“The Washington Post is reporting that, according to a newly released internal document, the National Security Agency isn’t just swiping location data from our cell phones; they actually have the ability to decode private, encrypted data, putting all our texts and calls right at their disposal.”
FBI can secretly turn on laptop cameras without the indicator light
“Scary. Insane. Ridiculous. Invasive. Wrong. The Washington Post reports that the FBI has had the ability to secretly activate a computer’s camera “without triggering the light that lets users know it is recording” for years now. What in the hell is going on? What kind of world do we live in?”
Amazon said to be developing ‘Pantry’ service to go after Costco
“First it was books, then it was fruit, and now it’s — paper towels? Amazon could soon be diversifying its growing retail empire to target the kinds of things people frequently buy at warehouse club stores as part of a new “Pantry” service that will launch next year.”
Apple TV adds ABC, Bloomberg, Crackle, KORTV
“Apple has pushed out another quiet but major content update for the Apple TV, adding four additional channels. While availability of the new content channels varies between countries, U.S.”
Spotify Goes Freemium On Tablets, Launches Free Shuffle Product On Smartphones
“For the first time since launching, Spotify now offers free access to its streaming music catalog on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Spotify’s new mobile access will be different depending on device.”
Breaking: Government Dumps GM Stock, Loses $10.5 Billion on Auto Bailout
“Just days after a court allowed the city of Detroit to file for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy, the federal government announced that it would finally sell the last of its stock in General Motors.”
AT&T to compete with T-Mobile bid on Verizon’s A block spectrum? : TmoNewsTmoNews
“We heard a while back that T-Mobile is considering a bid for Verizon’s A block spectrum. VZW is open to sell, but only for the right price, expected to be around the $3 billion mark.”
Fixing the Nexus 5: with a new version of Android, Google tackles the camera
“Only a few years ago, Dave Burke remembers, cellphone users were just happy to have a camera at all. But expectations have changed. “If you have a smartphone, people want it to take pictures like a DSLR. Even in one year the quality bar and expectation bar has gone up higher and higher.”
Christmas lunch!
Demolition at New Apple Campus 2 Well Underway
“Road work and construction signs surround the area where demolition has begun, with a clear view of the demolished buildings available from the nearby highway. Apple has also constructed a large wall around the construction area to avoid impacting nearby businesses and residents.”