Techmeme
April 10, 2012, 12:45 AM

Top News

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
I'm excited to share the news that we've agreed to acquire Instagram  —  I'm excited to share the news that we've agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.  For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family.
Om Malik / GigaOM:
Here is why Facebook bought Instagram  —  You might have heard by now that Facebook has acquired Instagram for nearly a billion dollars in cash and stock.  Incredible, isn't it?  I have received text messages of awe and shock from many people in the Valley, for no one saw this coming.
Kevin Systrom / Instagram:
Instagram + Facebook  —  When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares.  We've had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe.
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Facebook to Acquire Photo-Sharing Start-Up Instagram for $1B  —  Facebook has just announced that it will acquire Instagram, the popular photo-sharing service for $1 billion in cash and shares.  —  The social networking site posted on the acquisition, its biggest yet, on its site …
Mike Isaac / Wired:
Exclusive: Facebook Deal Nets Instagram CEO $400 Million  —  Facebook's acquisition of the immensely popular photo-sharing service Instagram for $1 billion is far and away the largest acquisition in the history of the world's largest social network.  But for CEO Kevin Systrom and company, it's a windfall payday like none other.
Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Right Before Acquisition, Instagram Closed $50M At A $500M Valuation From Sequoia, Thrive, Greylock And Benchmark  —  I'm as shocked as you are, namely because I was working on this as a funding story all morning.  Anyways, right before its billion dollar acquisition from Facebook …
Lauren Goode / AllThingsD:
Oh, and Another Thing About FaceTagram: Your Location  —  Last August, it was reported that Facebook was considering the introduction of photo filters to its service, as the millions using popular photo-sharing app Instagram continued to multiply.  Now, it's gone ahead and spent $1 billion on Lo-Fi, Valencia and the rest of them.
Sarah Lacy / PandoDaily:
Investor Update  —  PandoDaily has always had a pact with readers that we'll be open and honest- particularly on the subject of our investors.  Typically, this means we're telling you about new investors.  —  Today, however, we find ourselves in the unexpected position of having to disclose …
Dave Thier / Forbes:
Computer Legend and Gaming Pioneer Jack Tramiel Dies at Age 83  —  Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and crucial figure in the early history of video games, died passed away surrounded by his family on Sunday, his family confirms.  He was 83 years old.
CNET:
Why Microsoft spent $1 billion on AOL's patents  —  Microsoft dropped an eye-popping $1 billion on 800 AOL patents today, an astonishing amount likely spent to keep the intellectual property trove away from rival Google.  —  But according to a source close to the situation, Google didn't even bid on the portfolio.
Amrutha Gayathri / International Business Times:
Iran To Shut Down Internet Permanently; ‘Clean’ National Intranet In Pipeline  —  Millions of Internet users in Iran will be permanently denied access to the World Wide Web and cut off from popular social networking sites and email services, as the government has announced its plans to establish a national Intranet within five months.
Android Developers Blog:
A Faster Emulator with Better Hardware Support  —  The Android emulator is a key tool for Android developers in building and testing their apps.  As the power and diversity of Android devices has grown quickly, it's been hard for the emulator keep pace.  Today we're thrilled …
Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:
Carriers Band to Fight Cellphone Theft  —  The nation's major wireless providers have agreed to a deal with the U.S. government to build a central database of stolen cellphones—part of a broad effort to tame an explosion of thefts nationwide.  —  The database, which the wireless companies …
Nicholas Carlson / Business Insider:
Before OMGPOP Sold For $210 Million, The CEO Hired Back Everyone He Laid Off And Made Sure They Cashed In  —  A few months ago, OMGPOP was about to go bust.  —  Its Facebook games weren't performing and prospects were so bleak, CEO Dan Porter was forced to lay off several of the startup's flash developers.
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Analyst Cuts Apple Rating on Prospect of iPhone Subsidy Revolt  —  Now here are two words you don't often see in the same sentence: Apple and downgrade.  Yet here they are in a note from BTIG Research's Walter Piecyk, who this morning cut his rating on the company's shares to “neutral” from “buy.”
More: Fortune and PhoneArena
Brian X. Chen / Bits:
Marriott Says It Stopped Ad Service Hidden in Wi-Fi  —  Last week, the Courtyard Marriott hotel in Midtown Manhattan was discovered to come with some hidden extras: The free Wi-Fi connection inserted lines of code for serving special ads into every Web page a guest visited.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
RIM backtracks on stopping sideloaded BlackBerry PlayBook apps, plans separate anti-piracy measure  —  RIM's VP of Developer Relations Alec Saunders has taken to the BlackBerry Developer Blog to comment on reports that the company would remove the ability to sideload PlayBook apps.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google's Chrome OS Will Soon Look More Like Windows Than A Browser  —  It's hard to say how popular Chrome OS, Google's browser-centric operating system, really is.  There can be little doubt, though, that Google is quite serious about this initiative.  Today, Google launched …

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