Techmeme: Why Nokia Is Building an Android Phone and Why Microsoft Might Not Kill It (Ina Fried/AllThingsD)

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December 11, 2013, 1:10 PM

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Tom Warren / The Verge:

Nokia's “Normandy” phone uses a forked variant of Android, a la Kindle Fire — This is Nokia's Android phone — Codename Normandy is ‘full steam ahead’ — Nokia has been building its own Android phone according to multiple sources familiar with the company's plans.

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

Why Nokia Is Building an Android Phone and Why Microsoft Might Not Kill It — So, is Nokia really working on an Android-based phone, and would Microsoft really go ahead with such a device? — The answer to the first one is definitely yes. And, surprisingly, the answer to the second question may be yes, as well.

More: Internet2Go, Computerworld, Examiner, Gigaom, T3 News and Phones Review

Marguerite Reardon / CNET:

AT&T chief: We can't keep doing big subsidies on phones — AT&T's top executive says the era of big subsidies for devices is coming to an end, as wireless operators can no longer afford to fund a constant smartphone upgrade cycle. — Speaking at an investor conference in New York City on Tuesday …

More: Forbes, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, TechHive, Gigaom, PadGadget, DSLreports, Android Community, Gizmodo, AppleInsider, TechnoBuffalo, SlashGear, iPhone, Gotta Be Mobile, App Advice, Cult of Mac, MacRumors, WebProNews, iClarified and PhoneArena

Tweets: @mweinbergpk and @johnlegere

The Switch:

NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking — The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using “cookies” and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.

More: Help Net Security, PandoDaily, Inquirer, Business Insider, Computerworld, TheHill, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, TechPresident, Nextgov, CNET, ZDNet, Gigaom, SocialTimes, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Verge, emptywheel and Yahoo! News

Tweets: @eff, @latentexistence, @jcstearns and @thomas_drake1

Ed Felten / Freedom to Tinker:

How to stop spies from piggybacking on commercial Web tracking

More: Techdirt and Computerworld

The Switch:

New documents show how the NSA infers relationships based on mobile location data

More: VentureBeat. Tweets: @schock

Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:

Spotify Goes Freemium On Tablets, Launches Free Shuffle Product On Smartphones — For the first time since launching, Spotify now offers free access to the streaming music service from tablets only, on iOS and Android. Meanwhile, users on smartphones can use Spotify Shuffle …

More: Spotify Blog, PandoDaily, The Verge, The Next Web, AllThingsD, The Verge, Betabeat, The Next Web, Guardian, TechHive, 9to5Mac, VentureBeat, Engadget, Gotta Be Mobile, TechnoBuffalo, Softpedia News and Union Square Ventures. See also Mediagazer

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft considers free versions of Windows Phone and Windows RT to battle Android — Redmond wants to counter Mountain View — Microsoft is considering making Windows Phone and Windows RT available free of charge to device makers. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed …

More: Inquirer, GeekWire, Gigaom, Computerworld, CNET, ZDNet, Ubergizmo, WinBeta, TechnoBuffalo, pocketnow.com, WMPoweruser, Business Insider and Softpedia News

Mary Jo Foley / Fortune:

Steve Ballmer and Microsoft's top executives reflect on his legacy — For Steve Ballmer, a lasting touch on Microsoft — As the world prepares for Microsoft to announce a new chief executive, we ask the company's top executives—including the man himself—to take a look at the legacy Steve Ballmer leaves on the technology company.

More: BGR, ZDNet, ZDNet, AppleInsider, Business Insider, WinBeta, The Verge and TechRepublic

Tweets: @fortunemagazine, @maryjofoley and @thurrott

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Behind the scenes look at Apple TV app development w/ the new Bloomberg channel — Unlike its developer program and vast ecosystem of apps on iOS and Mac, there's not much we know about Apple's strategy for content on the Apple TV. There's been a lot of talk that a much rumored refreshed …

More: MacRumors, 9to5Mac, iMore, Gigaom, The Verge, Macworld, iPhone in Canada Blog, Gotta Be Mobile, SlashGear, iLounge, iDownloadBlog.com, TUAW and App Advice. Tweets: @markgurman. Thanks:@benjaminzamayo. See also Mediagazer

Michele Sinner / Reuters:

Cisco loses court challenge to Microsoft's takeover of Skype — (Reuters) - Microsoft fended off a challenge to its $8.5 billion takeover of messaging service Skype when Europe's second-highest court ruled against claims by rival Cisco that the 2011 deal would harm competition.

More: AllThingsD, Gigaom, Lastest ITProPortal news, PC World, The Verge, CNET, WinBeta, Bloomberg and ZDNet

Jon Fingas / Engadget:

Dell unveils education-focused Chromebook 11, arriving in January for under $300 — As promised, Dell has taken the wraps off its first Chrome OS device, the Chromebook 11. The 11.6-inch, 2.9-pound laptop is built with the classroom in mind, and it should ship in tandem with a Wyse PocketCloud app …

More: Dell, Inquirer, VentureBeat, PC Magazine, Ars Technica, PC World, LAPTOP Magazine, Gigaom, The Next Web, The Verge, TechCrunch, Google Enterprise Blog, Ubergizmo, Gotta Be Mobile, The Tech Report, Electronista and Android Community

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Google Sheets Gets Offline Editing, Speed Boost And Filter Views — Google today is launching a major update to Sheets, its Google Drive spreadsheet app that's part of Google Drive productivity suite. With this new version, Sheets joins the rest of Google's productivity apps in letting users create …

More: AllThingsD, The Next Web, CNET, Engadget and Ubergizmo

Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:

YouTube Channels Crippled By Copyright Claims — Numerous video game-related YouTube personalities have spent the last day digging through piles of copyright claims suddenly filling their inboxes, claims that they say are messing with their ability to produce and profit from videos they post online.

More: Tubefilter, Polygon, Plagiarism Today, VentureBeat, Plagiarism Today and Marketing Pilgrim. Tweets: @andrewgirdwood. See also Mediagazer

Ken Yeung / The Next Web:

Square acquires Evenly to better enable its users to collect payments from friends — Square has announced another addition to its growing list of acquisitions. In a blog post, the mobile payment processing company revealed that it has acquired Evenly, a service designed around helping …

More: The Corner, AllThingsD and TechCrunch

Bloomberg:

Microsoft's Xbox One Sales Hit 2 Million Amid Race to Catch Sony — Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said sales of the new Xbox One video-game console reached more than 2 million in its first 18 days on the market, as the company vies to keep pace with Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 4 during the holiday season.

More: Xbox Wire, The Verge, Ars Technica, The Next Web, BGR, CNNMoney.com, GeekWire, CNET, VentureBeat, Xbox Live's Major Nelson, Reuters, Digits, Mashable, WebProNews, TechnoBuffalo, Kotaku, Softpedia News and Polygon

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Glassdoor: Twitter dethrones Facebook as the best tech company to work for, ending three-year streak — Career website Glassdoor today released its sixth annual Employees' Choice Awards, a list of the 50 best places to work for in the coming year. Twitter was elected the number one tech company …

More: Fortune, AllFacebook, AllThingsD, ReadWrite, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, CNET, Softpedia News, TUAW, Gigaom, SiliconANGLE, MacNN, PhoneArena, SiliconBeat, VentureBeat and Business Insider

Tweets: @tonyw and @ober

Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:

Palantir's Latest Round Valuing It At $9B Swells To $107.8M In New Funding — Palantir, the big data company that started off with clients like the FBI and CIA before building up a large private-sector roster of customers, just added more funding to its coffers.

More: Beyond Search

Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:

“Revenge porn” operator arrested, charged with ID theft — Websites that post nude pictures of adults without their permission, commonly known as “revenge porn” sites, have recently drawn public scorn and a few lawsuits. — Now, the owner of one revenge porn website is facing prison.

More: California Attorney …, CNET, Business Insider, The Switch, BBC, Forbes, Boing Boing, TheHill, Digits and Guardian

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Rdio Launches In 20 New Countries, As 57% Of New Users Come From Outside U.S. — Streaming music provider Rdio has just launched its services in 20 new countries, making for a total reach of 51 different international markets. That's more than rival Spotify, for those counting …

More: Rdio Blog, Engadget, The Next Web, BetaNews, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Softpedia News, Engadget, MacNN, iDownloadBlog.com and Gigaom. See also Mediagazer

Christina Farr / VentureBeat:

Coursera debuts its iPhone app to bring you online education on the go — Andrew Ng, a co-founder of Coursera, at an IBM research event — Coursera appears to be racing ahead of its competition in its quest to bring online education to your smartphone. — The Mountain View-based online …

More: New York Times, Coursera Blog, App Advice, Engadget, AllThingsD and The Next Web

Thomas Gryta / Wall Street Journal:

First major U.S. wireless spectrum auction since 2008 attracts speculators, no major carriers — A Gold Rush Hits Wireless Spectrum — First U.S. Auction of Airwaves Since 2008 Lures Speculators — The U.S. government's first major auction of wireless airwaves since 2008 has speculators panning for gold.

Tweets: @tgryta

Artem Russakovskii / Android Police:

Google Play Books now allows ebook uploads from any Android device — Google Play Books Update 3.1.17 Finally Lets You Upload Books Directly From Devices, Open Books Faster And Smoother, And More [APK Download] — Google Play Books update 3.1.17 is slowly rolling out …

More: TeleRead, Engadget and The Next Web

Variety:

Epic Fail: The Rise and Fall of Demand Media — The future of the so-called “content farm” looks bleak as its search-centric biz crumbles — Take note, Twitter: Not every tech company has a happy ending after a ballyhooed IPO. — Just look at Demand Media, the Santa Monica …

More: Forbes and WebProNews. Tweets: @lyndoman and @carnage4life

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:

Twitter Apps Updated With New Swipeable Design And Photo Support In Direct Messages — Today, Twitter has announced an update to its apps that bring a renewed focus on direct messaging. The app now features a direct link to DMs in the tab bar and allows you to send photos inside direct messages.

More: iMore, The Next Web, Softpedia News and Newsy

Tweets: @caseynewton, @mikeisaac, @mattbuchanan and @panzer

John Herrman / BuzzFeed:

Why Twitter Just Joined The Backchannel Wars

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