Techmeme: Harlem Is Getting the Biggest Free Public Wi-Fi Network In the U.S. (Leslie Horn/Gizmodo)

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December 11, 2013, 9:15 AM

Top News

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: T3 News

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: Techdirt, Gigaom, ZDNet, Freedom to Tinker, Gizmodo, CNET, Washington Post, SocialTimes, emptywheel, Engadget, The Verge, Yahoo! News, The Next Web and Boing Boing

Tweets: @latentexistence, @eff, @mstem, @dhh, @juliaangwin, @thomas_drake1, @mattbuchanan, @emptywheel, @r_macdonald, @jcstearns, @katecrawford and @csoghoian

See also Mediagazer

The Switch:

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

More: VentureBeat and The Verge. Tweets: @schock, @kataclyst, @mattblaze, @ashk4n, @fborgesius and @mattbuchanan

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: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, DSLreports, Gizmodo, iPhone, Gotta Be Mobile, SlashGear, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, PhoneArena and Android Central. Tweets: @johnlegere

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, 9to5Mac, SiliconANGLE, GeekWire, CNET, Gigaom, MacNN, SiliconBeat, Business Insider, AppleInsider, VentureBeat and Marketing Land

Tweets: @tonyw and @ober

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: ZDNet, ZDNet, The Verge and TechRepublic

Tweets: @thurrott, @fortunemagazine and @maryjofoley

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: The Next Web, Newsy, SlashGear, Softpedia News, Electronista, AppleInsider, 9to5Google, iDownloadBlog.com, iMore, TUAW, iClarified and 9to5Mac

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

John Herrman / BuzzFeed:

Why Twitter Just Joined The Backchannel Wars

Jared Newman / PC World:

Battle of the Windows RT displays: Lumia 2520 shines but the Surface 2 stutters — Microsoft's Surface 2 and Nokia's Lumia 2520 (pictured at top) may have similar displays on paper, but a test of both tablets found Nokia to be the clear winner on screen quality.

More: DisplayMate, ZDNet, CNET, BetaNews, TechCrunch, The Next Web, BGR and Gizmodo. Thanks:@bradchacos

Leslie Horn / Gizmodo:

Harlem Is Getting the Biggest Free Public Wi-Fi Network In the U.S. — Here's some good news. Harlem is about to get the biggest free public Wi-Fi network in the entire country, spanning a whopping 95 blocks. Soon there won't be anywhere in the city where you can't get online.

More: NYC.gov, The Verge, Engadget, MacNN, PandoDaily, Betabeat, TechPresident and Government Technology News

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 …, Business Insider, BBC, The Switch, CNET, Forbes, TheHill, Digits, Boing Boing, Guardian, Mashable, Gigaom and Motherboard

Jon Russell / The Next Web:

Google's first data centers in Asia go online to help serve the growing Internet population — Google has announced that its two new data centers in Asia — based in Taiwan and Singapore — are now online. — Following yesterday's news that the company has scrapped plans for a third data center …

More: The Verge, Reuters, Google Asia Pacific Blog, Reuters, focustaiwan.tw, BBC and VCPOST

Yun-Hee Kim / China Real Time Report:

Google Scraps Plan to Build Hong Kong Data Center

More: The Next Web, VentureBeat and The Register

Stephen Schenck / Pocketnow:

Android Action Bar overflow changes could mark beginning of the end for hardware menu button — When Android started making the move away from hardware buttons, and giving manufacturers the option to present users with fully on-screen virtual buttons, it sounded like we were moving towards …

More: Android Police, Android Beat and Gotta Be Mobile

Dan Ackerman / CNET:

Dell joins the Chromebook club with the Dell Chromebook 11 — This 11-inch laptop, running Chrome OS, is targeted at schools. — Dell is officially announcing its first Chromebook on December 11. The system, to be called the Dell Chromebook 11 (HP also has a system called the Chromebook 11) …

More: TechCrunch and Engadget

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, Business Insider and ECPM BLOG

Tweets: @lyndoman and @carnage4life

Glyn Moody / Techdirt:

Norway To Digitize All Norwegian Books, Allowing Domestic IP Addresses To Read All Of Them, Irrespective Of Copyright Status — Here's a pretty amazing story from Norway: … Now, in any normal country — where “normal” means one in which copyright has reached the heights of monopolistic insanity …

More: The Atlantic Online, The Verge and SlashGear

Tweets: @mathewi and @glynmoody

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: The Verge, CNET, ZDNet and Bloomberg

Tim Culpan / Bloomberg:

Foxconn Said to Target Wearables With New Startup Fund — Foxconn Technology Group, maker of Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads, is launching an investment fund to finance startups developing new kinds of wearable computers, according to two people familiar with the project.

More: Digital Trends, Tech in Asia, The Next Web, SlashGear and bit-tech.net. Tweets: @tculpan

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

Facebook Wants to Be a Newspaper. Facebook Users Have Their Own Ideas. — Most people think of Facebook in a similar way: It's a place to share photos of your kids. It's a way to keep up with friends and family members. It's a place to share a funny, viral story or LOLcat picture you've stumbled upon on the Web.

More: Business Insider, Mashable and WebProNews

Tweets: @jasonkincaid, @novaspivack, @raju, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @jenny8lee, @jkrim, @bluegod, @nytimesbits and @qhardy

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