Thirst Labs has created an app that CEO Anuj Verma says could revolutionize the way we take in news and other data online. But will it? Also — telephone companies aren’t worried about competition from Skype, which by some estimates now accounts for one-third of the international calls market. Why not? Hint: there’s more money in data plans. And, the guys from “Wedding Crashers” go to Google.

The battle between Elon Musk of Tesla and the New York Times in the wake of a bad review for a test drive of the company’s car continues. But what is the real takeaway from the flap? Will Oremus of Slate says we’re all focusing on the wrong facts. Also, the town in Northern England where residents who couldn’t get high-speed Internet decided to put in their own.

President Obama’s executive order for increased sharing between government agencies and large infrastructure companies endeavors to help bypass Congress in a fast-moving Internet attack. And mass texting among teenagers is a growing problem — as Janell Burley Hofmann can attest. Her son woke up the other morning with 0ver 600 missed texts from the night beore. 

Apple’s stock has been drooping since its maps fail in September — but are things getting serious? Tim Cook may have been sitting with the First Lady during the State of the Union Tuesday, but he was also making speeches to Wall Street at Goldman Sachs’ Internet and Technology conference, trying to convince shareholders that all is well. Some shareholders don’t think that’s true — and are suing to get Apple to start delivering on its mountain of cash in hand. And, however you heard about the Pope’s retirement this week, the technology bringing you the news was very different than the last time a pope retired, in the 15th century. 

Applico’s CEO Alex Moazed started an App company five years ago that now caters to the big dogs like NBC and AT&T. But his own tech startup is transitioning as he is realizing he needs to teach major corporations that the move to mobile is more about just making an application for your smartphone or tablet — it requires a re-imagining of your business model. Also: Would you wear a watch made by Apple? Don’t worry, CNET’s Molly Wood says you won’t have to make that decision any time soon. But rumors have us asking the question: what will an iWatch do that a regular watch can’t?

There are so-called ‘black boxes’ on airplanes. Turns out many newish cars have something similar, devices that collect data that can help determine what happened in an accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is pushing for all new cars and light trucks to have these devices. And whether or not you are the member of a presidential family, you should probably change your email password more often to prevent hacks — as well as jumble your answers to your security questions. 

Europe has a plan for its own version of the Global Positioning System (GPS), but the over-budget, overdue Galileo system may never actually come into being. Twitter’s purchase of Bluefin Labs might just be all about selling TV ads on your second screen. And the Internet of things is also going to have significant impact on the health care industry. 

Marketplace Tech talks to the CEO of SmartThings about controlling your house from your smartphone or tablet, hears from a mom about iPad etiquette, and learns more about the FCC’s plan for spectrum.  

Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas is a tech geek. He’s also predicting what the future might look like thanks to the Internet of things — the idea that networked objects, like your car and the road, will one day talk to each other. And Samsung has just set up shop in Silicon Valley with a new one million square foot space and a plan to innovate further into the hardware.