Techmeme: You Really Might Be Boring Your Facebook Friends (Peter Kafka/AllThingsD)

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July 15, 2013, 8:15 PM

Top News

Jessica Lessin:

Exclusive: Apple Pitches Ad-Skipping for New TV Service — Apple has a new trick up its sleeve as it tries to launch a long-awaited television service: technology that allows viewers to skip commercials and that pays media companies for the skipped views. — For more than a year …

More: CNET, MacRumors, GigaOM, iMore, Engadget, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, Business Insider, The Verge, 9to5Mac, TechnoBuffalo, Pocket-lint, Daring Fireball and iDownloadBlog.com

Tweets: @petersontee, @panzer, @dangillmor and @dujkan

See also Mediagazer

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Surface Watch? Microsoft allegedly testing a ‘translucent aluminum’ smartwatch — Microsoft's prototype smartwatch testing has moved over to its Surface team. Sources familiar with Microsoft's Surface plans have revealed to The Verge that the company is now prototyping devices directly under …

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

Gowalla Co-Founder Josh Williams to Depart Facebook — Josh Williams, co-founder of the location-based check-in startup Gowalla (which was “acqu-hired” by Facebook in 2012), plans to soon leave the social giant, according to sources familiar with the situation.

More: Business Insider, The Next Web, Inside Facebook, CNET, AllFacebook, TechCrunch and Digits

Jim Finkle / Reuters:

Researchers hack Verizon device, turn it into mobile spy station — (Reuters) - Two security experts said they have figured out how to spy on Verizon Wireless mobile phone customers by hacking into devices the U.S. carrier sells to boost wireless signals indoors.

More: CNNMoney.com, NPR, The Register, The Technology Chronicles, Gizmodo, Computerworld, Mashable, TechnoBuffalo, I4U News, SlashGear and DSLreports

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Yahoo recycles old user IDs with help from Facebook — It's been just over a month since Yahoo announced their plan to reclaim abandoned usernames, and met with an immediate outcry over privacy concerns. What if you used your Yahoo email as a password reset? Was Yahoo making life easy for identity thieves?

More: Yahoo!, Yahoo! Developer Network, Marketing Land, CNET, ZDNet, The Next Web, WebProNews and Wired

New York Times:

Attention Shopper: Stores Are Tracking Your Cell — Like dozens of other brick-and-mortar retailers, Nordstrom wanted to learn more about its customers — how many came through the doors, how many were repeat visitors — the kind of information that e-commerce sites like Amazon have in spades.

More: ReadWrite, TechHive, MobileBurn.com, Business Insider, Quartz, TechnoBuffalo, It's a Gadget, SocialTimes, PadGadget, TechSpot, Betabeat, dailywireless.org, Marketing Land, POPSUGAR, GeekWire, The Verge, Forbes, VentureBeat, iMore and blog.chron.com

Tweets: @lessien and @qhardy

Washington Post:

For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say — In late 2005, as Iraqi roadside bombings were nearing an all-time peak, the National Security Agency's newly appointed chief began pitching a radical plan for halting the attacks that were killing or wounding a dozen Americans a day.

More: Guardian, VentureBeat, Steve Blank, Techdirt, BuzzFeed and Poynter

Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:

N.S.A. Leaks Revive Push in Russia to Control Net

More: SiliconANGLE, SiliconBeat, Technology Liberation Front and memeburn

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

You Really Might Be Boring Your Facebook Friends — Is Facebook embarrassed to tell you how many people look at your cat or kid pictures? — Yes, says BuzzFeed writer Charlie Warzel. No way, says a Facebook engineer — we just don't think regular people care about this stuff.

More: CNET, Business Insider, ZDNet, Inside Facebook, Marketing Pilgrim, AllFacebook and Softpedia News. Tweets: @cwarzel

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:

Tim Stevens Out At Engadget, Marc Perton To Take Over — Once hailed as the nicest guy in tech, Engadget's Tim Stevens is no longer Editor In Chief, with gdgt's Marc Perton taking over as Engadget head while a new EIC is found to round out the management structure.

More: Engadget and Daring Fireball. Tweets: @joshuatopolsky, @alexia and @tim_stevens

William Alden / DealBook:

VMware Sells Zimbra Amid Shift in Strategy — When VMware bought Zimbra in 2010, the deal was considered integral to the company's strategy. Three years later, it's a different story. — VMware is selling Zimbra, a provider of corporate e-mail and collaboration software, to Telligent …

More: GigaOM, VMware, PC World, VMware Blogs, The Register, ZDNet and Datamation.com

Stephen Shankland / CNET:

Intel's Thunderbolt remains high-end rarity as Acer drops out — Windows computer maker Acer decides USB 3.0 is a better deal than Intel's high-speed communications technology. And despite notable newer fans including Dell, HP, and Asus, Thunderbolt remains scarce.

More: 9to5Mac, Ars Technica and TechSpot

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Spotify Defends Against New Music Backlash, Says It Will Pay Out $1B To Rightsholders By End Of 2013 — Spotify, the music service with 24 million active users, says that it is on track to pay out $1 billion to artists that stream music on its platform by the end of 2013 …

Ian Sherr / Digits:

Kabam Hits $700 Million Valuation With Employee Stock Sale — Closely held videogame maker Kabam says it is now worth $700 million, based on a recent private transaction that allowed employees to sell $38.5 million of common stock. — None of the money will go to the San Francisco-based company itself …

More: Venture Capital Dispatch, TechCrunch, VatorNews, Reuters, VentureBeat, Business Insider, The Next Web, I4U News and GamesIndustry International

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