Apple receives patent for glasses-free 3D TV.

BBC iPlayer is coming to the US — via an iPad subscription.

Cracker Barrel commits to install some electric-vehicle charging stations.

Dish Network touts iPad service.

Ford and Nissan lead US car-sales gains in November.

Hulu says it’s open to new investors so it can expand abroad.

IAC founder Barry Diller is stepping down as CEO but "not going anywhere."Continue reading...

Every so often, advertisers all look at one actor and decide he or she is the one that captures a mixture of the here-and-now and the particular product the ad will promote. This makes for an odd perfect storm of advertising for viewers, who all see one person playing different roles across different brand platforms.

Currently, that guy is named R.J. Kelly III and you may have seen him recently about how this happens and if the phenomenon is good or bad for brands.Continue reading...

The rest of the world is abandoning the black magnetic strip on the back of credit cards, moving instead to embedded chips. While new U.S. passports and some state licenses use such technology, U.S. credit card companies have not made any significant advances beyond the use of the strip in recent years. But that's all about to change.

Next month Citibank will begin testing a new 2G credit card, which incorporates an embedded chip and a battery, along with two buttons and lights. The buttons let cardholders choose whether to pay for a purchase with credit or "thank you points" (rewards), according to the New York Times.

Citi plans to offer the new card to existing account holders of two rewards accounts.Continue reading...

Barnes & Noble introduces a color version of its Nook e-reader with Google Android OS.

Disney and Time Warner Cable will experiment with TV Everywhere (Internet TV behind a paywall for TWC subscribers) with the next installment of ESPN's Monday Night Football.

Facebook and MySpace asked by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, to detail how they safeguard user information.

George Foreman expands with Healthy Cooking line.

GlaxoSmithKline agrees to pay $750 million fine for bad products.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt apologizes for Street View privacy flap.Continue reading...

Fox maintains top ad rates for American Idol even without Simon Cowell, as News Corp.-Cablevision stand-off saw 3 million NYC area homes lose the channel over a big weekend for football fans.

Apple is turning more attention to the corporate market.

Barclay Capital foresees modest bump in U.S. holiday sales.

Chevron incorporates anti-oil industry sentiment in new ads.

Chrysler expands as other U.S. automakers cut brands.

Citigroup reports $2.2-billion third-quarter profit.Continue reading...

Google TV announced its programming partners, including TV networks HBO and CNBC (but not, notably, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and Web players including Twitter. Google also launched a microsite to highlight the new offering.

In addition to the Google TV partnership and formally launching promoted tweets today, Twitter CEO Evan Williams announced he's stepping down from the top spot to focus on product strategy. As expected, COO Dick Costolo is moving up to the CEO's role.

The U.S. Justice Department sues American Express (Visa and MasterCard settled) for alleged anti-competitive practices that prevent merchants from offering discounts and raise prices for consumers.

Cisco exec Tony Bates is the new CEO of Skype, which is reportedly in integration talks with Facebook.Continue reading...

Starbucks today announced it will raise prices on "labor-intensive and larger-sized drinks" due to soaring coffee prices; while CEO Howard Schultz praises social media as key to brand-building, and announces additional content partner for digital network.

Aetna, Cigna and other US insurers face a key deadline tomorrow, when parts of the new healthcare law affecting children's coverage go into effect.

Blockbuster reportedly scheduling bankruptcy tomorrow with loan.

Boeing's final test 787 model is held up by technical issues.

Facebook is starting to see real revenue from virtual Credits payment program.Continue reading...

* 7-Eleven enters the bidding for smaller rival Casey’s.

* All Nippon Airways plans to launch the first low-cost air carrier in Japan.

* Anheuser-Busch InBev, L’Oreal and Unilever are among brands utilizing more online video to connect with consumers in China.

* Burberry aims to transform itself into an agile global retailer.

* CNN banks on new faces such as Piers Morgan to battle slumping ratings.

* General Motors needs to go into “attack” mode, new CEO Daniel Akerson tells employees.

* Goldman Sachs is fined $27 million by the U.K. government, but ranked #1 on Wall Street for employee satisfaction.Continue reading...