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Google Music gains scan and match feature in the US

Google Music gains scan and match feature in the USNice.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News splitting into separate paywall sites

Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News splitting into separate paywall sitesGawker’s Hamilton Nolan’s theory of the paywall suggests a local paper of high caliber can survive erecting a paywall. Maybe he is right, but can two local papers survive? It will be good to see the Inquirer and the Daily News …

Washington Post reports "a person familiar with the plans" says Washington Post considering paywall

Washington Post reports “a person familiar with the plans” says Washington Post considering paywallOh. So. Meta.

For Netflix and the S.E.C., a Facebook Share Should Be Public Enough

For Netflix and the S.E.C., a Facebook Share Should Be Public EnoughIt’s true, but not really because lots of people can follow Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on Facebook, but because many reporters actually do. This was not going to go unreported.

Drones in our backyards

Drones in our backyardsThe Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Jennifer Lynch explains how EFF got data on active drones over US soil. I’m not prone to slippery slope arguments, but with the volume of cyberattacks directed at the US each year, it’s not ridiculous to suggest that our drones may be …

Tim Cook tells Brian Williams TV is "an area of intense interest"

Tim Cook tells Brian Williams TV is “an area of intense interest”Ronnie Polidoro, writing at NBC: “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Cook told Williams. “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than …

Sign Language Researchers Broaden Science Lexicon

Sign Language Researchers Broaden Science LexiconThis is wonderful stuff: with a shortage of STEM talent these days, it’s imperative to involve all those who are interested, and this project serves to reduce the barrier to entry for deaf students. (Via Evening Edition)

The World Conference on International Communications

The World Conference on International CommunicationsThis is important, and Richard Dunlop-Walters’s The Brief has a great, ongoing summary of the issue and the news coming out of the World Conference on International Communications. It may seem dry at first, but this stuff could have far-reaching …

John's Tumblr: We can do better than lecture videos

John’s Tumblr: We can do better than lecture videos lilly: What I meant to say about this article about online education: MOOCs are a breakthrough in distribution of educational content, but not really a breakthrough in the way that we learn. What this article points out is that there are more …

News Corp. Shutters The Daily iPad App - Peter Kafka

News Corp. Shutters The Daily iPad App - Peter KafkaI know they’re not the same thing, but it’s interesting to watch News Corp. fail with The Daily while Marco Arment’s The Magazine is gaining altitude, despite production by a relative publishing newb and one other staffer. One thing is clear: …

Facebook Makes A Huge Data Grab By Aggressively Promoting Photo Sync

Facebook Makes A Huge Data Grab By Aggressively Promoting Photo SyncJosh Constine at TechCrunch: There no big launch event yesterday because Facebook didn’t need one. In fact, it probably didn’t want one, considering it didn’t even notify bloggers like me as it usually does. This isn’t going to …

$85 million round by Evernote

$85 million round by EvernoteIt’s one of my favorite services, and the first I decided to pay for on a monthly basis. I think Libin, despite his transparent business style and easy-going manner, is genius of the caliber of any CEO at a company ten times Evernote’s size. He built something awesome, …

NYPD subpoenas call logs of stolen cell phones

NYPD subpoenas call logs of stolen cell phonesJoseph Goldstein, writing for the Times: Mr. Sussmann suggested that the Police Department could limit its subpoenas to phone calls beginning on the hour, not the day, of the theft, and ending as soon as the victim has transferred the number to a new …

"Gay conversion" snake-oil salesmen taken to court

“Gay conversion” snake-oil salesmen taken to courtErik Eckholm, reporting for the New York Times: Referred to Jonah by a rabbi when he was 18, Mr. Levin began attending weekend retreats at $650 each. For a year and a half, he had weekly private sessions with Mr. Downing as well as …

Apple Maps lead fired

Apple Maps lead firedRichard Williamson is his name, and shipping a less-than-perfect mapping application on the iPhone 5 was his game, until, as Bloomberg's Adam Satariano reports, Senior Vice President Eddy Cue fired him. As an aside, I really like that Bloomberg lists both the reporter’s and the …

Philly.com posts NSFW photo, ‘production glitch’ blamed

Philly.com posts NSFW photo, ‘production glitch’ blamedSomeone’s gonna get fired…

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Infrastructure Security

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Infrastructure SecurityThis is an interesting move, basically setting up the lemonade stand while all you have is water: it’s on your parents to give you the rest of the ingredients if they want you to do the work. Congress would do well …

USPTO Director announces January 2013 resignation

USPTO Director announces January 2013 resignationDavid Kappos thinks software patents are just fine, but I’m interested in what his as-yet unknown successor will have to say on the matter.

Grover Norquist on proposed update to Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Grover Norquist on proposed update to Electronic Communications Privacy ActTwenty-plus years is a long time, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act is overdue for an update. A summary of the state of things: Unfortunately these digital documents lack long-held privacy safeguards. Email saved …

UPDATED: Google Acquires Wi-Fi Provider ICOA for $400 Million

UPDATED: Google Acquires Wi-Fi Provider ICOA for $400 MillionUpdated: This is not true. Angela Moscaritolo of PCMag.com reports: In a statement, Google said it made the acquisition to “further diversify its already impressive portfolio of companies.” The Web giant did not elaborate about its …

The Release Windows Archaism

The Release Windows ArchaismFrédéric Filloux at Monday Note: As for the TV shows such as Homeland and others hits, there is not justification whatsoever to preserve this calendar archaism. They should be made universally available from the day when they are aired on TV, period. Or customers will …

USPTO director defends software patents

USPTO director defends software patentsDirector of the United States Patent and Trademark Office David Kappos, quoted by Timothy B. Lee at Ars Technica: In a system like ours in which innovation is happening faster than people can keep up, it cannot be said that the patent system is broken. Of …

How to Opt out of PayPal's "Agreement to Arbitrate"

How to Opt out of PayPal’s “Agreement to Arbitrate”It’s worth considering if you’re a PayPal user.

FBI examining HP/Autonomy accounting debacle

FBI examining HP/Autonomy accounting debacleHP’s got ninety-nine problems, but a recently-acquired pattern recognition company with possibly-dishonest accounting practices ain’t… …oh, nevermind.

US accused of launching cyberattack against French government

US accused of launching cyberattack against French government A spokesperson from the US Embassy in Paris, responding to an article at The Verge about the accusations: We categorically deny these allegations from unnamed sources, published in L’Express, that the United States government has …

H.P. Takes Huge Charge on 'Accounting Improprieties' at Autonomy

H.P. Takes Huge Charge on ‘Accounting Improprieties’ at AutonomyMichael J. de la Merced and Quentin Hardy, for the Times’ DealBook: The charge essentially wiped out its profit. The headline should say “outright misrepresentations,” not “accounting improprieties,” because the former is …

MG Siegler finally gets a Surface, despite Microsoft's best efforts

MG Siegler finally gets a Surface, despite Microsoft’s best efforts In hindsight, I now see why Microsoft did not want me to review the Surface. That was probably the right call from a PR perspective. It’s simply not a good product. Mr. Siegler found the Surface very wanting, but this bit …

Professor David Post on the Republican Study Committee's prematurely-released-then-removed copyright critique

Professor David Post on the Republican Study Committee’s prematurely-released-then-removed copyright critiqueDavid Post, writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: The Report proposes a series of rather radical — in the Jeffersonian sense — reforms, from dramatically shortening the copyright term (a …

Wranglers say 'Hobbit' animals died on unsafe farm

Wranglers say ‘Hobbit’ animals died on unsafe farmDisturbing.