Techmeme: Why is Microsoft scared of Chromebooks? (Tom Warren/The Verge)

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December 7, 2013, 3:20 PM

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Tom Warren / The Verge:

Why is Microsoft scared of Chromebooks? — Something has Redmond spooked — “It's pretty much a brick,” says Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison as he rejects a Samsung Chromebook brought in by an actor playing a customer. Microsoft really doesn't want you buying this thing. — But why?

More: Forbes, Electronista, Maximum PC, CNET, Inquirer, Digital Trends, Ubergizmo, GeekWire, BGR, TechCrunch and 9to5Google. Tweets: @hunterwalk

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Teardown estimates Moto G components cost $123, leaving a profit margin of less than 5% — Google Squeezes Margins on Moto G Phone — A ‘Teardown’ of $199 Device Pegs Component Costs at $123 — Google Inc. 's Motorola unit is selling its new Moto G smartphone at starkly thinner profit margins …

More: AndroidHeadlines.com, Android Beat, Phones Review, PhoneArena, SlashGear and pocketnow.com

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Too many startups are now building poorly differentiated messaging apps — Overrun With Messaging Apps — Because I'll install almost any app on my iPhone just to take a look, I've got a jam-packed folder called “messaging apps” that's now five pages deep.

Tweets: @caseynewton

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:

The Open Secret Of iBeacon: Apple Could Have 250M Potential Units In The Wild By 2014 — Yesterday, Apple began a small press push on its new iBeacon technology, pushed an Apple Store app update to support them and turned the feature on in 254 U.S. based stores in an initial rollout.

More: Business Insider, Yahoo! News, AppleTell, MacRumors, Macworld and Gigaom

Graham Cluley:

Check if you're the victim of a database breach with ‘Have I Been Pwned?’ — It seems to me that there is almost always a website making the news headlines, attempting to explain to innocent users that hackers breached its security, and stole the email addresses and passwords of innocent users.

More: PC World, ZDNet, Troy Hunt's Blog, Digital Trends, Softpedia News and Geek.com

Chris Chavez / Phandroid:

Prescription Google Glass pictured in the wild gives us our best look at the eyewear yet — Up until now, we haven't gotten a real good look at Google's plans for prescription eyewearers looking to outfit themselves with Google Glass. Sure there was the scruffy looking fella from months ago …

More: SlashGear, 9to5Google, Softpedia News, Yahoo! News and Droid Life

Washington Post:

FBI's search for ‘Mo,’ suspect in bomb threats, highlights use of malware for surveillance — The man who called himself “Mo” had dark hair, a foreign accent and — if the pictures he e-mailed to federal investigators could be believed — an Iranian military uniform.

More: Gizmodo, Softpedia News and Ars Technica

Tweets: @arawnsley and @csoghoian

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Google says 91.4% of non-spam emails sent to Gmail users are now authenticated using antiphishing standards — Google today declared that after almost a decade of fighting phishing emails, the Internet-wide efforts are finally paying off. The company revealed that 91.4 percent …

More: Google Online Security Blog, Softpedia News, CNET and BetaNews

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Smooth operators: why phone companies don't fight the NSA — Will AT&T and Verizon ever push back against NSA surveillance? Don't bet on it — Last week, the New York Times unearthed a troubling twist to the endless stream of bad surveillance news. Not only is AT&T handing …

More: Firedoglake. Tweets: @laughingstoic

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

T-Mobile Taps MetroPCS' Spectrum to Boost LTE Network Speeds — T-Mobile has started rolling out higher-speed LTE service by tapping the airwaves it acquired as part of its MetroPCS acquisition. — Just before Thanksgiving, T-Mobile quietly turned on the faster service in parts of North Dallas.

More: App Advice, AndroidHeadlines.com, Engadget and 9to5Mac

Bethany McLean / Vanity Fair:

Is Marissa Mayer Helping Yahoo - or Hurting the Struggling Tech Giant? — As one of Google's highest-ranking women, Marissa Mayer became a Silicon Valley superstar, but inside the search giant her dazzle sometimes wore thin, with colleagues rebelling against her imperious style.

More: Valleywag, Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, AllThingsD, Business Insider, Digits and The Verge

Tweets: @evelynrusli and @tapbot_paul

Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:

Google could launch ‘Nexus TV’ Android set-top next year, says report — Google isn't giving up its living room ambitions. The company is said to be working on a “Nexus TV” device that will run Android, stream video from services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, and play a selection of video games.

More: The Information, Phandroid, Mashable, T3 News, I4U News, Digital Trends, PhoneArena, TechnoBuffalo, 9to5Google, iPhone Hacks, IntoMobile, Gotta Be Mobile, Android Beat, TechHive, Android and Me, Gigaom, BGR and Engadget

Tweets: @dannysullivan and @amir

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