Techmeme
May 16, 2013, 11:15 AM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Google demands Microsoft removes YouTube Windows Phone app, cites lack of ads  —  Microsoft updated its own YouTube application for Windows Phone just over a week ago and Google isn't impressed.  The Verge has obtained a copy of a cease and desist letter that Google has sent to Microsoft recently …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Microsoft's Anti-Google Campaign Gets a Boost, From Google  —  For the last few months, Microsoft has been running a pointed PR and ad campaign against Google, where it accuses the search giant of screwing over its customers.  —  You gotta hand it to Microsoft: Yesterday they got Google to help promote their message for them.
The Verge:
Exclusive: Inside Hangouts, Google's big fix for its messaging mess  —  How Google built its new messaging platform for Gmail, Android, iOS, and Chrome... and what took so long  —  Skydivers equipped with futuristic glasses live-broadcasted their descent into the Moscone Center …
Vic Gundotra / Google+:
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Google Versus  —  Larry Page, on stage at I/O today: … Google fans seem to eat this kumbaya stuff up, to really believe it.  But Google is the company that built Android after the iPhone, Google Plus after Facebook, and now a subscription music service after Spotify.
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Here's That Steve Jobs E-Book Email to James Murdoch  —  “Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99.”  —  That's an excerpt from an email sent by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation …
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Microsoft building touch-screen feature into Chrome  —  To try to spread its flexible Pointer Events interface beyond Windows 8 and IE10, Microsoft programmers are trying to build support into Google's browser.  —  Through the peculiar dynamics of Web standard politics and the open-source …
Jason Wilson / VentureBeat:
EA kills its controversial Online Pass program  —  EA is doing away with its Online Pass program from this point forward, a decision the video game publisher says is partially based on player response.  —  “Yes, we're discontinuing Online Pass,” EA senior director of corporate communications …
Reuters:
Senators struggle with tech industry concerns on U.S. immigration bill  —  (Reuters) - Senate supporters of a broad U.S. immigration bill struggled on Wednesday to satisfy technology companies that want greater leeway to hire high-skilled foreign workers.  —  Democratic Senator Charles Schumer …
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Gmail is getting quick action buttons that let you RSVP to events, rate restaurants, view flights, and more  —  Google on Wednesday announced the addition of a new Gmail feature called quick actions.  These new buttons will be rolling out “over the next few weeks,” so don't fret if you don't see them yet.
Matt Burns / TechCrunch:
Pebble Nabs $15M In Funding, Outs PebbleKit SDK And Pebble Sports API To Spur Smartwatch App Development  —  Get ready for a whole lot more Pebble.  The smartwatch company just announced several software enhancements for the Pebble and a $15M Series A led by Charles River Ventures.
More: AllThingsD, NYT Bits and The Verge.  Thanks:@drizzled
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
USA Network's Dividing Line With Twitter  —  Several television companies have announced deals with Twitter Inc. in recent weeks, looking to take advantage of the popularity of tweeting while watching shows.  But not all TV companies believe tying up with the social-media site is such a great idea.
Travis Green / Google Commerce:
Send money to friends with Gmail and Google Wallet  —  Paying back your friends is now as simple as sending an email, whether you're chipping in for lunch or reimbursing your roommate for your share of the rent.  —  Google Wallet is now integrated with Gmail, so you can quickly …
Nick Hide / Crave:
Samsung changes mind, will look at storage on Galaxy S4 … Samsung has backed down on the Galaxy S4's limited storage after the phone appeared on the BBC's Watchdog, saying it will try to squeeze its myriad features into a smaller space, freeing up more memory for apps.
Matt Brian / The Verge:
Google Play Books enables user ebook uploads, Google Drive support  —  Google has updated its Play Books e-reader apps for iOS and Android to include support for EPUB and PDF files from outside the Play Store.  The new feature has been enabled as part of Google's strategy to unite its cloud services …
Robin Wauters / The Next Web:
That settles it: Opera drops its $3.4m lawsuit against ex-employee Trond Hansen  —  A little over two weeks ago, word got out about Opera filing a rather nasty lawsuit against a former longtime employee and contractor, designer and musician Trond Werner Hansen.
More: Softpedia News.  Thanks:@robinwauters
Robert McMillan / Wired:
Is It Wrong to Use Data From the World's First ‘Nice’ Botnet?  —  When Morgan Marquis-Boire heard about the Internet Census 2012, he was excited.  —  Marquis-Boire, a Google engineer by day, spends his spare time looking for state-sponsored spyware, and here was something new that he could use.
Tweets: @wired
Bloomberg:
Google Denies Misleading Parliament Over U.K. Tax Liabilities  —  A Google Inc. (GOOG) executive told British lawmakers that the California-based company didn't mislead Parliament over its tax obligations in the U.K.  —  Matt Brittin, vice president for sales and operations in northern …
More: BBC, BBC and Crave
Trey Ratcliff / Stuck in Customs:
Why the new Google server farm could displace Adobe Lightroom  —  Are you taking more photos per week in 2013 than 2012?  How about 2010?  My guess is yes.  And it doesn't matter if you're a pro or just a casual photographer — it's really crazy how much visual data we are all generating.
Don Reisinger / CNET:
One-third of all smartphone sales were prepaid in Q1  —  That's the word from The NPD Group, which found that 21 percent of purchased smartphones were prepaid last year.  —  Prepaid smartphone sales are starting to become more popular, according to new data from research firm The NPD Group.
More: TechSpot and GigaOM

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