Techmeme
February 5, 2013, 2:45 PM

Top News

Michael J. De La Merced / DealBook:
Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private  —  Dell announced Tuesday that it had agreed to go private in a $24 billion deal led by its founder and the investment firm Silver Lake, in the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.  —  Under the terms of the deal, the buyers' consortium …
Dell, Inc.:
Dell Enters Into Agreement to Be Acquired By Michael Dell and Silver Lake  — Transaction implies a 37 percent premium over the average closing share price during the previous 90 calendar days ending Jan. 11, 2013  —  Dell Inc. today announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement under …
Microsoft:
Microsoft Statement on Loan to Support Dell Privatization  —  “Microsoft has provided a $2 billion loan to the group that has proposed to take Dell private.  Microsoft is committed to the long term success of the entire PC ecosystem and invests heavily in a variety of ways to build that ecosystem for the future.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Will Microsoft's $2 billion role in Dell's buyout play out like its Nokia partnership?  —  Summary: If Microsoft's $2 billion loan to Dell plays out the same way its Nokia deal has, other PC makers may have less to fear than they initially might expect.  —  One of the worst-kept secrets …
Kevin Systrom / Instagram:
Introducing Your Instagram Feed on the Web  —  Today, I'm very excited to announce the launch of a product we've been wanting to build for quite some time now.  Since our launch in October of 2010, we've focused on building a simple app that has inspired creativity while capturing everyday moments through the lens of your mobile phone.
Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:
After Two Years of “Mobile First,” Instagram Brings Its Feed to the Web  —  Think of “mobile first” companies, and Instagram should top that list.  It rose to prominence as one of the fastest-growing mobile-only companies over the past few years, and is now closing in on the 100 million active user mark.
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Mac:
‘Radio Buy Buttons’ found in iOS 6.1 via newly jailbroken iPads, could mean new functionality coming  —  ‘Radio Buy’ buttons, above, enlarged, put together from files, below  —  Having a look around our newly jailbroken iPads with iFunBox, we happened on a new set of files in the iPad Music.app.
Matt Brian / The Next Web:
Amazon launches new ‘Coins’ virtual currency for Kindle Fire app purchases, coming to the US in May  —  Intent on helping app developers gain more money from their Appstore submissions, Amazon today announced the launch of ‘Amazon Coins,’ a new virtual currency that will allow Kindle Fire owners …
Quentin Hardy / New York Times:
Growing Numbers of Start-Ups Are Worth a Billion Dollars  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The number of privately held Silicon Valley start-ups that are worth more than $1 billion shocks even the executives running those companies.  —  “I thought we were special,” said Phil Libin, chief executive of Evernote …
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Ouya console will be sold at Best Buy, Target, and Gamestop for $99.99 in June  —  Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman has announced the first details of retail availability for the Android-powered games console.  If you missed out on Ouya's successful Kickstarter campaign and wanted to pick one up in stores …
Ryan Gallagher / Slate:
The Threat of Silence  —  Meet the groundbreaking new encryption app set to revolutionize privacy and freak out the feds.  —  For the past few months, some of the world's leading cryptographers have been keeping a closely guarded secret about a pioneering new invention.  Today, they've decided it's time to tell all.
John Cook / GeekWire:
Microsoft ‘data chief’ Ted Kummert leaves after 23 years, joins Madrona Venture Group  —  After more than two decades at Microsoft, Ted Kummert is leaving the software giant to join Seattle venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group.  Kummert, who most recently served as the corporate vice president …
More: Digits, GigaOM and The Next Web.  Thanks:@toddbishop
Michael Carney / PandoDaily:
Viddy CEO Brett O'Brien is out, rumors of a declined Twitter deal swirl  —  Viddy co-founder and CEO Brett O'Brien will no longer be involved in the company's day to day operations, and the search is underway for a new chief executive with more product and content monetization experience.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Backed By Yammer's David Sacks, Fresh Launches A Site For Verified Consumer Gadget Reviews  —  When you're ready to try a new product, Stephen Svajian, co-founder and CEO of a startup called Fresh, said that what you're really looking for are recommendations from consumers like you …
Joanna Stern / ABCNEWS:
Facebook Vacation: 61 Percent of Users Take Breaks From Site  —  Ashley Kiley needed a vacation.  A Facebook vacation.  —  “I needed a break from everyone.  I was on the site too much and was wasting too much time looking at information about friends,” Kiley, 27, told ABC News.
Jessica E. Lessin / Digits:
Apple Tries (A Little) Harder to Get Its Message Out  —  Apple has been subtly increasing some of its PR—at least for now.  —  Last week, the company issued a press release to announce it was upgrading its mobile operating system from iOS 6 to 6.1.  It was the first time Apple has issued …
Hamish McKenzie / PandoDaily:
Aaron Swartz and how to identify a martyr  —  In the penultimate speech of the evening at last night's memorial for Aaron Swartz in Washington DC, Berin Szoka, the president of the group TechFreedom, offered some words that were uncomfortable for some.  Speaking of the Internet activist's alleged crime …

Sponsor Posts

Command Line:
Azure Content Understanding: Building on lessons from a decade of Document Intelligence  —  What a decade of teaching machines to read real-world documents taught us about what LLMs can and can't do.
Will Reed:
The best sales leaders aren't job hunting.  Here's how to reach them without months of cold outreach.  —  Our team came from Box, Square, and Brex, so we already know the GTM leaders worth meeting.
Zoho:
App Spotlight: TDS 26AS Reconciliation for Zoho Books  —  Automate 26AS/Form 168 reconciliation, ensuring that mismatches between your 26AS/Form 168 and books are flagged to make ITR filing seamless …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Sources:
Robinhood's CEO on letting AI trade your money
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Training Data:
David Silver and Lasse Espeholt of Ineffable Intelligence: A Superlearner for the Age of Experience
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Invest Like the Best:
David Vélez - Building Nubank and the Future of Global Banking
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Cheeky Pint:
Muse Wonder: Zuckerberg and Wang's $100B AI
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why every company now needs to think and operate like a lab team | Josh Woodward (Google Labs, Gemini, AI Studio)
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:
Meta & Microsoft's Claude Slowdown, His Agent Leaked His Banking Info, Don't Bully Your AI
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:45 PM ET, February 5, 2013.

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