Microsoft Takes On US DOJ Over Email Privacy (video)

Microsoft Is Taking On the Government Over Email Privacy: Video - Bloomberg:
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Brad Smith, general counsel at Microsoft, explains why Microsoft is taking on the U.S. government over email privacy. He speaks with Bloomberg's Trish Regan on "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg 12/15)

Microsoft gets allies to help tell U.S. to back off on Irish search warrant
PCWorld
The U.S. Department of Justice should back off its request for Microsoft to turn over a suspect's digital documents stored on a server in Ireland, or be prepared for other governments demanding documents stored on U.S. servers, the company's general ...

iTunes trial: Case over Apple's digital music dominance heads to jury
San Jose Mercury News
OAKLAND -- iTunes 7.0: A landmark improvement to Apple's software for the iPod or an empty update meant to drive out competitors and hike prices for consumers? That will be the $1 billion question for a federal jury in Oakland as they deliberate over ...

Fortune
Apple aced its e-book antitrust appeal
Fortune
Judge Jacobs also repeatedly referred to Amazon's $9.99 pricing policy, whereby it sold books at below the wholesale acquisition cost, as “predatory ...
US faces tough questions in Apple e-books antitrust appeal - Reuters


Forbes
Facebook Removes Microsoft Bing Search Feature
Forbes
Bing.com is currently the second largest search engine with 20% of the market compared to Google's 67%. Fortunately for Microsoft, Yahoo!/Bing is ...

IBNLive
That Was Fast; Spain Already In Full Retreat Over Google Tax
Forbes
That's the exile of all of the Spanish press from the main Google index. ... 

The Guardian
Amazon UK's 1 penny firesale
CNNMoney
It was caused by a glitch in the software that third party sellers on Amazon ... Most of the orders have been canceled by Amazon. ... 

New York Times
Potential $1 billion Apple DRM judgment is now in jury's hands
The Verge
A jury of eight will now decide whether Apple should pay more than $1 ... "Plaintiffs don't understand the technology in this case," she told the jury.
Former engineer claims Apple intended to block 100 percent of non-iTunes clients - Digital Trends

TIME
Tuesday Is Amazon's Free Shipping Christmas Deadline
TIME
Inside An Amazon.com Distribution Center On Cyber Monday An employee stacks boxes filled with merchandise for shipment at the Amazon.com Inc.

TechRepublic
Why Google Fiber missed the mark with free internet
TechRepublic
Many know Google Fiber for its gigabit internet, but did you know it offers a no-cost option for internet access? Here's how Google dropped the ball on ...

TechCrunch
Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Profile Under Attack From Brazilian Trolls
TechCrunch
Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile has come under attack from a large ... photos and other “meme” images, on the Facebook CEO's public posts. ... this Facebook group titled “Flood that Mark” (translation via Google Translate). ... the design of Facebook's service and development of its core technology ...

Google App for iOS Gains Nest Integration
Mac Rumors
Following last week's major redesign, the Google app for iOS has seen yet ... Google makes devices and services that work with Google AND Apple ...

Google might build its own 'buy now' button to compete with Amazon
The Verge
Google has long had an e-commerce arm; its Google Shopping product lets you buy ... 

Video game industry struggles to grow, a year after new consoles launch - CNET: "After months of subsisting on strong sales of new game hardware, overall game spending plummets in November."

Google and French Space Agency partner on Project Loon:
Press Releases - CNES: "A fleet of balloons providing an Internet connection to rural, remote and underserved areas: that is the goal of Google’s ambitious Project Loon. CNES is supporting this project with balloon engineering expertise for which it has acquired international acclaim over the last 50 years. CNES and Google are delighted to be working together to give new momentum to research efforts in this area."

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Dice, App Could Rock the Concert-Ticketing Industry (video)

Dice Ticket App Founder Phil Hutcheon in Interview: Video - Bloomberg:
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Tired of having to print out tickets to get into a gig? Or having to re-type your payment information every time you want to buy? Fear not. A London-based company called Dice has streamlined the job and is working to put scalpers out of business with their app. Dice Founder Phil Hutcheon talks to Bloomberg's Angus Bennett about the company. (Source: Bloomberg 11/20)

Wall Street Journal
Google embraces open source with free Android game
ITProPortal
Many people consider open source to be the future. It is hard to argue with this, as it allows software to be adapted to different environments. Most importantly, it allows users to view the code, and prevents malicious aspects, such as backdoors. In other words ...

International Business Times
Now you can play Destiny for free, at least for a little while
Digital Trends
Bungie has released a free trial/demo version of Destiny, so anyone who's on the fence can it a try before taking the plunge into the massively multiplayer shooter. Called a “Trial” for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and a “Demo” for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, ...


Mashable
Dear Barbie, get it together. Love, female developers everywhere
Mashable
Barbie is a smart woman. We know this because Mattel has repeatedly reminded us of her accomplishments (see: all of Barbie's careers, which span from sign language instructor to world peace ambassador). Why, then, does she suddenly require the help of ...

CNET
Facebook bus drivers vote to join Teamsters
CNET
Drivers for the social network's shuttle bus contractor say they seek better schedules and wages that allow them to live near their jobs....

The Guardian
Webcam hackers could be watching you, watchdog warns
The Guardian
The Information Commissioner's Office said footage was being collected from security cameras used by businesses and the public...

Washington Times
LA becomes stage for high-speed luxury cars


CNET
Firefox dumps Google for search, signs on with Yahoo
CNET
Google's 10-year run as Firefox's default search engine in the US is over. Yahoo wants more search traffic, and a deal with Mozilla will bring it...

TechCrunch
Apple Relabels “Free” Download Buttons On iTunes And Mac App Store To “Get ...
TechCrunch
Across the iTunes and Mac App Stores today, a minor but also notable change is taking place with regard to how Apple is marketing its iOS and Mac applications. Instead of free apps being labeled as “FREE,” the download button now reads “GET.

BBC News
Apple to push Beats to all iPhones according to FT
BBC News
Apple is planning to push its Beats music streaming service to every iPhone in the new year, according to a report in the Financial Times newspaper. Apple will include the Beats app in its latest update to the iOS operating system used on iPhones and iPads, ...

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Primary Video Source No Longer TV

A complete disintermediation in video viewing -- Losers: Live TV, television networks, local TV stations, cable TV operators. Winners: online video, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Daily Motion, Vimeo, etc. --

Off the Grid National Survey from Targeted_Victory

As viewing habits change, political campaigns must change their habits, as well - The Washington Post:

"....For the first time, fewer than half (48 percent) of [the 800 likely voters surveyed, 30% on cell phones] say that live TV is their primary source for watching video content. The second-most-preferred form for viewing is through recorded programming, but a majority said they skip 100 percent of the ads when they watch. ... Seventy percent of those surveyed said they had watched live television in the previous week. But fully 30 percent said that, other than live sporting events, they had watched no live television in the previous week. For younger voters, it's closer to 40 percent...Over time, this will require a substantial reorientation in thinking about how to allocate advertising dollars...."

Cameras on cops: Coming to a town near you: "Who watches the watchers? It's an age-old question, but police across the country may have a new answer. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently testing body-mounted cameras that record officers' interactions with citizens. The New York Police Department says it's reviewing the technology...."

The Future of Internet Freedom - NYTimes.com: ".... Much of the fight against censorship has been led by the activists of the Internet freedom movement. We can join this open source community, whether we are policy makers, corporations or individuals. Money, coding skills or government grants can all make a difference. Given the energies and opportunities out there, it’s possible to end repressive Internet censorship within a decade. If we want the next generation of users to be free, we don’t see any other option."

Google patches $310K worth of Chrome, Chrome OS bugs
Computerworld
While all four targeted browsers -- Chrome, Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox andMicrosoft's Internet Explorer -- fell to researchers at the cash prize contest, Google's was the only one to have fixed flaws as of Sunday. Four vulnerabilities were ...

Notification overload: Why I'm turning off my phone alerts ... at least until my apps know me better | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Andy Hickl, A.R.O.: "I’ve decided not to receive any more notifications on my phones. No, I’m not a Luddite. Just someone who’s escaping the noise and anxiety caused by a mostly broken system...."

Look, Smartphone: No Hands! | MIT Technology Review: "Controlling an iPhone or Android phone with just your voice and a noise-cancelling headset is doable, but frustrating.....People might not mind chattering alone in the car, but not everyone is comfortable doing so on the bus. “I think giving people choice is always the best option when you can,” he says. I agree, in part because I couldn’t shake the feeling that I looked completely bizarre muttering to myself while using the Era in public. I suspect erasing that feeling will prove to be even more difficult than improving the speech recognition."

Google’s Chromecast streaming stick set to go on sale in the UK this week | Technology | theguardian.com: "The Chromecast plugs directly into a television via the HDMI port and acts as a receiver for media sent from Android smartphones and tablet apps, Apple devices as well as computers via the Chrome browser...."

Glenn Greenwald’s Encryption Guru - Alex Carp - POLITICO Magazine: ".... Schneier is a legendary encryption specialist who has written or edited 13 books on the subject, and worked for the Department of Defense, telecommunications companies, banks and governments. Most recently, he’s been a vocal advocate of the idea that the best security systems accept a reasonable amount of risk; a blind focus on protecting against every threat, he says, usually comes with unexpected costs....."

Google improves game content for players and developers
PFhub
This week, the Game Developers Conference kicks off at San Francisco's Moscone Center. While that is taking place, Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has announced a bevy of positive changes it is making on games for players and developers. This is a move ...

Google's chat service crashes-- now Fixed
San Jose Mercury News
Google has been building up its professional offerings to challenge Microsoft's dominant enterprise offering of the Office productivity tools and Outlook email program, offering paid versions of its free Web-based suite to corporations. Google's non ...

Alibaba plans IPO that could break Facebook's record, Yahoo shares jump - San Jose Mercury News: "...."There are certainly some smart investments that I owe to my predecessors. Very notably, Jerry Yang's investment in Alibaba is something that people are very excited about," Mayer said at a conference in San Francisco last year. While Alibaba has not established how many shares it expects to sell nor a preliminary price range, experts say the company is currently worth as much as $200 billion, topping Amazon's market capitalization, $172 billion. An IPO that comes anywhere near that type of valuation would easily top Facebook's $104 billion value during its May 2012 IPO, when the Menlo Park social network raked in $16 billion, the most ever for a technology company...."

Android phone battery suffering? Here's a simple fix | ZDNet: "Google services aren't the only culprits; third-party apps can also get stuck and drain the battery. If your phone keeps killing the battery too fast even after a reboot, check the battery information in Settings. If an app is using the battery too much, Android settings will show it clearly as the offender. If that's the case, you'd better uninstall the app immediately."

Government computers running Windows XP will be vulnerable to hackers after April 8 - The Washington Post: "...Federal officials have known for more than six years that Microsoft will withdraw its free support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Despite a recent rush to complete upgrades, an estimated 10 percent of government computers — out of several million — will still be running the operating system on that date, company officials said...."

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