“Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not far away, then Apple will have to make a strategic decision on whether to open up the platform. … What’s the reason for him [Jobs] to trash Flash? There’s no reason other than ego.” — Netgear co-founder Patrick Lo in Sydney Australia. (The Register)

“Steve Jobs doesn’t give me a minute!” — Netgear co-founder Patrick Lo (again) in Sydney Australia. (The Register)

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  The Noor Group, Egypt’s last up-and-running Internet Service Provider serving between 8% and 12% of the country’s citizens, was shut down yesterday. As a tiny consolation, Google and Twitter are offering up Speak to Tweet, a voice connection that lets users dial three international numbers and have their voice messages sent out as Tweets with an #egypt hashtag. “We hope that this will go some way to helping people in Egypt stay connected at this very difficult time,” wrote Ujjwal Singh, Google’s product manager for the Middle East and North Africa. (CNET)

• Facebook is rumored to be working on a more complex third-party commenting system than the one currently out now that could launch within the next few weeks and offer a surprising amount of flexibility, including the ability to log in with Google, Yahoo or Twitter IDs. Speculates CNET: “This new technology could see Facebook as the engine behind the comments system on many high-profile blogs and other digital publications very soon.” (CNET)
• Also, if you’re a weary traveler who can’t get enough of the social network, rest easy. Free Facebook service will be available on North American flights via aircraft Internet service Gogo for Virgin America, United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, AirTran, US Airways and Alaska Airlines. Other Internet services like email, will of course cost you.(USA Today)
• Intel is temporarily halting shipments of its new Sandy Bridge chip platform due to a design flaw that may cause 5% of chips to fail over the next three to five years. It’s estimated the move will cost the company $1 billion, which includes having to fix nearly half a million Sandy Bridge-toting desktop and laptops already out there. (New York Times)
• According to Cisco’s annual Global Mobile Traffic Forecast, the amount of mobile data sent was 2.6 times more than the amount sent in 2009, and by 2015, users will transmit up to 26 times even that amount, making for a whopping total of 6.3 exabytes a month. (Los Angeles Times)
• Apple reportedly told several companies, including Sony, that they can no longer sell content like e-books within their apps or let users access purchases made outside the App Store. As an example of its new mantra, Apple rejected Sony’s e-book iPhone application. Given that, could Amazon’s Kindle app meet a similar fate? (New York Times)
• PayPal hired seven-year Apple vet Sarah Brody to serve as the companys VP of global design. Brody will work on improving the overall PayPal user experience. (AllThingsD)

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