Microsoft just bought Talko, a Boston-based startup that specializes in helping groups of people -- in business, family or other settings -- collaborate using their smartphones. At least to some degree, Microsoft says the Talko’s technology will “live on in Skype,” Fortune reports.

Ericsson has reached a new patent licensing agreement with Apple. The pact resolves a year-long legal fight between the tech giants. Ericsson didn't identify the exact terms of the deal, but the company's revenue from intellectual property in 2015 -- including the new Apple deal — is expected to reach between ... $1.52 billion to $1.64 billion, Reuters reports.

Adobe is showing off a new graphic design iOS app name Post. “For small business owners, bloggers, and other folks who need to promote themselves on social media, Post is a free, easy-to-use tool to create graphics,” MacWorld reports. More broadly, “Adobe is on a tear as we near the end of 2015,” it notes.

Reading into Apple’s promotion of Jeff Williams to the COO spot, 9To5Mac’s Mark Gurman thinks it makes him an obvious successor to CEO Tim Cook. “I still believe a (small) portion of the title change was designed to reassure investors that Apple is doing emergency CEO succession planning,” Gurman writes. Also, “The fact that Apple’s COO remains in charge of the company’s wearable and health efforts indicates that Apple has a pipeline of additional health-related products coming down the road.”

Following the lead of Wal-Mart, Target is reportedly developing its own mobile wallet. “The fourth-largest U.S. retailer has not committed to launch the product, which would allow customers to pay for goods using an app on their mobile phones,” Reuters reports. “The mobile wallet could launch as early as next year, but it is too early to predict.”

To introduce competing mobile payments systems in China, Apple and Samsung have reached separate agreements with the country’s largest payment and clearing network. “Customers of UnionPay … will be able to add their bank cards to iPhones, iPads and the Apple Watch for purchases through Apple Pay,” Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

A security flaw in Target’s mobile app has left the emails and phone numbers for some users vulnerable, The Consumerist reports, citing a report from security firm Avast. “Customers who created wish lists through the Target app have unwittingly made their addresses, phone numbers, and other personal information open to unauthorized access, thanks to a flaw in the feature.”

Apple has promoted Jeff Williams to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Previously Senior Vice President Operations, Williams has been heavily involved in the Apple Watch team as well as the open source ResearchKit initiative, 9To5Mac notes. Meanwhile, “Phil Schiller, Apple’s Worldwide Marketing SVP, will add to his responsibilities the task of overseeing all the App Store leadership.”

Slack this week launched a third-party App Directory, which is, as Venture Beat reports, “aimed at being the de facto source for certified integrations.” The startup has also set up an $80 million developer fund, backed by Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and other investors. “The goal is to help find the next Slack-first app,” VB writes.

Samsung is hoping to appeal its Apple patent case with the Supreme Court. “Although it has already written Apple a $548 million check, the Korean electronics giant insists that not only was the verdict in the patent case incorrect, but it highlights a flaw in the patent world that the nation’s highest court needs to fix,” Re/code reports.