Techmeme
August 19, 2014, 7:55 PM

Top News

Microsoft Corporation:
Steve Ballmer steps down as board member at Microsoft  —  As I approach the six month mark of my retirement and your appointment as CEO, I have been reflecting on my life, my ongoing ownership of Microsoft stock, and my involvement with the company.  I have reached some conclusions and wanted to share them with you.
Reed Hastings / Wired:
How to Save the Net: Don't Give In to Big ISPs  —  The next Netflix won't stand a chance if the largest Internet service providers in the US are allowed to merge.  —  The Internet has  —  already changed how we live and work, and we're only just getting started.
More: SiliconBeatTweets: @netflix
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Uber Hires Top Obama Adviser David Plouffe as New “Campaign Manager”  —  As Re/code had reported in July, Uber has zeroing in on the hiring of a high-profile “campaign manager” to head its policy and communications strategy and fight what its CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick has called “an a**hole named Taxi.”
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Lyft COO Travis VanderZanden leaves after tensions with founders  —  Lyft COO Out After Tensions With Founders  —  According to sources close to the situation, Lyft COO Travis VanderZanden has left his job, after some level of tension with its founders.  —  Sources close to the situation …
Dana Wollman / Engadget:
HTC One M8 with Windows Phone launches exclusively on Verizon today at $99 on-contract  —  HTC's One M8 now available with Windows Phone, but only on Verizon  —  In case you've wondered what a flagship Android phone would look like if it ran Windows Phone, it looks like you'll get your chance to find out.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google Launches Photo Sphere Camera App On iOS  —  Google has just launched a new photo application for iOS users called Photo Sphere Camera, which allows you to take 360-degree photos, then publish them to Google Maps or other social networks.  The app is an expansion of a feature …
Natt Garun / The Next Web:
Sprint announces $240 nearly bezel-free 5-inch Aquos Crystal  —  Sprint on Tuesday announced its latest smartphone, the nearly bezel-free Sharp Aquos Crystal.  —  The Aquos Crystal features a 5-inch edge-to-edge 720p display, 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage packed in a 10mm-thick body.
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Mailbox for Mac Beta: fast, offers drafts, yet buggy  —  I burned through my inbox with Mailbox for Mac  —  The king is dead, long live the king  —  Email, right guys?  Some love it.  Some hate it.  Some are trying to replace it.  But the fact is, we all use it.
Ashlee Vance / Businessweek:
Intellectual Ventures lays off 140 employees, about 20% of its workforce  —  Mass Layoffs Hit Intellectual Ventures' Patent Factory  —  Intellectual Ventures, the company Silicon Valley loves to despise, is laying off about 20 percent of its employees, Bloomberg Businessweek has learned.
More: Re/code, GeekWire, Gigaom and ReutersTweets: @valleyhack
Harrison Weber / VentureBeat:
Uber launches on-demand delivery service “Corner Store” in Washington D.C.  —  Uber launches on-demand product deliveries in Washington D.C.  —  Update 6:19 a.m. PT: Uber confirms that the service will launch today.  —  Uber is set to launch an on-demand product delivery service …
Wall Street Journal:
Snapchat working on integrating disappearing video, news and ads, with new service Snapchat Discovery  —  Snapchat Discussing New Content Service With Advertisers, Media Firms  —  Snapchat Inc., the mobile app for disappearing messages, could soon be a service for disappearing videos, news articles and advertisements.
Jamie Condliffe / Gizmodo:
Project Tango Tablet Teardown: Everything You Need For Handheld 3D  —  Google's Project Tango tablet is an amazing bit of hardware that made us finally realize that computer vision could be useful for regular people, too.  So now that iFixit has ripped one apart, we're pretty excited to see what lurks within it.
Jackie Dove / The Next Web:
Blurb branches out to low-cost trade books, e-books and mass distribution via Ingram  —  Since its launch in 2006, Blurb, the independent publishing pioneer of print-on-demand artistic tabletop tomes and illustrated magazines, has been popular with the creative community.
Major Nelson / Xbox Wire:
First of its kind reddit experience launching on Xbox One, New MTV app and Twitch update available soon  —  In June we announced more than 45 new entertainment experiences coming to Xbox One and we continue to deliver on that commitment with additions like ReddX, an app that we are confident …

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Build AI that works  —  Tribe builds tech for top AI companies.  Get in touch to learn how our bench of 500+ engineers and researchers can accelerate your roadmap.
Kulkan Security:
Hire Kulkan as your penetration testing partner  —  Kulkan prioritizes deep-dive manual security reviews, dissecting your software and infrastructure to find issues that once remediated can truly reduce security risk.
Zoho:
Navigating the workday with Zoho Cliq's task management capabilities  —  As Monday dawns and I settle into my workday with a steaming cup of coffee, I brace myself for the usual storm of tasks headed my way.
Mastodon:
Donate to Mastodon  —  Mastodon gGmbH, the non-profit behind the open-source software powering the social web, relies entirely on support from users like you.  Donate directly with a credit card or through Patreon.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Magatte Wade, Unlocking Prosperity in Africa (#53)
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Mon. 04/15 - Onshoring And Halving
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:55 PM ET, August 19, 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.

More News

Simon Cohen / VentureBeat:
Daniel Nazer / Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Earlier Picks