Techmeme: Google adds voice calling to Hangouts, promises ‘the future of Google Voice’ is here (David Pierce/The Verge)

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July 9, 2013, 8:25 PM

Top News

Robert McMillan / Wired:

How Dropbox Will Remake Itself (And Your Angry Birds) — Dropbox wants to be your always-on hard drive, whether you're using an iPad, an Android phone, or a PC. And if it's going to reach that lofty goal, it will need more than a little help from the world's software developers.

More: Yahoo!, blogs.ft.com, TechCrunch, VatorNews, Business Insider, TechCrunch, AllThingsD, The Next Web, GigaOM and WebProNews. Tweets: @caseynewton

Marcus Wohlsen / Wired:

Dropbox Blows Up the Box, Connecting Every App, File, and Device — In the vast San Francisco loft that Dropbox calls home, there's a Lego room, a life-size plastic shark, and a Golden Gate Bridge mosaic made from disassembled Rubik's Cubes. Chipper millennials who may or may not be worth millions …

More: The Verge

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Dropbox Now Has 175 Million Users, Up From 100M In November 2012 — “Today is about making life easier for all of you” said CEO Drew Houston to launch his company Dropbox's conference. The company now has 175 million users, up from 100 million in November 2012.

More: The Dropbox Blog, GigaOM, GeekWire, AppleInsider, TechHive, Engadget, MacRumors, iMore, 9to5Google, VentureBeat, CNET, Electronista, The Next Web, MacStories and WebProNews. Tweets: @dropbox

Ken Yeung / The Next Web:

Dropbox replace the hard drive with its Dropbox Platform, with a sync API, a ‘universal file picker’, and more — Dropbox announced today the launch of a new product it's calling the Dropbox Platform, replacing the hard drive, a new foundation to solve all the problems of sync where people don't have to worry about lost files.

More: TechCrunch

Zach Epstein / BGR:

Exclusive details on Amazon's next-gen Kindle Fire tablets — With Nook out of the way and Samsung slowing, can Amazon rekindle people's love of Kindles? — Amazon is planning a complete overhaul of its Kindle Fire tablet lineup for 2013 and BGR has learned exclusive details about the forthcoming devices.

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

The next iPhone's cool-factor: a slow-motion camera? — As the launch of the next iPhone approaches, rumor and speculation about what Apple's latest and greatest smartphone could bring to the highly-competitive mobile marketplace is increasing. Based on the latest chatter …

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

Apple, Amazon end ‘app store’ lawsuit — (Reuters) - Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc have ended their lawsuit over who has the right to use the “app store” name, clearing the way for both companies to use it. — U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California …

Rebecca Grant / VentureBeat:

Yelp launches Yelp Platform to enter world of on-demand delivery — SAN FRANCISCO — Yelp is rolling out a new delivery feature so consumers can not only browse for food but order it as well. Along the lines of its Open Table partnership, Yelp will work with local delivery services …

More: Yelp Official Blog, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Marketing Land, Ubergizmo, Mashable, AllThingsD, The Verge, MacRumors, iDownloadBlog.com and TUAW

David Pierce / The Verge:

Google adds voice calling to Hangouts, promises ‘the future of Google Voice’ is here — Google's made good on a promise today, rolling out voice calling through its Hangouts messaging service. Basically, it works just like video calling — you can call one person or many with a click …

More: Gmail Blog, CNET, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Engadget and AndroidHeadlines.com

Tweets: @dannysullivan and @markmilian

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

Amazon Quietly Tests Streaming Flash Videos to Kindle Fire Owners — For the past six months, Amazon has been quietly testing what it hopes will be a better way to watch Flash video content on a mobile device. — Since February, some Kindle Fire owners have been seeing an option to use an …

More: Examiner, Ubergizmo, CNET, TechHive, Kindle Review, 9to5Google and AndroidOS.in

Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:

Apple's safe automotive telematics patent mates touchscreen with tactile controls — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday granted Apple a patent for a touchscreen-based telematics system that incorporates embedded controls, such as knobs, sliders, and switches …

More: MacRumors, Gizmodo, Patently Apple, TUAW, Ars Technica, CNET, iClarified, Gotta Be Mobile, TechnoBuffalo, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch and SlashGear

Andy / TorrentFreak:

Three Strikes and You're Still In - France Kills Piracy Disconnections — The so-called “graduated response” to the file-sharing issue has for years been championed by the mainstream music and movie industries. — According to the theory, Internet subscribers who are continually warned …

More: Engadget, Guardian, GigaOM, The Register, TechSpot, The Verge, GamePolitics blogs, The Next Web, Ars Technica, Electronista and DSLreports

John Cook / GeekWire:

Satellite communications startup Kymeta lands $50M from Bill Gates, others — Kymeta Corp., the satellite communications startup that spun out of Intellectual Ventures, has scored $50 million in venture funding. — Backers of the Redmond company — led by serial entrepreneur Vern Fotheringham …

More: Kymeta, VentureBeat and Engadget. Thanks:@toddbishop

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols / ZDNet:

Google releases fix to OEMs for Blue Security Android security hole — Summary: Google has found a fix for a vulnerability in Android's security model that could allow attackers to convert 99 percent of all applications into Trojan malware. — It doesn't get much scarier than this.

Kim Zetter / Wired:

This Is Not a Test: Emergency Broadcast Systems Proved Hackable — Several models of Emergency Alert System decoders, used to break into TV and radio broadcasts to announce public safety warnings, have vulnerabilities that would allow hackers to hijack them and deliver fake messages to the public …

More: Ars Technica, Mashable, The Register, Yahoo! News, Computerworld, ZDNet, PC World and Datamation.com

Brad Molen / Engadget:

HTC 8XT will be available on Sprint July 19th for $100 after rebate — The term “this summer” has finally become much more specific for anyone hoping to score a Sprint-branded Windows Phone: July 19th. This is the date the Now Network will launch the HTC 8XT, the carrier's first WP8 device …

More: Sprint, BGR, WMPoweruser, Haverzine, IntoMobile, AllThingsD and The Verge

Jennifer Van Grove / CNET:

Path looks to pocket more cash by putting stickers in comments — The addition of stickers to the private social network's feed should expose the expressive extras to more buyers. — Private social network Path is turning its stickers into more public commodities, and better money-makers by association …

More: Path, TechCrunch, The Next Web, 9to5Mac and iDownloadBlog.com

Tweets: @valleyhack and @caseynewton

Lauren Hockenson / GigaOM:

The Pirate Bay founder is raising money for spy-proof messaging app — Private messages really aren't so private, and Peter Sunde, co-founder and former spokesperson for BitTorrent search engine The Pirate Bay, isn't happy about it. So Sunde has worked with a small group of developers to raise money for a fully private messaging app.

Euan Rocha / Reuters:

CEO says BlackBerry open to licensing deals, other options — (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd signaled on Tuesday that a licensing deal, or even an outright sale of the company, was still a possibility, pleasing shareholders still reeling from the disappointing debut for its new line of smartphones.

More: AllThingsD, CNET, BGR, Businessweek, ZDNet, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, TechnoBuffalo and www.idigitaltimes.co.uk

Rebecca Jeschke / Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Federal Judge Allows EFF's NSA Mass Spying Case to Proceed — Rejects Government's State Secret Privilege Claims in Jewel v. NSA and Shubert v. Obama — San Francisco - A federal judge today rejected the U.S. government's latest attempt to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's …

More: Ars Technica and Help Net Security

Jeff John Roberts / GigaOM:

Justice Dept. defends secret rulings in new spy court filing

More: The Verge and RT

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