Techmeme: Battery tech stagnant and unlikely to advance for years; manufacturers skirt constraints by improving software, saving energy, and shrinking parts (Ian Sherr/CNET)

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December 3, 2014, 4:10 PM

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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: The Verge, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, PandoDaily, The Register, USA Today, The Next Web, Help Net Security, VentureBeat, Tech Times, Gigaom, BetaNews, Geek.com and 9to5Google

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.

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

Tweets: @karlbode and @ajitpaifcc

See also Mediagazer

Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:

Sony to Officially Name North Korea as Source of Hack Attack — Sony Pictures will officially name North Korea as the source of a hacking attack that has exposed sensitive files and brought down its corporate network last week, two sources close to the investigation tell Re/code.

More: Reuters, Fusion, eWeek, BuzzFeed, Fox News, Fortune, Business Insider, Business Insider, Lumension Optimal …, Consumerist, Guardian and Gizmodo

Tweets: @edmundlee and @mattgarrahan

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, The Verge, Wire, VentureBeat, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Wired.co.uk, PandoDaily, Light Reading, Gigaom, Tech Times and Wire

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, Inquirer, The Digital Reader, New York Times, Fortune, Ars Technica, GOV.UK departments and policy, The Register, Geeky Gadgets and Press Association

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Wired's Mat Honan Hired to Run New BuzzFeed Silicon Valley Bureau — Mat Honan, the high-profile Wired writer and editor, has been hired by BuzzFeed to become its new Silicon Valley bureau chief. — The online news site, which has been on a tear of late with a giant funding and a high-profile scoop …

Tweets: @buzzfeedben and @jsnell. See also Mediagazer

Marco della Cava / USA Today:

Google to create new versions of its most popular products for kids 12 and under starting early next year — Google to revamp its products with 12-and-under focus — SAN FRANCISCO - With Google processing 40,000 search queries a second - or 1.2 trillion a year - it's a safe bet that many of those doing the Googling are kids.

More: 9to5Google, The Next Web and Ubergizmo

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: @rycrist, @photomodo and @iansherr

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: Bluetooth Technology Website, Engadget, ReadWrite, Digital Trends, Gigaom, EE Times, Inquirer, MacRumors, PC World, 9to5Mac, Wearable Tech Insider and Mashable

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 …

Vanessa Friedman / New York Times:

Intel teams with Italian eyewear giant Luxottica for R&D in smart glasses, targets 2015 product release — Luxottica and Intel Take the Fashion/Tech Hookup to a Whole New Level — On Wednesday, Luxottica, the Italian eyewear behemoth, and Intel, the American technology giant …

More: Intel Newsroom, PandoDaily, Quartz, ReadWrite, TechCrunch, Wearable World News, Engadget, Reuters, eWeek, Wearable Tech Insider, Connectedly, Geeky Gadgets, ZDNet, Wall Street Journal, RTTNews and Gigaom

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Demand Founder Raises $20 Million at a $100 Million Valuation for Legal TV-Clipping Startup Whipclip — Longtime Los Angeles entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt is launching a startup called Whipclip in private beta today, striking a series of deals with big media companies and attracting a roster …

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