Techmeme
March 12, 2015, 1:55 PM

Top News

Re/code:
Apple Stops Selling Jawbone Up, Nike FuelBand in Stores — Making Way for the Apple Watch  —  Apple has removed competing fitness bands from its retail stores as the company prepares to ship its own wearable, the Apple Watch.  —  Checks of major stores in San Francisco, Palo Alto …
Kevin Rose / TechCrunch:
Apple Watch Edition won't appeal to the technologist, the collector, or the gold lover, only the douchebag  —  The Gold Apple Watch Is Perfect For Douchebags  —  Editor's Note: Kevin Rose is the founder of Digg, a technology investor, and CEO of North Technologies, creator of the watch news aggregator, Watchville.
Jane Wakefield / BBC:
BBC to give 1M mini-computers to 11-year-olds across UK as part of Make it Digital initiative  —  BBC in school computer giveaway  —  The hardware is a nod to an earlier scheme to put BBC Micros in schools during the 1980s  —  The BBC will be giving away mini-computers to 11-year-olds across …
Mat Smith / Engadget:
After its sale from Sony, Vaio launches first mid-range nondescript Android phone in Japan  —  Here is VAIO's first smartphone  —  No longer a part of Sony, VAIO likes the look of that smartphone market, and has decided to go up against its former parent company's Xperia series with its own creation …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Lyft Has Raised $530 Million In Series E Funding Led By Rakuten, Is Now Valued At $2.5 Billion  —  Ride-hailing startup Lyft has closed $530 million in new funding led by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, TechCrunch has learned.  The new financing, which is slated to be announced tomorrow …
Bogdan Petrovan / Android Authority:
Cyanogen OS 12 will ship with Boxer as default email app  —  Boxer will be the default email app for Cyanogen OS devices, starting with the Lollipop-based release 12, due in the following months.  —  Through its boisterous CEO, Kirt McMaster, Cyanogen has made no secret of its plans to “take away Android from Google.”
Serena Saitto / Bloomberg Business:
Sources: Alibaba to invest $200M in Snapchat at a valuation of $15B  —  Snapchat Is Raising Money From Alibaba at a $15 Billion Valuation  —  (Bloomberg) — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. plans to invest in Snapchat Inc., the mobile application for sending disappearing photos …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Kevin Bocek / Venafi Blog:
Clinton email server not encrypted or authenticated by a digital certificate for first three months of her term at State Department  —  Digital Certificate Forensics: What Venafi TrustNet Tells Us about the Clinton Email Server  —  3-month gap before encryption enabled for browsers, smartphones, and tablets starting in 2009
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Facebook to face U.S. class action over children's online purchases  —  (Reuters) - A federal judge said Facebook Inc must face a nationwide class-action lawsuit seeking to force the social media company to provide refunds when children spend their parents' money on its website without permission.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
One of Google's Project Loon balloons can cover an area the size of Rhode Island with LTE service; remote locations still primary target for commercial service  —  Google balloons, “cell towers in the sky,” can serve 4G to a whole state  —  A single Project Loon balloon can cover an area the size of Rhode Island.
More: Ubergizmo
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Apple Pay enables hackers to use credit cards stolen online in retail stores, which were previously only useful for online fraud  —  Apple Pay: Bridging Online and Big Box Fraud  —  Lost amid the media firestorm these past few weeks about fraudsters turning to Apple Pay is this stark …
Wall Street Journal:
India's cab-hailing firm Ola to raise $400M from DST Global and others at a valuation close to $3B  —  India's Cab-Hailing Firm Ola Close to Raising $400 Million  —  Startup Could be Valued at About $3 Billion
Michael Davidson / Xconomy:
Microsoft to Create Free Online Programming Courses for EdX  —  Microsoft is dipping its toe in the world of free online education, partnering with Cambridge, MA-based EdX to create courses for software developers.  —  EdX announced Tuesday that the courses would be the latest addition …

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