Techmeme
July 2, 2014, 11:15 AM

Top News

Avish Bhama / Medium:
Tim Draper Wins Gov't Auction, Partners With Vaurum to Provide Bitcoin Liquidity in Emerging Markets  —  Draper intends to put newly purchased bitcoins to good use  —  We're delighted to announce that Tim Draper has won the US Marshals bitcoin auction and is partnering with Vaurum to provide bitcoin liquidity in emerging markets.
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
Google acquires music streaming service Songza for undisclosed amount, will keep product intact for now  —  Google Buys Songza  —  Google has acquired music streaming service Songza after weeks of speculation around a potential buyout.  —  Songza uses information about the user and context …
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
Source: Google paid more than $39M for Songza  —  Google Buys Songza, a Playlist Service for Any Occasion  —  In a sign of growing consolidation in the digital music business, Google announced on Tuesday that it had bought Songza, a three-year-old app that competes with Pandora and others …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
BlaBlaCar Raises A Massive $100 Million Round To Create A Global Long Distance Ride-Sharing Network  —  In what is the largest VC round in a French startup of all time, BlaBlaCar just raised a $100 million round led by Index Ventures, with existing investors Accel Partners, ISAI and Lead Edge Capital also participating in the round.
Ian Austen / New York Times:
Canadian antispam law goes into effect, resulting in a flurry of ‘please opt in’ emails  —  Canadian Antispam Law Whips Up a Storm of Last-Minute Messages  —  OTTAWA — The email has all the markings of malicious spam: an overwrought subject line screaming “Urgent Action Required …
Nicholas Stango / Gizmodo:
Inside the Secret Building That's Bringing Cell Service To NYC's Subway  —  As Hurricane Sandy revealed almost two years ago, New York's 100-year-old subway is not a modern and robust system.  In fact, compared to other cities, it's downright dirty, unpredictable and technologically behind.
More: ANIMAL
Harry McCracken / Technologizer:
Former Time editor-at-large Harry McCracken joins Fast Company as technology editor  —  Hey, I'm Joining Fast Company!  —  Just over a month ago, I resigned from my job at TIME and rebooted this website.  I wrote at the time that I didn't expect to do Technologizer full-time indefinitely …
Mariella Moon / Engadget:
Chumby's smart alarm clock relaunches with 1,000 apps  —  Remember Chumby?  You probably haven't heard much about the snuggly tiny computer/smart alarm clock since its makers' company disbanded, but now it's back from its semi-retired state.  Its current owner, Blue Octy LLC …
More: Geeky Gadgets and LiliputingTweets: @chumby
Amy Schatz / Re/code:
FTC says T-Mobile made hundreds of millions on crammed text message charges; T-Mobile says accusations are “unfounded and without merit”  —  FTC Alleges T-Mobile Made Millions From Allegedly Bogus Text Message Charges  —  T-Mobile made hundreds of millions of dollars …
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch review: expensive accessories with promise, but not yet must-haves  —  Android Wear hardware review: Sometimes promising, often frustrating  —  Why wear one smartwatch when there's room for two?  —  We've reviewed most of the major entrants into the smartwatch arena …
Nellie Bowles / Re/code:
Hinge, a Transparent Dating App, Raises $4.5 Million  —  Hinge, a transparent, totally not anonymous dating app (you use your full name, and it pulls photos from Facebook), just received $4.5 million in venture funding from Founders Fund, Lowercase Capital and others.

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Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Alex And Ranjan's 2026 Outlook: ChatGPT 1 Billion, AI Shopping, Apple's Big Year, AI Love Boom
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Hard Fork:
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
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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The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
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.
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BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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.
 

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More News

Jillian Ward / Bloomberg:
Kevin C. Tofel / Gigaom:

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