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RT @Techmeme: Apple snags patent for water-damage detection (@donreisinger / CNET)

RT @Techmeme: Apple snags patent for water-damage detection (@donreisinger / CNET)

RT @Techmeme: Apple's next iPhone rumored to feature quad-core processor (Slash Lane / AppleInsider) ...

RT @Techmeme: Apple's next iPhone rumored to feature quad-core processor (Slash Lane / AppleInsider) ...

RT @Techmeme: British Airways flies into privacy storm over Google identity checks on passengers (@lucytobin... htt ...

RT @Techmeme: Microsoft reportedly killing off desktop gadget support in Windows 8 (@tomwarren / The Verge) http:// ...

RT @Techmeme: Google Confirms Galaxy Nexus Sales Stopped in Apple-Samsung Case, Fix Coming Next Week... ...

RT @Techmeme: Apple Pulls Russian SMS Spam App from App Store (@jeroenbb / MacRumors)

RT @Techmeme: Apple Pulls Russian SMS Spam App from App Store (@jeroenbb / MacRumors)

The company confirmed to Minneapolis-St. Paul news station KARE 11 last night that it will lay off 650 Geek Squad workers nationwide. The company told the news outlet that it will offer the affected employees severance, and will aid them in finding new jobs.

Stats released last month suggested that more than 300,000 unique IP addresses were still affected by DNSChanger, according to a Wednesday blog post from F-Secure. The large majority, or almost 70,000, were in the U.S.

Executives at Yahoo and Facebook have completed an extensive strategic deal, as part of a final settlement of their contentious patent infringement lawsuit and countersuit.

RT @allthingsd: If You Have One of the Latest Smartphones, Here's What You are Probably Griping About -by @inafried

RT @allthingsd: HTC’s Profit Falls 58 Percent

RT @Techmeme: Galaxy Nexus ban temporarily suspended while appeals court issues decision (@reckless / The Verge) ht ...

RT @Techmeme: After Android Trial, Google Demands $4 Million From Oracle (@calebgarling / Wired)

RT @Techmeme: After Android Trial, Google Demands $4 Million From Oracle (@calebgarling / Wired)

RT @Techmeme: So, That's It For Thunderbird (@sarahintampa / TechCrunch)

RT @Techmeme: So, That's It For Thunderbird (@sarahintampa / TechCrunch)

Sheffield rockers Def Leppard, probably most famous for their 1987 hit "Pour Some Sugar on Me," are going rogue. After lengthy negotiations with Universal Music, the band has been unable to agree a suitable royalty fee for digital downloads of their back catalogue. Instead of giving in, they've taken advantage of a law which protects cover versions from copyright claims, re-recording their own songs and releasing them through iTunes.

Most Thunderbird users seem happy with the basic email feature set. In parallel, we have seen the rising popularity of Web-based forms of communications representing email alternatives to a desktop solution. Given this, focusing on stability for Thunderbird and driving innovation through other offerings seems a natural choice.

The smaller version of the tablet is said to include 3G capabilities. Other details remain a bit fuzzy, but the source who claims to have seen a prototype reports that the device will be thinner than rivals including the Kindle Fire. The device is said to be as thin as the 4th Generation iPod Touch. Multiple sources have now claimed that Apple is coming out with a miniaturized version of the iPad this fall. The most recent report from Bloomberg pinpointed an October launch for the device.

There's about to be a whole lot more Angry Birds played at the Opus hotel in Vancouver. The hotel is in the process of swapping out its hotel room phones for iPhones, USA Today reported today.

The resolution says that all people should be allowed to connect to and express themselves freely on the Internet. All 47 members of the Human Rights Council, including notoriously censorship-prone countries such as China and Cuba, signed the resolution.

“Our analysis of the iOS and Android versions of the same application,” writes Kaspersky Lab Expert Denis Maslennikov, “showed that it’s not an SMS worm but a Trojan that uploads a user’s phonebook to remote server”. This is the first example of malware to hit Apple’s otherwise clear and safe App Store, and it has been available for download since mid June. Both Apple and Google have now removed the app from their respective app stores.

Strategically, Google TV needs to pick a strategy and focus on it exclusively. If it is to build a developer ecosystem which allows thousands of developers the ability to innovate and to find that killer app or two, then Google TV needs to re-think its product roadmap to enable developers to be successful. Focus on building great developer tools and listen to the developer community. If Google TV must compete against a 3rd party developer since it is a “core” feature, then be transparent and work with the 3rd party to cover other white space that might be compelling. Google TV’s platform could focus on in-app purchases, subscription services, developer tools, developer outreach, OEM relationship building, and design resources for 3rd parties would be a great start. Work with developers to develop marketing strategies to get app adoption. Build momentum with the developer community such that more developers come on board. Be transparent about what’s working and what’s not. Help developers avoid pitfalls and use cases that work and don’t work. Identify customer holes for 3rd parties to tackle before they become impediments to adoption. Focus on becoming a real partner for developers. Or, conversely, shut down the developer ecosystem to get the product right. It’s ok to focus on getting the product right and iterate until there is critical mass before going back to the developer community. Build great apps and find the killer app internally. This, in itself, is a great strategy as well since the developer ecosystem won’t be wasting time potentially competing against Google TV and can wait until there is real market traction to go after.

A facial recognition API just doesn’t feel like something Facebook would be interested in offering, and the technology seems far more likely to be put to use behind the scenes to power its own services (even if that hasn’t gone so well for the company in the past). Facebook licensed Face.com technology prior to the acquistion and was its biggest customer. Third-party developers here are collateral damage in Facebook’s bid to bolster its own technological arsenal. Indeed, on its homepage, Face.com also says that its own Facebook face recognition iPhone app, Klik has been removed from the App Store.

You might buy a new phone that's missing something, thinking, "It will get better." No, it won't. If I were to tell you one thing about buying technology, it is this: Buy something because you like what it is right now, not because you think it's going to get better, or that one day it'll be what you really wanted it to be. It's kind of like marrying somebody and thinking you'll change them and they'll get better. They might. But they probably won't. Over time, you'll just hate them even more. And yourself, at least a little.

NBC and Google are conducting “war games” in at least three countries, to prepare for the possibility of hacker attacks or hardware malfunction disrupting the online streaming of the Summer Olympics Games in London, which start this month.

Apple has asked the agency to pull the certification from all 39 of its applicable products, including its MacBook laptop range, citing a different design direction. "They said their design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements," Robert Frisbee EPEAT CEO said.