Techmeme: Introducing Project Loon: Balloon-powered Internet access (Mike Cassidy/The Official Google Blog)

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June 15, 2013, 6:50 AM

Top News

Ted Ullyot / Facebook Newsroom:

Facebook Releases Data, Including All National Security Requests — Over the last week, in press statements as well as Mark's post last Friday, we've repeatedly called for governments worldwide to be willing to provide more details about programs aimed at keeping the public safe.

More: BBC, Digits, AllThingsD, Softpedia News, Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, Reuters, BuzzFeed, Mashable, NYT Bits, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, GigaOM, The Next Web, TechCrunch, Forbes and AllThingsD

Tweets: @qhardy, @declanm, @shiraovide, @evelynrusli, @dbfarber and @mattbuchanan

John Frank / TechNet Blogs:

Microsoft's U.S. law enforcement and national security requests for last half of 2012 — This afternoon we are publishing additional information about the volume of law enforcement and national security orders served on Microsoft. For the first time, we are permitted to include the total volume …

More: NYT Bits, The Verge, Reuters, Engadget, The Next Web and AllThingsD. Tweets: @kurtopsahl

Declan McCullagh / CNET:

Facebook, Microsoft release NSA stats to reassure users — In an effort to reassure users, Facebook discloses it has received legal orders to turn over details on about one-thousandth of one percent of user accounts. So does Microsoft, and Google plans to do the same.

More: ABCNEWS and The Atlantic Wire

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

Google Calls Facebook's Data Disclosure Deal With The Feds “A Step Back For Users” — Facebook disclosed information on how many information requests it received from government agencies on Friday, the first a major internet company has been able to do so. — But Google, in a statement released …

More: The Verge, SlashGear and Engadget

Tweets: @benl and @vindugoel

Arik Hesseldahl / AllThingsD:

Governments Requested Information On as Many as 19,000 Facebook Accounts

Mike Cassidy / The Official Google Blog:

Introducing Project Loon: Balloon-powered Internet access — The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem.

More: www.idigitaltimes.co.uk, SlashGear, Stuck in Customs, CNET, Softpedia News, Ars Technica, The Verge, Engadget and memeburn

Tweets: @shepmcallister, @jbrodkin, @phillryu and @dannysullivan

Steven Levy / Wired:

How Google Will Use High-Flying Balloons to Deliver Internet to the Hinterlands — The Project Loon team prepared for launch in the pre-dawn frost near Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. — Solar panels and insulated electronics packages, prepared for launch. It takes 4 hours for the solar panels …

More: TechCrunch, 9to5Google, NEWS.com.au and Gizmodo

Sim Ahmed / Idealog:

Google tests world first balloon internet network in New Zealand

Thanks:@simantics

Joanna Stern / ABCNEWS:

Facebook to Hold Mysterious Product Launch Event on June 20 — Facebook seems to have even more products up its sleeve. On the heels of releasing its new hashtag feature this week and the roll out of its new iPhone and Android features, the company will hold an event on Thursday …

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook Will Launch A News Reader At June 20th Press Event

More: The Droid Guy, Colin Walker, Tom Waddington, Business Insider, The Register, Electronista, GeekWire and 9to5Google

Lana Lam / South China Morning Post:

Edward Snowden: Classified US data shows Hong Kong hacking targets — Top-secret US government records shown to Post by whistle-blower give details of computer IP addresses hacked by NSA in HK and mainland — Classified US government data shown to the South China Morning Post …

More: New York Times, The Huffington Post, bigstory.ap.org and The Atlantic Wire

Tweets: @donachaidh, @declanm, @pindarninja and @samgustin

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:

So, Now That Edward Snowden May Blab US Secrets To China, Do You Still Think He's A Hero?

Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:

NSA leaker Ed Snowden's life on Ars Technica

More: Reuters, Mashable and Los Angeles Times

Moxie Marlinspike / Wired:

Why ‘I Have Nothing to Hide’ Is the Wrong Way to Think About Surveillance — Suddenly, it feels like 2000 again. Back then, surveillance programs like Carnivore, Echelon, and Total Information Awareness helped spark a surge in electronic privacy awareness.

More: ZDNet, Washington Post, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Guardian, Of Interest and New York Times

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Microsoft Said To Give Zero Day Exploits To US Government Before It Patches Them

More: PC World, The Register, SiliconBeat, InfoWorld, VentureBeat and Bloomberg

Tweets: @dhh, @pkedrosky and @karl_sparx

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Bills would clip NSA's wings on phone data

More: TechCrunch, The Next Web, Senator Wyden's Press Feed, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, KTVZ-TV and Washington Times

Horace Dediu / asymco:

What's an Apple user worth? — This week Apple announced that iTunes has 575 million accounts. This is the 8th update (that I know of) over the last four years. The history of this data is shown in the following graph. — The number of accounts has increased by almost a factor of six since late 2009.

More: iClarified, BGR, The Droid Guy, Mashable and MacRumors

Christopher Williams / Telegraph:

EU to end mobile roaming charges next year — Consumers will next year be able to use their mobile phones across the European Union for the same price as at home, it is planned, after officials voted to fast-track major reforms of telecoms regulation. — It will cost the same to use …

More: TUAW, The Next Web, TechSpot, Pocket-lint, Cult of Mac, TechCrunch, Electronista, www.idigitaltimes.co.uk, Omio, PhoneArena, IntoMobile, Light Reading, 9to5Mac, Inquirer, Mobile Industry Review, Softpedia News and iClarified

TechCrunch:

Path Is On The Path To New Funding, Approaching $1B Valuation — We're hearing from multiple sources that private social network Path is raising a new round of funding that could value the company as high as $1 billion. According to one source, the company is in the process …

More: Digital Media Wire, CNET, Valleywag, Betabeat, larry borsato, The Droid Guy and Business Insider

Tweets: @andykleinman, @benedictevans, @eghosao, @shaig, @mulligan and @caseynewton

Thanks:@forrestkoba

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

New for accessory makers in iOS 7: Open AirPlay audio, Apple-designed hearing aid tech, device management, much more — We already told you about a few big new features in terms of improvements to Bluetooth coming in iOS 7: Developers will now have a standardized controller framework …

Thanks:@dunn32

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Apple unlocks full Notification Center access & much more for Bluetooth LE devices in iOS 7

More: SelfScreens, Pocket-lint, Bluetooth Blog, Macworld, www.idigitaltimes.co.uk, WMPoweruser, Gotta Be Mobile, AppleInsider and The Verge

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