Techmeme
May 23, 2015, 5:05 PM

Top News

Erin Kelly / USA Today:
Senate blocks USA Freedom Act and extensions to key provisions of Patriot Act, will reconvene May 31, just hours before expiration  —  Senate blocks extension of Patriot Act provisions  —  WASHINGTON - Three key sections of the Patriot Act are set to expire on June 1 unless the Senate resolves …
JC Torres / SlashGear:
Google Maps rolls out traffic alerts and alternate routes  —  Memorial Day is just around the corner and for some, nay many, that means a lot of traveling.  And when traveling is involved, especially by land, then headaches and tempers caused by traffic are as well.
Josh Lowensohn / The Verge:
Inside the labs where Netflix tests the latest TVs for its Recommended TV program  —  Inside the labs where Netflix is trying to make televisions suck less  —  In a nondescript room in the center of Netflix's headquarters, you can walk into a small, paper white chamber called the Shu.
David Faber / CNBC:
Sources: Microsoft offered to pay $55B for Salesforce, but Marc Benioff wanted $70B; talks ended in early May  —  Microsoft, Salesforce talks fizzled over price: Sources  —  Microsoft and Salesforce.com had significant talks earlier this spring about a purchase of Salesforce by Microsoft …
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon sends out invites to Etsy sellers for new “Handmade” marketplace  —  Amazon Targets Etsy With ‘Handmade’ Marketplace  —  E-commerce giant sends invite to Etsy sellers touting handcrafted-goods marketplace  —  Having vanquished scores of brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon.com Inc. has a new target: Etsy Inc.
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Food delivery startup Munchery closing $85M funding round led by SherpaVentures and Menlo Ventures that would value it at $300M  —  Munchery Valued at About $300 Million Amid Food Fight  —  Munchery is the latest food-delivery startup to raise cash from hungry venture capitalists.
Johana Bhuiyan / BuzzFeed:
Fontinalis Partners, co-founded by Ford executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr., invests in Lyft's Series E  —  Executive Chairman Of Ford Invests In Lyft  —  Fontinalis Partners, a firm co-founded by William Clay Ford Jr., is participating in Lyft's Series E funding.  —  Noam Galai / Getty Images
More: PR Newswire and Re/codeThanks:@jmbooyah
Johana Bhuiyan / BuzzFeed:
Florida Agency Classifies Uber Driver As Employee, Says He Is Eligible For Unemployment  —  The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity says former Uber driver Darrin McGillis was an employee of the company — not an independent contractor.  —  BuzzFeed News
Re/code:
Sources: Snapchat is investing in maker of shopping app Spring  —  Snapchat Is Investing in Shopping App Spring  —  Another day, another messaging app that wants to explore e-commerce.  —  Snapchat, the popular messaging app that is also dabbling in media, is investing in the maker of Spring …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Enhancements to Zoho Writer's automation flow designer: New PDF operations, password protection, and more  —  Once we rolled out the automation flow designer in Zoho Writer's merge templates …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
2025 In Review, 2026 Predictions — With Reed Albergotti
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:05 PM ET, May 23, 2015.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks