Did Apple kill Adobe’s mobile Flash? That is the question many asked this week after Adobe announced that it would end development of Flash for mobile devices.
Tech news from around the web:
British billionaire Sir Richard Branson has made a ‘multimillion-dollar’ investment in mobile payment start-up company Square, a spokesperson for the company has told Reuters. The move follows a $100m investment led by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and an injection by credit card company Visa.
Adobe Systems is said to be scrapping its move to bring its Flash Player software to smartphones and tablets, CNET reports. The Flash browser plug-in is widely used on personal computers but has so far only reached a fraction of the mobile phone market.
Tech news from around the web:
A possible security flaw in Apple’s iOS mobile operating system could allow third-party applications add unapproved features, Forbes reports. Accuvant security researcher Charlie Miller has found a flaw in iOS that lets applications download unsigned code that is able to change functionality after it has been installed – that could include accessing user contacts and photos, along with activating hardware features like the vibration motor and speakers.
With all the tablets and smart phones that fight for our attention, more traditional tech companies have been pushed to the background. Yet IBM and HP each managed to grab the attention of the tech world this week when IBM appointed Ginni Rometty as chief executive and HP announced it would keep its PC division.
Tech stories from around the web:
Research In Motion is facing a possible class action lawsuit in Canada over the global outage that struck BlackBerry customers last month, Cnet reports. RIM said it would not comment on the suit, which was filed yesterday in Quebec Superior Court.
Tech news from around the web:
France Telecom and Publicis are to set up a joint venture-capital fund focused on European technology start-ups, according to Bloomberg. The size of the fund may be greater than €100m ($139m), people close to the plan told Bloomberg.
Apple has had its patent for the “slide to unlock” control used on its devices confirmed, ZDNet reports. This puts every Android phone and tablet that uses the same process to unlock their screens in the line of fire from Apple’s patent lawyers, ZDNet warns.
Tech news from around the web:
Google is preparing a launch in the next two weeks of a music-download store that would work closely with its Google+ social network, according to The Wall Street Journal. The music service would recommend songs in an online library to Google+ contacts, who in turn would be allowed to listen to those songs once for free, two people close to the service told the WSJ.
Silicon Roundabout comes to Buckingham Palace
It might be the most significant meeting of British royals and geeks since Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the web, received his knighthood in 2003.
Thursday evening saw a reception celebrating “innovation through UK entrepreneurship” held at Buckingham Palace, as the great and the good of London’s Silicon Roundabout and beyond gathered to toast digital Britain.
When HTC chief executive Peter Chou said this month that he was on the lookout for further acquisitions, he wasn’t kidding. The Taiwanese smartphone company on Tuesday announced it had acquired Inquisitive Minds, a US company that developed Zoodles, a kids-friendly browser designed to give children a safe browsing environment.
Tech news from around the web:
YouTube has launched Merch Store, a feature where YouTube’s music partners will be able to sell artist merchandise, digital downloads, concert tickets and other experiences to fans and visitors, TechCrunch reports. The online video sharing site has also announced partnerships with a number of companies to launch the service: Topspin is being used to help in sales of merchandise, while Songkick will be involved in concert tickets and iTunes and Amazon will look after transactions for music downloads.
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