Techmeme
August 21, 2014, 6:45 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft set to unveil Windows 9 on September 30th  —  Microsoft is planning to unveil its Windows 8 successor next month at a special press event.  Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the software maker is tentatively planning its press event for September 30th …
Reuters:
Report: eBay telling candidates for PayPal CEO role it may spin off the unit as early as next year  —  EBay considering spinning off Paypal - report  —  (Reuters) - EBay Inc is considering spinning out its fast-growing payments unit PayPal as soon as next year, news website The Information reported, citing sources.
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
SoundCloud to incorporate ads, allow artists to collect royalties, prepares to introduce paid subscriptions  —  Popular and Free, SoundCloud Is Now Ready for Ads  —  SoundCloud is the ubiquitous wild child of the digital music world.  Without paying artists or record companies …
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
The state of Android updates: Who's fast, who's slow, and why  —  Android 4.4, KitKat was released on October 31, 2013, or at least, that's what you can say about one device: the Nexus 5.  For the rest of the ecosystem, the date you got KitKat—if you got KitKat—varied wildly depending on your device, OEM, and carrier.
More: 9to5Google, Guardian and BGR
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Dropbox Loses High-Profile Design Head Soleio  —  In a Facebook post tonight, Dropbox's high-profile head designer Soleio said he was leaving his job at the cloud storage company.  —  “Today marks my last day as a full-time Dropboxer,” he wrote.  “I'm transitioning back to serving as a company advisor over the coming month.”
Malathi Nayak / Reuters:
Ouya partners with Xiaomi to bring its games to the Chinese smartphone maker's streaming boxes and smart TVs  —  Exclusive: Ouya scores Xiaomi partnership to take games to China  —  (Reuters) - U.S video game service Ouya is turning to Asia to capture the growth that has eluded the startup on its own home turf.
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
LinkedIn Product Head Deep Nishar Departs Business Network  —  LinkedIn's head of product, Deep Nishar, is leaving the Silicon Valley-based business network.  He does not have another job, although the exec has been joining a number of boards and taking advisory roles at several startups of late.
More: LinkedIn Pulse and GigaomTweets: @jessiwrites
Matthew Miller / ZDNet:
T-Mobile will give you a year of unlimited LTE data if your friends convert from Sprint, AT&T, or Verizon  —  T-Mobile offers a year of unlimited LTE to those who throw Sprint friends a lifeline  —  Summary: T-Mobile is serious about taking the third place spot away from Sprint …
Seth Weintraub / Electrek:
Tesla Model S software update will bring ability to start car with iPhone  —  Tesla Model S OS v6.0 to begin rolling out to customers with Calendar app, Traffic/navigation improvements, power savings and iPhone starting  —  There are some impressive new updates as part …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ESPN Launches Score-Tracking App for Pebble Smartwatch  —  ESPN wants to grab sports fans by the wrist: The cable programmer has unveiled a real-time score app for the Pebble smartwatch.  —  The app, launched Thursday, can track multiple games and causes the Pebble to vibrate when it receives game updates and score changes.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Comcast's Xfinity On Campus offers students cable over Wi-Fi at five universities  —  Comcast aims to hook college students on cable with TV over Wi-Fi  —  It's bundled right in with their room and board costs  —  Comcast today formally announced a new service that will let college students …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Swift Navigation Raises $2.6 Million For Its Ultra-Precise GPS System  —  GPS technology is everywhere nowadays — it's built into phones, cars, and an increasing number of industrial devices.  But to date, GPS hasn't been very precise.  Conventional GPS modules have an accuracy range of about 15 feet …
William Alden / New York Times:
Events app DoubleDutch raises $19M series D from Peter Thiel's Mithril and Silicon Valley Bank  —  Peter Thiel's Mithril Invests in DoubleDutch, an Events App  —  It has become a common refrain among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs: We didn't need to raise money, but we did anyway.

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Earlier Picks

Nick Statt / CNET:
Nellie Bowles / Re/code:
Robert McMillan / Wired:
Nick Bilton / New York Times: