Part of Facebook’s new changes and fresh look will involve additional profile sections built from a user’s history at third-party businesses. Netflix had hoped to be part of this, and for most of the world, it will be. But beleaguered Netflix can’t find complete success. That feature won’t come to the United States any time soon. READ MORE
In the battle between AT&T and the Department of Justice, Verizon is no longer Switzerland. Lowell McAdam, CEO of the nation’s largest wireless provider is weighing in on whether the proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA is a good deal. The Justice Department has sued to block the merger over concerns that the combination of the second largest and fourth largest carriers in the U.S. could hurt competition and leave consumers at a disadvantage when it comes to choice and cost. READ MORE
The “Arab Spring” uprisings and even the recent uprisings in the U.K. proved one thing: In some places, SMS is very much alive. Even without smartphones, protesters, journalists, and activists were able to share visual information with the rest of the world. Twitter is looking to take advantage of that. READ MORE
Can an exec with consumer tech experience run an enterprise tech company? That’s the question raised by analysts who spoke to Bloomberg about Meg Whitman’s prospects as HP’s new CEO, following the firing of Leo Apotheker on Wednesday. Apotheker had been CEO for less than a year–after being fired from his previous job as co-CEO of SAP. READ MORE
As if they haven’t received enough attention this year, the hacker group Anonymous is planning to hold a special “Day of Vengeance” in several cities around the U.S. on Saturday, reports CNET. READ MORE
The press and public reaction to many high profile hacks–think Sony, or the Pentagon–is that the breaches are embarrassments at best or setbacks at worst. But hacks can have grievous real-world consequences for companies, as Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar proved this week when it filed for bankruptcy after finding itself unable to recover from the consequences of a massive hack it suffered this summer. READ MORE
Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria are just three of 25 nations that top the U.S. when it comes to the fastest internet connections by country, according to Pando Networks’ 2011 Global Download Report. READ MORE
Saturday, The Morning Call, a newspaper in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley reported that employees at Amazon’s Breinigsville fulfillment center were working in literal sweatshop conditions, enduring heat of up to 110 degrees, faced with mandatory overtime, impossible-to-meet quotas and disciplinary points if they went home sick. READ MORE
GrubHub has raised $50 million in new funding and purchased Dotmenu, the company announced yesterday. The Chicago-based GrubHub, which is already active in 19 cities including New York, San Francisco, and Denver, provides online takeout and delivery services for more than 13,000 restaurants. READ MORE
A collection of 40 U.S. newspapers has developed a new mobile-ad platform in hopes of replacing lost print ad revenue. It looks and acts quite like print ad circulars, which continue to be a major profit source for newspapers and an important way for small businesses to market to local customers. READ MORE
