Techmeme: Mobile apps could be abused to make expensive phone calls (Jeremy Kirk/PC World)

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August 22, 2014, 1:45 PM

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Reiji Murai / Reuters:

iPhone 6 display panel redesign delayed production, impact on launch uncertain — Exclusive: Apple iPhone 6 screen snag leaves supply chain scrambling — (Reuters) - Suppliers to Apple Inc (AAPL.O) are scrambling to get enough screens ready for the new iPhone 6 smartphone as the need …

More: MacDailyNews, iMore, ZDNet, Digital Trends, TheStreet.com, Forbes, VentureBeat, Fortune, CNET, Tech Trader Daily, TechSpot, TechnoBuffalo, Cult of Mac, Business Insider, ITProPortal, USA Today, Inquirer, Gigaom, App Advice, AppleInsider, SlashGear, 9to5Mac, BGR, TIME, Softpedia News, iPhone in Canada Blog, The Verge, MacRumors, Gotta Be Mobile, Geek.com, Re/code, Gizmodo, Mashable, iPhone, bizjournals, Fortune, MacNN, iLounge, DisplayBlog and PC Magazine

Tweets: @stevesi and @nycjim

Dan Frommer / Quartz:

Most smartphone users download zero apps per month — Mobile apps have skyrocketed in popularity and utility since Apple introduced the iPhone App Store in the summer of 2008. Apps now represent 52% of time spent with digital media in the US, according to comScore, up from 40% in early 2013.

More: comScore, Business Insider, Gigaom, TechSpot, RAIN News and TIME

Tweets: @scobleizer, @fromedome and @chrismessina

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Majority Of Digital Media Consumption Now Takes Place In Mobile Apps — U.S. users are now spending the majority of their time consuming digital media within mobile applications, according to a new study released by comScore this morning. That means mobile apps, including the number 1 …

More: comScore, Inc., GeekWire, Laptop Mag, StrictlyVC, The Atlantic Online, Music Ally, Tnooz, Android Authority, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Re/code, Marketing Land, Talking New Media, Beyond Devices and Digital Music News. Tweets: @craigmod. See also Mediagazer

Secret Den:

Secret replaces photo library access with Flickr access, adds polls, moves to block posts with real names — Image search, Questions and Safety — When we first designed Secret, we set a few key principles. Today, we're releasing an update focused on one of them: Words are the centerpiece.

More: Wired, The Next Web, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Forbes and CNET

Chris Davies / SlashGear:

Acer Chromebox CXI distills C7 Chrome OS for desktops — Acer has outed a new Chrome OS machine, the Chromebox CXI Series, bringing Google's cloud-centric platform to the desktop with prices kicking off at under $180. Rather than build on the Tegra K1-powered Chromebook 13, however …

More: Gigaom, 9to5Google, Ars Technica, BetaNews, PC World, Electronista, AndroidHeadlines.com and Liliputing

Nick Statt / CNET:

Coin delays launch until spring 2015, will offer beta to the first 10,000 pre-order customers who opt in — Coin delays product launch until spring 2015 as questions remain — The startup behind a smart electronic device that stores credit and debit cards will offer a beta program for 10,000 customers.

More: The Next Web, The Verge, Engadget, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Wired and Finextra Research news. Thanks:@richardjnieva

Cyrus Lee / ZDNet:

China Telecom to sell unlocked iPhone 6 — Summary: China Telecom said it will unlock the next-generation iPhone by supporting the SIM cards of the other two major telecom players in the market. — Cyrus Lee — China Telecom, China's third largest telecom players trailing behind China Mobile …

More: BGR, 9to5Mac, PC Magazine, MacRumors, Forbes, MacDailyNews and TechnoBuffalo. Tweets: @applespotlight

Mike Beasley / 9to5Mac:

Apple removes Secret app from Brazilian App Store for not conforming with local laws — Following a recent ruling that Apple would have ten days to remove the anonymous social app Secret from its Brazilian App Store, Apple has complied with the order. The justification for the removal …

More: CNET, Gigaom, iMore, MacRumors, VentureBeat, TUAW, MacNN, MacDailyNews, Engadget, AppleInsider, The Next Web, Ubergizmo, App Advice and iPhone Hacks. Thanks:@chancehmiller

Brian Fung / Washington Post:

A federal court rejects Aereo's request to argue it's a cable company — Aereo's seemingly last-ditch argument to save itself won't be given an airing in court, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. — Instead, if the shuttered streaming video company wants to keep fighting for its survival …

More: Re/code, Bloomberg, Consumerist, FierceCable, TechCrunch, BetaBoston, TechSpot, Electronista, CNET and USA Today. See also Mediagazer

Sam Oliver / AppleInsider:

Intuit releases redesigned Quicken 2015 for Mac, first new version in 7 years — Financial software firm Intuit on Thursday released Quicken 2015 for Mac, the first new version of the company's flagship personal finance and accounting suite to make its way to Apple's desktop platform in over seven years.

More: Macworld, Computerworld, TUAW, 9to5Mac and Cult of Mac

Alistair Barr / Wall Street Journal:

Google to include temporary steering wheel and pedal system when testing autonomous cars in response to new California DMV rules — A Google Car Without a Steering Wheel? Not So Fast, California Says — Google caused a stir earlier this year when it unveiled a self-driving car without …

More: PC Magazine, SiliconBeat, PC World, Guardian, AndroidHeadlines.com, Ars Technica, The Hill, Gizmodo, The Next Web, Connectedly, The Verge, Ubergizmo, Engadget and SlashGear

Maria Sheahan / Reuters:

German regulator won't pursue complaint demanding Google pay for giving access to articles — Google wins victory in row with German publishers — (Reuters) - A German regulator handed Google Inc a victory on Friday as it said it would not pursue a complaint brought against the internet …

More: WebProNews

Martin Beck / Marketing Land:

Facebook Rolls Out Analytics For App Links, Says 3 Billion URLs Have Been Enabled — The open-source effort that aims to make the mobile web less frustrating for users is gaining momentum. Developers will now be able to measure results better. — Facebook's effort to make the mobile web less frustrating is gaining momentum.

More: App Links, AllFacebook, The Next Web, ZDNet, ReadWrite, Search Engine Land, TechCrunch, WebProNews, eWeek, Facebook Developers and Inside Facebook

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

Samsung couldn't resist turning the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge into an ad — It had to be done. Some unscrupulous marketer was always going to try and capitalize on the global popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge — whose goal is to raise money to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — as a cheap ploy to sell you more stuff.

More: 9to5Mac, BGR, Android Central, TechCrunch, AdAge, WebProNews, App Advice and PandoDaily

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Lab:

This: Why Atlantic Media is funding a social platform for sharing links, one at a time — By now, you might have heard that Atlantic Media's Andrew Golis is incubating a small social network inside the company. Golis came to Atlantic Media as entrepreneur-in-residence a little over a year ago …

Tweets: @om, @laura_warne, @agolis, @nadinegoff, @yingworld, @jaredbkeller and @jeremymbarr

Timothy B. Lee / Vox:

White House cybersecurity czar brags about his lack of technical expertise — Michael Daniel is the White House's cybersecurity coordinator, the man who “leads the interagency development of national cybersecurity strategy and policy” for the president. And in a recent interview with GovInfoSecurity …

More: GovInfoSecurity, Wall Street Journal, Techdirt, Liquidmatrix Security Digest, Engadget, Gizmodo, ReadWrite, The Register, SlashGear and ITProPortal

Tweets: @edfelten, @rickgivens, @ryan, @dangillmor, @qthrul, @al3x, @csoghoian, @markrussinovich, @grummz, @digiphile and @alex

Jeremy Kirk / PC World:

Mobile apps could be abused to make expensive phone calls — A security precaution skipped in mobile applications such as Facebook's Messenger could be abused to make an expensive phone call at a victim's expense, a developer contends. — Phone numbers often appear as links on a mobile device.

More: algorithm.dk, Ubergizmo, Gizmodo and Neowin

Tweets: @j0hnnyxm4s, @neculaesei, @ashk4n and @ashk4n

Robin Wauters / Tech.eu:

Holtzbrinck Ventures exchanges its stakes in 7 Rocket Internet startups for a direct 2.5% stake in the incubator itself — There we go again: German tech startup incubator Rocket Internet has announced yet another new investor, as its longtime partner in crime Holtzbrinck Ventures is receiving a 2.5% stake.

More: TechCrunch, Rocket Internet press releases, PE Hub Blog and Webrazzi

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Wikipedia blocks edits from Congressional IP address again after edits from “obvious transphobe” — ‘Orange is the New Black’ fight sparks new House Wikipedia ban — For the third time this summer, computers in the House have been blocked from editing Wikipedia due to a string of controversial edits.

More: Ars Technica, Engadget, The Week Magazine, The A.V. Club, Mashable, VentureBeat, The Raw Story and PandoDaily. Tweets: @piper. See also Mediagazer

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