Techmeme
October 12, 2013, 8:40 AM

Top News

Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
C.I.A. Warning on Snowden in '09 Said to Slip Through the Cracks  —  WASHINGTON — Just as Edward J. Snowden was preparing to leave Geneva and a job as a C.I.A. technician in 2009, his supervisor wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man's behavior …
Google:
Mercury News:
Apple's new headquarters: Exclusive images of Cupertino plan  —  The Mercury News was given an exclusive look at a model of Apple Computer's circular new corporate headquarters, proposed to be built on a 175-acre plot of land bounded by North Wolfe Road and East Homestead Road.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Yahoo Acquires Bread, Will Shut Down The URL Shortener That Earned You Money  —  Yahoo has just acquired Bread, a 2.5 year old startup that had raised $3.5 million [Update: and we hear was low on cash and shopping itself around to several companies].  Bread let people make money or generate donations by designing interstitial ads.
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft CEO Search Reveals Board Rifts  —  Directors Have Approached at Least Two Microsoft Executives and Eight Outsiders, Including Ford's Mulally.  Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT +1.10% search for a new chief executive is exposing divisions of opinion among directors over the 38-year-old company's …
More: I4U News and SlashGear
Milton Mueller / IGP Blog:
Major Internet organizations announce break with US, as ICANN president aligns with Brazil  —  The core Internet institutions abandon the US Government  —  In Montevideo, Uruguay this week, the Directors of all the major Internet organizations - ICANN, the Internet Engineering Task Force …
Brad Molen / Engadget:
AT&T to streamline traditional voice plans in favor of Mobile Share on October 25th  —  AT&T is planning to axe its traditional monthly calling and data plans for new customers — both individual and family — in favor of the network's latest shared data options, Engadget has learned …
Brian Fung / Washington Post:
The Internet's best hope for a Do Not Track standard is falling apart.  Here's why.  —  Should businesses be forced to stop tracking your movements on the Internet?  —  It sounds like a simple question.  But judging by the growing despair among members of a diverse group assigned …
Jemima Kiss / Guardian:
Kevin Systrom, Instagram's man of vision, now eyes up world domination  —  The man who sold his photo-sharing app to Facebook for $1bn at the age of 28 talks about his continuing ambition for Instagram  —  Kevin Systrom might be the luckiest man in technology.
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Pinterest Acquires Coding Challenge Site Hackermeter Right Out Of The Gate, Will Shut It Down  —  If you were looking forward to boasting about your Hackermeter score as a means of getting your next coding gig, you're gonna have to make new plans: the two-month old startup has been acquired by Pinterest, and will be shut down.
More: I4U News and bizjournalsTweets: @sarahtavel
John Koetsier / VentureBeat:
TorSearch launches to be the Google of the hidden Internet  —  Nov. 12 - 13, 2013  —  The newest search engine in the world is hidden in the shadows of the Internet, but it shines a light on those shadows that ordinary search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo can't.
Reuters:
Sony to focus on Europe and Japan smartphone markets, leaves US and China for the future  —  Without grand plans for China, U.S., Sony set to lag in smartphones  —  (Reuters) - Kazuo Hirai's plan to restore Sony Corp to lasting profitability rests in large part on its smartphones leapfrogging rivals …

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Earlier Picks

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
Brian Crecente / Polygon:
Tom Warren / The Verge: