Techmeme: Unmasking the trolls: FTC announces investigation into “patent assertion entities” (Jeff John Roberts/GigaOM)

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September 27, 2013, 3:00 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Ballmer bids tearful farewell to Microsoft, promises it will ‘deliver the next big thing’ — Microsoft's Steve Ballmer bid farewell to employees today at his final company meeting as CEO. After announcing his intentions to retire within the next 12 months, Ballmer's speech today was clearly an emotional moment for him personally.

More: GeekWire, SiliconBeat, ZDNet, Betabeat, Los Angeles Times, WindowsObserver.com, BBC, The Next Web, Reuters, MSDN Blogs, Gizmodo UK, The Register, memeburn, MacDailyNews, Business Insider, GeekWire, Digits, GigaOM, The Atlantic Wire and Datamation.com

Tweets: @stevekovach, @karaswisher, @tomwarren, @siracusa and @ftrain

Thanks:@jimmyjonesboy

David Meyer / GigaOM:

Samsung: We don't region-lock our phones (apart from when you first activate them) — Samsung shed further light on its region-locking policies on Friday, explaining that the locks only affect users the first time they activate the handset. The manufacturer also said the locks apply …

More: ZDNet, Digital Trends, Mashable, Inquirer, Yahoo! News, Guardian, Softpedia News and The Register. Tweets: @gigaom

Bloomberg:

HTC to Sell Back Stake in Beats Electronics for $265 Million — HTC Corp. (2498), the Taiwanese smartphone vendor whose stock has plunged 90 percent since 2011, is selling its remaining stake in headphone maker Beats Electronics LLC for $265 million. — HTC will close the sale …

More: AllThingsD, DealBook, Engadget, The Verge, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, The Straits Times, Macgasm, GigaOM, Android Beat and hypebot

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft expanding Office's reach with ‘Reader’ for Windows 8 and ‘Lens’ for Windows Phone — Microsoft is building another Office Windows 8-style application. Sources familiar with Microsoft's Office plans have revealed to The Verge that the app, codenamed Office Reader …

More: ZDNet, WinBeta, The Next Web, WMPoweruser, Pureinfotech Newsletter and Electronista

Russell Holly / Geek.com:

Google Glass XE10 update to finally open the door to Glassware apps — Google Glass is about to get one of its biggest updates yet. That's right, Glass is finally getting the long-awaited ability for users to install third party apps. — Google's wearable computer has improved dramatically since …

More: Android Authority, SlashGear, SlashGear, Android Community and 9to5Google

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Intel Pushes Internet TV Launch to 2014 as It Seeks Partners: Source — Netflix among potential partners with desired ‘synergies’ the chipmaker has approached — Intel's launch of an over-the-top TV service that would compete with cable and satellite giants will be delayed until 2014 …

More: SlashGear

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Intel Looking for Help from Amazon or Samsung to Keep Its Web TV Project Alive

More: PC Magazine, Business Insider, SiliconANGLE, The Tech Report, PC Pro, Softpedia News, Mashable, Engadget, GigaOM, Bloomberg, InvestorPlace, SlashGear, The Verge and Digits

Tweets: @counternotions, @stevecheney, @trengriffin and @tcarmody

See also Mediagazer

VentureBeat:

Google Glass competitor ships 50K devices, takes Intel investment, hints at Apple connection — Google Glass competitor Recon, which sells the Recon Jet heads-up display and bills itself as the Google Glass for athletes and professionals, has secured an investment from Intel Capital.

More: AllThingsD, CNET, ZDNet, bit-tech.net and MacDailyNews

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Is Ford's Alan Mulally Now in the Lead to Be New CEO of Microsoft? — According to sources close to the situation, Ford CEO Alan Mulally has vaulted to the forefront of the candidates to become the new CEO of Microsoft. — Earlier this month, the well-known leader of the car maker categorically denied …

More: CNNMoney.com, Pocket-lint, VG247, TheStreet.com, StrictlyVC, SiliconANGLE, I4U News, Softpedia News, LiveSide.net, PC Magazine, GamesIndustry International, SlashGear, GeekWire, GigaOM, Business Insider, Tech Trader Daily and The Seattle Times

Wall Street Journal:

John Thompson, the Man Picking Microsoft's Next CEO

More: Digits. See also Mediagazer

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple hires one of Nike's top Fuel Band designers to work on wearable devices — Apple has lured away top Nike design director Ben Shaffer, according to a source at Nike with knowledge of the details behind Shaffer's departure. At Nike, Shaffer was the Studio Director of the Innovation Kitchen.

More: BGR, MacRumors, The Verge, Fast Company and Engadget

Kaylene Hong / The Next Web:

China approves plans to lift 13-year ban on the sale of video game consoles — China has officially approved plans to lift a 13-year ban on the sales of video game consoles in the country, heralding in a huge market for game console developers such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

More: Wall Street Journal, Tech in Asia, Benzinga, PC World, SlashGear, The Verge, Polygon, Softpedia News, WebProNews and AllThingsD

Paul Thurrott / WindowsITPro:

Delta to Distribute Surface 2 to Pilots — Original plan was to use the Nokia Windows RT tablet — Delta will distribute Microsoft Surface 2 tablets to its pilots and not Nokia's “Sirius” tablet as originally planned. The move comes in the wake of a deal to distribute Nokia Lumia 820 smart phones …

More: AppleInsider, Engadget, GeekWire, Examiner, Cult of Mac, Softpedia News, Windows Phone Central and WinBeta

Chris Velazco / TechCrunch:

BlackBerry Reports $1.6B In Revenue And A $965M Loss In Q2 2014 — Things have been looking awfully bleak for BlackBerry lately, and today the company revealed just how rough things have gotten in its newest earnings release. In fiscal Q2 2014, BlackBerry raked in a measly $1.6 billion in revenue …

More: Marketwired, Computerworld, Reuters, BGR, AllThingsD, Wall Street Journal, CNET, ZDNet, MobileSyrup.com, Globe and Mail, Engadget, Electronista and AllThingsD

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

Microsoft Received 37,196 Gov Requests For Data Impacting 66,539 Accounts In First Half Of 2013 — Today Microsoft reported the number of data requests it received from various law enforcement agencies around the world in the first half of (calendar) 2013: 37,196. Those requests dealt with, at most, 66,539 accounts.

Joan Lowy / Associated Press:

As expected, FAA panel recommends easing ban on electronic devices during takeoff and landing — Panel backs easing electronic device use on planes … WASHINGTON (AP) — A Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee recommended Thursday that airline passengers be allowed to use smartphones …

More: Examiner, iMore, The Verge, BostInno, SlashGear, Engadget, MacRumors, The Switch, I4U News, PhoneArena, Android Community, Gotta Be Mobile, iDownloadBlog.com, Pocket-lint, Electronista, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, iLounge, Boing Boing and Gizmodo UK

Tweets: @kimon, @rafat and @rafat

Jeff John Roberts / GigaOM:

Unmasking the trolls: FTC announces investigation into “patent assertion entities” — The Federal Trade Commission on Friday called for public comments on a proposed investigation into approximately 25 “patent assertion entities,” — more commonly known as patent trolls — and how they affect innovation and competition.

More: Federal Trade Commission, The Verge, VentureBeat, New York Times, Patent Law Blog and InfoWorld

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

U.S. officials dodge questions on scope of surveillance — U.S. officials declined to directly answer lawmakers' questions on Thursday about the full scope of the National Security Agency's collection of Americans' data, including whether it has ever sought to acquire large volumes of cellphone location information or other records.

More: New York Times. Tweets: @csoghoian. See also Mediagazer

Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:

Apple's German patent suit shut down by a 2007 video of Steve Jobs — A German court has declared an early Apple photo-management patent invalid because of evidence in a video in which Steve Jobs presented the original iPhone back in January 2007. — Apple had won injunctions against both Samsung …

More: FOSS Patents, Engadget, AppleInsider, TUAW, MacNN, TechEye and MacDailyNews

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Good Eggs Nabs $8.5 Million from Sequoia and Others for Local Farm-to-Fridge Effort (Video) — Good Eggs, the local farm-to-fridge local grocery delivery startup, has nabbed $8.5 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, which it will use to expand its sustainable food service to more cities.

More: TechCrunch, bizjournals and VentureBeat

Tweets: @sequoia_capital and @schreier

Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:

Samsung sends EU concessions package to avoid antitrust fine — Summary: The Korean electronics giant is in hot water over the use of patents in lawsuits against Apple. Now it's offering more in a bid to avoid a massive antitrust fine. — Zack Whittaker

More: EU Press Room, The Register, Yahoo! News and Sammy Hub

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