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The 404 948: Where we're in some deep dish (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 Podcast episode:

Congress is proposing a school lunchroom bill that would allow as little as two tablespoons of tomato paste on a frozen pizza to be classified as a proper weekly serving of vegetables for students. Fries and tater tots also count as vegetables. The U.S. Department of Justice wants to make it a crime to lie on social networks like Match.com, Facebook, and OKCupid--if the fib in question violates other laws outside of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This holiday season, the Salvation Army send its volunteers into the streets with a new way to accept donations using credit card-reading hardware provided by Sprint/Nextel and Square. The program will join Girl Scout troops and The U.S. Army in pushing the next generation of mobile payments. A digital experiment from the artists at Wemakecoolsh.it enables subway denizens on the L-Train to access Wi-Fi and communicate with one another secretly using their self-powered "NOTwork." The enclosed system will run the week of November 14th on L-Trains going in and out of the Brooklyn and Manhattan boroughs. AOL resurrects its Instant Messaging service AIM with new features that even the score with sites like Meebo and Adium, and Jabber that already let you log chat histories, sign into multiple social networking accounts, and view multimedia like video and Twitter messages directly in the message window. An attack on online copyright infringements is in in progress, spearheaded by an initiative called the Stop Online Privacy Act, or SOPA that aims to blacklist sites that allegedly violate existing copyright laws. As of last night, however, the opposition is gaining powerful allies across the Web, including big names like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Zynga. Bathroom break video 1: Star Wars Rogue Squadron - Cheers Bathroom break video 2: Turkish Ice Cream Follow Jeff, Wilson, Justin, and The 404 Twitter pages for a chance to win Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, and Uncharted 3. Check out this post for how to enter.

Click through to stream or download today's 404 podcast episode!… Read more

Mobile-payment startup unveils Square 2.2

Square is on a roll (heh).

After announcing Richard Branson as an investor and revealing a new version of its mobile wallet called Card Case, it released the latest iteration of the original product today that converts iPads, iPhones, or Android phones into point-of-sale systems.

The original Square let anyone make credit card transactions with a Square card reader (free) and Square application. The new version, Square 2.2, places new emphasis on customer loyalty.

"This feature not only allows merchants to recognize their most frequent customers when they enter their store," a Square representative said. "But … Read more

The 404 946: Where our hand is on Fire (podcast)

We're going hands-on with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, released ahead of schedule to a few lucky customers today.

Also leaked from today's 404 podcast: Apple replacing original iPod Nanos, breaking up on Facebook, waging war on infographics, and tap-to-pay apps coming to Ultrabook laptops.

Also, a big congrats to CNET's Bonnie Cha, the new chief correspondent at Crave!

Stream the podcast on audio or video after the page break!… Read more

Jack Dorsey: Twitter's business model based on 'serendipity'

TUSCON, Ariz.--It's not the kind of business model one expects to hear from a startup, especially one now valued by the private markets at $8 billion.

But when Jack Dorsey, the creator and executive chairman of Twitter, was asked about Twitter's business model, he said it was hardly thought out.

"The business model is focused around serendipity," said Dorsey, who spoke with moderator David Kirkpatrick on Sunday at Techonomy 2011.

It's hard to imagine that answer will silence the Twitter skeptics.

Twitter, for now, is about growth and, according to Dorsey, engagement. While growth … Read more

Twitter's Jack Dorsey dishes the softer side of tech

SAN FRANCISCO--For a guy who's done his share of industry disrupting, Jack Dorsey is sure eager to opine on tech's softer side.

Today at GigaOm's RoadMap conference here, Dorsey took the stage for nearly half an hour and dished mostly about love, empathy, hyper-personalization, fun and whimsy--as it relates to tech of course.

And why not?

As Twitter's co-founder and Square's CEO, Dorsey, 34, is a sort of bon vivant of entrepreneurship. With his hip styling and pithy and sober delivery, he looks and talks the part. As he straddles leadership roles at two of … Read more

Branson invests in mobile-payment startup Square

Richard Branson, the energetic founder of the Virgin Group, has given an undisclosed sum to mobile payment company Square, which raised $100 million in funding back in June 2011. That round valued Square above $1 billion.

Square's founder Jack Dorsey tweeted this morning that Branson's investment in Square is an example of an "entrepreneur helping entrepreneurs."

"I'm very passionate about helping people start and grow successful businesses, and Square is an incredible technology that inspires and empowers everyone to be an entrepreneur," says Branson in today's press release. Try as she might, … Read more

Square introduces hands-free payments

Mobile payment startup and PayPal competitor Square has a new way to pay that doesn't involve lifting a finger. Or even taking out your phone. You simply walk in to a business, place your order, collect your purchase, and walk out.

Today, Square released a version of Card Case, the app that acts as a mobile bar tab, that is driven by the concept of a business recognizing its frequent shoppers. In just a moment, you will have a vision of Sam the bartender from the sitcom "Cheers" using a Square-enabled iPad.

The first version of Card … Read more

Sprint reportedly near new deal with Clearwire

Sprint Nextel is nearing a deal to extend its current network-sharing agreement with Clearwire to three to five years, Bloomberg reported today.

The deal would allow Sprint to tap into Clearwire's network and wireless capacity to power its own services. For Clearwire, it provides a measure of confidence in the company's long-term prospects. Sprint, meanwhile, secures another resource as it pursues its own 4G course.

Sprint said yesterday it had reached a non-binding agreement to work together on the technical specifications for Clearwire's planned upgrade to 4G LTE. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said the agreement serves as … Read more

Netflix feeling the pain

The father of the iPod creates a cool home thermostat, the Obama campaign joins Tumblr, and Netflix reports its first drop in customers in nearly two years--and it's a doozy.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

LightSquared's GPS fix could cost industry $400M

SAN DIEGO--It could cost the the GPS industry as much as $400 million for gear to protect its precision devices from interference caused by LightSquared's planned wireless network, although the company believes the figure will be ultimately be lower.

LightSquared Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben told CNET on Wednesday that there are roughly 500,000 commercial precision GPS devices in the U.S. He said his partner Javed GNSS has developed a device that costs between $300 and $800 and will protect GPS devices from such disruptions.

Boulben said Thursday that the cost could be dramatically lower, noting that … Read more