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2:35 PM ET, January 5, 2012

Techmeme

 Top Items: 
Vinton G. Cerf / New York Times:
Internet Access Is Not a Human Right  —  FROM the streets of Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond, protests around the world last year were built on the Internet and the many devices that interact with it.  Though the demonstrations thrived because thousands of people turned out to participate …
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines Blog:
Barnes & Noble eyes Nook spin-off amid sales shortfall  —  Summary: Barnes & Noble may have no choice but to spin off its Nook unit amid a sales miss.  —  Barnes & Noble said it is exploring a spin-off of its Nook e-reader unit so it can continue to scale the business.
Telegraph:
Apple ‘threatens legal action’ over Steve Jobs action doll  —  The makers of an action figure with an uncanny resemblance to the late Apple founder Steve Jobs are reportedly being ‘threatened with legal action’ by the computing giant.  —  The action figure of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs
Jack Purcher / Patently Apple:
Apple Patents Reveal Thunderbolt is headed for iOS Devices  —  Three new patent applications from Apple were published this morning by the USPTO that detail various aspects of Apple's revolutionary I/O technology called Thunderbolt.  Apple filed many Thunderbolt trademarks in 2011 which opened …
Discussion: BGR, Business Insider, Macgasm and 9to5Mac
Neil Hughes / AppleInsider:
Apple's television could offer superior picture quality with advanced backlighting  —  Apple has explored building displays with dynamic backlight adaptation for better picture quality, particularly when watching letterboxed widescreen movies on a high-definition screen.
RELATED:
Jonathan S. Geller / BGR:
RIM now working on only one BlackBerry 10 smartphone; Colt, Milan canceled  —  We already reported that the BlackBerry Colt — the handset that was originally intended to be the Research In Motion's first BlackBerry 10 smartphone — had been cancelled.  Now, we have heard from multiple sources …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
Italian court denies Samsung motion for preliminary injunction against iPhone 4S  —  ANSA, the leading Italian news agency, just reported that Judge Marina Tavassi of the Tribunale di Milano — the Milan-based Italian first-instance court for patent cases — has rejected a Samsung request …
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law  —  United States government interference in Spain's intellectual property laws had long been suspected, but it was revelations from Wikileaks that finally confirmed the depth of its involvement.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Google Ventures, Mark Cuban And Others Invest $1M In Social CRM Startup Nimble  —  Customer relationship management startup Nimble has raised $1 million in funding from notable investors Mark Cuban, Jason Calacanis, Don Dodge, Dharmesh Shah and more!  —  Nimble CEO Jon Ferrara views Nimble …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
For blazing fast wireless internet, Broadcom announces its first 5G WiFi chips  —  Broadcom is announcing today its first WiFi chips that will allow wireless to surf the web at a speed of 1.3 gigabits per second.  That is several times faster than existing network speeds …
Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:
Apple Profit Margins Rise at Foxconn's Expense: Chart of the Day  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s margins have widened at the expense of its main supplier as Foxconn Technology Group cuts prices to retain orders for iPhones and iPads.  —  The CHART OF THE DAY compares the operating margins of Apple …
Ben Popper / Betabeat:
Kanye West Now Hiring “App Guys” and “Tech Guys” for New Company: DONDA  —  After a long sabattical from his Twitter account, Kanye West returned to the internet last night with a flurry of thoughts in 140 characters or less.  The big news, he is forming a new company, DONDA.
Discussion: Us Weekly, Business Insider and Digits
Brad Molen / Engadget:
AT&T expands LTE coverage to eleven new markets, including NYC, San Francisco and Los Angeles  —  In one announcement, AT&T has nearly doubled its LTE coverage by officially flipping the switch on eleven new markets.  The list includes New York City metro, San Francisco / Oakland / San Jose …
Owen Gibson / Guardian:
Apple unlikely to enter auction for Premier League TV rights  —  • BSkyB and ESPN will be back in the bidding  —  • Google and al-Jazeera may also enter market  —  The Premier League is preparing to go to market with its lucrative television contract in the second quarter of this year …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Logitech Cube is a tiny touch-sensitive presentation mouse, available in January for $69.99  —  Have you ever thought your portable mouse was a little too large, or perhaps shaped a little too much like the inside of your hand?  We can't say we have, but Logitech's got a new peripheral …
Clare Jim / Reuters:
Taiwan's Elan says Apple to pay $5 million in patent settlement  —  (Reuters) - Elan Microelectronics Corp, a Taiwanese touch design company, said on Thursday that Apple Inc will pay $5 million as part of a settlement in a patent infringement case.  —  The statement said the two companies …
Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:
Facebook Says Most Photos Flagged by Users Aren't Actually Offensive — Just Unattractive  —  Last year Facebook determined that the majority of photos its users reported as offensive were not actually offensive.  Much of the time, they were just unflattering angles or situations.
Tarmo Virki / Reuters:
Nokia prospects brighten as chairman search narrows  —  (Reuters) - Struggling phone maker Nokia Oyj basked in brightening prospects for its much-hyped Windows phone on Thursday as it prepared to strengthen the hand of new boss Stephen Elop by replacing its old-guard chairman.
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
Lithium Raises $53.4M Fourth Round To Push For Lead in Social Brand Software  —  Big consumer brands generate all sorts of consumer interest and expertise, but they've generally struggled to capitalize on these relationships to improve themselves.  Lithium has been building itself …
Saeed Kamali Dehghan / Guardian:
Iran clamps down on internet use  —  Restrictions on cybercafes and plans to launch national internet prompt fears users could be cut off from world wide web  —  Iran is clamping down heavily on web users before parliamentary elections in March with draconian rules on cybercafes and preparations to launch a national internet.
Discussion: Wired.co.uk and Gizmodo
Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:
Marvell's ARM chips will power Google TV's future  —  It's official: Marvell's ARM-based processors will power the next generation of Google TV devices, which are going to be unveiled at CES next week.  The chip maker announced Thursday morning that its ARMADA 1500 system-on-a-chip (SoC) …
Dan Frommer / SplatF:
Amazon is doing its real job: Squeezing retail chains  —  One of the dramas in tech right now is the story around Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet and its potential to mess up Apple's iPad business.  I don't think the Kindle Fire (an okay-but-not-great media tablet) is a real, long-term threat to the iPad …
Discussion: Target
Jennifer Van Grove / VentureBeat:
Do-it-yourself legal site Rocket Lawyer raises $10.8M  —  Just five months after raising $18.5 million, online legal services provider Rocket Lawyer has added $10.8 million in funding to its bank account, according to an SEC filing VentureBeat uncovered today.
Thanks:jbruin
Diane Bartz / Reuters:
ICANN to expand top level domains despite critics  —  (Reuters) - ICANN, an independent body responsible for organizing the Internet, plans to press ahead with plans to expand the number of possible website addresses despite criticism from industry and concerns from some law enforcement groups.
Discussion: Ars Technica and WebProNews
Scott Kirsner / Boston Globe:
Former Lotus and Microsoft exec Ray Ozzie hiring for new start-up, Cocomo  —  Ray Ozzie e-mailed earlier today to let me know that he has a post-Microsoft start-up, and he's hiring.  But aside from mentioning that the company is called Cocomo and doesn't yet have an office of its own, he didn't want to divulge much more.
Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:
HBO Ends DVD Discounts for Netflix  —  Netflix said a month ago that it sees HBO as its chief rival.  And it appears that HBO agrees, as the company confirmed on Thursday that it had decided to stop selling DVDs to Netflix at a discount.  —  Netflix typically buys the film and TV show DVDs …
Discussion: CNET
Ryan Lawler / GigaOM:
Deloitte: 9% have cut cable, another 11% are considering it  —  Deloitte just released its sixth annual State of the Media Democracy survey, which (among other things) asks U.S. respondents how they get access to their content in a world full of new and exciting devices.
Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
Crazy Rumor: Google Is Working On A 7-Inch Tablet Priced To Beat The Kindle Fire  —  A few weeks ago, Google chairman Eric Schmidt let it slip that the company had plans to market “a tablet of the highest quality” within the next six months.  —  That led to a lot of speculation, but Google refused to clarify Schmidt's statements.
Jeff Roberts / paidContent:
Amazon Ends Lawsuit Over Kindle Fire  —  In a surprise development, Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) has quietly resolved a lawsuit that alleges its Kindle Fire violates four patents related to touchscreen technology.  —  In court papers filed in Texas this week, Amazon and Smartphone Technologies …
Dana Wollman / Engadget:
Acer Iconia Tab A200 arriving January 15 for $330, Ice Cream Sandwich coming mid-February  —  After slipping not-so-quietly through the FCC, we knew it was only a matter of time before Acer's Iconia Tab A200 went on sale here in the US of A. Well, we just got word it'll go on sale January 15th starting …
 
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 More Items: 
Frederic Lardinois / SiliconFilter:
Google Translate for Android Gets Handwriting Recognition
Wayne Rash / eWeek:
LightSquared GPS Interference Issue Faces Congressional Oversight
Phil Wolff / Skype Journal:
Skype's GroupMe drops mobile voice chat, saying group text enough
Discussion: The Verge
Roy Bahat / Also:
Could coding be the next mass profession?
Discussion: Slate
T.C. Sottek / The Verge:
Raspberry Pi computers fetch high prices at charity auction
Discussion: EE Times and Gizmodo
 Earlier Items: 
Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
Sweet irony: Righthaven sued by company it used to sue others
Discussion: TeleRead
Alex Heath / Cult of Mac:
Apple Now Taking Legal Action Against App Store Piracy
Discussion: Computerworld and Business Insider
Tiernan Ray / Tech Trader Daily:
RIM: Jefferies Says Moving Toward Licensing BB Software
Discussion: BGR, IntoMobile and Softpedia News
Hunter Walk / Elapsed Time:
You don't get to decide if you're a platform
Wall Street Journal:
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Washington Post's Don Graham Form Media Friendship
Steven Bertoni / Forbes:
Spotify's Daniel Ek: The Most Important Man In Music
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Ofcom rules that five GB News programs presented by Conservative politicians have broken its due impartiality rules and puts the channel “on notice”

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Authentic Brands licenses Sports Illustrated's publishing rights to The Players' Tribune owner Minute Media for 10 years, with plans to keep the print edition

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTuber MrBeast announces a deal with Prime Video for Beast Games, a reality-competition show with 1,000 contestants, promising the winner a $5M cash prize

 
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