Top Items:
T.C. Sottek / The Verge:
Verizon drops $2 ‘convenience fee’ due to customer feedback — Just a day after it confirmed that it would be adding a $2 ‘convenience fee’ for paying bills online or over the phone, Verizon's cancelled the charge, citing negative customer feedback as the reason for the shift.
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog, Bits, GigaOM, Ars Technica, Gizmodo, Forbes, CNET, GeekWire, AllThingsD, MacRumors, TechCrunch, BGR, Verizon Wireless, VentureBeat, Bloomberg, ABCNEWS, @cnbc, CNNMoney.com, Bits, NBC Bay Area, @harrymccracken, msnbc.com, Android Community, WebProNews, The Next Web, PhoneArena, IntoMobile, SlashGear, dailywireless.org and Reuters
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
GoDaddy Boycott Fizzles; Twice As Many Domains Transfer In As Out — Yesterday, we noted that it appeared that the “GoDaddy boycott” concept may have been losing steam, thanks to the company's decision to move away from supporting the bill... combined with a new aggressive advertising campaign.
Discussion:
Forbes, Ars Technica, VentureBeat, PC Magazine, CNET, CNET, The Next Web, WebProNews, Pulse2, Geekosystem, Neowin.net, Gizmodo, DSLreports, GamePolitics blogs and TechCrunch
Electronista:
Nintendo, Sony back off of SOPA support — Nintendo and Sony rethink unpopular SOPA bill — A quiet update to the list of Stop Online Piract Act supporters (PDF) has shown that Nintendo and Sony have backed away from the proposed bill. Both were originally endorsing the bill as of November …
Discussion:
The Next Web, @benhuh, WebProNews and Business Insider
RELATED:
Royal Pingdom:
Symbian is still top mobile OS - finished 2011 with resurgence — As we're quickly approaching the end of 2011 we take a last look at what the year for mobile operating systems was like. — Would it surprise you to know that Symbian finished 2011 stronger than it started the year?
Discussion:
GigaOM, MobileSyrup.com, AllThingsD, Pulse2, Gizmodo UK and Electronista
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
“Official” Siri app hits the Android Market, highlights Google's marketplace issues — With the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple introduced its new voice-activated virtual assistant Siri to early acclaim, immediately sparking a rush for developers to offer the same functionality on Android smartphones.
Discussion:
PC World, Electronista, 9to5Mac, Pulse2, App Advice, MacDailyNews, WebProNews, msnbc.com, iDownloadBlog.com, Redmond Pie, Techland, Gizmodo UK and Ubergizmo
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Can A Company Keep An Employee's LinkedIn Account After They're No Longer Employed? — Venkat Balasubramani has the story of a bizarre fight between a company, Sawabeh Information Services, and the founders of Edcomm, a company that Sawabeh bought in 2010. A few months later …
Discussion:
The Next Web, Betabeat and The Social Path
Josh Ong / AppleInsider:
Apple again rumored to switch to IGZO displays for ‘iPad 3’ — Industry sources claim Apple will move away from in-plane switching display technology in favor of IGZO flat panels for its mobile products, starting with its third-generation iPad early next year.
Discussion:
DigiTimes, iDownloadBlog.com, GigaOM, Appolicious Advisor, PhoneArena, Macgasm, Patently Apple, Apple Bitch, WebProNews, everythingiCafe, MacDailyNews, Business Insider, MacRumors and MacNN
Suzanne Choney / msnbc.com:
Boot Hezbollah from Twitter or we sue, group says — Al-Manar is Hezbollah's “media arm,” says the group seeking to have it and other terrorist-related groups removed from Twitter. — An Israeli law center said Thursday it is threatening to sue Twitter unless the social network cuts off access to groups …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Telegraph, Digital Journal, The Next Web and Arutz Sheva
Gabe Donnini / Chitika Insights:
Traffic for Google+ on the Rise Along with User Count — Chitika Insights has covered the heavily publicized launch of Google+ amidst a variety of reported statistics, some which stated that Google+ hosted a user base comprised of over 40 Million people, others which described …
Discussion:
VentureBeat and WebProNews
Serkan Toto / TechCrunch:
Insync ("Dropbox For Google Users") Gets Major Revamp, Goes Free — File synchronization and sharing platform Insync has been around for over a year now, and today, the eponymous startup has rolled out a totally revamped version of its “Dropbox for Google users”.
Discussion:
The Next Web, The Verge and TUAW
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google Testing New Email Subscription Ad Format — Google is experimenting with its Google Adwords offerings, attempting to go beyond regular text ads with Google Email Subscription Ads, allowing companies to buy ads that automatically fill in a “Subscribe to newsletter (or whatever …
Discussion:
paidContent, dailywireless.org, WebProNews and Softpedia News
Élyse Betters / 9to5Google:
LG to unveil first Intel Medfield-powered Android smartphone at CES 2012; LG expects March release date — LG Electronics is poised to unveil the first Android smartphone with Intel's Medfield SoC at the Consumer Electronics show next month. — “Intel's chief executive Paul Otellini …
Discussion:
CNET, AllThingsD, The Korea Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, Electronista, PhoneArena, AndroidOS.in, SlashGear, Softpedia News, xda-developers and TechNewsWorld
Dennis Fisher:
Attack Tool Released for WPS PIN Vulnerability — Just a day after security researcher Stefan Viehbock released details of a vulnerability in the WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) standard that enables attackers to recover the router PIN, a security firm has published an open-source tool capable of exploiting the vulnerability.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, CNET, Slashdot, The Verge, tacnetsol.com, SecurityWeek and Krebs on Security
Bloomberg:
Google Backs Israeli Startups After Local Financing Hits 12-Year-Low: Tech — The Google Inc. (GOOG) executive with his bright yellow vest was impossible to miss in the middle of the Israeli startup owners seeking cash in a rusty boathouse at Tel Aviv's Jaffa port.
Dan Levine / Reuters:
U.S. court upholds telecom immunity for surveillance — (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals panel on Thursday upheld immunity for telecom companies that assist the U.S. government in conducting surveillance of American citizens. — Several lawsuits filed in the wake of revelations …
Discussion:
Electronista
Jim Finkle / Reuters:
Stuxnet weapon has at least 4 cousins: researchers — (Reuters) - The Stuxnet virus that last year damaged Iran's nuclear program was likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform whose roots trace back to 2007, according to new research from Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.
Discussion:
Securelist, Softpedia News, SecurityWeek, The Register, PC Magazine, ITProPortal, VentureBeat and TechEye
Sean / F-Secure Antivirus Research Weblog:
440,783 “Silent SMS” Used to Track German Suspects in 2010 — The 28th Chaos Communication Congress (28C3) is currently underway in Berlin and on Tuesday, researcher Karsten Nohl gave a presentation called: Defending mobile phones. If you have an hour, it's worth watching.
Discussion:
The H Security and Slashdot
Kevin Fitchard / GigaOM:
Verizon explains its string of LTE outages — Verizon's LTE network has had a hell of a month. After a year of smooth performance, interrupted only by one major glitch in April, the new ultra-fast 4G network has experienced a string of three outages in a single month …
RELATED:
Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
Here's Verizon's Weak Statement For Why Its 4G Network Keeps Failing
Discussion:
Engadget, Between the Lines Blog, BGR, Digital Trends, CNET, Gizmodo, Android Community, The Verge and msnbc.com
