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5:45 PM ET, January 18, 2012

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
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.
RELATED:
Jenna Wortham / New York Times:
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 …
David Drummond / The Official Google Blog:
Don't censor the web  —  You might notice many of your favorite websites look different today.  Wikipedia is down.  Wordpress is dark.  We're censoring our homepage logo and asking you to petition Congress.  So what's the big deal?  —  Right now in Washington D.C. …
Fred / fredbenenson.com:
Visualizing SOPA on Twitter  —  When I heard that Tyler Gray at Public Knowledge was looking for someone to do some analysis on tweets that mentioned SOPA, I thought I might try Cytoscape (an open source tool used for biomedical research, but handy for large scale data visualization) …
Discussion: AllTwitter, @ioerror and bitly blog
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
In Face Of Protests, Congressmen Begin To Abandon SOPA Ship  —  In case you haven't noticed, a lot of sites like Reddit and Wikipedia are blacked out today in protest.  Google blacked out its logo and is running a huge advertising campaign (including on TechCrunch) to get Internet users to sign petitions and oppose the bills.
Dan Seitz / UPROXX:
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.
Geoffrey A. Fowler / Digits:
MC Hammer Hits Anti-SOPA Rally
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
US Senate websites hit with technical difficulties following SOPA blackout
T.C. Sottek / The Verge:
Money, power, and Congress: how lobbyists will determine the fate of SOPA
Discussion: ReadWriteWeb
Jamie Lee Curtis Taete / VICE:
PIPA Supporters Violate Copyright Laws, Too
Discussion: The Register
The Daily WTF:
Support The Daily WTF in Supporting the Support SOPA Movement
Discussion: The Oatmeal and Fark
reddit:
A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
Nielsen Wire:
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.
Adam Lashinsky / Fortune:
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.
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
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) …
RELATED:
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Oracle Figures 700,000 Android Activations a Day Are Worth $3.65 Billion a Year to Google
Discussion: FOSS Patents
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
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 …
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft 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 …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
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?
Discussion: MacStories
RELATED:
AppleInsider:
Apple's ‘Bliss’ e-textbook project inspired by Al Gore's ‘Our Choice’
Discussion: MacRumors and Electronista
Liana B. Baker / Reuters:
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 …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
eBay Beats The Street; Q4 Revenue Up 35 Percent To $3.4B, Net Income Up 15 Percent To $789M  —  eBay just reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 earnings today, which were above analysts expectations. eBay posted revenue of $3.4 billion, up 35 percent from the same quarter in 2010.
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
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 …
Discussion: MacRumors and 9to5Mac
Barb Darrow / GigaOM:
Amazon launches home-grown NoSQL database  —  Amazon Web Services is adding a home-grown NoSQL database to its ever-expanding roster of cloud computing offerings.  DynamoDB is what Amazon CTO Werner Vogels called a “fully managed” NoSQL implementation that the company built and tested over the years.
Todd Haselton / BGR:
LightSquared and former FCC chief engineer say GPS tests were rigged  —  LightSquared and former FCC chief engineer Edmond Thomas on Wednesday said the GPS test devices that were used by the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee (PNT EXCOM) …
Discussion: The Register, DSLreports and CNET
Zachary Lutz / Engadget:
Alienware announces X51 small form factor gaming PC, starting at $699  —  Alienware may have just upgraded its Aurora gaming rig, but that's not to keep the company from giving more diminutive form factors some love.  Just this evening, the subsidiary of Dell announced the X51 …
 
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 More Items: 
Basil Katz / Reuters:
7 charged in $62 million Dell insider-trading case
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Nokia Lumia 800 receiving second battery update over next two weeks
Discussion: Gotta Be Mobile
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Sex Sells: Color Hopes You'll Want to Broadcast Your Makeout Sessions and Illegal Pool Parties to Facebook
Discussion: AdAge and Betabeat
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
The New York Times Bits Blog Gets a Billboard
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Ron Paul Campaign Sues To Stop Unauthorized Web Videos
 Earlier Items: 
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Teenagers Sharing Passwords as Show of Affection
Scott Canon / Kansas City Star:
Google Fiber work in KCK is delayed by dispute over how its wires are hung
Discussion: bizjournals, Thanks:dannyaway
David Barnard / App Cubby Blog:
Free and Low-Cost Apps
Discussion: Daring Fireball
Matt Rosoff / Business Insider:
New Google Board Member Gets $1 Million For Joining
Mike Isaac / Gadget Lab:
Q&A: Nokia's CEO Explains Plan for Smartphone Dominance
Discussion: AllThingsD