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:
New York Times, Verizon Wireless, SlashGear, Bits, Bloomberg, Computerworld, The Register, Networking Blog, 9to5Google, @harrymccracken, parislemon, L.A. Times Tech Blog, Washington Post, @cnbc, The Next Web, CNET, WebProNews, Android Community, Gizmodo, BGR, ABCNEWS, TechnoBuffalo, GeekWire, NBC Bay Area, GigaOM, Forbes, AllThingsD, MacRumors, TechCrunch, IntoMobile, dailywireless.org, PhoneArena, VentureBeat, Ars Technica, CNNMoney.com, Bits and Reuters
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Sir Jonathan: Apple's design mastermind Jonathan Ive awarded knighthood in the United Kingdom — Apple's Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive can add a new title to his resume: Sir Jonathan Ive. According to BBC, Ive has been granted knighthood in the United Kingdom in the New Year Honours List.
Discussion:
Mercury News, The Register, The Verge, MacRumors, BBC, MacNN, AppleInsider, The Next Web and Boing Boing
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Christy Wyatt on How Motorola Plans to Stand Out From the Android Pack — Even as it prepares to be swallowed up by Google, Motorola Mobility is hardly standing still. — One of the key driving forces behind the company is Christy Wyatt, a former Palm and Apple executive, now corporate vice president and general manager
Discussion:
Electronista, The Verge and PhoneArena
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:
Electronista, Computerworld, 9to5Mac, MacDailyNews, iDownloadBlog.com, WebProNews, Sprintfeed, App Advice, Redmond Pie, Jailbreak | iOS, Techland, Ubergizmo, Pulse2, msnbc.com and Gizmodo UK
Alex Wilhelm / The Next Web:
Internet Explorer 9's growth on Windows 7 highlights Firefox's weakness — Microsoft put out a rah-rah blog post today, touting its various victories with Internet Explorer for the year, mostly discussing Internet Explorer 9′s performance on Windows 7.
Discussion:
BetaNews, The Windows Blog and Electronista
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:
Destructoid, VentureBeat, Business Insider, The Next Web, @benhuh, Geek.com, Pulse2, WebProNews and GamePolitics blogs
RELATED:
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:
Betabeat, The Next Web and The Social Path
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
Nokia Ace LTE Windows Phone potentially revealed in holiday video card — We knew Nokia was readying an LTE Windows Phone for AT&T called the Ace, and now we may have our first look at the device— thanks to a holiday video greeting. According to PocketNow, one of Microsoft's partners sent out the video …
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:
Computerworld, CNET, PC Magazine, The Next Web, VentureBeat, Ars Technica, Forbes, Geekosystem, Gizmodo, Pulse2, WebProNews, DSLreports, Neowin.net, GamePolitics blogs, PC World, CNET and TechCrunch
Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:
More Apple retail stores planned for historic buildings in 2012; Stores approved in Germany, Canada, and Spain — Apple is not slowing down when it comes to opening more iconic brick-and-mortar retail locations. Three new retail locations all received recent approval …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, MobileSyrup.com, AppleInsider, ifoAppleStore, iClarified, Macgasm, MacNN and iPhone in Canada Blog
Darren McCarra / The Sociable:
Facebook phasing out support for IE7 — One year after Facebook officially renounced support for Internet Explorer 6, it seems that Internet Explorer 7 is destined to experience a similar fate as support for the ailing browser is lacking in Facebook's most important recent innovation - Timeline.
Discussion:
The Next Web, Friending Facebook Blog, VentureBeat and All Facebook
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:
GigaOM, Macgasm, Apple Bitch, TechnoBuffalo, iDownloadBlog.com, Patently Apple, WebProNews, DigiTimes, MacDailyNews, PhoneArena, Business Insider, MacRumors, everythingiCafe and MacNN
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:
Softpedia News, SecurityWeek, The Register, Securelist, PC Magazine, ITProPortal and VentureBeat
Horace Dediu / asymco:
The curious case of slowing US growth for Android — The latest data from comScore MobiLens is showing an uncharacteristic slowing in smartphone growth. In the survey period ending November, the number of smartphone users in the US was 91.4 million. This is equivalent to 39.1% penetration …
Discussion:
Engadget, msnbc.com, IntoMobile and iClarified
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, iPhone and TUAW
