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The internet is the most powerful tool — we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet's development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet.
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Come on Zuck, do you really mean it? — The Internet seems to have gone mad over comments by Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Facebook. Zuckerberg on Wednesday came out against the proposed SOPA and PIPA legislation and in a Facebook status message wrote:


A Political Coming of Age for the Tech Industry — With a Web-wide protest on Wednesday that includes a 24-hour shutdown of the English-language Wikipedia, the legislative battle over two Internet piracy bills has reached an extraordinary moment — a political coming of age for a relatively young …
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nytm.org, CNET, Bits, GigaOM, F-Secure Antivirus …, L.A. Times Tech Blog, paidContent, The Politico, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic Online, Daily Patricia, msnbc.com, @dannysullivan, The Not-So Private Parts, @dickc, @jack, @ev, @biz, @colin_crowell, Fortune, Wired Campus, Culture Desk, eCampus News, Plagiarism Today, Gawker, Silicon Valley Watcher, Flavorwire, SC Magazine, Media Decoder, @mchammer and BostInno, more at Mediagazer »


Google says 4.5 million people signed anti-SOPA petition today — When Google speaks, the world listens. — And today, when Google asked its users to sign a petition protesting two anti-piracy laws circulating in Congress, millions responded. — A spokeswoman for Google confirmed …
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Company Town, SocialTimes.com and Domain Name News


MPAA Hits New Low In Self Pity Over SOPA — As you know, Wikipedia, Reddit and a few other sites are completely blacked out today, and many other sites are protesting in other ways. For example, if you head over to Google, you'll find the logo has a big black box over it.
Discussion:
PandoDaily, The Verge, Inquirer, Dice Blog Network and Geekosystem

PIPA support collapses, with 13 new Senators opposed — Members of the Senate are rushing for the exits in the wake of the Internet's unprecedented protest of the Protect IP Act (PIPA). At least 13 members of the upper chamber announced their opposition on Wednesday.
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CNET, Techdirt, Facebook, VatorNews, New York Times, L.A. Times Tech Blog, AllThingsD, Security, Ars Technica, Washington Post, PandoDaily, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Mashable!, WebProNews, Threat Level, Quora, The Politico, DailyTech, Techdirt, Techdirt, Mashable!, Omaha World-Herald, BBC, Techland, ITworld.com, @corincole and PoliticsPA


Visualizing SOPA on Twitter
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CNET, Search Engine Land, reddit, The Daily WTF, bitly blog and AllTwitter

Anti-SOPA Rallies Attract MC Hammer, Technologists
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VentureBeat, Webmonkey, GigaOM and Mashable!

Web blackouts. Is this the new face of American activism?
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TechCrunch, Techdirt and Ars Technica

US Senate websites hit with technical difficulties following SOPA blackout
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Computerworld, Gizmodo and Technology Review

My Letter to the Internet … Congress , Internet , Pipa …
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AllThingsD

Money, power, and Congress: how lobbyists will determine the fate of SOPA
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ReadWriteWeb and SEOmoz Daily SEO Blog

The Pirate Bay Slams PIPA / SOPA in Public Statement
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@tpbdotorg

By the Numbers: 103,785 — A total of 103,785 people signed …
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L.A. Times Tech Blog, TechFlash, Search Engine Watch and Mike Industries, more at Mediagazer »

PIPA Supporters Violate Copyright Laws, Too
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Guardian, The Register and Threat Level

The Story Behind Rupert Murdoch's Rants About Google and SOPA
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Security, @rupertmurdoch and PSFK, more at Mediagazer », Thanks:jeffbercovici


More US Consumers Choosing Smartphones as Apple Closes the Gap on Android — According to the latest research from Nielsen, the high-profile launch of Apple's iPhone 4S in the Fall had an enormous impact on the proportion of smartphone owners who chose an Apple iPhone.
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PC World, Hardware 2.0 Blog, TechCrunch, PC Magazine, Neowin.net, paidContent, iPhone, SplatF, PandoDaily, GigaOM, Marketing Pilgrim, MacRumors, TechSpot, DailyTech, IntoMobile, MediaPost, Gotta Be Mobile, Pulse2, Smartphones …, VentureBeat, iPhone Buzz, PalmAddicts, ReadWriteWeb, msnbc.com, TUAW, eWeek, Seattle Times, PadGadget, Redmond Pie, Mobile and BGR


The secrets Apple keeps — Undercover meetings! Stealth product developments! The world's most successful company is obsessed with privacy. In his new book, Fortune senior editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky finds out what it's really like to work at Apple and how its secretive behavior pays off.
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Gizmodo, TUAW, NBC Bay Area, iDownloadBlog.com, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, CNET, TechCrunch, MacNN, WebProNews and Business Insider


Facebook announces 60 new partners for Open Graph, will start accepting applications — Tonight at an event in San Francisco, Facebook has announced that its Open Graph initiative, first mentioned during last year's f8 conference, is now expanding with sixty new partners.
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CNET, Social Markets, TechCrunch, GigaOM, Inside Facebook, Between the Lines Blog, The Verge and TechCrunch
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Facebook's biggest change yet: Actions are here
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Facebook Blog

Facebook updates app install dialog for user clarity
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Friending Facebook Blog and Facebook Developer Blog


Microsoft confirms Dave Cutler, father of Windows NT, now working on Xbox — Summary: Dave Cutler, the father of Windows NT, is now working on helping Microsoft evolve Xbox beyond a game-centric console. — Four years ago, Microsoft assembled a team, many with killer Windows pedigrees …
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LiveSide.net, Business Insider, Electronista, WinBeta and Neowin.net


Steve Jobs Credited with an Apple TV Patent for Episodic TV — The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-two newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. This morning's second report is focused on a single Apple TV patent. It's a patent regarding episodic TV …
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TUAW, PandoDaily, AppleInsider, BGR, PadGadget, Pulse2, Cult of Mac, Redmond Pie and WebProNews


Zynga buys four mobile gaming companies — (Reuters) - Zynga Inc said it bought four small mobile game companies for an undisclosed sum as the top maker of Facebook games seeks to expand its lineup on smartphones and tablets. — The company's top mobile executive David Ko told Reuters …
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VentureBeat, PandoDaily, mocoNews, MediaFile, Inside Mobile Apps and tinyComb


AT&T retools data plans: 300MB for $20, 3GB for $30, 5GB with tethering for $50 — Following a recent rumor that we broke right here on The Verge, AT&T is nudging all three of its smartphone data plans starting this Sunday, January 22nd. Currently you can get 200MB for $15, 2GB for $25 …
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ATT Blogs, TechCrunch, mocoNews, AT&T, MacRumors, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, BGR, Engadget, FierceWireless, Gizmodo, iPhone-Developers, blog.chron.com, PandoDaily, IntoMobile, TUAW, Electronista, SlashGear, Gotta Be Mobile and The Next Web

Regarding the Scope of Apple's Education Initiative — Philip Elmer-DeWitt, in a piece headlined “Apple's Education Event Is Getting Seriously Over-Hyped”: … I don't get the logic here. What about Apple's success in the music industry does Apple regret?
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PandoDaily and MacStories
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Oracle says each day's worth of Android activations generates $10 million in annual revenues for Google — and strengthens Google+ — In the previous blog post, I have just reported on Oracle's bold move to propose to the court that it stay (or dismiss without prejudice) …
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Android Phone Fans, BGR, Electronista, AndroidGuys, PhoneArena, 9to5Google, MobileSyrup.com and Techie Buzz
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Oracle Figures 700,000 Android Activations a Day Are Worth $3.65 Billion a Year to Google
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FOSS Patents


Sex Sells: Color Hopes You'll Want to Broadcast Your Makeout Sessions and Illegal Pool Parties to Facebook — Color - just saying the name of it quickly became enough to get people to laugh about what was, without doubt, one of the most botched product launches in recent history …
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AdAge, Daring Fireball and Betabeat


Google+ Gets Video Status Updates — Google+ just got a feature that takes a bite out of YouTube. Google+ users can now post video recordings as updates to their circles. In the video sharing menu, there's now a ‘Record video’ option that turns on the webcam.
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SiliconFilter, Redmond Pie, IntoMobile and Google+ Info