Techmeme
October 31, 2013, 11:30 PM

Top News

The Official Google Blog:
Android for all and the new Nexus 5  —  Just in time for Halloween, we have two new treats for Android fans.  First, we're excited to unwrap our latest platform release, KitKat, which delivers a smarter, more immersive Android experience to even more people.  And second, we're introducing Nexus 5—a new Nexus phone developed with LG.
Brad Molen / Engadget:
HTC: Android 4.4 KitKat coming to the One within 90 days, Google Play edition in 15 days  —  Now that we know which of Google's Nexus devices will be eligible for an update to Android 4.4 KitKat, other manufacturers are starting to speak up about their rollout plans as well.
Brad Molen / Engadget:
Google: Samsung Galaxy Nexus won't get updated to Android 4.4 KitKat  —  From the horse's mouth, we're hearing some unfortunate news: Google has taken to its Spanish support pages to announce that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is not on the list of devices to receive Android 4.4 KitKat.
TechCrunch:
Alex Wayne / Bloomberg:
Google, Red Hat, Oracle contributing dozens of engineers, designers to fix HealthCare.gov  —  Google, Oracle Workers Enlisted for Obamacare ‘Tech Surge’  —  Google, Red Hat, Oracle and other companies are contributing dozens of computer engineers and programmers to help the Obama administration fix …
Dan Levine / Reuters:
Google, Samsung, Huawei sued over Nortel patents  —  (Reuters) - The group that owns thousands of former Nortel patents filed a barrage of patent lawsuits on Thursday against cell phone manufacturers including Google, the company it outbid in the Nortel bankruptcy auction.
Michael Winter / USA Today:
Coast Guard visits mysterious ‘Google barge’  —  Agency mum on trip and San Francisco vessel's purpose, citing “commercial confidentiality.”  —The Coast Guard on Wednesday visited the mysterious “Google barge” floating in San Francisco Bay, but the agency would not reveal anything about the tech giant's hush-hush vessel.
More: AllThingsD and PE Hub BlogTweets: @cheeky_geeky
Andrea Peterson / The Switch:
Comcast is donating heavily to defeat the mayor who is bringing gigabit fiber to Seattle  —  One of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's big policy initiatives has been expanding the quality and quantity of high-speed Internet access throughout the city.  A public-private partnership plans …
Bloomberg:
AT&T Is Said to Explore Vodafone Takeover as Soon as Next Year  —  AT&T Inc. executives are laying the groundwork internally for a potential takeover of Vodafone Group Plc next year, mapping out a strategy for a complex deal with Europe's largest mobile carrier, people familiar with the situation said.
Jordan Golson / MacRumors:
Samsung Tops Apple in Latest J.D. Power Tablet Customer Satisfaction Survey  —  Apple has been ranked second, edged out slightly by Samsung in J.D. Power's latest U.S. tablet satisfaction study.  Samsung scored 835 on a 1,000 point scale, while Apple was just behind at 833.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Meet “badBIOS,” the mysterious Mac and PC malware that jumps airgaps  —  Three years ago, security consultant Dragos Ruiu was in his lab when he noticed something highly unusual: his MacBook Air, on which he had just installed a fresh copy of OS X, spontaneously updated the firmware that helps it boot.

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Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch: