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E-mail bill raises privacy concerns

Tuesday's CNET Update is checking privacy settings:

There's an update to today's top story. Hours after CNET reported on a bill rewrite that would give warrantless access to American's e-mail, the senator behind the legislation has abandoned his controversial proposal.

Other stories in today's tech roundup:

- Facebook is testing Photo Syncing for some iOS users. It automatically uploads images on a phone or tablet to Facebook, saving them in a private folder. Google+ has a similar feature called Instant Upload.

- YouTube users with anonymous nicknames can link with a Google+ account. Back in … Read more

Color sued by co-founder over alleged work violations

Color Labs, whose intellectual property and engineering team were purchased by Apple earlier this year, is the target of a new lawsuit from a former founding employee.

Adam Witherspoon, who served as a quality assurance engineer at Color, today filed a suit against the company and its CEO, Bill Nguyen, accusing both of creating "an extremely hostile, unsafe, and harassing atmosphere."

The suit, which was filed in the Superior Court for the County of Santa Clara and spotted by TechCrunch, accuses the company of violating three labor codes, including retaliation for reporting unsafe work conditions, reporting illegal conduct, … Read more

Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's friendship repaired?

When Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen published his book "Idea Man" last year, he surprised many people by tearing into his longtime friend and business partner Bill Gates.

In a new epilogue published for the paperback version of this book, which comes out this week, Allen writes that after a yearlong rift, the two men have repaired their friendship, according to GeekWire.

"Not everyone loved everything I wrote," Allen writes. "Some of my Microsoft friends were piqued that I'd cast the company's recent history in 'not the most favorable light,' as one of them … Read more

Big surprise: Bill Gates thinks Windows 8 is great

Bill Gates is giving some initial feedback about Windows 8, and it's no shocker that he thinks the operating system is pretty nifty.

The Microsoft co-founder and chairman, speaking in a video interview with Microsoft's Steve Clayton, echoes CEO Steve Ballmer in calling Windows 8 an "absolutely critical product" that combines "the best" of tablets and traditional PCs.

Gates noted that people will be "amazed at the energy" Microsoft is putting behind its new products, and he said Windows 8 "is key to where personal computing is going."

"This … Read more

The lights over your head are about to get smart

Take a walk through the labs of Bridgelux (PDF) in Livermore, Calif., and you see a lot of LED lighting modules being made on a more affordable platform: disused factories that used to make silicon chips. But while you'll see lots of lights, you'll hear mostly about connectivity. Bridgelux CEO Bill Watkins envisions a new array of smart, connected sensors, cameras, and other devices integrated with LED lighting over our heads.

The challenge is formidable: Most lighting consumers, large and small, think of lighting as a cost to be contained, not an opportunity to be maximized. So job … Read more

Verizon rolling out Google Play payments via phone bill

Google has confirmed that Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to pay for Google Play apps and other media via their monthly phone bills, making Verizon the last U.S. carrier to offer the service.

The search giant said in a tweet that the ability will be rolled out over the coming weeks.

Reports earlier this week said Verizon likely would enable the feature soon. Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile have been offering the ability for quite some time.

Google is doing all it can to boost the profitability of Google play, which, in its Android Market form, … Read more

Some color on Color

Update: AllThingsD reports that Apple is simply acquiring Color's talent, leaving the rest of the company to be wound down.

Everyone seems to be getting mixed signals about Color, the controversial and high-profile startup that started as a photo-sharing app but never could find its groove.

Color is well-known for three things: founder Bill Nguyen (a veteran of the tech industry with a history of exits), raising $41 million prelaunch, and its failure to turn Nguyen's knowledge and that cash into traction.

The rumor mill started with a VentureBeat article claiming that Color's board had voted to … Read more

Apple said to be acquiring strained startup Color Labs

Color Labs founder Bill Nguyen has a relationship with Apple. In 2009, the tech giant bought one of his startups called Lala for $80 million.

Now, rumor has it that Apple may be after his Color Labs too.

According to The Next Web, sources say that Apple has picked up the startup for a price in the "high double digits," and the deal is final even though papers aren't yet signed.

Color made a big splash when it launched last year as a location-based photo-sharing app for iOS and Android. Its charismatic founder, Nguyen, won big backers, … Read more

Chaos and confusion reign at hyped startup Color

Color Labs, according to a representative authorized to speak on the company's behalf, is not closing down.

But for now, that's about all that's clear at the chaotic startup that is Color. Even the representative who issued that statement said he's dealing with the press only because the person who held that job just left the company.

His statement comes after Venture Beat this morning reported that a Color vice president had sent an e-mail to employees saying that Color was winding down. "Last week, the Board and major shareholders voted to wind down the … Read more