Techmeme
October 31, 2014, 9:55 PM

Top News

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Facebook now available through Tor browsers at an onion address, SSL still enabled  —  Why Facebook Just Launched Its Own ‘Dark Web’ Site  —  Facebook has never had much of a reputation for letting users hide their identities online.  But now the world's least anonymous website has just joined the Web's most anonymous network.
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Slack raised $120M at $1.12B valuation in a round led by Kleiner and Google Ventures, all previous backers participated too  —  Slack's One-Year-Old Software Business Valued at $1.12 Billion  —  Workplace collaboration tool Slack didn't exist two years ago.
JP Mangalindan / Fortune:
Amazon exec: We priced the Fire phone wrong  —  When it introduced the Fire smartphone in July, Amazon bet sales would be something worth bragging about.  But three months in, it's obvious the Fire phone is more dud than runaway success.  —  Last week, Amazon CTO Tom Szkutak disclosed …
David Pierce / The Verge:
Microsoft Band first impressions: clunky hardware, useful software; tile interface works well  —  Wearing the Microsoft Band, the next big thing in fitness tracking  —  I've been wearing it for two hours, and I'm still acutely aware that it's there.  This is the first and most unavoidable thing …
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Come Out, Come Out: The Tim Cook Moment Is Here  —  Looking back, I guess we in the media might have asked Apple CEO Tim Cook if he were gay.  —  Me especially, since I am gay.  And, like many, I had heard all the assumptions about the self-effacing exec's sexual orientation, even though he and I had never once discussed the issue.
Elisabeth Hulette / Virginian-Pilot:
Circuit court rules criminal defendant can be forced by police to unlock phone with his fingerprint, but not his passcode  —  Police can require cellphone fingerprint, not pass code  —  A Circuit Court judge has ruled that a criminal defendant can be compelled to give up his fingerprint …
Dan Levine / Reuters:
Samsung in court filing says its deal with Microsoft would invite “charges of collusion” following Nokia acquisition  —  Samsung says Microsoft deal invites ‘charges of collusion’: filing  —  (Reuters) - Samsung said its collaboration with Microsoft on Windows phones raised …
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Will He Ever Return?  Head Of Google's Web Spam Team Matt Cutts Extends Leave Into 2015  —  The head of Google's web spam team, Matt Cutts, says that his leave from the company has gone so well that he'll be continuing it through 2015.  —  Cutts shared the news today in a note added …
Micah L. Sifry / Mother Jones:
Before 2012 election, Facebook increased hard news stories in 1.9M feeds, which added measurably to civic engagement and voter turnout  —  Facebook Wants You to Vote on Tuesday.  Here's How It Messed With Your Feed in 2012.  —  The social network tries to promote voting …
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Banking giant BBVA Compass partners with Dwolla for real-time transfers at reduced fees  —  A banking giant and payment startup unite to modernize money transfer  —  As the mainstream adoption and subsequent uproar around Apple Pay has shown, people are beginning to expect …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
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.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
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.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:55 PM ET, October 31, 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

Earlier Picks

Sophie Knight / Reuters:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET: