Techmeme: Lock Firm Onity Starts To Shell Out For Security Fixes To Hotels' Hackable Locks (Andy Greenberg/Forbes)

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December 8, 2012, 1:05 AM

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Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:

U.S. patent office declares ‘the Steve Jobs patent’ entirely invalid on non-final basis — For the second time in less than two months, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a first Office action tentatively declaring a key Apple multitouch patent invalid.

Bloomberg:

Apple Joins Google in $500 Million-Plus Bid for Kodak Patents — Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) have joined forces to offer more than $500 million to buy Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ)'s patents out of bankruptcy, said two people with knowledge of the situation.

More: The Verge, Engadget, MacRumors, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, PhoneArena, SeekingAlpha.com and iClarified

Alexei Oreskovic / Reuters:

Exclusive: Google to replace M&A chief, launch late-stage investment fund — (Reuters) - Google Inc is replacing the head of its in-house mergers and acquisitions group with one of its top lawyers and is planning to create a new late-stage investment group that longtime and outgoing corporate …

More: GigaOM, Electronista, Droid Life, SlashGear, VentureBeat, VatorNews, Digits, SeekingAlpha.com, Softpedia News, The Next Web, WebProNews, TechCrunch and 9to5Google

Eric Slivka / MacRumors:

iPhone 5 Now ‘In Stock’ in Apple's Online Stores for Several Countries — Just days after shipping estimates for new iPhone 5 orders improved to 2-4 business days, they are taking the final step with Apple now listing the device as “in stock” in many of its online stores.

More: Pocketables, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, iDownloadBlog.com, iPhone Hacks, Engadget, CNET, TUAW and iClarified

Douglas MacMillan / Bloomberg:

Groupon Surges on Google Takeover Speculation: Chicago Mover — Groupon Inc. (GRPN) surged to the highest price in three weeks on speculation that Google Inc. (GOOG) might consider buying the online coupon provider. — The shares advanced 23 percent to $4.69 in New York, closing at the highest price since Oct. 19.

More: VentureBeat, Forbes, SeekingAlpha.com, Business Insider and Tech Trader Daily

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Dropbox Hires Away Google's Guido Van Rossum, The Father Of Python — The original open source software “Benevolent Dictator For Life” and author of Python, Guido van Rossum, is leaving Google to join Dropbox, the startup will announce later today. Van Rossum was a software engineer at Google since 2005 …

More: Dropbox Tech Blog, Forbes, Wired and ZDNet. Thanks:@alexwilliams

Wall Street Journal:

They Know What You're Shopping For — 'You're looking at the premium package, right?' Companies today are increasingly tying people's real-life identities to their online browsing habits. — Georgia resident Andy Morar is in the market for a BMW . So recently he sent a note …

Tweets: @kissane, @counternotions and @csoghoian

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Apple's Power Within — Whether Apple's share-price plunge is justified comes down to one question: Is the iPhone maker a hardware or a software company? Right now, it is more the latter. And that is why the 22% drop in the shares since their September peak creates an opportunity for investors.

Tweets: @wsj and @tradefast

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Kim Dotcom posts screenshots of upcoming Mega site: key generator, registration, and file manager — Kim Dotcom just took to Twitter and posted three new screenshots of his upcoming Mega service, which will be hosted at the New Zealand-based domain Mega.co.nz.

More: Fox News, Gizmodo Australia …, TorrentFreak, Neowin, TweakTown News and BetaNews

Bloomberg:

Sprint Is Said to Suggest Dish Partnership — Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) has approached Dish Network Corp. (DISH) about a partnership that would allow the satellite-TV company to offer mobile-phone service over the carrier's network, two people familiar with the matter said.

More: Engadget, iFans, CNET, The Verge, BGR, Electronista, PhoneArena and SeekingAlpha.com

John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:

On Legacy iPhones and Cannibalization — By continuing to sell legacy iPhones after the debut of the device's latest iteration, Apple, which has long catered to the higher end of the markets it plays in, is extending its reach to price-sensitive consumers. That's a great way to spur iPhone adoption …

More: iDownloadBlog.com. Tweets: @waltmossberg

Dan Primack / Fortune:

Netflix CEO Hastings deserves SEC scrutiny — Netflix investors shouldn't be expected to search everywhere for information. — FORTUNE — Back in July, Netflix (NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings disclosed what may have been material company information via his personal Facebook page.

Tweets: @pkedrosky, @davemcclure, @danprimack, @fromedome, @hunterwalk and @pkafka

Bloomberg:

SEC Urged to Update Disclosure Rules on Netflix Warning

More: Digits, Business Week and Ars Technica

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Richard Stallman slams Ubuntu as spyware, prompting Canonical's Jono Bacon to call FUD — Richard Stallman, creator of the GNU Project and founder of the Free Software Foundation, declared on Friday that Ubuntu is spyware. Jono Bacon, Ubuntu's Community Manager, has countered on the same …

More: jonobacon@home and TechCrunch

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Discover Follows In AmEx's Footsteps With New Apple Passbook Integration — Major credit cards companies are slowly starting to adopt Apple Passbook technology, as the product becomes something that's more like a real mobile wallet than merely a ticket holder.

More: AppleInsider, Mobile Marketing Watch, FierceMobileContent News, 9to5Mac and App Advice

Jennifer Van Grove / VentureBeat:

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sells 946K shares for $26.2M gain — Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sold 946,588 Facebook shares across two separate transactions on Wednesday, according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sandberg's sales netted her $26.2 million.

More: Forbes and CNET

Quentin Hardy / NYT Bits:

Planning His Legacy, Cisco Chief Maps an Expansion — SAN JOSE, Calif. — John T. Chambers has readied his last great act as the leader of Cisco Systems, fearing major changes in the technology business that could doom his company. — In an interview at Cisco headquarters this week …

More: Reuters, Bloomberg, ZDNet, Mercury News, Venture Capital Dispatch, Tech Trader Daily, bizjournals and TechEye

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft reportedly moving Surface into additional retail stores ‘within days’ — Microsoft's Surface RT tablet is currently only available in the company's stores across the US or online in select countries, but that might be about to change. Paul Thurrott over at Windows IT Pro is reporting …

More: WindowsITPro, ZDNet, PhoneArena, Electronista, The Tech Block, Mashable!, Gotta Be Mobile, Computerworld, GeekWire and Neowin

Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:

With Layoffs At Japanese Gaming Giant GREE's SF Offices, Internal Memo Reveals Plans For Scaling Back To Tokyo — Here's some more background on the GREE layoffs. The $3.9 billion Japanese mobile gaming company announced a restructuring yesterday that will move much of the platform team …

More: GamesIndustry International, Inside Mobile Apps, FierceMobileContent News and Tech in Asia. Tweets: @carlosicaza

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