Techmeme: Apple Music costs far less than $10/month in some countries, just $2/month in India (Josh Horwitz/Quartz)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News

July 2, 2015, 10:50 AM

Top News

Dick Costolo / Guardian:

Twitter helped open access to information, people, and power, and that access should be used responsibly and with empathy — why tech firms are set to face complex ethical issues — After nearly five years the Twitter CEO is standing down. He explains why it wants to champion the underserved …

More: Bloomberg Business and Fortune. Tweets: @mikeisaac

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

ProxyHam is a “hardware proxy” that puts you a mile away from your IP address using a 900MHz radio connection — This Online Anonymity Box Puts You a Mile Away From Your IP Address — In the game of anonymity-versus-surveillance online, the discovery of the user's IP address usually means game over.

More: Motherboard, ZDNet, Silicon Republic, SlashGear, BGR and Digital Trends

Micah Singleton / The Verge:

Facebook has held early talks with the major music labels, future plans may involve the company's video platform — Facebook is talking with music labels, but why? — Facebook has held talks with the major labels about “getting into music,” multiple sources tell The Verge.

More: Daily Mail, Business Insider, Ubergizmo, Digital Music News, GeekWire and Macworld. Thanks:@ericleamen. See also Mediagazer

Alistair Barr / Wall Street Journal:

Google Photos app mistakenly tags black people as ‘Gorillas’; Google apologizes, says it's working on a fix — Google Mistakenly Tags Black People as ‘Gorillas,’ Showing Limits of Algorithms — Google is a leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

More: Ars Technica, Re/code, Tech Times, CNET, BetaNews, The Verge, New York Times, Silicon Republic, RAPPLER, Ubergizmo, Fusion, Mashable, NEWS.com.au, USA Today, Forbes and The Register

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Xiaomi Sold 34.7M Smartphones In First Half Of 2015, Up 33% Year-On-Year — Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi today confirmed that it sold just shy of 35 million phones in the first half of this year. … Xiaomi, which is valued at $45 billion and is the world's third largest exporter of phones …

More: Engadget, 9to5Google, Business Insider, Ubergizmo, Pocketnow, ZDNet, Reuters, Forbes, CNET, Silicon Republic and RAPPLER

Tweets: @xiaomi, @neilcybart, @jonrussell and @gassee

Carolyn Said / San Francisco Chronicle:

City of San Francisco to create short term rental office to streamline Airbnb host registrations and investigate law violators — S.F. to create city office to enforce Airbnb law — San Francisco will take a carrot-and-stick approach to vacation rentals, making it easier for hosts …

More: VentureBeat

Eugene Kim / Business Insider:

PayPal to acquire international money transfer service Xoom for $890M — Xoom shares skyrocket more than 20% after PayPal bid — PayPal is acquiring digital money transfer service Xoom for roughly $890 million. PayPal is paying $25 per share, about a 32% premium Xoom's 3 month weighted average price.

More: Business Wire, VatorNews, ZDNet, The Register, Quartz, New York Times, Wired, TechCrunch, CNBC, PYMNTS.com, Computerworld, Bloomberg Business, The Next Web and Mashable

Jose Pagliery / CNNMoney:

MasterCard to test approving online purchases this fall with fingerprint and face scanning — MasterCard will approve purchases by scanning your face — This fall, MasterCard will start experimenting with a new program: approving online purchases with a facial scan.

More: SlashGear, NFC World+, eCreditDaily.com, BiometricUpdate, International Business Times and Fortune

Josh Horwitz / Quartz:

Apple Music costs far less than $10/month in some countries, just $2/month in India — Apple Music is just $2 per month in India—80% cheaper than the US … Apple tends to not care much about price competitiveness. Without telco subsidies, which typically occur only in rich countries …

More: TIME, Ubergizmo, Cult of Mac, The Next Web, Pocketnow, Digital Trends, Special and App Advice

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Chicago's 9% cloud tax now applies to “electronically delivered amusements” like Netflix as well as “nonpossessory computer leases” which could include AWS — Chicago's ‘cloud tax’ makes Netflix and other streaming services more expensive

More: Fortune, Chicago Tribune, DSLreports, InfoWorld, Computerworld, Ars Technica, TechSpot, PCWorld, The Register, cloudpro.co.uk, Consumerist, Tech Times, FierceDevOps News, TechWeekEurope UK and The Next Web. Tweets: @c4i. See also Mediagazer

Aaron Wall / SEO Book:

Yahoo is testing Google-powered search results and ads — Yahoo! Search Testing Google Search Results — Search PandaMonium — A couple days ago Microsoft announced a deal with AOL to have AOL sell Microsoft display ads & for Bing to power AOL's organic search results and paid search ads for a decade starting in January.

More: New York Times, 9to5Google, Search Engine Land, Engadget, Search Engine Roundtable, TechTime, The SEM Post, WebProNews, WinBeta, Beyond Search and InvestorPlace. Thanks:@aaronwall

Reuters:

Sources: FCC to approve AT&T's $48.5B DirecTV acquisition with conditions as soon as next week — U.S. approval of AT&T-DirecTV deal expected as soon as next week: sources — AT&T Inc's (T.N) proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV (DTV.O) is expected to get U.S. regulatory approval …

More: Bloomberg Business, Consumerist, The Hill, DSLreports, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and Seeking Alpha. See also Mediagazer

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:

Get your favorite apps talking to Zoho Sign with Zapier — Your business didn't come together overnight. It's something you've built, refined, and fine-tuned over time. Every tool you use has a purpose …

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.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

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.

Lenny's Podcast:

The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.

Big Technology Podcast:

OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence

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.

Hard Fork:

Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song

The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.

Subscribe to Hard Fork.

Access:

Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour

A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.

Subscribe to Access.

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.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:50 AM ET, July 2, 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.