Techmeme
December 10, 2014, 8:20 AM

Top News

Erin Griffith / Fortune:
HBO launching web-only service in April 2015, will outsource streaming tech to MLB Advanced Media  —  Exclusive: HBO to outsource streaming technology in blow to ‘backstabbing’ CTO  —  In a major strategic shift, HBO will license the technology underpinning the standalone streaming service it plans to offer in 2015.
Andy / TorrentFreak:
Swedish Police Raid The Pirate Bay, Site Offline  —  For many years The Pirate Bay has been sailing by the seat of its pants so any downtime is met with concern from its millions of users.  —  This morning, for the first time in months, The Pirate Bay disappeared offline.
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Uber's Background Checks for Drivers Come Under Scrutiny  —  Uber champions its “industry-leading standards” for vetting its drivers.  On its website, it describes its background checks as “often more rigorous” than those in the traditional taxi industry.  —  But in statehouses across the country …
Jason Pontin / MIT Technology Review:
Interview with Shanley Kane, whose Model View Culture publication offers a feminist critique of Silicon Valley  —  Shanley Kane of Model View Culture Challenges a “Corrupt” Silicon Valley  —  Shanley Kane challenges the assumptions and practices of the tech industry.
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Confirmed: Bose speakers returning to Apple Stores after removal earlier this year  —  It looks like Apple will indeed be cashing in on Bose speakers and headphones sales in time for the remainder of the holiday shopping season.  Yesterday rumors surfaced that Apple was readying its retail stores …
Greg Gardner / Cromulent Labs:
Behind Apple's rejection of Launcher, and why it may never return to the app store  —  Launcher Followup and Thoughts on the App Store Review System  —  Since I still receive a few emails every week asking me if Launcher is ever coming back to the App Store, I figured it would make sense …
More: Marco.org, Business Insider and TUAW.  Tweets: @thenewlou
Samuel Gibbs / Guardian:
Blackphone launching world's first privacy-focused app store  —  Firm says new software store will allow users to increase Blackphone's functionality while protecting data and communications  —  Privacy-first smartphone company Blackphone is launching its own app store for users concerned about privacy and security.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
T-Mobile launches $100 two-line family plan with unlimited data  —  New plan undercuts AT&T and Verizon by a wide margin  —  T-Mobile today announced a new two-line family plan option that provides unlimited talk, text, and data services for $100 per month.  Additional lines (up to eight more) can be added for $40 per month.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Restaurant Reservation Service Reserve Launches In San Francisco  —  Reserve, a mobile app that makes it easy to find reservations at top restaurants, announced today that it's now available in San Francisco.  —  The service, which launched in October, came out of Expa, the “startup studio” …
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Sir Tim Berners-Lee: Europe's right to be forgotten rule is dangerous for history and free speech  —  Web founder: Europe's ‘right to be forgotten’ rule is dangerous  —  Tim Berners-Lee believes thinks scrubbing false information off the Web is fine, but the truth should be preserved for reasons of free speech and history.
More: ARC
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
Didi Dache, One Of China's Two Dominant Taxi App Firms, Closes $700M Series D Round  —  Another large sum of money is going in Asia's taxi app space following SoftBank's $250 million investment in GrabTaxi and Uber's latest Asia-focused $1.2 billion raise.  Today, Didi Dache …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
With $16M In Funding, Helium Wants To Provide The Connective Tissue For The Internet Of Things  —  Over the next few years, we'll see a torrent of new devices emerge that are connected to the Internet and each other through a wide range of different wireless networking protocols.
More: Re/code and Wall Street Journal.  Tweets: @ryanlawler

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Earlier Picks

Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Nick Statt / CNET:
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: