John Abell

In the largest wireless equipment deal in at least a decade Google Inc. will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash. The deal exponentially increases Google's patent portfolio and makes the company far more competitive in the mobile phone market. Google currently owns and operates Android, today's deal is expected to give the smart phone the patents it needs to compete against Apple iPhone. Joining us is John Abell, New York bureau chief for Wired.com.

The basics of "Weinergate" are well established. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY), has a Twitter account. The Friday before Memorial Day weekend, a picture was posted on Yfrog and tweeted from Weiner's account to that of a 21-year-old college student in Seattle. The picture, as most of the country knows by now, was a shot from the chest down of a man in his underwear. It was immediately deleted. Rep. Weiner claimed, on twitter, that he'd been hacked. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich has been watching this unfold. John Abell, New York Bureau Chief for Wired.com, discusses Rep. Weiner's assertion that "I was pranked, I was hacked, I was punked" and how a person might actually prove such a thing.

To show their support for Wikileaks and its founder, Julian Assange, hackers attacked websites of corporations such as PayPal and MasterCard who have been making it difficult for the controversial site to function. John Abell, New York Bureau Chief for Wired, discusses this recent form of cyber warfare and Marcia Hoffman, Electronic Frontier Foundation Senior Staff Attorney, weighs in on the first amendment ramifications of shutting Wikileaks out of funding, or prosecuting them for the cable dumps.

For a summary of their conversation, go to It's A Free Country.

In theory, the Internet provides a level playing field for businesses and consumers alike. That’s because, since its creation, the Internet has been built around the principle of “net neutrality”: all traffic online travels as quickly as it can, given the technology and congestion it encounters along the way.  According to an article published by our partner The New York Times, however, a backdoor deal may be nearing between Google and Verizon, which could give a speed advantage to those websites who are willing to pay more.

Twitter has started to roll out advertising in an attempt to monetize the wildly popular service. John Abell, New York Bureau chief for Wired Magazine, discusses the changes.

We're hosting a tweetup! You can submit your questions about Twitter-ads and talk with other Brian Lehrer Twitter users ...

20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez was arrested and charged with “computer intrusion charges” after immobilizing more than 100 vehicles across Austin, Texas. He wreaked a small amount of havoc on computerized cars across the city simply by hacking into them via his home computer.

Washington Takeout: Todd Zwillich "wonks out" as he goes behind the report showing that Americans spent $2.3 trillion on health care in 2008: 17 percent of our economy. Mobile Tec...

Money Takeout: Yelp walked away from an acquisition deal from Google worth more than $500 million... why? John Abell, of Wired.com, joins us to put the story in context.  Environme...

Now that Microsoft's new search engine Bing has been live for several months, how is if faring against giant Google? Wired magazine's New York bureau chief John Abell examines the searching landscape.

It used to be a bad thing to have your head in the clouds. Not anymore. These days "the cloud" is exactly where tech companies like Google want you and your business to be. Working in...

Follow Up Friday looks at what your computer can accomplish while it's resting with John Abell, NY Bureau chief for Wired; and an update with Jonathan Allen of CQPolitics on what Alaska, Minnesota, and Georgia have yet to accomplish: picking their next Senator.