Techmeme: Pawn Storm spyware, aimed at Western governments, military, and media, now targeting non-jailbroken iOS devices, has possible links to Russian government (Sean Gallagher/Ars Technica)

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February 4, 2015, 9:25 PM

Top News

Tom Wheeler / Wired:

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler proposes Title II based net neutrality rules for wired and wireless networks — FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality — Federal Communication Commission(FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler waits for a hearing at the FCC December 11, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Chris Welch / The Verge:

ISPs, wireless carriers, and Washington insiders react to FCC's net neutrality proposal — With FCC chairman now firmly planted behind the idea of classifying internet providers under Title II, we're expecting a massive reaction to his new plan for preserving net neutrality.

More: Wireless Week, Re/code, Ars Technica and TechCrunch

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

FCC will apply net neutrality to mobile for the first time

More: Wired, Mashable, Gizmodo, The Register and Wall Street Journal. See also Mediagazer

TechCrunch:

Microsoft Acquires Calendar App Sunrise For North Of $100 Million — Software giant Microsoft is in the process of trying to reinvent itself, and part of that reinvention evidently involves acquiring startups that have created products that compete with its own.

More: BetaNews, Engadget, Computerworld, AppleInsider, Xconomy, The Next Web, ZDNet, TheStreet.com, TechSpot, Gigaom, CNET, Om Malik, Business Insider, Forbes, PhoneDog.com, Business Insider, Windows Central, Droid Life, The Verge, SlashGear, WinBeta, Ubergizmo and Cult of Mac

Tweets: @tapbot_paul, @levie, @stevekovach, @hamburger and @viticci

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Apple is Talking to TV Programmers About Its Own Web TV Service — Apple has spent years circling the TV business, without ever really getting into the TV business. Now it may be ready to try again. — Industry executives say Apple is in talks with TV programmers about deals …

More: The Verge, CNET, VentureBeat, MacRumors, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, iMore, Engadget, Business Insider, MacDailyNews, Ubergizmo, iPhone in Canada Blog, iDownloadBlog.com, Cult of Mac and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @jessicalessin, @iankar_ and @daiwaka

See also Mediagazer

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple plans all-new Beats-based music service integrated into iOS, iTunes, and Apple TV, develops Android app in-house, considers charging $8/month — The Next Episode: Apple's plans for Beats-based music service revealed — Six months after buying the subscription music service Beats Music …

Re/code:

Apple Taps Samsung to Manufacture Next iPhone Chip — Apple is discovering it's harder to split from Samsung than it would like. — The company has used Samsung for all manner of components, though it has been working to reduce reliance on its chief rival.

More: Macworld, SamMobile, SlashGear, MacRumors, Forbes, Ubergizmo, VentureBeat, InvestorPlace, MacDailyNews, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac and ValueWalk

Sarah Frier / Bloomberg Business:

Twitter Reaches Deal for Tweets in Google Search Results — Don't Miss Out — (Bloomberg) — Twitter Inc. has struck a deal with Google Inc. to make its 140-character updates more searchable online. — In the first half of this year, tweets will start to be visible in Google's search results …

More: VentureBeat, 9to5Google, Gigaom, Engadget, The Verge, The Next Web and iDownloadBlog.com

Android Police:

The Next Android Revision Is Indeed ‘Android 5.1 Lollipop’, Shipping On Android One Phones, Coming To Nexus Devices — A few hours ago, we spotted no less than five mentions of “Android 5.1” on Google's Indonesian Android One page. Considering that 5.1 is quite a jump from 5.0.2 …

More: AndroidPIT, eWeek, Google Asia Pacific Blog, VentureBeat, TechSpot, Gotta Be Mobile, Business Insider, The Next Web, Droid Life, TechRadar.com, Ubergizmo, Ars Technica, PhoneDog.com, Phandroid, CNET, Phandroid, NDTV Gadgets and 9to5Google

Chance Miller / 9to5Google:

Android 5.0 Lollipop to begin rolling out to Sprint's Galaxy S5 tomorrow

More: Samsung US and AnandTech

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Seacrest-Backed Keyboard Case Maker Typo Ordered to Pay BlackBerry $860,000 — A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Typo Products owes BlackBerry more than $860,000 for violating an injunction barring sales of its original iPhone keyboard case. The contempt finding has to do with BlackBerry's allegations …

More: Engadget, Fortune, Globe and Mail, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada Blog, MobileSyrup.com, CrackBerry.com, Business Insider and Ubergizmo

Cadie Thompson / CNBC:

Silk Road website founder Ross Ulbricht found guilty on all counts — A jury has ruled Ross Ulbricht, the 30-year-old who founded the black market website Silk Road, guilty on all counts. — The FBI arrested Ulbricht in a sting operation in October 2013 accusing him of being the criminal …

More: Bloomberg Business, The Verge, FBI, Ars Technica, Forbes, NPR, Fortune, Gizmodo, The Next Web, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Boing Boing and Motherboard

Owen Williams / The Next Web:

Under Armour acquires MyFitnessPal for $475M and Endomondo for $85M — Under Armour acquires MyFitnessPal for $475M and Endomondo for $85M — Under Armour just announced it has acquired both Endomondo and MyFitnessPal today. — The company said the acquisition establishes ownership of the …

More: Wired, PR Newswire, Gigaom, TechCrunch, CNET, Gizmodo, GeekWire, Android Police, ReadWrite, Re/code, Fortune, Business Insider, Engadget, iMore, SocialTimes, bizjournals, Bloomberg Business, Pocket-lint, Mashable and Wearable Tech Insider

Tweets: @theromit and @joannastern

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Verizon Cuts Most Data Plan Costs by $10 Per Month — Verizon on Wednesday announced a series of price cuts, chopping $10 per month off most of its monthly data plans. — A monthly shared data plan with 1GB of data will now start at $30 per month, rather than $40, with other rate plans getting a similar cut.

More: PR Newswire, Droid Life, iMore, BGR, The Verge, Phandroid, AppleInsider, Ubergizmo and Business Insider

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

PayPal's retail head Don Kingsborough leaves, says team didn't accomplish as much as it should have — PayPal's Retail Chief Don Kingsborough Exits ‘A Little Frustrated’ — Don Kingsborough, the PayPal executive who spearheaded the online payment giant's move into the physical retail world …

Thanks:@delrey

Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:

Pawn Storm spyware, aimed at Western governments, military, and media, now targeting non-jailbroken iOS devices, has possible links to Russian government — Spyware aimed at Western governments, journalists hits iOS devices — Alleged Russian gov't malware records audio, screenshots, steals personal data.

More: blog.trendmicro.com

Steven Levy / Backchannel:

How Twitter developed its revenue model, even as user growth disappointed — While Twitter struggles to get new users, its revenue side is killing it. — In 2009 Twitter was a 50-person company punching way above its weight in cultural impact, its micro-blogging platform blasting its way into the public imagination.

Tweets: @om, @daiwaka, @monkbent, @stevenlevy, @evelynrusli, @jyarow and @twitterads

Don Reisinger / CNET:

Google acquires Launchpad Toys, maker of popular storytelling app for kids Toontastic — Google acquires Toontastic for tike-friendly tinkering — The search giant scoops up Launchpad Toys and its popular make-your-own cartoon app, which is now free to all users.

More: iMore, 9to5Google, The Next Web, VentureBeat and Phandroid

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

YouTube experiments with letting viewers choose multiple camera angles, to be tested by select performers — YouTube Launches Multi-Angle Video Experiment — Here is a small but fun experiment that YouTube is rolling out today: videos that let you switch between different camera angles while the video is playing.

More: The Next Web, BuzzFeed, YouTube Creators, Tubefilter, Gigaom, SlashGear, Neowin and iDownloadBlog.com. Tweets: @eileentv. See also Mediagazer

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft launches preview of universal Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for Windows 10 — Microsoft today launched the first part of its Office for Windows 10 in preview. You can download the new Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps now from the Windows Store Beta that ships with the latest Windows 10 build.

More: Office Blogs, Microsoft, Laptop Mag, Digital Trends, Engadget, Blogging Windows, Neowin, Computerworld, The Register, Gotta Be Mobile, The Next Web, Pureinfotech, SuperSite for Windows, WinBeta, Ars Technica, CNET, PC World and GeekWire

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Apple's iPhone Overtakes Android In US Sales For The First Time Since 2012 — Apple, in its flush of new, bigger iPhone 6 handsets, has been selling record numbers of its older and newer model smartphones in the last few months, and now it's passed another significant milestone …

More: Computerworld, 9to5Mac, Kantar Worldpanel, The Loop, AppleTell and Marketing Land

Deborah Gage / Wall Street Journal:

Fast-Growing Zoom Raises $30 Million for Online Video Conferencing … Video conferencing companies have attracted millions of dollars in venture capital, as everyone from startups to large established companies like Cisco Systems Inc. try to make this technology work in the cloud.

More: eWeek and Xconomy

Phil Goldstein / FierceWireless:

Sony confirms it will axe another 1,100 employees in mobile unit — Sony confirmed it will cut another 1,100 employees from its Mobile Communications business, on top of the 1,000 job cuts it had already announced in that unit. The company, which disclosed the job cuts in conjunction …

More: Gigaom, 9to5Google and Computer Business Review

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Hem, Jason Goldberg's Pivot From Fab, Is Buying Design Business Discipline.eu — Hem, the Berlin-based home furnishings company that Jason Goldberg created last year as a pivot out of his flashy-but-challenged e-commerce portal Fab.com, is close to sewing up another acquisition.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix to Launch in Japan in Fall of 2015 — Netflix will launch a streaming-video subscription service in Japan this fall, the company announced on Wednesday. — Netflix also tweeted the news on its U.S. Twitter account. … Netflix has already telegraphed to Wall Street …

More: Netflix, The Next Web, Reuters, Engadget, Gigaom, Bloomberg Business, Hollywood Reporter and Deadline. See also Mediagazer

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