Techmeme
January 26, 2015, 12:00 PM

Top News

Guardian:
WikiLeaks demands answers after being notified that Google handed over three staffers' emails to the US government in 2012  —  WikiLeaks demands answers after Google hands staff emails to US government  — Search giant gave FBI emails and digital data belonging to three staffers
Natt Garun / The Next Web:
Sling TV review: Not quite the cord cutter's dream, but a bargain for millennial families  —  The unbundling trend is trickling down from apps to television with the launch of Sling TV, Dish Network's US-only, live TV subscription service at just $20 a month - no contract required.
Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:
Cablevision to launch Wi-Fi-only mobile phone service Freewheel; $9.95/month if bundled with home internet, $29.95 for other customers  —  This is big: Cablevision launches Wi-Fi-only mobile phone service  —  Janko Roettgers  —  Cablevision is getting ready to pick a fight with your mobile phone company.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Google signs deal with NFL to show highlight clips in YouTube and Search, will share ad revenues  —  NFL Video Highlights — And More — Come to YouTube and Google  —  It took a long time but it's finally done, just in time for the Super Bowl: Pro football finally has a deal with Google to distribute some of its video.
New York Times:
Verizon's Mobile ‘Supercookies’ Seen as Threat to Privacy  —  For the last several months, cybersecurity experts have been warning Verizon Wireless that it was putting the privacy of its customers at risk.  The computer codes the company uses to tag and follow its mobile subscribers around the web …
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Signs of progress: One month with Android Wear 5.0  —  Android Wear 5.0 came out last month—it was the third noteworthy update to the wearable OS, following versions 4.4W.1 and 4.4W.2.  It's not a significant enough update to merit its own standalone review, but it's been a while since our last check-in with the platform.
Julie Bort / Business Insider:
A Rare Glimpse Inside The Life And Mind Of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd  —  “My day starts at 4:30 a.m. and I sort of have two speeds, fast and stop,” Mark Hurd quipped cheerfully when we asked about his day.  —  We were meeting at Oracle's upscale executive offices on the top floor of the main building …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
A16Z Leads $58M Round In UK's TransferWise To Ramp Up Its P2P Transfer Business  —  TransferWise, the fast-growing UK-based P2P money transfer startup that has reportedly been in talks with Facebook for remittance services, has raised a large tranche of funding led by one of the social network's earliest backers.
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
Oculus announces Story Studio to make its own VR movies, first film “Lost” debuts this week  —  Oculus is now making its own virtual reality movies  —  Story Studio is the company's internal team exploring what it calls ‘VR cinema’  —  The prominence of virtual reality …
Se Young Lee / Reuters:
Samsung Electronics to be main chip supplier for next iPhone: South Korea paper  —  (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) will be the main supplier of processors powering Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) next iPhone, Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources in the semiconductor industry.
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
Facebook Is Testing A Simple App For Low-End Android Phones  —  Not content with spinning out apps for stickers inside Messenger, Groups and new addition Rooms, Facebook has launched another standalone app.  Facebook Lite, which some may recall as a simplified version of its mobile website from 2009-2010 …

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Earlier Picks

Jon Southurst / CoinDesk:
Mike Beasley / 9to5Mac: