Techmeme: Skype for Xbox One gets full Snap support: Make voice and video calls while playing games and watching TV (Emil Protalinski/The Next Web)

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May 20, 2014, 6:55 PM

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Microsoft Corporation:

Surface Pro 3 starts at $799 for Core i3 SKU, i5 SKUs start shipping first to US and Canada on June 20, other configurations in August — Microsoft introduces Surface Pro 3: the tablet that can replace your laptop — Pre-order beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT May 21. — Surface Pro 3

Panos Panay / Surface Blog:

Surface Pro 3: “The tablet that can replace your laptop” — Announcing Surface Pro 3 — Today we announced Surface Pro 3. It's the tablet that can replace your laptop. It is the most powerful, thinnest, and lightest Surface Pro yet. It is a full PC and a brilliant tablet.

More: Insights, Computerworld, Neowin, BBC, CITEworld, WebProNews, Cult of Mac and Daring Fireball

Dana Wollman / Engadget:

Microsoft announces its biggest tablet yet, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3 — When Microsoft invited us to a “small gathering” here in New York City, we thought that meant a smaller-screened Surface Mini was in order. Instead, the company just announced a larger Surface, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3.

Anand Lal Shimpi / AnandTech:

Microsoft Surface Pro 3: Hands On, Display & Performance Preview — Earlier today Microsoft announced its 3rd generation Surface Pro device, aptly named the Surface Pro 3. This is the first Surface model to deviate from the 10.6" 16:9 form factor of all four previous devices (Surface Pro …

More: PC World, BetaNews, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Ars Technica, Geek.com, Engadget, Mashable and Gizmodo

Nick Summers / The Next Web:

Microsoft unveils new Type Cover for Surface Pro 3: 68% larger trackpad and magnetic sealing mode — To go alongside its new Surface Pro 3 tablet-laptop hybrid, Microsoft has unveiled a new version of its Type Cover. Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President for Surface Computing at Microsoft …

More: CNET News, LAPTOP Magazine, TUAW, GeekWire, TechCrunch and Gotta Be Mobile

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget:

Adobe is working on a touch-friendly, full-powered version of Photoshop CC

More: iMore and CNET News

Bloomberg:

Microsoft backed off from debuting smaller Surface today, concerned it lacked differentiation — Microsoft Said to Back Off Plans to Debut Smaller Surface — Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), struggling to break into the tablet market, backed off plans to introduce a smaller version …

More: Ars Technica, The Verge, Gizmodo, Engadget, DailyTech, WinBeta, WindowsITPro, SlashGear, Gotta Be Mobile, Unwired View, TechnoBuffalo and Neowin

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

What Microsoft didn't announce today: An ARM-based Surface Mini — Summary: In spite of numerous leaks indicating an ARM-based Surface was going to be launched at Microsoft's “small gathering” in New York City, no such device materialized. What happened? — It's not fair to call …

More: Forbes, Computerworld, CNET News, InfoWorld and WinBeta

Ladar Levison / Guardian:

Secrets, lies and Snowden's email: why I was forced to shut down Lavabit — For the first time, the founder of an encrypted email startup that was supposed to insure privacy for all reveals how the FBI and the US legal system made sure we don't have the right to much privacy in the first place

More: Techdirt. Tweets: @matthew_d_green, @ethanz and @dangillmor

Dan Rayburn / StreamingMediaBlog.com:

Apple Negotiating Paid Interconnect Deals With ISPs For Their Own CDN — In February I blogged about a new group formed inside of Apple last year, tasked with building out their own CDN to deliver Apple software updates, apps and other Apple related content.

More: Ars Technica, The Register, Gigaom, iMore, SlashGear, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Ubergizmo, iPhone Hacks, Cult of Mac, Mashable, iPhone in Canada Blog, App Advice and Electronista. Tweets: @tim

Wall Street Journal:

Twitter backed out of talks to buy SoundCloud because “the numbers didn't add up” — Twitter Considered Buying German Music-Streaming Service — 'Numbers Didn't Add Up' on Deal That Would Have Been Messaging Company's Largest — Twitter Inc. considered buying German music …

More: Gigaom, Re/code, The Verge, Fortune, iMore, Business Insider, Electronista, bizjournals, Mashable, WebProNews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch and SocialTimes. Tweets: @joshconstine. See also Mediagazer

Peter Rubin / Wired:

The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality — As he flew from Orange County to Seattle in September 2013, Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus, couldn't envision what the next six months would bring. The rhapsodic crowds at the Consumer Electronics Show.

More: The Verge. Thanks:@srikardr

Reuters:

China bans use of Microsoft's Windows 8 on government computers — (Reuters) - China has banned government use of Windows 8, Microsoft Corp's latest operating system (OS), in a blow to the U.S. technology company which has long been plagued by sales woes in the country.

Nathan Donato-Weinstein / bizjournals:

Google to take over former Palm HQ in Sunnyvale — Google Inc. has leased the former headquarters of Palm Computing Inc. in Sunnyvale , demonstrating that the No. 1 search advertising company's appetite for real estate showing no signs of abating — and showing again how the technology industry recycles …

More: Business Insider, 9to5Google and NBC Bay Area

Tweets: @svbizjournal and @svbiznate

Thanks:@svbiznate

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

New York Taxi commission official joining Uber as head of policy development — Taxi Commission Official Plans to Join Uber — At first, they were adversaries — the taxi agency leery of a smartphone app that could upend decades of street-hailing history and the business that responded …

More: TechSpot, Wired, Salon, Valleywag, VentureBeat, Mashable, Capital New York, The Verge, PandoDaily, Gigaom and Street Fight. Tweets: @parislemon

Kevin Fitchard / Gigaom:

Verizon's voice-over-LTE service will include Facetime-like video calling at launch — AT&T may have beat Verizon off the starting line when it took its new voice-over-LTE service live this week, but Verizon said on Tuesday it plans to finish the VoLTE race strong.

More: Re/code, Engadget, Android Police, Ubergizmo, Android Authority, Droid Life, AndroidHeadlines.com, SlashGear and FierceWirelessTech News

Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:

Salesforce Rises on Earnings Beat, Improved Outlook — Shares of Salesforce.com rose after the company reported quarterly earnings that were better than what analysts had expected. — The company just reported per-share earnings of 11 cents on $1.23 billion in revenue.

More: Tech Trader Daily, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Bloomberg and salesforce.com. Tweets: @ahess247

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

Democrats grill FCC chairman on Internet fast lanes and ISP mergers — Wheeler calls paid prioritization “unreasonable,” but hedges on an outright ban. — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler defended his network neutrality plan at length in front of the House committee …

More: SiliconBeat, Adweek, Los Angeles Times, Re/code, Washington Post, Politico and New York Times. Tweets: @jbrodkin. See also Mediagazer

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Skype for Xbox One gets full Snap support: Make voice and video calls while playing games and watching TV — Microsoft today updated Skype for Xbox One with full Snap support. In other words, gamers can finally make a Skype voice or video call while using other apps, including playing video games.

More: Skype BlogsSkype Blogs, GameSpot, Ubergizmo, SlashGear, Eurogamer.net, Gotta Be Mobile and WinBeta. Thanks:@epro

Kate Tummarello / The Hill:

Privacy advocates angry as NSA reforms ‘watered down’ — Privacy advocates that have pushed for legislation to reform U.S. government surveillance are backing away from a House bill that they say has been “watered-down” as it heads to the floor. — Though the original bill intended …

Wall Street Journal:

Yahoo close to acquiring video streaming technology startup RayV — Yahoo Close to Acquiring Video-Streaming Startup — RayV Inc Near Deal with Internet Portal — Yahoo Inc. may soon bolster its Web-video technology with another acquisition. — The Internet portal is close to finalizing …

More: bizjournals

Rachel King / ZDNet:

Box overhauls Android app; offering 50GB of free space with LG — Summary: Box developers also built in a new document preview function, supporting more than 100 file types at “lightning-fast” rates. — Box is retooling its mobile strategy with two new developments on the docket this week.

More: The Box Blog, Engadget, InfoWorld, CITEworld, The Next Web, ReadWrite and Android Central

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