Techmeme
February 5, 2013, 2:30 PM

Top News

Michael J. De La Merced / DealBook:
Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private  —  Dell announced Tuesday that it had agreed to go private in a $24 billion deal led by its founder and the investment firm Silver Lake, in the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.  —  Under the terms of the deal, the buyers' consortium …
Dell, Inc.:
Dell Enters Into Agreement to Be Acquired By Michael Dell and Silver Lake  — Transaction implies a 37 percent premium over the average closing share price during the previous 90 calendar days ending Jan. 11, 2013  —  Dell Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement under …
Microsoft:
Microsoft Statement on Loan to Support Dell Privatization  —  “Microsoft has provided a $2 billion loan to the group that has proposed to take Dell private.  Microsoft is committed to the long term success of the entire PC ecosystem and invests heavily in a variety of ways to build that ecosystem for the future.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Will Microsoft's $2 billion role in Dell's buyout play out like its Nokia partnership?  —  Summary: If Microsoft's $2 billion loan to Dell plays out the same way its Nokia deal has, other PC makers may have less to fear than they initially might expect.  —  One of the worst-kept secrets …
Kevin Systrom / Instagram:
Introducing Your Instagram Feed on the Web  —  Today, I'm very excited to announce the launch of a product we've been wanting to build for quite some time now.  Since our launch in October of 2010, we've focused on building a simple app that has inspired creativity while capturing everyday moments through the lens of your mobile phone.
Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:
After Two Years of “Mobile First,” Instagram Brings Its Feed to the Web  —  Think of “mobile first” companies, and Instagram should top that list.  It rose to prominence as one of the fastest-growing mobile-only companies over the past few years, and is now closing in on the 100 million active user mark.
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:
‘Radio Buy Buttons’ found in iOS 6.1 via newly jailbroken iPads, could mean new functionality coming  —  ‘Radio Buy’ buttons, above, enlarged, put together from files, below  —  Having a look around our newly jailbroken iPads with iFunBox, we happened on a new set of files in the iPad Music.app.
Quentin Hardy / New York Times:
Growing Numbers of Start-Ups Are Worth a Billion Dollars  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The number of privately held Silicon Valley start-ups that are worth more than $1 billion shocks even the executives running those companies.  —  “I thought we were special,” said Phil Libin, chief executive of Evernote …
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Amazon launches new ‘Coins’ virtual currency for Kindle Fire app purchases, coming to the US in May  —  Intent on helping app developers gain more money from their Appstore submissions, Amazon today announced the launch of ‘Amazon Coins,’ a new virtual currency that will allow Kindle Fire owners …
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Ouya console will be sold at Best Buy, Target, and Gamestop for $99.99 in June  —  Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman has announced the first details of retail availability for the Android-powered games console.  If you missed out on Ouya's successful Kickstarter campaign and wanted to pick one up in stores …
John Cook / GeekWire:
Microsoft ‘data chief’ Ted Kummert leaves after 23 years, joins Madrona Venture Group  —  After more than two decades at Microsoft, Ted Kummert is leaving the software giant to join Seattle venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group.  Kummert, who most recently served as the corporate vice president …
More: Digits, GigaOM and The Next WebThanks:@toddbishop
Ryan Gallagher / Slate:
The Threat of Silence  —  Meet the groundbreaking new encryption app set to revolutionize privacy and freak out the feds.  —  For the past few months, some of the world's leading cryptographers have been keeping a closely guarded secret about a pioneering new invention.  Today, they've decided it's time to tell all.
Stuart Miles / Pocket-lint:
HTC M7 to ditch megapixels in favour of Ultrapixels  —  HTC is to use a new camera sensor on its much-rumoured HTC M7?smartphone, Pocket-lint can confirm, which will use what the company calls Ultrapixels.  —  Although rumours have suggested the new smartphone will use a 13-megapixel sensor …
Michael Carney / PandoDaily:
Viddy CEO Brett O'Brien is out, rumors of a declined Twitter deal swirl  —  Viddy co-founder and CEO Brett O'Brien will no longer be involved in the company's day to day operations, and the search is underway for a new chief executive with more product and content monetization experience.
Joanna Stern / ABCNEWS:
Facebook Vacation: 61 Percent of Users Take Breaks From Site  —  Ashley Kiley needed a vacation.  A Facebook vacation.  —  “I needed a break from everyone.  I was on the site too much and was wasting too much time looking at information about friends,” Kiley, 27, told ABC News.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Backed By Yammer's David Sacks, Fresh Launches A Site For Verified Consumer Gadget Reviews  —  When you're ready to try a new product, Stephen Svajian, co-founder and CEO of a startup called Fresh, said that what you're really looking for are recommendations from consumers like you …
Brendan Sasso / Hillicon Valley:
Walden proposes Internet freedom bill  —  Rep. Greg Walden (D-Ore.), chairman of the House Communications and Technology subcommittee, proposed legislation on Tuesday that would make it the official policy of the United States government to promote a free Internet.
More: ZDNet
Humayun Khan / BetaKit:
Influitive Acquires Engagio, Aims to Engage Advocates By Tapping Into the Social Web  —  Today, Toronto-based Influitive, a B2B advocate marketing platform, announced that it has acquired another Toronto-based startup Engagio, a platform to search, discover, and follow online comments, for an undisclosed amount.

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