Techmeme: Netflix streaming speeds on Comcast jump 65 percent after controversial deal (Chris Welch/The Verge)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News

April 14, 2014, 7:30 PM

Top News

Peter Bright / Ars Technica:

Windows Phone 8.1 review: a magnificent smartphone platform — It's a 0.1 update that feels like a 2.0 update. — For the growing number of Windows Phone users, Windows Phone 8 was a frustrating release. The major difference between Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8 was invisible to end users …

More: Windows Phone Central, The Verge, Engadget, Re/code, Neowin, Pocketnow, PC World, eWeek, CNET, ZDNet, MobileBurn.com, Internet2Go, Gizmodo, WMPoweruser, TIME, Mashable, GeekWire, SuperSite for Windows, Liliputing, ReadWrite, SlashGear, FierceWireless, TechCrunch and Gigaom. Tweets: @arstechnica

Rene Ritchie / iMore:

Apple's Passbook passes are being used by Windows Phone 8.1 and Microsoft Wallet — When Apple introduced Passbook in iOS 6 they billed it as a way to store all your tickets, coupons, boarding passes, loyalty programs, and other cards all in one place. It's hard to imagine they expected …

More: Ars Technica, AppleInsider, Gigaom, TechnoBuffalo, MacRumors, everythingiCafe, iDownloadBlog.com, iPhone in Canada Blog, TechCrunch, iPhone Hacks and Electronista. Tweets: @tomwarren

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview now available to download — Windows Phone 8.1 now available to download — After 18 months since the last major Windows Phone update, Microsoft is finally releasing Windows Phone 8.1 to developers today. The software maker detailed the update …

Jessica Dolcourt / CNET:

Cortana vs. Siri vs. Google Now: An early look at how Cortana stacks up (hands-on)

More: Windows Phone Central, TechHive, Gizmodo, ZDNet and Search Engine Land

Wall Street Journal:

Google buys Titan Aerospace, the maker of high-altitude drones Facebook was considering — Google Buys Drone Maker Courted by Facebook — Internet Giant to Acquire Titan Aerospace — Google Inc. said Monday it agreed to buy Titan Aerospace, a startup maker of high-altitude drones …

More: TechCrunch, VentureBeat, eWeek, Slate, PC Magazine, Forbes, AllFacebook, ABC News, Computerworld, Re/code, PandoDaily, Ars Technica, Los Angeles Times, 9to5Google, dailywireless.org, The Verge, Business Insider, SlashGear and silicontap.com

Tweets: @eringriffith, @moorehn, @tomwarren, @levie and @mikeisaac

Mitchell Baker / The Mozilla Blog:

Greylock's Chris Beard joins Mozilla's Board of Directors, becomes interim CEO — Mozilla Moving Forward — Mozilla finds itself in the midst of an unexpected leadership transition. Along with my fellow board members Reid Hoffman and Katharina Borchert, I am pleased to announce …

More: VentureBeat, eWeek, The Register, Digital Trends, Computerworld, VatorNews, CNNMoney.com, PC Magazine, CNET, ZDNet, ReadWrite, VentureBeat, Re/code, TechCrunch, TheHill, TechSpot, New York Times, SiliconBeat, Daily Dot, Mashable and WebProNews. Tweets: @cbeard

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Google considering giving a boost in its search-engine results to websites that use encryption — Google May Push Sites to Use Encryption — A powerful voice at Google wants websites to be more secure. — In a move that experts say could make it harder to spy on Web users …

More: Search Engine Land, Computerworld, TheHill, Mercury News, The Verge, 9to5Google, SlashGear, BetaNews, Gigaom, Geeky Gadgets, WebProNews, VentureBreak and ZDNet. Tweets: @dannysullivan. Thanks:@bryfitz

Kwame Opam / The Verge:

Heartbleed bug responsible for theft of 900 Canadian tax ID numbers — Canada's taxpayers may be the first victims of the Heartbleed bug that put the web on high alert last week. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, 900 social insurance numbers (SINs) were stolen by hackers exploiting the security vulnerability.

More: cra-arc.gc.ca, CBC News, PC World, PandoDaily, The Register, Globe and Mail, Computerworld, Associated Press, BetaKit, Wall Street Journal, Financial Post, Bloomberg, Help Net Security, Ars Technica, The Next Web, SC Magazine and Speeds and Feeds

Alistair MacDonald / Wall Street Journal:

Canadian Government Says Public Websites up and Running

More: Reuters

Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:

David Fincher pulls out of talks to direct Sony Pictures' Steve Jobs film — David Fincher Out of Steve Jobs Movie in $10 Million Fee Fight (Exclusive) — The director was negotiating with Sony to reteam with “The Social Network” writer Aaron Sorkin and producer Scott Rudin.

More: Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, AppleInsider, iDownloadBlog.com, Mashable, The Mac Observer, The Verge and Inside Movies. Tweets: @counternotions

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Did Microsoft just kill its anti-Google ‘Scroogled’ campaign? — Summary: A Microsoft Corporate Vice President claims Microsoft is ‘done’ with its ‘Scroogled’ campaign. But is the company really Scroogled out? — Has Microsoft quietly done away with its anti-Google “Scroogled” campaign?

More: Yabbly, 9to5Google, Neowin and Android Central

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Netflix streaming speeds on Comcast jump 65 percent after controversial deal — Netflix customers on Comcast are already seeing the benefits of a controversial pact between the streaming service and cable provider. Comcast jumped five spots in Netflix's ranking of ISP performance for the month of March.

More: Quartz, BGR, BetaNews, Netflix US & Canada Blog, Gigaom, Engadget, PandoDaily and DSLreports. See also Mediagazer

Ben Popper / The Verge:

How Cool Planet founder Mike Cheiky convinced Silicon Valley to invest in his shoddy science — The inventor of everything — How an egotistical genius convinced Silicon Valley to invest hundreds of millions in his shoddy science — It's a sunny morning in Camarillo, California …

More: Gigaom

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Early internal document reveals Android was initially designed without touchscreen support — Here's What Android Looked Like Before the iPhone — One of the more interesting documents that came to light during the Apple-Samsung document last week was an early internal Google document …

More: AppleInsider, Computerworld, Daring Fireball, The Register, blog.chron.com, Phandroid, MacDailyNews, Business Insider, BGR, Engadget, Gizmodo and Guardian

Tweets: @stroughtonsmith and @stroughtonsmith

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Thanks but No Thanks, Maker Studios Tells Relativity — Last night film studio Relativity Studios announced that it, too, wanted to buy Maker Studios, the YouTube network that Disney is about to acquire. — Here's Maker's answer: No, thank you — we've already sold.

More: Wall Street Journal, Variety, VentureBeat and SeekingAlpha.com. See also Mediagazer

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Square Hires Amazon AWS Exec Alyssa Henry as Engineering Lead — Square is one step closer to fully filling out its executive team, hiring long-time Amazon veteran Alyssa Henry as its new engineering lead. — At Square, Henry will “head up engineering operations for Square's infrastructure …

More: Square, TechCrunch and ZDNet. Thanks:@delrey

Colleen Taylor / TechCrunch:

Y Combinator Adds Four New Partners, Including Stripe CEO Patrick Collison — Y Combinator is announcing today the addition of four new partners to its roster, as part of its larger push for more growth under new president Sam Altman. — Altman announced in a blog post this afternoon …

More: Y Combinator Posthaven and bizjournals. Tweets: @katmanalac and @garrytan

Steve Kovach / Business Insider:

Samsung says Galaxy S5 launch weekend sales were better than S4 — How Were Opening Weekend Sales For The New Galaxy S5 Phone? Samsung Won't Say Anything Specific — Samsung bragged about opening weekend demand for its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, but didn't provide specific numbers.

More: GSMArena.com, CNET, TechnoBuffalo, Android Authority, BGR, Phandroid, TechSpot, AndroidSaS and IntoMobile

Kaylene Hong / The Next Web:

Facebook is reportedly prepping an e-money service, and is close to getting approval in Ireland — Facebook wants to be more than a social network — it is planning to facilitate financial services in the form of electronic money and remittances, the Financial Times reports (as spotted first by Benedict Evans).

Erin Griffith / Fortune:

How Zuck met Oculus: The story behind Facebook's big bet on virtual reality — CEO Brendan Iribe recounts the steps leading up to the $2 billion deal. — FORTUNE - Mark Zuckerberg's acquisitions have a formula: They never, ever leak because they come together quickly.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @cdixon and @eringriffith

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Microsoft makes Office Online available in Chrome Web Store — Summary: Microsoft is making the Web versions of its Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote apps available to users through the Chrome Web Store. — Microsoft's Office Online — the Webified and free versions of Word, Excel …

More: Office Blogs, Gigaom, Computerworld, Wall Street Journal, Geeky Gadgets, Windows Phone Central, The Next Web, Neowin and WinBeta

New York Times:

How and why startups like Lyft and Quora are increasingly taking big late-stage investments — Rich Start-Ups Go Back for Another Helping — Quora, a question-and-answer website, didn't need to raise money. It had barely touched $60 million in venture capital that it accepted just two years ago.

Tweets: @dgelles, @bijans and @mikeyang

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

Inside Clinkle, Lucas Duplan's struggling payments app now three years in the making — A SILICON VALLEY DISASTER: A 21-Year-Old Stanford Kid Got $30 Million, Then Everything Blew Up — The week after Thanksgiving, 40 Clinkle employees gathered in the kitchen of their San Francisco office.

Tweets: @ceonyc, @ajs and @caseynewton. Thanks:@ajs

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:

Fast, affordable law for startups — Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!

F5:

Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit — Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23. Register now to save your spot.

Zoho:

Summer '26 release: Zoho SalesIQ enters the era of Agentic Intelligence — Empathy has never been able to scale. Until now.You probably wouldn't have expected a release announcement that has Agentic Intelligence in the title to start with “Empathy.”

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:

What Should An AI Device Look Like? — With Alex Himel

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Great Chat:

Founders dish on VC bad behavior (and bring receipts)

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Mike Volpi from Hanabi Capital

Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

Training Data:

LIVE: Jensen Huang on Building the Dynamo of the Intelligence Age

Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.

Subscribe to Training Data.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

Brian Stelter on the 60 Minutes Mess; Nilay Patel on Apple's AI Problem

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI

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.

Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:30 PM ET, April 14, 2014.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.