Verge Open Thread: August 8th, 2012

Posted by Sam Sheffer on August 8, 2012 10:03 am 18

Hello humans. We've been doing this open thread for over a week now. Do you really need an introduction?

90 Seconds on The Verge

Ross Miller: Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

News from The Verge

iOS 6 scales to rumored 'iPhone 5' resolution, adds fifth row of apps to home screen

9to5Mac says that it was able to run the iOS Simulator at the next iPhone's rumored resolution of 1136 x 640, and that iOS 6 is "completely scalable to a larger display."

Samsung's own team will visit Chinese factory tomorrow to investigate child labor claims

A team from Samsung HQ will be dispatched to Huizhou, China, tomorrow, where they'll seek to establish whether the supplier in question, HEG Electronics, was indeed employing underage workers as CLW has claimed.

Starbucks to adopt Square mobile payments at US locations

Under the deal, customers at participating US Starbucks outlets will be able to pay for products using the Pay with Square app, in addition to the dedicated Starbucks app already available on both iOS and Android.

132-page document shows full extent of iPhone's influence on Samsung interface design

While it's easy now to pick out areas where both iOS and Android engineers borrow from one another for new ideas about functionality, the document shows just how finely Samsung aimed to emulate Apple's user experience in 2010.

Apple freezing iCloud password changes following Honan hack

The freeze is being used to buy management more time to figure out if and how to reform its security policies, reports Wired, citing an unnamed Apple employee.

Amazon fixes security flaw, will no longer accept over-the-phone account changes

Following Mat Honan's online security fiasco last week, Amazon told its customer service employees that it would no longer accept account changes over the phone, according to Wired.

Microsoft rebrands Windows Phone Marketplace to Windows Phone Store

The change was first revealed at the company's recently launched Windows Phone Dev Center earlier today, but Microsoft officials have not yet announced it officially. We understand the rebrand is linked to an ongoing effort to simplify Microsoft's Windows Phone and Windows 8 efforts.

Google and Oracle ordered to disclose bloggers and journalists they paid to influence coverage (update)

The judge appears to be concerned that evidence presented over the course of the case may have included commentary from bloggers and journalists that was directly or indirectly influenced by financial compensation.

Android 4.1 for the Galaxy S III not so far off, claims SamMobile

Samsung has finished developing an internal test version of Android 4.1 for the Galaxy S III, and is now working on a public release version of the software, according to SamMobile.

Spotify finally comes to the Kindle Fire

Amazon and Spotify have added a Kindle Fire version of the app to the Amazon App Store, giving Fire owners access to the standard fleet of Spotify features like offline listening, Facebook integration, and access to the service's huge catalog of songs — assuming you're signed up for the $9.99 per month Spotify Premium service.