Edition: U.S. / Global

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Business Day Technology

Apple and Nokia Battle Over Cellphone Patents

By VINDU GOEL and MARK SCOTT
A man, center, looks at his cellphone in London. Phone pioneers are still trying to profit from an industry they no longer lead.
Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

A man, center, looks at his cellphone in London. Phone pioneers are still trying to profit from an industry they no longer lead.

While companies like Apple now dominate smartphones, an earlier generation of phone makers like Nokia developed some of the technology.

Edward J. Snowden on a video link from Russia at a Council of Europe meeting last year.

House Report, Evidence Redacted, Ties Snowden to Russian Agencies

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

The report also portrays Edward J. Snowden, who in 2013 disclosed classified files about American surveillance operations, as a habitually disgruntled worker.

Wheels
Kelly Skow, a 28-year-old video producer, riding the Los Angeles subway’s Expo rail extension to her job in Santa Monica. She has all but come to the same conclusion many younger Americans have made: that a car is not really necessary.

Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE

Mobility services — ride hailing and other means of ferrying people to public transportation — look to be a lucrative and increasingly important sideline for carmakers.

More News and Features
Bits

Why the Computing Cloud Will Keep Growing and Growing

By QUENTIN HARDY

The rapid expansion of internet-connected devices will put even more power in the hands of a few companies with the biggest cloud services.

Brooke Binkowski, the managing editor of Snopes, in its office in San Diego. The idea that the website’s work would slow down after the presidential election has proved unfounded.

For Fact-Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks

By DAVID STREITFELD

Internet wrath turned against Snopes after it joined a coalition of websites that will work with Facebook to identify and flag suspicious content.

The State Senate chamber in Albany. Negotiations on a variety of issues failed to advance enough to convene a special legislative session before year’s end.

New York Lawmakers Won’t Hold Special Session on Raises and Ride-Hailing Apps

By ELI ROSENBERG and JESSE McKINLEY

Legislative leaders had considered convening before year’s end to act on a potential salary increase for their members as well as allowing companies like Uber to expand upstate.

Spark Networks owns about 30 dating sites, including JDate and ChristianMingle.

For Online Dating Sites, a Bumpy Road to Love

By ALINA TUGEND

Spark Networks, which owns JDate, ChristianMingle and other niche sites, has been jolted by executive turnover and upheaval in the industry.

Levi Corbett, a mover for Bellhops, puts the ramp back into the company’s truck after a move in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company seeks to attract customers who are usually do-it-yourselfers.

Start-Ups Seek to Take Some of the Pain Out of Moving

By GLORIA DAWSON

New companies offer “concierge” services as traditional firms add new technology.

Vocations
Emmanuel Turlay says “the modeling behind fundamental physics and the science of finance is similar.”

A Physicist of Online Groceries

As told to PATRICIA R. OLSEN

Emmanuel Turlay, a technical lead manager at Instacart, previously developed software for the particle accelerator Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

Tech Tip

The Art of the Selective Dropbox Sync

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

If hard drive space is tight on a computer sharing your Dropbox account, you can choose which specific folders you want to see.

Bits

Daily Report: Apple Hurls the ‘Patent Troll’ Insult at Nokia

By JIM KERSTETTER

The iPhone maker is engaged in a testy licensing fight over old Nokia patents. Now the companies have taken their fight to courts all over the world.

Bits

Daily Report: WhatsApp Is Embraced by World’s Immigrants

By JIM KERSTETTER

The Facebook-owned messaging tool has become a vital link between countries even as some nations try to restrict its use.

Don’t Miss
From left, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo in “Stranger Things.”

Why Netflix Lets Movie Lovers Down, and What to Do About It

By GLENN KENNY

Sure, there’s choice via streaming. But, really, how much?

Bits

Insight and analysis on Silicon Valley and the technology industry.

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Personal Technology
App Smart
NPR One is a one-stop shop for radio and audio content.

2016 in Review: The Year’s Best Apps

By KIT EATON

A news curator based on what friends are reading, an easy-to-access universe of NPR audio, and an upgraded beer-tracking app are among our top picks.

Tech Tip
Apple’s restrictions settings for iOS not only block access to the App Store (and certain types of content), but also control built-in apps, features and settings on the iPhone.

Choosing a Child’s First Smartphone

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

Both Android and iOS have parental control features and apps to help parents manage their offspring’s mobile experience.

Tech Tip
Digi.me has free software for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS systems that automatically backs up and syncs your posts from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and several other social media networks to your local drive.

How to Back Up Your Social Media Feeds

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

If you don’t want to risk losing your photos and other memories stored online, consider making a copy of your account’s contents for safekeeping.

Tech Tip

The Quest for Your Dream Streamer

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

The wide array of available video-streaming devices can be overwhelming, but a bit of research will help you figure out what features you really need.

Tech Tip

The Twitter Post, Take 2

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

The popular service currently doesn’t let you edit your thoughts after you post them, but some apps can help you make corrections more quickly.

Tech Tip

The Two Faces of Windows 10

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

Microsoft’s current operating system can switch back and forth between a touch-friendly interface or the traditional desktop system.

App Smart
The ASOS app, a photo-heavy online shopping app.

Make Your Phone a Valuable Holiday Shopping Companion

By KIT EATON

Gift-buying season has arrived, and there are plenty of apps to help make you a smarter shopper.

App Smart
Adobe Photoshop Fix lets you heal an image’s blemishes, adjust shadow intensity, fix the contrast and add effects like liquefy, shown here.

Take Your Smartphone Photography to the Next Level

By KIT EATON

Some apps mimic a single-lens reflex camera in options and complexity, while others unleash your creativity.

App Smart
MeteoEarth has a visual, map-based display — here showing the predicted path of a tropical storm.

Weather Apps to Download and Store Up for Winter

By KIT EATON

An array of forecasting apps can help you prepare for the rainy, windy or snowy conditions to come.

Tech Fix
Moxie Marlinspike, who founded Open Whisper Systems, the nonprofit that developed the messaging app Signal.

Worried About the Privacy of Your Messages? Download Signal

By BRIAN X. CHEN

Signal, an encrypted chat service, is a must in an era when companies collect ever more information about users and government surveillance may expand.

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