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Apple announces special event in New York on Jan. 19 — Apple on Wednesday sent out an invitation to The Loop and other media outlets to attend a special event being held in New York City next week. — Apple says the event will be about an education announcement and will take place on January 19 at the Guggenheim Museum.
Discussion:
AllThingsD, VentureBeat, Between the Lines Blog, Engadget, The Verge, ZDNet, MacRumors, BGR, TechCrunch, Mercury News, 9to5Mac, TUAW, Macgasm, PhoneArena, Gizmodo, Redmond Pie, Apple Bitch, Ars Technica, Tech Trader Daily, MacStories, everythingiCafe and The Next Web, Thanks:kevinmcelligott
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Nick Wingfield / Bits:
Apple Aims to Take On the Textbook Market — Apple is expected to begin a much-anticipated foray into the textbook market at an event in New York next week. — The company sent invitations to reporters on Wednesday for an event at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on Jan. 19.
Discussion:
Digits, GottaBeMobile, WebProNews and Media Decoder, Thanks:nickwingfield

Sharing a search story — I've been reading a lot of the coverage of the Search plus Your World launch and I wanted to share my story and then clarify something. — I love to stay up until early in the morning playing Werewolf. In early December I went to a journalism conference called …
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Chutzpah? — MG Siegler is on a campaign to excoriate Google for their creepy new tie-in between their search engine and Google-Plus. — It's not news, and certainly not surprising. And it's not surprising either that Twitter is upset, but what is surprising is the sheer chutzpah …
Discussion:
@scobleizer and Pocket-lint
Google+:
We are a bit surprised by Twitter's comments about Search plus Your World, because they chose not to renew their agreement with us last summer (http://goo.gl/chKwi), and since then we have observed their rel=nofollow instructions.

Google likely to face FTC complaint over ‘Search Plus Your World’ — A privacy watchdog group probably will complain to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that a new Google search feature raises privacy and antitrust concerns. — Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy …
Discussion:
CNET, Marketing Land, WebProNews, SlashGear and epic.org
Alex Macgillivray / @amac:
Folks asked for examples. Here's what a user searching for “@wwe” will be shown on the new @Google. http://t.co/QvaF9m35
Discussion:
parislemon, Marketing Land, @mathewi and @dannysullivan

Exclusive: Dell plots late-2012 consumer tablet launch — (Reuters) - Dell Inc intends to launch its first consumer tablet computer in late 2012, marking its entry into a hotly contested and increasingly crowded arena that has already claimed arch-foe Hewlett Packard.
Discussion:
eWeek, paidContent, PC World, TechFlash, CNET, AllThingsD, PadGadget, mocoNews, WebProNews, Android Phone Fans, PC Magazine, Liliputing, Between the Lines Blog, Under the Radar, Pocket-lint, Mobile Entertainment and TechEye
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Agam Shah / PC World:
Dell Announces XPS 13, Its First Ultrabook
Dell Announces XPS 13, Its First Ultrabook
Discussion:
L.A. Times Tech Blog, BetaNews, HP, eWeek, VentureBeat, Electronista, Newlaunches.com and Engadget

Exclusive: Microsoft Web TV subscription plan on hold — (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has put its talks with media companies about an online subscription service for TV shows and movies on hold, according to people familiar with the discussions. — The technology giant had been in intense talks …
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, Business Insider, Neowin.net, Electronista, VG247 and SlashGear

Nokia Could Sell 37 Million Windows Phones This Year — If 2011 was the year of Windows Phone's slow slog to market, 2012 may be the year of its breakout. — With a decent selection of handsets in the marketplace — including Nokia's newly announced LTE device, the Lumia 900 …
Discussion:
BetaNews, CNET, PhoneArena, IntoMobile, www.pocketgamer.biz, Neowin.net and WMPoweruser

Google's Schmidt Not Convinced Android is Fragmented — LAS VEGAS—Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt on Tuesday took issue with the idea that the Android mobile operating system is fragmented, arguing that there is instead a “differentiation” between devices.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, CNNMoney.com, eWeek, ces.cnet.com, Appolicious Advisor, SlashGear, PalmAddicts and MarketingVox News & Trends
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Sharon Gaudin / Computerworld:
Google's Schmidt says devices, apps need to be friends
Google's Schmidt says devices, apps need to be friends
Discussion:
ces.cnet.com, BGR, The Verge, CNET, PC World, LAPTOP Magazine, Softpedia News, PC Advisor and Windows 8 Tablet Forum

Apple's iPad app of the year, Snapseed, coming to Mac and Android tablets — Photography software developer Nik Software will soon release its popular Snapseed photo-editing application for Mac and select Android tablets. — Snapseed, originally released for iPhone and iPad …
Discussion:
Mobilized, CNET, eWeek, Imaging Insider, 9to5Google, Gadget Lab and Serious Compacts

Pegatron and Foxconn reportedly begin assembly of iPad 3 with Sharp display, launching in early-March — According to the Japanese blog Macotakara (which can be accurate with Apple rumor reporting), Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn Electronics (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) …
Discussion:
MACé" blog, Mobile Marketing Watch, AppleInsider, VentureBeat, PhoneArena, Redmond Pie, GigaOM, Softpedia News, PadGadget, Business Insider, Apple Bitch and Electronista

Hundreds Of Microsoft Employees Could Be Getting The Axe Soon — Microsoft is revamping its marketing strategy and may lay off hundreds of employees as a result. — Dina Bass at Bloomberg reports Steve Ballmer is concerned that the company isn't getting enough bang for its marketing buck …
Discussion:
Google Enterprise Blog, Bloomberg, All about Microsoft Blog, Tech Trader Daily and PC World

Motorola CEO: We're Going to Release Fewer Phones This Year — While the trend has been for Android device makers to throw new models off the assembly line at a dizzying pace, at least one phone manufacturer is stepping off the treadmill. — Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said his company plans …

Google TV product manager Rishi Chandra: ‘Android is going to be a successful operating system on TVs’ — Google's playing CES 2012 pretty low-key, even as Google TV products from major manufacturers like Sony, Vizio, LG, and Samsung have become one of the major stories of the show.
Discussion:
Engadget and WebProNews

Game streaming service OnLive to be preloaded on all Google TVs — It's going to get a lot easier to play cloud-based games on your television soon. Game streaming service OnLive announced today that its viewing service will be preloaded on the Google TV service.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, 9to5Google, CNET, SiliconFilter, The Verge, Business Insider, Engadget, The Official Google TV Blog, SlashGear and Lifehacker

Symantec accused of using ‘scareware’ tactics to sell full-version products — Summary: Anti-virus maker Symantec is charged in a lawsuit with misleading users into purchasing full versions of its software by peddling ‘scareware’ tactics. — Security firm Symantec is being taken to court …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Comcast — Owner Of NBC Universal — Admits That DNS Redirects Are Incompatible With DNSSEC — Well, well, well. Here's something interesting. Comcast, who owns NBC Universal (one of the main forces behind SOPA/PIPA), is officially a SOPA/PIPA supporter.
Discussion:
DSLreports

Social Entertainment Network GetGlue Raises $12 Million In New Financing — Social entertainment network GetGlue has just raised a significant round of $12 million in new financing, led by new investor Rho Ventures. The company's existing investors, TimeWarner, RRE Ventures and Union Square Ventures, also participated in this round.
Discussion:
GigaOM, Betabeat, VentureBeat, paidContent, Guardian, Adotas, The Next Web, AllThingsD, TVexchanger.com and @alexiskold

Lockdown: The coming war on general-purpose computing — General-purpose computers are astounding. They're so astounding that our society still struggles to come to grips with them, what they're for, how to accommodate them, and how to cope with them. This brings us back to something you might be sick of reading about: copyright.

It's time to place the web in safer hands — David Rowan, editor of WIRED magazine, launches a fearsome broadside against the internet's global domain registry ICANN, concluding the organisation is no longer fit for purpose. — Sorry, internet: it's time to place your custody in safer hands.

Shazam launches new app to replace iOS music player — Shazam has gotten a lot of mileage out of its music tagging application, which has been snapped up by 165 million users since launching in 2008. But now the company is rolling out its first new app called Shazam Player …
Discussion:
VentureBeat, Lifehacker, The Next Web and Fast Company

Digital Desert Hub - Can The Downtown Project Create Silicon Strip In Vegas? — While thousands of people swarmed all over CES, I went off-beat and headed north to downtown Las Vegas. This is the old part of the city where once gamblers at slot machines listened to Sinatra wafting through the Casino doors rather than Beyonce.

Apple May Need Cheaper Phones To Compete In China — Apple has been actively suing competitors like Samsung and HTC among others to protect its interests in the U.S. as well as outside markets. So far, the company has limited itself to developed countries such as the European and Australian markets.

TiVo: Recorded and Internet-Delivered Content Surpasses Live TV Viewership — The DVR company's audience research unit found that only 38 percent of viewing is live, or 27 percent among users of Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and other Web video options. — NEW YORK - DVR pioneer TiVo …
Discussion:
Techland and TechCrunch

Dutch ISPs Ordered To Block The Pirate Bay — In 2010, Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN went to court to try and force Ziggo, the largest ISP in the Netherlands, to implement a DNS and IP address block of The Pirate Bay. — To help avoid a damaging legal precedent, Ziggo was joined in the case by rival ISP XS4ALL.
Discussion:
The Register, Techdirt, DSLreports and The Next Web
Jim Finkle / Reuters:
Stratfor relaunches website in wake of attack — (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc (Stratfor) relaunched its website more than two weeks after hackers attacked its networks, stealing personal data of clients including Henry Kissinger and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
Discussion:
VentureBeat

Indignant workers threaten suicide at Foxconn park in Wuhan — About 300 Foxconn employees threatened to kill themselves on Jan. 2 after being denied compensation they were promised by the company. (Internet Photo) — According to the Chinese anti-government website China Jasmine Revolution …
Discussion:
This American Life Updates, Unboxing Asia Blog, TechEye, The Register, Apple Gazette, Softpedia News, Destructoid, Kotaku and @malcolmmoore

Sony's Kaz Hirai: no PlayStation 4 at E3 — It looks like you can officially put any hopes of a PlayStation 4 announcement at E3 to rest. In a roundtable with reporters at CES, Sony's Kaz Hirai responded to a question about recent comments attributed to gaming division head Andrew House by stating that …
Discussion:
AllThingsD, BetaNews, SlashGear, MCV: Home Stream, Destructoid, GamingBolt.com, VG247 and Kotaku