Techmeme: Skype Co-Founder Backs Wire, A New Communications App Launching Today On iOS, Android And Mac (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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December 3, 2014, 1:10 PM

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Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Mozilla exec at internal event: “we're going to get Firefox on iOS” — Firefox Could Soon Come To iOS — For a year now, Mozilla has categorically stated that it wouldn't release a version of Firefox for iOS because Apple won't let it use its own web engine on its platform.

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

UK announces a ‘Google tax’ to stop companies diverting profits overseas — Chancellor promises a 25 percent levy on any profits diverted overseas, but implementation will be key — The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, responsible for setting the UK's budget, today announced plans …

More: GOV.UK departments and policy, The Digital Reader, Fortune, Ars Technica, The Register, Press Association, GOV.UK departments and policy and Geeky Gadgets

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

FCC commmissioner Ajit Pai accuses Netflix of creating its own proprietary fast lanes on ISP networks — Netflix accused of creating fast lanes “at the expense of competitors” — Ajit Pai of the Federal Communications Commission today accused Netflix of “secur[ing] ‘fast lanes’ for its own content” …

More: VentureBeat, Re/code, The Hill, Pocketables, The Register, SlashGear, Electronista, Broadcasting & Cable, FierceCable and TechCrunch

Tweets: @karlbode and @ajitpaifcc

See also Mediagazer

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Skype Co-Founder Backs Wire, A New Communications App Launching Today On iOS, Android And Mac — Skype co-founder Janus Friis is backing a new communications app called Wire, out now for iOS, Android and Mac OS X. The app itself is the reimagining of how a communications tool like Skype should operate had it been built today.

More: Guardian, GeekWire, Gizmodo, Engadget, Business Insider, The Verge, PandoDaily, Wire, Wire, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, Light Reading, Tech Times, Wired.co.uk and Gigaom

Howard Blume / Los Angeles Times:

FBI seizes L.A. Unified School District documents in iPad investigation; superintendent shelves original iPad contract — Ex-LAUSD chief says he knows nothing about FBI iPad investigation — Former L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said Tuesday that he didn't know anything about an FBI investigation …

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Indiegogo Is Testing Optional Insurance Fees For Crowdfunded Products — This year has been a tricky one for crowdfunding site Indiegogo, thanks to a number of campaigns using its service to raise money for dubious projects (though there have been some cool uses).

More: Engadget, Ubergizmo, SiliconANGLE, MediaNama, The Next Web, Electronista, PC World, SlashGear and Gizmodo. Tweets: @jonrussell

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Google Drive now lets you edit Microsoft Office attachments right from Gmail — Google today announced a very useful new addition to Gmail: editing Microsoft Office documents that arrive as email attachments. A new Google Drive edit icon has been added to Gmail attachments that you can click …

More: Google Drive, Google Apps update alerts, PC World, 9to5Google, Google Operating System, SiliconANGLE, WinBeta, Ubergizmo, The Verge, cloudpro.co.uk, TechSpot, The Next Web, Lifehacker, Engadget, Gizmodo, Android Police, SlashGear, GeekWire and Gizmodo

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

Google's new reCAPTCHA often requires just a single click, detects bots by analyzing IPs, cookies, and mouse movements; can still fall back to puzzles — Google Can Now Tell You're Not a Robot With Just One Click — When Alan Turing first conceived of the Turing Test in 1947 …

More: Google Online Security Blog, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Register, Help Net Security, Gigaom, BetaNews, The Next Web, VentureBeat, 9to5Google and Geek.com

Ben Grubb / Sydney Morning Herald:

Apple loses appeal to trademark ‘app store’ in Australia — In a blow to Apple, Australia's Federal Court has rejected an appeal by the technology giant to trademark the term “app store”. — The Registrar of Trade Marks refused registration of Apple's “app store” trademark in March last year because it was too descriptive.

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

New Bluetooth 4.2 spec brings IPv6, better privacy, and increased speed — Almost exactly a year ago, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced Bluetooth 4.1, an update that improved speed for bulk data transfers, reduced the likelihood of LTE interference, and made it easier for various …

More: Engadget, Bluetooth Technology Website, Inquirer, ReadWrite, Gigaom, MacRumors, PC World, 9to5Mac, EE Times and Mashable

Don Reisinger / CNET:

Roku remains most popular streaming-media device, Chromecast takes second place from Apple TV as sales keep rising — Roku still tops as sales of streaming-media players rise — Ten percent of US households with a broadband connection purchased a streaming-media device in the first nine months …

More: Parks Associates, Business Insider, Android Authority, Ubergizmo, DSLreports, Wall Street Journal, TechSpot, TechnoBuffalo, PC World, 9to5Google, MacRumors, AppleInsider and SlashGear. Tweets: @dannysullivan. See also Mediagazer

Ian Sherr / CNET:

Battery tech stagnant and unlikely to advance for years; manufacturers skirt constraints by improving software, saving energy, and shrinking parts — It's 2014. Why is my battery stuck in the '90s? — The devices we all rely on continue to evolve radically. So why has the battery industry failed?

More: ZDNet. Tweets: @iansherr, @photomodo and @rycrist

Dana Wollman / Engadget:

HP's Elitebook 1020 is a 12.5-inch Intel Core M-powered business ultrabook with optional QHD display coming in February — HP's newest laptop is sexy, but you can't buy it until next year — Last week we ran our review of the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, a 13-inch laptop that weighs a scant 2.6 pounds and measures just half an inch thick.

More: Laptop Mag, The Verge, BGR, PC World, Tech Times, Gizmodo, BetaNews and Geek.com

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

Sen. Al Franken Questions Lyft On Its Privacy Practices — Senator Al Franken today sent a letter to Lyft asking it to detail its privacy practices. — Sen. Franken's questions come in 10 parts, and hit on predictable points: which employees can access customer data …

More: TechPresident, Washington Post, SlashGear, BuzzFeed and The Hill

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

IBM: Cyber Monday online sales up 8.5%, iOS numbers more than quadruple Android's — Cyber Monday, the day meant to encourage even more buying in the wake of the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, remained the busiest day this year for online shopping over the five-day period.

More: comScore, Custora Blog, BGR, TechCrunch, Walmart Corporate, internetretailer.com, DISPLAYBLOG, Fortune, BuzzFeed and SlashGear. Thanks:@harrisonweber

Derrick Harris / Gigaom:

Amazon Web Services adds no-money-down reserved instances — Amazon Web Services didn't announce any new price cuts at its annual re:Invent conference last month, but there's more to the economics of cloud computing than just lower prices. The company demonstrated as much on Tuesday …

More: Amazon Web Services Blog, InfoWorld, SiliconANGLE, InfoQ, TechCrunch, ZDNet, VentureBeat and Data Center Knowledge

Dan Levine / Reuters:

Steve Jobs emails featured in Apple iPod U.S. antitrust trial — (Reuters) - The late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc (AAPL.O), led the company to violate antitrust laws by restricting music purchases for iPod users to Apple's iTunes digital store, an attorney for consumers suing Apple said in court.

More: CNNMoney.com, CNET, MacRumors, MacDailyNews, New York Times, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, Business Insider, 9to5Mac, iPhone Hacks, Cult of Mac, The Seattle Times, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, Mercury News and Wall Street Journal

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Vimeo Revamps Its Mobile Website, Adds Features For Logged Out Users — Video service Vimeo is out this morning with a faster, revamped mobile website that reduces clutter, improves performance and lets users interact with the service while logged out. On the updated site …

More: Vimeo Staff Blog, The Next Web, VentureBeat, Engadget, SlashGear, WebProNews, FierceMobileIT News, Tubefilter and Ubergizmo. Tweets: @marshallk

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Sonos raises $130M according to SEC filing, bringing its total funding to around $455M — Sonos Scores $130M To Put Smart Speakers In Every Home — Suddenly, music is a business again. After years of wallowing in the post-Napster/iTunes era, streaming is beginning to take hold and everyone's phone is now an iPod.

More: RAIN News and VentureBeat. Tweets: @joshconstine and @caseynewton

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