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9:30 AM ET, December 15, 2011

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Slater Tow / Facebook Blog:
Timeline: Now Available Worldwide  —  We recently announced our plans to introduce Facebook Timeline, an entirely new kind of profile.  —  Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments.  It also lets you share new experiences …
Amit Singhal / The Official Google Blog:
Zeitgeist 2011: How the world searched  —  This year marks our 11th annual look back at the searches that compose the year's Zeitgeist—the spirit of the time.  With Zeitgeist, we look at the most popular and the fastest rising terms—the terms with the highest growth in 2011—in many categories across many countries around the world.
Sydney Morning Herald:
Bill Gates Confirms He Won't Return To Microsoft  —  Bill Gates refutes a full-time return to Microsoft, the company he founded, to spend the rest of his life working for his foundation.  —  Bill Gates today ruled out ever returning to the helm of Microsoft and dismissed harsh barbs by his former arch-rival Steve Jobs.
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Galaxy Nexus now on sale from Verizon for $299.99 with next day shipping  —  It's December 15th in parts of the US which means that the Galaxy Nexus is now available to purchase from Verizon.  It'll cost you $299 plus a two-year contract but you already knew that.
Discussion: Washington Post and The Next Web
RELATED:
MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
An iPhone Lover's Take On The Galaxy Nexus  —  You have to hand it to Google.  They know that I prefer Apple products and have been generally critical of many Google moves in the past couple of years.  And yet, they're unafraid to give me their newest products to test out.
Zach Honig / Engadget:
Verizon posts Galaxy Nexus simulator, doesn't cap your virtual data
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Universal has ‘Tech News Today’ episode yanked from YouTube for reporting on MegaUpload promo video  —  We're still not sure what to make of the strange war that's erupted between file sharing service MegaUpload and Universal Media Group after MegaUpload posted a promo video that appears …
RELATED:
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
Will.i.am: I Did Not Authorize Megaupload Video Takedown
Discussion: Gizmodo, MediaPost and Media Decoder
Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Fortune:
Samsung's snarky TV ads have harshed the iPhone's vibe  —  Samsung's “buzz score” has overtaken Apple's in a key demographic, says YouGov  —  Click to enlarge.  —  The chart at right says it all.  —  Starting around Nov. 28 — six days after Samsung began airing its Galaxy Nexus ads mocking Apple's …
Ellis Hamburger / Business Insider:
Meet The Genius Behind Tweetbot, The Twitter App For iPhone Everyone's Going Nuts About  —  On Monday we spoke with Paul Haddad, the programmer behind Tweetbot, the best Twitter app in the App Store.  —  We asked Paul about what makes Tweetbot so good, and why tech fanatics are in a frenzy about it.
Discussion: SplatF
Jay Greene / CNET News:
Microsoft replaces veteran Xbox design boss  —  The Xbox team, in 2000, with the chrome Xbox concept prototype.  Don Coyner, who led marketing for the console, is wearing the patterned shirt in the middle row, far right.  —  As Microsoft's Xbox group moves toward launching a successor to the Xbox 360 …
Chris Ziegler / The Verge:
The fall of Microsoft's Andy Lees: inside the Windows Phone power shift  —  Over the past couple days we've gotten some additional details surrounding the circumstances that led to Andy Lees' removal from his role at the top of the Windows Phone org chart inside Microsoft.
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
French President's Residence ‘Busted’ For BitTorrent Piracy  —  Located near the Champs-Élysées in the French capital, Paris, the Élysée Palace is the official residence of President Sarkozy.  As husband of ‘first lady’ and musician Carla Bruni …
Discussion: Boing Boing
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
My new job at ReadWriteWeb, and what it means for SplatF  —  If you follow me on Twitter, or follow tech news in general, you may have seen the announcement this morning that I'll be joining ReadWriteWeb as Editor At Large starting in January.  —  SAY Media, my business-side partner for SplatF, just acquired RWW.
RELATED:
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
The Price For ReadWriteWeb Was Around $5 Million
Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
Feds probing Carrier IQ  —  Federal investigators are probing allegations that Carrier IQ software found on about 150 million cellphones tracked user activity and sent the information to the cellphone companies without informing consumers, according to government officials.
RELATED:
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Carrier IQ: We Volunteered to Be Grilled by the Feds
Discussion: Electronista and CNET News
Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:
Apps vs. the web: Are they enemies or allies?  —  George Colony, the chairman and CEO of Forrester Research, re-ignited a minor firestorm recently, with a presentation at the LeWeb conference in which he argued that the web is dead, and being replaced by the app economy …
Jacqui Cheng / Ars Technica:
Stolen iPhone?  Your iMessages may still be going to the wrong place  —  Those who have had a phone lost or stolen are familiar with the horrors that follow: the thief (or the person he sold your phone to) starts to send texts as you to your family and friends, leaving you scrambling to de-activate the device as soon as possible.
Discussion: Softpedia News, Redmond Pie and Gizmodo
Vic Gundotra / The Official Google Blog:
Google+ Hangouts: going beyond the status update  —  All too often, physical distance and frantic schedules get in the way of spending time together, especially during the holidays.  But you know what?  They don't have to.  —  With Google+ Hangouts, you can go beyond “status updates,” …
Pew Internet:
Where people get information about restaurants and other local businesses  —  People looking for information about local restaurants and other businesses say they rely on the internet, especially search engines, ahead of any other source.  Newspapers, both printed copies and the websites …
Akshay Kannan / Google Chrome Blog:
Google Cloud Print picks up steam  —  Last April, we announced our plans for Google Cloud Print (GCP), the service that powers printing on Chromebooks as well as a new generation of connected apps and devices.  The goal of GCP is to enable simple, secure printing from any app on any device to any printer …
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
First Android Dedicated GPS Unit Actually Looks Pretty Decent  —  Considering Android is getting on in age, it's surprising it hasn't been featured on more “miscellaneous” devices.  Phones and tablets, sure, but we haven't seen many, say, DVD players or PMPs using the OS.
Discussion: Gizmag Emerging …
Delicious Blog:
New Look on Delicious  —  We've received a lot of helpful suggestions from the Delicious community, and if you mosey on over to Delicious.com, you'll see we've been listening.  —  Updating the Design  —  We've begun a comprehensive overhaul of how the Delicious UI deals with information density …
Discussion: The Next Web
Kaushik Sridharan / Google LatLong:
Mapping made easier with the new Google Map Maker  —  With 2012 approaching, we're getting a head start on our New Year's resolution to shed some excess weight and improve our overall appearance.  You may have seen our ongoing efforts to improve the look, feel, and user experience across many other Google products to date.
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
iTunes Match Starting to Roll Out Internationally - Spotted in UK, Europe, NZ, and Australia [Not Yet?]  —  Apple seems to be deploying iTunes Match into international music stores this evening, though there seem to be some ongoing glitches that suggests they could be an early mistake or a partial roll out.
Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media:
Undercover Study Finds It's Easy to Buy Illegal Guns on Craigslist  —  Craigslist has a policy against listing guns for sale.  You might think that would mean that, you know, you can't buy guns there.  —  Nope.  Not only is it easy to find guns listed — it's shockingly easy to purchase them …
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Accel Leads $14M Round In Cloud-Based, Visual Presentation Software Prezi  —  Cloud-based presentation software Prezi has raised $14 million in Series B financing led by Accel Partners with Sunstone Capital participating in the round.  Accel's Andrew Braccia will be joining Prezi's board of directors.
Jason Goldberg / betashop:
Behind the Scenes: How Fab Raised $40 million with a lot of data and not much pain  —  Let's face it, fundraising can be a real pain in the ass for the entrepreneur.  —  It takes up a ton of time that can be otherwise spent managing the business.  —  Sure, it's a necessary evil, but it's also typically a big distraction.
Discussion: Betabeat
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
At Least The Stock Market Is Liking Google Lately  —  We've been having our fun with the things Google has been saying lately, but it's worth looking at how people with money on the table are feeling about the company.  Which is, pretty good compared to most other tech rivals, including Apple in the post-Steve Jobs era.
 
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 More Items: 
Consumer Reports News:
Consumer protections lacking for mobile payments
Glenn Fleishman / Boing Boing:
Font swap in iBooks
Alex Williams / ServicesANGLE:
Amazon Web Services First Major Cloud Provider to Open in South America with New Sao Paulo Data Center
Adrianne Jeffries / Betabeat:
As Banks Start Nosing Around Facebook and Twitter, the Wrong Friends Might Just Sink Your Credit
Discussion: The Pondering Primate
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
GrubWithUs Now Wants To Plan YOUR Group Meals (And Do All The Legwork)
 Earlier Items: 
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
Sonic Bringing 1 Gbps Fiber to San Francisco - Five Year Build Will Cover ‘Most’ of City
Erik Sherman / CBS News:
Amazon Big Brother patent knows where you'll go
Discussion: Gizmodo and Popular Science
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Paramount Global's board is preparing to fire CEO Bob Bakish as soon as Monday, after he lost the trust of controlling shareholder Shari Redstone

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount is planning for what happens if no big deal happens, mulling cutting $2B in costs, selling BET and TV stations, starting a streaming JV, more

Elise Morton / Associated Press:
Russia arrests two journalists, Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, on “extremism” charges for allegedly working for a group founded by the late Alexei Navalny

 
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