Techmeme
April 19, 2014, 11:40 AM

Top News

Nick Statt / CNET:
Exclusive: Nike fires majority of FuelBand team, will stop making wearable hardware  —  The sportswear company has decided that only software has a future in the company's technology vision.  That means cutting the FuelBand, and those who helped make it.
James Temple / Re/code:
Nike Denies FuelBand Shutdown, but Layoffs Could Reveal New Cracks in Wearables Market  —  Nike confirmed a “small number” of layoffs in its digital sports division, but attempted to tamp down a CNET report late Friday that said the company was shuttering the hardware side of its FuelBand team.
Rod Boshart / Quad City Times:
Microsoft brings $1.13 billion data center to Iowa  —  DES MOINES — Central Iowa is emerging as an economic magnet for high-tech data centers, state and local leaders declared Friday after plans were unveiled for global computer giant Microsoft to phase in a $1.13 billion regional data center over the next four to five years.
More: WinBeta and VentureBeat
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
Experian: Nearly a fifth of Americans who use Netflix or Hulu don't subscribe to cable TV  —  Cord Cutting on The Rise, Especially Among the Young  —  Cord cutting is on the rise, according to a new study by Experian Marketing Services.  According to the report, the number of cord cutters …
Sam Machkovech / Ars Technica:
Neil Young's music-player Kickstarter closes at $6.2 million  —  Neil Young's trek into high-end gadgetry didn't just stop with launching and promoting the PonoPlayer.  He also apparently installed lasers in his fingers so that he could sign his own limited edition series of the product.
Issie Lapowsky / Wired:
How carriers' greed for additional revenue streams almost sabotaged the smartphone kill switch  —  How Greed Almost Sabotaged the Smartphone Kill Switch  —  About one third of robberies in major cities across the country involve the theft of a mobile phone, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Hands-on with Ubuntu Touch 14.04: Coming along, but miles to go  —  We install it so you don't have to.  Seriously, you probably shouldn't.  —  The last time we installed Ubuntu Touch on anything was about a year ago, shortly after the release of Ubuntu 13.04.
Sam Altman:
YC's new president suggests several solutions to key issues in employee stock compensation  —  Employee Equity  —  Startup employees often do not get treated very well when it comes to stock compensation.  New ideas float around occasionally, but lawyers are usually averse to trying new things …
Carla Marinucci / SFGate:
Sam Altman and Marissa Mayer co-hosting Obama fundraiser for DNC at Y Combinator HQ on May 8  —  New!  Obama to hit Y Combinator headquarters in Mt. View on May 8  —  President Obama will hit the Mt. View headquarters of Y Combinator, the hot Silicon Valley start-up funder and incubator …

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Vodafone Social:
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: