Techmeme
December 16, 2014, 10:15 PM

Top News

Tim Higgins / Bloomberg:
Apple Stops Online Sales in Russia Over Ruble Fluctuations  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL) has halted online sales in Russia due to “extreme” ruble fluctuations, the company said.  —  “Our online store in Russia is currently unavailable while we review pricing,” Alan Hely, a spokesman for the Cupertino …
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
Samsung in talks with mobile payments startup LoopPay to launch Apple Pay rival in 2015  —  Samsung in Talks to Launch Apple Pay Competitor  —  Samsung has discussed a deal with a payments startup that would help the smartphone maker unveil a wireless mobile payments system in 2015 to rival Apple, according to multiple sources.
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Apple Pay now supports credit cards representing about 90% of purchase volume in US  —  Dozens More Companies Sign Up for Apple Pay  —  The list of companies working with Apple Pay continues to grow.  —  On Tuesday, Apple announced that in recent weeks the company had signed up dozens more banks …
Josh Lowensohn / The Verge:
Jury finds Apple not guilty of harming consumers in iTunes DRM case  —  Apple cleared in potential $1 billion court case  —  An eight-person jury has decided that Apple is not on the hook for what could have been more than $1 billion in a trial centering on extra security measures …
Mathew Ingram / Gigaom:
After Google News shutdown, external traffic to Spanish media sites plummets, according to Chartbeat  —  External traffic to Spanish news sites plummets after Google move  —  Credit: Flickr / Pavel P  —  Credit: Flickr / Pavel P  —  As expected, Google removed all Spanish publishers …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google Drive gets Gmail attachment support, Google voice search on Android, uploading from other apps on iOS  —  Google today rolled out new Google Drive features in Gmail, as well as updated Android and iOS apps.  Gmail attachment support is live now, while the Android update is rolling out on Google Play …
Daniel Howley / Yahoo Tech:
Starting January 1st, T-Mobile Data Stash will let you roll over unused data for up to a year, starting with one-off 10GB allowance  —  T-Mobile ‘Data Stash’ Lets You Roll Over Your Unused Data  —  Yahoo Tech's David Pogue interviewed T-Mobile CEO John Legere on Tuesday as T-Mobile announced upgrades …
Garett Sloane / Adweek:
Twitter Debates Whether to Hit Autoplay on Videos to Compete With Facebook  —  Brands would love it, but would users protest?  —  Twitter is weighing a difficult decision, one that not only could disrupt the traditional order of things at the social network but also may well be the key …
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
Dots Spins Out Of Betaworks With $10M Series A From Tencent, GreyCroft  —  Dots, the mobile gaming studio responsible for two dead-simple but beautiful games, is today announcing the close of a $10 million round, as well as the official spinout of Dots as its own company, separate from betaworks.
Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
Automation is not only replacing manufacturing jobs, it is displacing knowledge and service workers too  —  As Robots Grow Smarter, American Workers Struggle to Keep Up  —  A machine that administers sedatives recently began treating patients at a Seattle hospital.
More: ZDNet
Barb Darrow / Gigaom:
MongoDB snaps up WiredTiger as new storage engine option  —  NoSQL fan favorite MongoDB has purchased WiredTiger and its storage engine technology, and as part of the deal snags itself some database stars in Keith Bostic and Dr. Michael Cahill.  —  Bostic was co-founder of Sleepycat Software …
Daniel Terdiman / VentureBeat:
Facebook engineering VP Cory Ondrejka departs after overseeing Oculus acquisition  —  Facebook vice president of mobile engineering Cory Ondrejka, who has been overseeing the company's acquisition of Oculus Rift and its integration, announced today he is leaving the company.
Business Insider:
Emails from Sony Hack show Snapchat quietly acquired Google-Glass like startup Vergence Labs for $15M in early 2014  —  It Looks Like Snapchat Paid $15 Million To Buy A Google Glass-Like Startup  —  Snapchat secretly acquired a company working on a Google Glass type of product earlier this year …
More: VentureBeat and Gigaom
Roberto Baldwin / The Next Web:
Instagram's latest major update adds 5 new filters, revamped design and real-time commenting  —  Just when you thought you had enough filters, Instagram goes and adds more along with an updated design and a whole slew of other new and improved features.  —  Today the make-your-photos-look-better …

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