Techmeme
February 3, 2014, 11:35 AM

Top News

New York Times:
As device makers strive to improve battery and charging tech, Apple tests inductive charging for its watch  —  Building a Better Battery  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The next breakthrough smartphone, or maybe the one after that, might not have a traditional battery as its sole source of power.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Windows 8.1 Update 1 leaks on the web ahead of its March release  —  Microsoft's first update to Windows 8.1 has leaked today on various file sharing websites ahead of its March debut.  The early build includes a number of changes that Microsoft is making to improve the keyboard and mouse experience in Windows 8.1.
Danny Sullivan / Marketing Land:
Hashtags in 57% of Super Bowl ads; Facebook led social networks with 5 mentions to Twitter's 4  —  New Record For 2014: Hashtags Mentioned In 58% Of Super Bowl Ads … Hashtags were in 58 percent of Super Bowl ads, up from 50% in 2013 and setting a new record.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Developer Behind “Flappy Bird,” The Impossible Game Blowing Up The App Store, Says He Just Got Lucky  —  Flappy Bird, a game you can barely play for more than a few seconds without throwing your phone across the room in frustration, is dominating the App Store and Google Play.
Ina Fried / Re/code:
Apple Celebrates 30th Anniversary of the Mac With Movie Shot on iPhones  —  To mark the 30th anniversary of the Mac, Apple gave its store workers special T-shirts, changed its home page and granted ABC News an interview with CEO Tim Cook.  —  But its biggest anniversary project was one done in secret.
CB Insights:
72 of the Biggest, Costliest Startup Failures of All Time  —  No physician is really good before he has killed one or two patients.  " - Proverb  —  For those who've been reading, we've had failure on the brain recently.  This is partly because its a good counterbalance …
Tweets: @r and @brenthoberman
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Required Reading: The Economist's Special Report On Tech Startups  —  It's not every day we here at TechCrunch just point to someone else's work and say, “Here, you should go read this.”  But today's an exception, because The Economist has put together a 16-page Special Report on the rise of technology startups around the world.
More: Economist
Bloomberg:
Gates Seen Taking Bigger Products Role at Microsoft  —  Even as Bill Gates weighs giving up his title of chairman of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), he's poised to remain involved at the company he co-founded in an area of its deepest need: crafting must-have products.
Nick Bilton / NYT Bits:
Facebook declines FiftyThree's request to change name of upcoming Paper news app  —  Makers of Paper App Ask Facebook to Change Its New App Name  —  If you go to Google and type in the word “paper,” the top result doesn't have anything to do with traditional pulpy vellum.
More: FiftyThreeTweets: @mikeisaac

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Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
Sequoia CEO coach: Why it's never been easier to start a company, and never been harder to scale one | Brian Halligan (co-founder, HubSpot)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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Hard Fork:
'Something Big Is Happening' + A.I. Rocks the Romance Novel Industry + One Good Thing
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
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Cheeky Pint:
Ben Thompson from Stratechery on AI ads, the end of SaaS, and the future of media
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
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The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Billionaire Button w/ Tim Wu
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
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Rebecca J. Rosen / The Atlantic Online:

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