — six days after Samsung began airing its Galaxy Nexus ads mocking Apple's …
Discussion:
9to5Mac, Engadget, Techie Buzz, Sammy Hub, PhoneArena, BetaNews, Hardware 2.0 Blog and iClarified, Thanks:philiped
Ellis Hamburger / Business Insider:
Meet The Genius Behind Tweetbot, The Twitter App For iPhone Everyone's Going Nuts About — On Monday we spoke with Paul Haddad, the programmer behind Tweetbot, the best Twitter app in the App Store. — We asked Paul about what makes Tweetbot so good, and why tech fanatics are in a frenzy about it.
Discussion:
SplatF and Daring Fireball
Jay Greene / CNET News:
Microsoft replaces veteran Xbox design boss — The Xbox team, in 2000, with the chrome Xbox concept prototype. Don Coyner, who led marketing for the console, is wearing the patterned shirt in the middle row, far right. — As Microsoft's Xbox group moves toward launching a successor to the Xbox 360 …
Discussion:
BGR, SlashGear, Gamasutra, VentureBeat, Neowin.net, VG247 and Kotaku
Vic Gundotra / The Official Google Blog:
Google+ Hangouts: going beyond the status update — All too often, physical distance and frantic schedules get in the way of spending time together, especially during the holidays. But you know what? They don't have to. — With Google+ Hangouts, you can go beyond “status updates,” …
Discussion:
Engadget, Robert Scoble, Softpedia News, The Verge, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, msnbc.com, PC Magazine, Android Phone Fans, 9to5Google, Electronista, The Next Web, MobileBurn.com, SocialTimes.com, Business Insider, ReadWriteWeb, 9to5Mac, Google+ Platform Blog, AndroidGuys, WebProNews, Mashable!, Marketing Pilgrim, TechCrunch, CNET News, Techland and ReelSEO Online Video …
Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
Feds probing Carrier IQ — Federal investigators are probing allegations that Carrier IQ software found on about 150 million cellphones tracked user activity and sent the information to the cellphone companies without informing consumers, according to government officials.
RELATED:
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Carrier IQ: We Volunteered to Be Grilled by the Feds
Discussion:
Electronista and CNET News
Amit Singhal / The Official Google Blog:
Zeitgeist 2011: How the world searched — This year marks our 11th annual look back at the searches that compose the year's Zeitgeist—the spirit of the time. With Zeitgeist, we look at the most popular and the fastest rising terms—the terms with the highest growth in 2011—in many categories across many countries around the world.
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
First Android Dedicated GPS Unit Actually Looks Pretty Decent — Considering Android is getting on in age, it's surprising it hasn't been featured on more “miscellaneous” devices. Phones and tablets, sure, but we haven't seen many, say, DVD players or PMPs using the OS.
Discussion:
Gizmag Emerging …
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Stolen iPhone? Your iMessages may still be going to the wrong place — Those who have had a phone lost or stolen are familiar with the horrors that follow: the thief (or the person he sold your phone to) starts to send texts as you to your family and friends, leaving you scrambling to de-activate the device as soon as possible.
Discussion:
Redmond Pie and Gizmodo
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
iTunes Match Starting to Roll Out Internationally - Spotted in UK, Europe, NZ, and Australia [Not Yet?] — Apple seems to be deploying iTunes Match into international music stores this evening, though there seem to be some ongoing glitches that suggests they could be an early mistake or a partial roll out.
Discussion:
TUAW, Pocket-lint, iPhone in Canada Blog, Apple Fan Site, T3 News, PhoneArena, GigaOM and 9to5Mac
Delicious Blog:
New Look on Delicious — We've received a lot of helpful suggestions from the Delicious community, and if you mosey on over to Delicious.com, you'll see we've been listening. — Updating the Design — We've begun a comprehensive overhaul of how the Delicious UI deals with information density …
Discussion:
The Next Web
Akshay Kannan / Google Chrome Blog:
Google Cloud Print picks up steam — Last April, we announced our plans for Google Cloud Print (GCP), the service that powers printing on Chromebooks as well as a new generation of connected apps and devices. The goal of GCP is to enable simple, secure printing from any app on any device to any printer …
Discussion:
Softpedia News, Quick Online Tips, CNET News, Google Operating System, 9to5Google, WebProNews, Phones Review and Web Browser
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
At Least The Stock Market Is Liking Google Lately — We've been having our fun with the things Google has been saying lately, but it's worth looking at how people with money on the table are feeling about the company. Which is, pretty good compared to most other tech rivals, including Apple in the post-Steve Jobs era.
Glenn Fleishman / Boing Boing:
Font swap in iBooks — Apple is a cipher, and its reasons for making changes often a mystery. A couple of days ago, the company updated its iBooks software for iOS devices to version 1.5, and added a de-skeuomorphizing full-screen mode (making the page similar to a Kindle display) …
Kaushik Sridharan / Google LatLong:
Mapping made easier with the new Google Map Maker — With 2012 approaching, we're getting a head start on our New Year's resolution to shed some excess weight and improve our overall appearance. You may have seen our ongoing efforts to improve the look, feel, and user experience across many other Google products to date.
Discussion:
Marketing Pilgrim, TechCrunch, Xconomy, ReadWriteWeb, Softpedia News, 9to5Google and All Points Blog
Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:
Undercover Study Finds It's Easy to Buy Illegal Guns on Craigslist — Craigslist has a policy against listing guns for sale. You might think that would mean that, you know, you can't buy guns there. — Nope. Not only is it easy to find guns listed — it's shockingly easy to purchase them …
Discussion:
nyc.gov, City Room, NY Daily News, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Bloomberg
Zal Bilimoria / The Official Netflix Blog:
Netflix Unveils a New iPad App — I'm Zal Bilimoria, and I'm a product manager at Netflix where I lead product innovation for mobile devices. The new app is really a big step forward; it is much more immersive and provides greater focus on our growing catalogue by displaying twice as many titles than the previous interface.
Discussion:
TUAW, PadGadget, CNET News, PhoneArena, WebProNews, iDownloadBlog.com, The Verge, Engadget, Mashable!, GigaOM, Ubergizmo, VentureBeat and Hacking NetFlix, more at Mediagazer »
Pew Internet:
Where people get information about restaurants and other local businesses — People looking for information about local restaurants and other businesses say they rely on the internet, especially search engines, ahead of any other source. Newspapers, both printed copies and the websites …
Discussion:
msnbc.com and Search Engine Land
Consumer Reports News:
Consumer protections lacking for mobile payments — If you use your cell phone to make mobile payments, your level of protection against financial liability if something goes wrong will vary depending on your wireless carrier's policies and your cell phone contract, according to a new analysis …
Discussion:
Computerworld and L.A. Times Tech Blog
