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10:15 AM ET, December 21, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Nadia Damouni / Reuters:
Exclusive: Amazon weighed buying RIM but interest cooled  —  (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft, Nokia Flirted With RIM  —  Microsoft Corp. and Nokia Corp. in recent months flirted with the idea of making a joint bid for Research In Motion Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.  —  The status of the talks remains unclear.  But the fact that the discussions took place …
The Mozilla Blog:
Mozilla and Google Sign New Agreement for Default Search in Firefox  —  We're pleased to announce that we have negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement with Google.  This new agreement extends our long term search relationship with Google for at least three additional years.
RELATED:
Christian Zibreg / 9to5Google:
It's official: Google remains default search engine in Firefox for 3 more years
Discussion: Inquirer, OS X Daily and CNET News
Chris Foresman / Ars Technica:
Half a billion dollars: why Apple's acquisition of Anobit matters  —  Apple reportedly acquired the Israeli flash memory design firm Anobit in a deal that cost the company $500 million dollars.  Anobit management told its staff of the acquisition this week, according to Israeli newspaper Calcalist …
Amar Toor / Engadget:
PSA: Verizon users reporting data outages across the US  —  If you're having trouble getting a data connection on your Verizon-branded handset this morning, you're not alone.  We've been receiving a bevy of tips from disgruntled Verizon customers, due to an apparently widespread outage across the carrier's mobile data network.
Matt Burns / TechCrunch:
Amazon Finally Releases OTA Kindle Fire Update To Address Performance And Touchscreen Issues  —  Great news, Kindle Fire owners.  Amazon just announced the long overdue Kindle Fire update that's said to resolve many of the issues with the budget tablet.  Most of the common complaints are addressed …
DAVID ASCHER:
You knew the old Mozilla, meet the new Mozilla  —  One of the notable things about working at Mozilla over the last few years right now is that our aims have gotten much more ambitious, but perception moves slower than reality, even among people who spend every working hour working on the project.
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
ITC Initial Ruling: Motorola Infringes Single Microsoft Patent, but Not Six Others  —  Microsoft won a partial victory in its patent dispute with Motorola, as the International Trade Commission issued an initial ruling that certain Motorola products infringe on one of the software maker's patents.
Fox News:
Chinese Computer Hackers Hit U.S. Chamber of Commerce  —  WASHINGTON - A group of hackers in China breached the computer defenses of America's top business-lobbying group and gained access to everything stored on its systems, including information about its three million members, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Nancy Messieh / The Next Web:
On Twitter, people want to follow personal versus official accounts of journalists  —  The International Journal of Communication has released a report, looking back on how Twitter was used this year to disseminate information during the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Discussion: Global Voices
Electronista:
Google halts Nexus S Android 4.0 updates, Galaxy Nexus hit  —  Google Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus hit by battery bug  —  Google's Android 4.0 update for the Nexus S stalled out Tuesday.  The company posted on its forums that it was holding the update to “monitor feedback” after users reported unusually high battery drain.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Nielsen And comScore Put An End To Their Patent War, Enter Cross-Licensing Agreement  —  Online audience measurement and Web analytics companies Nielsen and comScore have settled their patent disputes, according to a joint statement released this morning.  —  Nielsen filed suit against its rival …
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Google:
Andy Rubin announces: 700,000 Android devices activated every day  —  He made the announcement via Google Plus and notes: ...and for those wondering, we count each device only once (ie, we don't count re-sold devices), and “activations” means you go into a store, buy a device, put it on the network by subscribing to a wireless service.
Kevin C. Tofel / GigaOM:
Archos fights Kindle Fire with $199 Honeycomb tablet  —  Archos, one of the earliest media tablet makers, continues to mature its product lineup.  The company announced on Tuesday an updated 7-inch slate, called the Archos 70b (PDF); a Google Android Honeycomb tablet with a suggested price of $199.
Discussion: PC World and ExtremeTech
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Distimo's Year-End Report Shows Why Developers Love iOS: iPhone 4x Android Revenue, iPad 2x  —  There are now over a million mobile applications available across the top seven major app stores, according to mobile analytics firm Distimo in its year-end report for 2011.
Donald Melanson / Engadget:
Apple fixes App Store bug on iOS 3.1.3 devices, you can hold off on that upgrade  —  Well, it looks like Apple hasn't completely left behind older iPhones and iPod touches stuck on iOS 3.1.3 just yet.  After a few days of not being able to download or buy apps directly on the device due …
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Yahoo Intensifies Search for CEO (With Hulu's Kilar as One Dream Unicorn Candidate)  —  Whatever you want to call him or her — a silver bullet, the cure or, as I like to say, the last unicorn — Yahoo's ever-seeking and never-deciding board has now renewed its focus on finding a new CEO.
Discussion: Business Insider
Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:
Vevo by the numbers: 3.7B views, $100M royalties  —  Vevo clocked 3.6 billion video views globally in October and is expected to have reached 3.7 billion views worldwide in November, the major label-owned music video platform announced today.  In December 2009, that number was at 341 million views.
Discussion: Pop & Hiss
RELATED:
Ben Sisario / Media Decoder:
Vevo, a Music Video Web Site, Wants to Get Into Television
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
1 Million Articles Auto-Shared Daily, So Yahoo! Expands Facebook Integration To 26 More Sites  —  Facebook's Frictionless Sharing integration has been a huge win for Yahoo! News US.  After just 2 months, 1 million articles are being shared to Facebook daily leading to 500,000 daily referrals.
Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:
HTC Completed Workaround to Skirt a U.S. Apple Patent Ruling  —  HTC Corp. (2498) has already completed a technical workaround to skirt a U.S. agency ruling that found a user interface in some handsets infringed an Apple Inc. (AAPL) patent.  —  “It's actually quite rarely used,” …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Startups Return To Reality TV: Producer Of Bloomberg's TechStars Readies New Show  —  Startup founders are the new reality TV stars.  No, really!  Today, the producer of the TechStars TV show on Bloomberg TV, Cameron Casey, is announcing his plans to film a second startup-focused reality show.
Discussion: Business Insider and socalTECH.com
Chris Welch / The Verge:
SMS and social media banned in Congo, deaf residents lose critical means of contact  —  The latest country to prohibit social media and the use of SMS messaging within its borders is the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The ban affects a population of nearly 72 million citizens and comes …
Discussion: Forbes and Engadget
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Sponsored Story Ads To Appear In The Web News Feed In 2012  —  Starting in January 2012, Facebook will gradually begin showing Sponsored Stories social ads in the main news feed of the web version of the site, a representative of the company tells us.
Charles Arthur / Guardian:
Nokia and Microsoft fingered over comments on adverse Lumia review  —  An Indian site's ‘reviewing’ of the Nokia Lumia 800 phone purely on its specifications was a strange thing to do - but anonymous commenting apparently from Nokia and Microsoft staff didn't help matters
Jamie Keene / The Verge:
Lovefilm grabs streaming rights to Sony Pictures titles in the UK  —  Ahead of the launch of Netflix in the UK, Amazon's Lovefilm DVD rental and streaming service is gearing up for a fight on the streaming front.  The company has announced a deal with Sony Pictures Television granting …
 
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 More Items: 
Fergal Glynn / threatpost:
Quality Coding Takes A Break For The Holidays. But Why?
Discussion: TechEye
Melanie Lee / Reuters:
U.S. removes Baidu from “notorious markets” list
Discussion: Bloomberg
Seth Rosenblatt / CNET Download.com:
New RockMelt socializes Chrome's Omnibox, new tabs
Daniel Terdiman / CES 2012:
CES setting up its own startup alley
 Earlier Items: 
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Kickstarted: How one company is revolutionizing product development
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Publishing Insider Tipped Law Firms About E-Book Price Fixing Conspiracy
Discussion: Electronista
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Lamar Smith Says ‘Just Joking...’ About Tomorrow; SOPA Markup Postponed
Discussion: The Next Web
Arik Hesseldahl / AllThingsD:
Oracle Falls Short on Weak Software Sales
Sara Forden / Bloomberg:
Verizon Wireless Probed Over Cable Deals
Joe Schneider / Bloomberg:
Apple Claims Samsung Tablet, Phone Cases Infringe Patents
Discussion: Bloomberg, BetaNews and PhoneArena
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Reuters:
Palestinian sources say an Israeli airstrike killed five journalists from Al-Quds Today; the Israeli military called the five “operatives posing as journalists”

Washington Post:
How NewsGuard, which attained “sustainable profitability” six years after its launch, became a prime target of the GOP's battle against disinformation watchdogs

Inside Radio:
iHeart reduces its total debt by over $440M and extends most of its debt maturities by three years, by using debt exchange transactions
 
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