Techmeme
January 17, 2014, 5:45 PM

Top News

Reuters:
Obama bans spying on leaders of U.S. allies, scales back NSA program  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced a ban on U.S. eavesdropping on the leaders of close friends and allies on Friday, and rein in the vast collection of Americans' phone data in a series of reforms triggered by Edward Snowden's revelations.
The Verge:
President Obama's NSA reforms show both promise and peril  —  The president's NSA changes have potential to increase privacy, but need concrete action  —  President Obama just announced big changes to America's massive government surveillance programs, promising to add new safeguards …
Noel Randewich / Reuters:
Intel announces plans to cut 5% of its 107k workforce this year  —  Intel to reduce global workforce by five percent in 2014  —  (Reuters) - Intel Corp plans to reduce its global workforce of 107,000 by about 5 percent this year as the chipmaker, struggling with falling personal-computer sales …
Bloomberg:
HTC Said to Plan New One Phone With Larger Screen, Better Camera  —  HTC Corp. (2498) plans a March release for the latest version of its HTC One smartphone featuring a larger screen and twin-sensor rear camera, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Andreessen Horowitz raising $1.5 billion for new fund  —  Andreessen Horowitz is raising its fourth fund in six years.  —  FORTUNE — Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is in the process of raising $1.5 billion for its fourth fund, Fortune has learned.
Nick Summers / Businessweek:
ATMs, 95% of which run Windows XP, must upgrade by April 8 to avoid losing support  —  ATMs Face Deadline to Upgrade From Windows XP  —  One-dollar bills.  Envelope-free deposits.  Stamp dispensers.  These are a few of the features that Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC) …
More: InfoWorld and GizmodoTweets: @murtaugh
Andrew Martonik / Android Central:
Sprint Wifi Calling poised to debut on two Samsung phones  —  Calling requires software update but no monthly fee; only supported in the U.S.  —  T-Mobile may soon no longer be the only major carrier offering first-party Wifi calling, as Sprint apparently is preparing to launch a system of its own.
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
Code points to a Google “Fitness API” allowing Android apps to view and edit activity data  —  Google Works on a Fitness API for Android  —  Wearables are now the next big thing.  A lot of companies develop smart watches, smart glasses and head-up displays, smart headphones, smart clothes.
The Official Google Blog:
Introducing our smart contact lens project  —  You've probably heard that diabetes is a huge and growing problem—affecting one in every 19 people on the planet.  But you may not be familiar with the daily struggle that many people with diabetes face as they try to keep their blood sugar levels under control.
David Kravets / Wired:
Supreme Court to Decide if Warrants Needed to Search Mobile Phones  —  The Supreme Court today agreed to decide the unsolved constitutional question of whether police may search, without warrants, the mobile phones of suspects they arrest.  —  The justices did not immediately schedule …
More: Forbes and USA Today
Rebecca Grant / VentureBeat:
With 60M downloads, BitTorrent's Bundle experiment is paying off  —  The Internet has created a world where value is determined by virality.  —  BitTorrent is contributing to the evolution of how content gets shared.  The creator of file-sharing technology revealed today that people …
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Apple details secure ‘touchless’ e-wallet strategy in patent filing  —  Apple has been coy in revealing its plans for a touchless payment solution, but a patent filing discovered on Thursday gives clues as to where the company is headed.  —  Tech companies like Google are looking …
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Breach at Neiman Marcus Went Undetected From July to December  —  The computer network at Neiman Marcus was penetrated by hackers as far back as July, and the breach was not fully contained until Sunday, according to people briefed on the investigation.  —  The company disclosed the data theft …
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Dropbox Raises About $250 Million at $10 Billion Valuation  —  BlackRock Is Leading the Deal Alongside Previous Backers  —  Dropbox Inc. has closed on about $250 million in a funding round that values the online-storage provider at close to $10 billion, according to two people familiar with the deal.
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Path launches for Windows Phone as a public beta  —  Path today quietly launched an app for Windows Phone, but there's a small catch: it's a public beta.  Nevertheless, the social network has arrived on Microsoft's mobile platform and you can grab the app now directly from the Windows Phone Store.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Nintendo warns of loss after slashing Wii U sales forecast by 69 percent  —  Throughout the past year, Nintendo CEO and president Satoru Iwata has maintained his belief that the company will turn an operating profit of ¥100 billion yen in 2014, even in the face of disappointing Wii U sales.

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Peter Kafka / Re/code: