Techmeme
January 15, 2015, 6:00 AM

Top News

BlackBerry Press Room:
BlackBerry denies it has engaged in buyout discussions with Samsung  —  BlackBerry Responds to Media Report  —  Waterloo, ON - BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) ("BlackBerry") is aware of certain press reports published today with respect to a possible offer by Samsung to purchase BlackBerry.
Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
Richard Lai / Engadget:
Xiaomi takes on iPhone 6 Plus with 5.7" Mi Note premium phablet for $370 with 13MP camera with OIS  —  Xiaomi mocks Apple with its very own premium phablet  —  There's just no stopping for the world's most valuable startup.  After adding an air purifier, an IP camera …
Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:
MySpace says it reached 50.6M unique users in US in November, 575% over same month in 2013, and generated over 300M video views  —  MySpace Still Reaches 50 Million People Each Month  —  Did you know that 50 million people still visit MySpace each month?  —  Would you be surprised …
Reuters:
Google has begun discussions with top automakers including General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Daimler, and Volkswagen, to bring self-driving cars to market by 2020  —  Google partners with auto suppliers on self-driving car  —  (Reuters) - Internet company Google Inc has begun discussions …
Jon Southurst / CoinDesk:
Bitcoin falls below $185; hash rate drops, mining not profitable, making network volatile  —  Bitcoin Price Continues to Fall, Breaks $200 Mark  —  The bitcoin price fell below the landmark $200 point at 07:24 (GMT) today, putting it back into territory not seen since late 2013.
Nathan Ingraham / The Verge:
Google's modular Project Ara smartphone to pilot in Puerto Rico later this year with between 20 and 30 Ara modules available by launch  —  Google's modular Project Ara smartphone will begin pilot testing in Puerto Rico later this year  —  Google is holding its second Project Ara developer's conference today …
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Wavelength Lets Viewers Share Movies for Free Using Ultraviolet  —  Hollywood's home movie sales and rentals business is shrinking.  Spencer Wang says he has a solution: Make it easier for people to watch movies at home, without paying a penny.  —  Wang, a longtime Wall Street analyst …
Robert Graham / Errata Security:
Obama's proposed laws against hacking will negatively impact cybersecurity professionals, create a cyber police state  —  Obama's War on Hackers … In next week's State of the Union address, President Obama will propose new laws against hacking that could make either retweeting or clicking on the above link illegal.
More: The Register and The Next WebTweets: @sehnaoui
Leo Kelion / BBC:
Facebook adds warnings to graphic and violent videos, prevents them from automatically playing  —  Facebook restricts violent video clips and photos  —  Potentially distressing video clips are covered by a warning that stops them auto-playing  —  Facebook has begun placing warnings …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Microsoft announces new Skype iOS testing program, seeks beta testers  —  Microsoft Announces A Skype For iOS Testing Program  —  In addition to rolling out an updated version of the Skype for iPhone mobile application this morning, Microsoft also announced the launch of a new testing program …
More: Skype Blogs, MacNN and ZDNet
Yuvraj Gurung / Tech in Asia:
Rdio enters India with a giant catalog of 32 million songs in 43 languages  —  Rdio, a leading global music streaming service announced its launch in India today, offering a programmed, free internet radio experience which can be upgraded to a full on-demand subscription service for US$1.99 (INR 120) a month.

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Earlier Picks

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: