Techmeme: Amazon's Silk Web Browser Gets A Whole New Look (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

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August 14, 2013, 11:10 PM

Top News

Chris Morris / GamesIndustry International:

Former Steam boss Jason Holtman lands at Microsoft — Valve veteran will be focused on “making Windows a great platform for gaming” — Jason Holtman, who spearheaded Valve's Steam business for eight years before leaving the company in February, has a new job.

More: The Verge, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, VG247, Joystiq, GamePolitics blogs, PC World, Computer And Video Games All, Pocket-lint, Kotaku, Gamasutra, destructoid and Polygon. Tweets: @gibiz

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

They don't make Windows like they used to — Summary: Microsoft is making the Windows sausage differently these days. And that impacts everything from how products are tested, to how they're launched and updated. — Microsoft announced on August 14 that it will be launching Windows 8.1 on October 18, 2013.

More: WinBeta, LiveSide.net, The Register, InfoWorld, Ars Technica, WindowsObserver.com, The Official Microsoft Blog and TechNet Blogs

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Windows 8.1 will launch on October 18th, available a day earlier on Windows Store

Scott Buscemi / 9to5Mac:

iCloud.com beta updated with iOS 7 design — The beta.icloud.com website has been redesigned to match the design of iOS 7. Removing the linen and other Forstall-era design elements, this is the first display of Apple bringing iOS 7 design elements to the web.

More: Macworld, iLounge, Ars Technica, MacRumors, The Verge, iPhone in Canada Blog, Apple Fan Site, Gizmodo, App Advice, AppleTell, everythingiCafe, TechnoBuffalo, CNET, Macgasm, iPhone Hacks, Pocket-lint, The Mac Observer, MacNN, iClarified and ParisLemon. Tweets: @llsethj

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Yes, Gmail users have an expectation of privacy — Sending email to Gmail users means you expect Google's servers will process it — Consumer groups are up in arms today over a motion Google made in June to dismiss a class-action lawsuit alleging that Gmail violates federal …

More: Consumer Watchdog, Guardian, TIME, ReadWrite, ZDNet, GigaOM, CNET, The Next Web, PhoneArena, Techdirt, Businessweek, Mashable, CBS San Francisco, TUAW, Salon, The Register, Digital Trends, InvestorPlace, TechCrunch, Naked Security, PC World, The Huffington Post, DSLreports and Business Insider

Tweets: @benadida, @reckless, @cschweitz, @cwarzel, @caseynewton, @jamesgecko and @claytonmorris

Thanks:@mattlynley

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Google Search Gets More Personal, Now Lets You Find Your Flight Info, Reservations, Photos And More — Google today announced a number of search features that make it easier for you to find your own personal information through Google Search. The search engine can now find information …

More: The Official Google Blog, Search Engine Land, ReadWrite, ABC News, Digital Trends, Mercury News, VatorNews, AndroidSPIN, iDownloadBlog.com, pocketnow.com, AllThingsD, The Verge, VentureBeat, Engadget, The Technology Chronicles, 9to5Google and The Next Web. Thanks:@alex

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Twitter Is Testing Out A New ‘TV Trending’ Box At The Top Of Your Timeline — Twitter is betting big on TV, both as a source of traffic and as a potential source of lucrative advertising revenue. And that's leading the company to test out new ways of bringing even more TV content — and traffic — to its platform.

More: Mashable, The Next Web, Engadget, TechnoBuffalo, Ubergizmo, VentureBeat, The Verge, TechHive, bizjournals and Softpedia News. Tweets: @jeffweiner. See also Mediagazer

Alex Colon / GigaOM:

Samsung announces the Hennessy, a dual-screen, quad-core Android flip phone — When you think of smartphones, the image of a sleek, minimalist slab is probably what comes to mind. But how about a flip phone? Now there's a form factor you don't see everyday - at least, not on any phone that's powered by Google.

More: Pocket-lint, The Next Web, IntoMobile, Engadget, CNET, SlashGear, BGR, InvestorPlace, Electronista, Android Police, ZDNet, www.idigitaltimes.co.uk, pocketnow.com, Android Beat and Android Community

Tweets: @inafried and @treestman

Andy Greenberg / Forbes:

How A ‘Deviant’ Philosopher Built Palantir, A CIA-Funded Data-Mining Juggernaut — Since rumors began to spread that a startup called Palantir helped to kill Osama bin Laden, Alex Karp hasn't had much time to himself. — On one sun-baked July morning in Silicon Valley Palantir's lean 45 …

More: Valleywag and The Verge. Tweets: @nicoleperlroth. Thanks:@thealexknapp

Andy Greenberg / Forbes:

Meet The Dread Pirate Roberts, The Man Behind Booming Black Market Drug Website Silk Road — An entrepreneur as professionally careful as the Dread Pirate Roberts doesn't trust instant messaging services. Forget phones or Skype. At one point during our eight-month preinterview courtship …

More: The Register and The Verge. Tweets: @kashhill and @jeffreyatucker

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Amazon's Silk Web Browser Gets A Whole New Look — Amazon's Silk web browser, which comes built into Kindle Fire devices, has received its first major upgrade since September 2012, the company announced today. Though there have been steady under-the-hood improvements over time …

More: Amazon Silk, Engadget, ZDNet and The Verge

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Ad-Free Social Platform App.net Raises Another $2.5M From Andreessen Horowitz — App.net, the social platform created in response to the ad-driven consumer social networks (specifically Twitter), just announced that it has raised $2.5 million in new funding.

More: App.net

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook's Star Manager Peter Deng Becomes Instagram Director Of Product To “Do Fewer Things Better” — Peter Deng built Facebook Chat, Groups and Messenger as its product management director for the last six years. Now he's going to execute the vision of Instagram's founders as its new Director Of Product.

More: The Verge, AllThingsD, Mashable, Inside Facebook and AllFacebook. Tweets: @mikeisaac

Don Clark / Wall Street Journal:

Cisco to Cut 4,000 Jobs, Blames Weak Economic Recovery — Cisco Systems Inc. is once again tightening its belt, this time before bad news hits the bottom line. — The Silicon Valley network-equipment giant on Wednesday said it would cut 4,000 jobs, or 5% of its workforce …

More: Cisco, AllThingsD, Mercury News, Business Insider, AllThingsD, Tech Trader Daily, ZDNet, Digits, PC World, Bloomberg and Reuters. Tweets: @wsj

Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:

Student Hub Chegg Files for IPO, Aiming to Raise $150 Million; Expands Board — Chegg, the startup that began as an analog online book rental service and has itself transformed into a multifaceted digital hub for students, has filed publicly for an initial public offering to raise about $150 million.

More: VentureBeat, GigaOM, PE Hub Blog, ZDNet, TechCrunch and silicontap.com

Tweets: @danprimack and @mickhagen

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