Techmeme: FTC tells EPIC to mind its own business regarding Google's privacy changes (Jake Smith/9to5Google)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News

February 18, 2012, 7:00 PM

Top News

Josh Lowensohn / CNET:

Settlement reached in iPhone 4 antennagate suit — A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit targeting the antenna in Apple's iPhone 4. Original buyers are entitled to $15 or a new bumper case from Apple. — An iPhone 4 being tested inside one of Apple's anechoic chambers …

Ashley Lutz / Bloomberg:

Retailers Shut Facebook Storefonts Amid Apathy — Last April, Gamestop Corp. (GME) opened a store on Facebook to generate sales among the 3.5 million-plus customers who'd declared themselves “fans” of the video game retailer. Six months later, the store was quietly shuttered. — Gamestop has company.

More: Friending Facebook Blog, Social Media, Tech~Surf~Blog, Pulse2 Technology …, All Facebook and Marketing Pilgrim. Thanks:@sarahfrier

Federico Viticci / MacStories:

VLC 2.0 Released: What's New, And An Interview With VideoLAN Developers — Back in February 2010, I wrote a post for MacStories about Lunettes, a codename of a new interface for VideoLAN's popular media player VLC. Back then, I used to spend a good portion of my days fiddling with media players …

More: 9to5Mac, Electronista, VideoLAN and feepk@videolan

Jake Smith / 9to5Google:

FTC tells EPIC to mind its own business regarding Google's privacy changes — Consumer watchdog Electronic Privacy Information Center, also known as EPIC, sued the FTC last week in hopes to draw attention to Google's new privacy policy. For those unfamiliar, Google's new privacy policy …

More: Bits, Bloomberg and epic.org

Stephen Shankland / CNET:

Faster Chromebooks to leapfrog today's slowpokes — Even for those who buy into cloud computing, the first-generation Chromebook can be painfully pokey. But next-gen models should appeal to more people. — Sundar Pichai, SVP of Chrome — Because I've got cloud-computing religion …

More: Softpedia News and 9to5Google

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple grants ABC access to its Chinese supply chain, report to air February 21st — The most mainstream technology company-related controversy within the past few weeks is most likely the issue of Chinese supplier-working conditions. In January, the New York Times published a lengthy …

More: PC Magazine, ABCNEWS, Pulse2 Technology …, MacStories, The Next Web, TUAW, AppleInsider and Reuters

Susan Decker / Bloomberg:

Apple Files Competition Claim Against Motorola Mobility — Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. said Apple Inc. filed a complaint with the European Union's competition authority accusing the company of violating a pledge to license industry-standard patents on fair terms.

More: The Verge, FOSS Patents, Reuters, VentureBeat, Engadget, SlashGear, Pulse2 Technology … and The Next Web

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Coming March 22: Angry Birds Space — It seems that planet Earth isn't big enough for Angry Birds anymore. The cute cartoon characters are headed into the void with the upcoming Angry Birds Space game from Rovio. — Angry Birds has been the major success story of mobile games …

More: Geek Beat Technology News, Pulse2 Technology …, MacStories, Engadget, IntoMobile, Softpedia News, PC World, Joystiq, BGR, The Verge, CNNMoney.com, WebProNews, VG247, Gotta Be Mobile, Kotaku, TechCrunch and AllThingsD. Thanks:@deantak

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Groupon On A Buying Spree: Buys Mobile Payment Specialist Kima Labs — Another acquisition for Groupon, and a sign of how the e-commerce company is getting more focused on mobile as a route to future growth: it has picked up Kima Labs, which makes mobile barcode reading app Barcode Hero and mobile payment app TapBuy.

More: Softpedia News and The Next Web. Thanks:@ingridlunden

Jenna Wortham / Bits:

Groupon Buys Hyperpublic, a Local Data Start-Up

More: WebProNews, AllThingsD, VentureBeat and TechCrunch

Greg Sandoval / CNET:

Microsoft mulls plan for new music service (exclusive) — The software maker has discussed with some of the major record companies about creating a music service to serve Xbox as well as an upcoming Windows-based phone. — Microsoft is in talks with some of the major record companies …

More: Digital Trends, Redmond Pie, Bink.nu, maindevice.com, GadgeTell, TechnoBuffalo, Pulse2 Technology …, Softpedia News, LiveSide.net, Windows 8 Beta, Ubergizmo, The Next Web, The Verge, Gizmodo, Neowin.net, WinBeta, Electronista and WMPoweruser. See also Mediagazer

Kyle Wagner / Gizmodo:

Everything Apple's Trying to Kill with OS X Mountain Lion — Apple's OS X Mountain Lion brings a lot of new features to the table. It's the future of instant messaging, for one thing, and probably more than a few other things as well. — But with the update, Apple's also moving to push …

More: Growl and Business Insider

Geoffrey A. Fowler / Wall Street Journal:

New Charges Against Megaupload — A Virginia grand jury filed additional criminal charges on Thursday against Megaupload, the online file sharing site that U.S. authorities shut down in January and charged with copyright theft. — The new indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia …

More: CNN, Ars Technica, Electronista and Media Decoder

Sponsor Posts

Google:

Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life

Shopify:

Shopify's new AI commerce stack — Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.

Zoho:

Zoho People in 2025: A year in review — As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People. Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:

OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Hard Fork:

Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Access:

Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour

A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.

Subscribe to Access.

Lenny's Podcast:

The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.

Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:00 PM ET, February 18, 2012.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.