Techmeme: Internal memo: Microsoft to cut off all ‘external staff’ after 18 months, imposing mandatory 6-month break (Todd Bishop/GeekWire)

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July 19, 2014, 12:10 AM

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Steve Dent / Engadget:

Google won't call games with in-app purchases free anymore (updated) — The European Commission has said that while Google addressed its concerns around games with in-app purchasing, Apple has yet to offer a strategy. Following hordes of complaints by outraged parents …

More: EU Press Room, AppleInsider, CNET, Guardian, 9to5Mac, BGR, The Verge, iMore, 9to5Google, Ubergizmo, Phandroid, gameinformer.com, VentureBeat, MobileBurn.com, TechSpot, TechOne3, Tech Times, PandoDaily, SlashGear, WinBeta, iPhone Hacks, Inquirer, Gigaom, Droid Life, TechCrunch and iLounge

Dave Lee / BBC:

EU criticizes Apple for not offering “concrete and immediate solutions” to address in-app payment issues, says Google already taking steps

More: Daily Dot, PadGadget, Softpedia News, Digital Trends, Pocketnow, CIO.com, Gamasutra, iPhone in Canada Blog, MacNN, iMore and destructoid

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

Netflix tests private viewing mode to hide your B-movie binges — Select Netflix members are getting a chance to hide viewing of embarrassing titles from logs, recommendations and Facebook friends. — We've all been down that road: You decide to watch some roadhouse B-movie fare on Netflix …

More: Engadget, SlashGear, Mashable, Phandroid, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Verge and TIME

Lenovo Newsroom:

Lenovo will continue selling 8" and 10" Windows tablets in the US, new models coming this holiday — Clarification on Lenovo Statement on Sales of Small Screen Windows-Based Tablets — We will continue to bring new Windows devices to market across different screen sizes …

Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:

Yahoo Search Share Falls Below 10 Percent For “All-Time Low” — We're on the cusp of new comScore U.S. search market share data for June. According to financial analyst notes, releasing the numbers early, desktop search declined for the fifth consecutive month after a period of growth in mid-2013.

More: TheDomains.com, WebProNews, Design & Trend and Business Insider

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:

Internal memo: Microsoft to cut off all ‘external staff’ after 18 months, imposing mandatory 6-month break — An internal Microsoft memo, distributed earlier today, imposes new restrictions on the company's use of “external staff” — including a new limit on people who work on projects for Microsoft through vendors.

Thanks:@taylor_soper

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Dell starts accepting Bitcoin for online purchases from consumers and small businesses in the US — Dell today announced it has started accepting Bitcoin for all items available on Dell.com (including Alienware products). The company says it is “piloting” the digital currency for consumer …

More: Dell Community, WinBeta, SlashGear, The Hill, TechCrunch, Engadget, CNET, ITworld.com, TechSpot, PC Magazine, SiliconANGLE, TechnoBuffalo, The Coinbase Blog, CoinDesk, Los Angeles Times, The Register, NEWSBTC, Gigaom, PC World, Electronista and internetretailer.com

Tweets: @michaeldell and @markgurman

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

Yo raises a $1.5M seed round at a $5-10M valuation from Betaworks, Pete Cashmore, Tencent founders, others — An App That Just Says ‘Yo’ Has Raised $1.5 Million At A $5-10 Million Valuation — Simple notification app Yo has raised a $1.5 million seed round at a $5-10 million valuation, the company tells Business Insider.

More: TechCrunch, betaworks, Mashable, PandoDaily, New York Times and The Next Web

Tweets: @levie, @dtunkelang, @marshallk, @ivanthek, @howardlindzon, @borthwick, @finansakrobat, @howells, @mikeisaac, @fmanjoo, @kevinroose, @paulrobertlloyd and @fromedome

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Google:

Google gives an early look at completely new Chrome OS experience dubbed Project Athena — Google's François Beaufort shared a screenshot today of a completely redesigned user experience for Chrome OS that he says the Chromium OS team is currently experimenting with.

More: Franç, Engadget, Ars Technica, LAPTOP Magazine, Gigaom, The Next Web, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, SlashGear and Android Authority

Sam Altman / Y Combinator Posthaven:

Y Combinator adds partners including Alexis Ohanian, makes Dalton Caldwell full-time partner — Welcome Scott, Dalton, Adora, Brett, Nicole, Alexis, and Qasar — We have a bunch of new additions to the YC team to announce. — Scott Bell is joining the YC software team.

More: ReadWrite, Re/code and TechCrunch

Tweets: @ilikevests and @alexisohanian

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Xbox One August update to add new activity feed, mobile purchases, low battery notification, 3D Blu-ray, more — Microsoft today detailed what gamers can expect in the next Xbox One update, which is expected to arrive in August. There are eight additions and changes the company has highlighted …

Roberto Baldwin / The Next Web:

Twitter will soon give you access to your entire DM history via the iOS and Android apps — With more and more people using Twitter's DM (Direct Messages) feature as a chat service, the company is working to upgrade the experience. … Access to your entire history is a great way to keep track …

More: 9to5Google, Engadget and iPhone Hacks

Tweets: @support, @support, @dcseifert and @caseynewton

Lance Whitney / CNET:

BBM for Windows Phone now live for beta testers — Windows Phone users who signed up for the BBM beta tester program can now download and install the app. — BlackBerry Messenger for Windows Phone is officially available through Microsoft's Windows Phone store, but you'll have to be part of the beta tester program to give it a spin.

More: Windows Phone, WinBeta, BetaNews, PhoneDog, PC Advisor, NDTV Gadgets, Highlight Press, BerryReview, Softpedia News, The Register, Ubergizmo and Neowin

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