Techmeme
May 25, 2016, 10:15 AM

Top News

Forbes:
Sources: Peter Thiel has played a lead role in bankrolling Hulk Hogan's lawsuits against Gawker Media  —  One of Silicon Valley's best-known investors has been footing a former wrestler's legal bills in lawsuits against a shared enemy.  —  Peter Thiel, a PayPal cofounder and one of the earliest backers …
Amir Efrati / The Information:
Source: Apple opening Siri to third-party apps, preparing a Siri SDK for release at WWDC, and developing an Amazon Echo rival  —  Apple is upping its game in the field of intelligent assistants.  After years of internal debate and discussion about how to do so, the company is preparing to open up Siri to apps made by others.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Microsoft is laying off 1,850 to “streamline” its smartphone business, takes $950M charge  —  Following last week's news of Microsoft selling off its feature phone business for $350 million, today Microsoft turned its attention to smartphones: the company announced it would lay off 1,850 staff …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Google confirms the Nexus Player has been discontinued  —  Google has ceased direct sales of its Nexus Player set-top box.  The hockey puck-shaped device, manufactured by Asus, has been unavailable from major third-party retailers like Best Buy for months.  And after a brief Google Store restock …
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
E Ink develops Advanced Color ePaper, an EPD display that shows up to 32K colors, for digital signage  —  There's a small glimmer of hope for the seemingly doomed dream of color electronic paper.  E Ink, which helped pioneer ePaper by providing the technology for Amazon's Kindle …
Joseph Menn / Reuters:
Jon Callas, co-founder of Silent Circle, Blackphone, PGP Corp, was re-hired by Apple in May  —  Apple Inc (AAPL.O), which has resisted pressure from U.S. law enforcement to unlock encrypted iPhones, this month rehired a top expert in practical cryptography to bring more powerful security features to a wide range of consumer products.
David Carnoy / CNET:
OtterBox's uniVERSE case works with over a dozen accessory modules such as memory expansion, battery packs, speakers, more, costs $50 for iPhone 6/6s version  —  OtterBox has partnered with a number of accessory makers to create a new platform for iPhone accessories.  CNET goes hands-on with it.
Alex Heath / Tech Insider:
Foursquare releases Marsbot, an app that offers personalized and location-based tips on where to eat and drink before you ask  —  Foursquare is dipping its toes into the world of bots.  —  The location discovery company has a new app called Marsbot, which bills itself as …
Billy Steele / Engadget:
LG G5's VR headset, 360 camera and other accessories hit the US  —  When LG announced its modular G5 phone last month, it also revealed a line of “Friends” companion devices to go along with it (See what it did there?).  Included in the lineup are the 360 VR headset, 360 Cam …
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Spotify's Discover Weekly reaches 40 million users and 5 billion tracks streamed  —  Every Monday morning, a freshly created selection of around 30 tracks arrives for each of Spotify's more than 100 million users.  The offering is called Discover Weekly, and it has cracked the code …
Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
HP Enterprise announces spinoff of its enterprise services unit, which will merge with CSC, meets Q2 expectations with $12.71B in sales; stock up 8%+  —  Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Tuesday reported earnings that met Wall Street's expectations and announced a spin-off of its enterprise services unit …
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
French government raids Google's Paris HQ as part of ongoing tax investigation seeking €1B+; company says it is working with authorities  —  Prosecutors follow up on complaint from France's tax authority  —  PARIS—Dozens of tax investigators swooped into Google's French headquarters …
Eric Newcomer / Bloomberg:
Toyota to make strategic investment in Uber and team up on auto leasing program  —  Toyota Motor Corp. said it is making a strategic investment in Uber Technologies Inc. and will offer auto leases to the ride-hailing company's drivers.  —  Uber declined to disclose the size of the investment.

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Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Fast Company:
Katie Roof / TechCrunch:
Todd Sherman / The Twitter Blog: