Twitter bird on a TV logo - inspiring!

While Viacom hasn't always understood how this whole internet video thing works, it's showing some tech savviness today with confirmation of rumors that it's joining Twitter's Amplify program. Beginning with the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25th, Viacom will deliver ad-backed video highlights on Twitter for shows and events across its channel range, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. In theory, the agreement is a win for everyone: Viacom and Twitter get more revenue, while we get a legal way to revisit those inevitable celebrity slip-ups. The two sides haven't said how long their partnership will last, although we wouldn't be surprised if results from the VMA broadcast help shape the deal's future.

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DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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In the aftermath of Microsoft's stunning reversal of its Xbox One game licensing plans, we talked to Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten to find out exactly what will change about Redmond's next game box this November. Whitten thankfully assuaged our primary concern right off the bat: the company's (new) used game policy extends to third-party publishers as well as Microsoft first-party games.

Though gamers won't have to put up with requirements for an internet check-in every 24 hours, some lauded features we'd heard about will not be available as a result -- at least at launch. That includes the sharing between up to ten family members, and playing disc-based games without having the disc in the One. It also means new consoles will need a patch at launch to enable this future / past scenario of disc-based console gaming.

"There are some things -- the family sharing stuff is an example -- where as we move to this system, that functionality goes away," Whitten told us. Another such piece of functionality the console's losing: digitally accessible versions of disc-based games. "You're gonna see your online content but you won't see your physical discs," he said. Should you choose to purchase those games digitally, of course, they'll show up as part of your online persona.

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Nintendo Wii Balance Board

Companies that prevail in patent lawsuits can't relax until the inevitable appeal is over -- just ask Motorola. Nintendo, however, can take a momentary break. A US Court of Appeals just upheld the company's win over IA Labs, declaring that the Wii Balance Board doesn't infringe on an IA Labs patent. While the ruling isn't all that vital when the accessory is now a rarity at best, it puts IA Labs on the hook for Nintendo's $236,000 attorney bill. It also sends a warning to other companies plotting similar legal assaults, although we'd still expect lawsuits when other patent holders are hitting paydirt.

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World

I have a confession to make. I love /r/cringe, the sub-Reddit dedicated to those moments usually caught on video that make us feel better about our lots in life when we can watch a 30-second chunk of happenstance and walk away thinking, "I am at least one level of dork above that person."

Back in the day you were either a nerd... or not. There were no levels of dorkiness like we have today. You were into computers and Dungeons & Dragons or you weren't: that was pretty much it. You were grouped into a subculture that enjoyed all things electronic, idolized Brian Tochi, knew who Steve Wozniak was and could explain why Weird Science was not a nerd revenge film, but actually a celebration of giving up the machine for love and conformity shrouded in a Hughesian attempt to finally give the dweebs a chance to get some. Still a cool movie, though, and a righteous theme song.

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SiriusXM internet radio coming to Ford's SYNC AppLink, complete with indash controls

Ford said a while back that it wanted more applications with support for voice control inside its vehicles, and slowly but surely the company's getting what it wished for. Just as Spotify did a few months ago, SiriusXM is now introducing its own app for the SYNC AppLink ecosystem, giving drivers access to the internet radio service right from their Ford's in-dash system. This also includes features like voice commands and steering wheel controls, as well as access to SiriusXM On Demand and MySXM. As part of the deal with the Satellite Radio company, the American car maker announced that customers purchasing one of those SYNC AppLink-ready autos will get a six-month subscription to the All Access Package -- which is usually $199 per year and has more than 160 channels to choose from.

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Nokia RM875 reaches the FCC, looks like an international EOS

Nokia keeps slipping out clues as to what we might expect from its Zoom Reinvented event: following the RM-877's appearance at the FCC, an RM-875 device has also popped up at the US agency. This new hardware looks like an international variant of the RM-877, and thus a second take on what we believe is the EOS. The RM-875 sheds what traces were left of its sibling's 1,700MHz HSPA+ data and switches the LTE to more exotic 850MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz and 2,500MHz frequencies, but it's otherwise a near perfect match in terms of dimensions and antenna layouts. The camera grip accessory and wireless charging cover persist, too. As such, it's quite possible that whatever Nokia unveils on July 11th will ship worldwide -- let's just hope it ships quickly.

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Twitter acquires Spindle, a social network with an emphasis on local updates

Good news for the folks at Spindle came today, as the provider of hyperlocal offers from businesses was acquired by Twitter. Described by the company as, "a tool for tuning into your surroundings," the service pulls updates from Twitter and Facebook and categorizes offers around themes such as restaurants and shopping. Spindle also includes a social element, with the ability to share check-ins through Facebook and Twitter. The service is currently limited to 11 cities, which includes New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, but according to the company, "By joining forces with Twitter, we can do so much more to help you find interesting, timely, and useful information about what's happening around you." As sad news to current users of Spindle, however, the service will shut down effective today, as the team prepares for its transition to the Twitter team in San Francisco. At any rate, it looks like the folks at Lucky Sort won't be the rookies of Twitter HQ anymore. For a peek at what Spindle entails, just hop the break.

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Stratasys, an Israeli-based 3D printer and additive manufacturer has just agreed to acquire 3D printing company MakerBot for a proposed amount of $403 million in stock. They've announced a "definitive merger agreement" where MakerBot would converge with a subsdiary of Stratasys in a stock-for-stock transaction. After selling more than 22,000 3D printers since its inception in 2009, MakerBot is seen as a leader and pioneer in the 3D printing space, and about 11,000 of those sales were due to the Replicator 2 alone. MakerBot will operate as a separate entity with its own branding and marketing as part of the deal, and will provide an affordable 3D printing market for Stratasys. If all goes well with the regulators, it should be done by the third quarter of 2013.

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Microsoft was reportedly near deal for Nokia's device business, but talks broke down

It's often been rumored that Microsoft had an eye on Nokia's handset business. It made perfect sense for both companies -- one a struggling pioneer of the mobile industry and the other a struggling stalwart from the first wave of smartphones. According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, the two were actually quite close to striking a deal and were having "advanced talks" in London as recently as this month. But, according to the all-too-familiar "people familiar with the matter," those talks have broken down. Those same sources say it was Microsoft that walked away from the table over concerns about Nokia's asking price, especially in light of its continued failure to put a significant dent in Apple and Samsung's market share. Though it seems like dreams of a Microsoft-Nokia merger are dead for the moment, don't expect the disagreement to severely affect the duo's partnership. Nokia is still reliant on Microsoft's help to stand out in the market and Microsoft needs the Finnish manufacturer to keep pumping out flagship handsets with Windows Phone on them.

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