Techmeme
January 13, 2014, 2:45 PM

Top News

Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Facebook acquires link-sharing service Branch for around $15 million  —  Link-sharing service Branch and subsidiary Potluck have agreed to be acquired by Facebook for around $15 million, sources familiar with the deal told The Verge.  Branch CEO Josh Miller broke the news in a Facebook post this morning, but didn't disclose a price.
Matt Mullenweg:
In role swap, Matt Mullenweg becomes Automattic's CEO, Toni Schneider to focus on new products  —  Toni Schneider & Automattic CEO  —  Eight years and one day ago I blogged about Toni Schneider joining Automattic as CEO, as I said then: … Fast-forward roughly two thousand, nine hundred …
Liam Boogar / Rude Baguette:
Taxi protest in Paris turns to guerrilla warfare as Uber car attacked on freeway  —  The right to protest has always been powerfully upheld in France - whether it's protesting an immigrant's right to healthcare, the closing of a factory, or even Taxis, who have perfected the art of making their voice heard …
Aaron Souppouris / The Verge:
Sprint's ‘One Up’ early upgrade plan axed after just four months  —  Sprint's One Up early upgrade plan is no more.  With the announcement of the plan last September, Sprint joined T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon in offering a way for customers to upgrade their handset mid-contract.
Rich McCormick / The Verge:
Nokia's Android phone appears in prototype form  —  Images of Nokia's Android phone — code-named Normandy — were published in November, showing what purported to be a low-cost smartphone that would run with a custom implementation of Android.  Now another picture of the phone has appeared on Twitter …
Matthew Lynch / Capital New York:
CNN consolidates tech coverage  —  CNN and CNNmoney.com will merge their respective tech desks into one team headed by New York-based editor David Goldman.  —  CNNMoney.com executive editor Chris Peacock and CNN Digital managing editor Meredith Artley made the announcement in an email to staffers this morning.
Michael Gold / Reuters:
New Acer CEO disappoints with lack of detail on future plans  —  (Reuters) - Investors looking for specifics as to the future of Acer Inc, the world's No.4 PC vendor, came away disappointed when the new CEO spent more time delivering a history of the company's past mistakes than on where it was headed.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple now shipping the Mac Pro to Europe once again, after EU ban of old model  —  Since March, the old Mac Pro has not been available to buy in Europe as changes in regulations meant that the old Mac Pro no longer complied with EU law.  In particular, the large exposed fans of the Mac Pro …
Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:
Internet of Things: The “Basket of Remotes” Problem  —  We count on WiFi and Bluetooth in our homes, but we don't have appliances that provide self-description or reliable two-way communication.  As a result, the Internet of Things for consumers is, in practice, a Basket of Remotes.

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More News

Loek Essers / PC World:

Earlier Picks

Mike Lennon / SecurityWeek:
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge: