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October 17, 2014, 7:30 PM

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Guardian:

Guardian responds to Whisper's denials, stands by its claims, urges media and users to keep pressing Whisper — Whisper: the facts — Executives from the anonymous social media app have dismissed as a ‘pack of lies’ the Guardian's revelation that they track users. But the evidence is clear

Jonathan Zdziarski:

Whisper iOS app collects user location within 100 meters, data could be fuzzed server-side — Preliminary Findings on Whisper — At the suggestion of @kashhill, I did a brief analysis of the Whisper iOS application, which appears to be at the height of controversy with respect to user privacy.

More: The Daily Dot, iPhone in Canada Blog, SocialTimes, Guardian, Gizmodo, HOTforSecurity, Engadget, BetaNews, Slate and Washington Post

Tweets: @neetzan, @bartongellman, @lorenzofb, @jamesrbuk, @ashk4n, @netik, @nzkoz, @edbott, @propublica, @declanm, @flashboy and @jayrosen_nyu

See also Mediagazer

Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:

Whisper CTO says tracking “anonymous” users not a big deal, really

More: Guardian, InvestorPlace, TechPresident, Inquirer, Telegraph, PC Magazine, VPN Creative, BBC, Upstart Business Journal, PandoDaily, New York Times and SocialTimes

Tweets: @jayrosen_nyu, @stuartmillar159, @mrkoot and @netik

Snapchat:

Snapchat ads to roll out this weekend, will appear as a single ad in “Recent Updates” for US users, never in personal communications — Advertising on Snapchat — This weekend we're placing an advertisement in “Recent Updates” for Snapchatters in the United States.

More: PC World, BuzzFeed, Fortune, PC Magazine, Marketing Land, Los Angeles Times, Re/code, Wall Street Journal, Gigaom, Business Insider, Valleywag, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Forbes, SlashGear, TIME and Mashable

Tweets: @cityofthetown, @mikeisaac, @scottmaustin, @dmac1 and @tomkrazit

Thanks:@orbuch

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Google's VP of engineering for Android is now also overseeing Chrome OS's engineering team, pointing to a possible convergence of the OSes — Executive Change Is Latest Hint of Chrome-Android Marriage — A management shift inside Google points to the possibility that the company's two operating systems will come together.

More: ZDNet, PC World, CNET, SiliconANGLE, 9to5Google, Android Police, Tech Times, Re/code, SlashGear, The Verge and Engadget

Tweets: @wsjd and @scottthurm

Reuters:

NSA's current CTO allowed to work 20 hours per week for former director Keith Alexander's cybersecurity startup — Exclusive: NSA reviewing deal between official, ex-spy agency head — (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has launched an internal review of a senior official's part …

More: The Hill and Guardian. Tweets: @timothys, @emptywheel, @csoghoian and @dangillmor

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Amazon Fresh launches in New York, starting with Brooklyn's Park Slope area, for Amazon Prime members — Amazon Confirms It Will Deliver Fresh Groceries in New York City — Amazon's grocery delivery business is launching in New York City on Friday, the company said …

More: Fortune, TechSpot, The Verge, DailyFinance.com, Consumerist, TechnoBuffalo, PandoDaily, TechCrunch, Mashable, CNET, bizjournals, Ubergizmo, SlashGear, Reuters, WebProNews, Gothamist, GeekWire and Engadget. Tweets: @chadwickmatlin

Dan Frommer / Quartz:

This new “Apple SIM” could legitimately disrupt the wireless industry — Perhaps the most interesting news about Apple's new iPad Air 2 tablet is buried at the bottom of one of its marketing pages: It will come pre-installed with a new “Apple SIM” card instead of one from a specific mobile operator.

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Google releases Android 5.0 Lollipop SDK and Nexus preview images — As promised, Google today released the full Android 5.0 Lollipop SDK, along with updated developer images for Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013), ADT-1, and the Android emulator. The latest version of Android isn't available just yet …

More: Android Developers Blog, Android Police, The Register, eWeek, The Next Web and Android Beat

Martin Peers / The Information:

HBO's standalone online streaming service likely won't be less than pay TV retail price of $15/month — HBO's Online Pricing Trap — HBO's broadband service looks doomed even before it starts. — While HBO hasn't disclosed details, pricing of the new broadband offering most likely …

More: CNET, MacDailyNews, BGR, WebProNews and Business Insider. Tweets: @reneritchie

Wall Street Journal:

Apple's iPhone 6 Finally Makes Its Debut in China — Apple launched its latest iPhone in China on Friday morning. But unlike some past debuts for its new gadgets, the event was decidedly low-key. — About 100 customers waited in line Friday morning outside Apple's store …

More: Fortune, Business Insider, The Register, BGR, TechnoBuffalo, Bloomberg, Computerworld, MacRumors, PC Magazine, MacNN, iPhone in Canada Blog, 9to5Mac, BetaNews, TechCrunch, BGR, VentureBeat, AppleInsider and Gizmodo

Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:

Bose headphones and speakers no longer available from Apple Online Store — It was reported last week that Apple would soon stop selling Bose headphones and speakers at its Apple Store locations. Previously, a variety of Bose headphones and speakers were demoed at each Apple Store location and available for purchase there and online.

More: The Verge, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Ubergizmo, Redmond Pie, Consumerist, App Advice, TIME and Electronista

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Tumblr launches a free, Yosemite-exclusive desktop app, available in the Mac App Store — Tumblr Debuts Its First Desktop App On The Mac App Store — On the heels of the release of Apple's new Mac OS, OS X Yosemite, blogging platform Tumblr has just rolled out its first official desktop application …

More: Tumblr Staff, MacRumors, VentureBeat, Gizmodo, Engadget, iDownloadBlog.com, SlashGear and The Next Web

Nancy Scola / Washington Post:

Obama nominates ex-Google lawyer Michelle Lee to head US patent office in a victory for Silicon Valley — Obama nominates former Google exec to lead U.S. Patent Office — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria in 2011. (Alex Brandon/AP) — Michelle K. Lee …

More: 9to5Google, Gigaom, InfoWorld, Bloomberg, Patently-O, Wired, The Verge, The Hill, bizjournals, IPWatchdog.com and SlashGear. Tweets: @brianbergstein

Allen Pike:

Developer notes difficulties of supporting old iPads, says obsolescence of A5 CPU is overdue — The iPad zombie — In March 2011, Apple announced the iPad 2. It was an incredible leap forward, dramatically thinner and faster than the original iPad. In many ways, the iPad 2 was when the iPad hit its stride.

More: Cult of Mac

Ellen Huet / Forbes:

Uber fired driver for tweeting negative articles about company; driver has since been re-hired — Uber Deactivated A Driver For Tweeting A Negative Story About Uber — Uber's watching you, and if you say something bad about the company, you might get booted out.

More: PC Magazine, Raw Story, Valleywag and Business Insider

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