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August 27, 2013, 3:50 PM

Top News

Colin Stretch / Facebook:

Global Government Requests Report — Transparency and trust are core values at Facebook. We strive to embody them in all aspects of our services, including our approach to responding to government data requests. We want to make sure that the people who use our service understand the nature …

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

New Facebook report shows over 25,000 government requests for user data worldwide — Facebook is opening up its ledger of government probes for user information, revealing over 25,600 separate requests in the first half of 2013. Today, the company launched its “Global Government Requests Report …

More: AllThingsD, Guardian and Electronista

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple TV updated with Vevo, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Weather Channel, Smithsonian apps — Today, Apple has issued an over-the-air update to the Apple TV that brings several new content apps. Notably, in line with expectations, an app for the Vevo Music Video service has arrived.

More: VEVO.com, MacRumors, AllThingsD, AppleInsider, BGR, Digits, Macworld, TechCrunch, Engadget, everythingiCafe, The Next Web, PadGadget, VentureBeat, The Verge, bizjournals, IntoMobile, I4U News and MacNN

Tweets: @chartier, @llsethj, @pkafka, @reneritchie, @pkafka and @parislemon

See also Mediagazer

Dan Frommer / SplatF:

The Apple TV App Store Can't Be Too Far Away — Apple TV owners just got a bunch more channels: Vevo, the Weather Channel, more from Disney, and Smithsonian. This follows a recent update that added HBO Go and ESPN apps, and represents a continued acceleration of new content being added to Apple TV.

More: CNET

Fortune:

AllThingsD nears split with Dow Jones — The future of influential tech website All Things Digital is close to being decided. Reuters reported in February that AllThingsD co-executive editors Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg had begun discussions with owner Dow Jones, a subsidiary of News Corp. …

More: GigaOM, It's a Gadget, Silicon Valley Watcher and ZDNet

Tweets: @hblodget, @bridgetwi, @rafat, @jayrosen_nyu, @peterlauria3, @danprimack, @rafat, @mccarthyryanj, @mdudas, @nytimesbits, @felixsalmon and @felixsalmon

See also Mediagazer

Bloomberg:

Twitter Hires Commerce Chief to Add Shopping Via Tweets — Twitter Inc. hired Nathan Hubbard, the former president of Ticketmaster, as its first head of commerce, part of a push to enable shopping via short postings on its social website. — Hubbard, 38, started at San Francisco-based Twitter this week …

More: VentureBeat, The Verge, Tech Trader Daily, ZDNet, TechCrunch, AllThingsD and WebProNews

Tweets: @nathanchubbard, @rsarver, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, @fromedome, @sg and @besvinick

See also Mediagazer

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Windows 8.1 is officially finished, but everyone has to wait until October 18th — Microsoft is confirming today, after recent reports, that the company has completed Windows 8.1 and is releasing it to manufacturing (RTM). The finalization of the Windows 8 update means that hardware partners …

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple's iPhone ‘Reuse and Recycle’ trade-in program detailed, begins rolling out August 30th — Yesterday, we reported that Apple is gearing up to launch its iPhone trade-in program in September. The program will allow an iPhone user to exchange an older iPhone model for a new iPhone at a discounted price.

More: ABC News, iMore, CNN, Forbes, MacNN, It's a Gadget, Benzinga, TechnoBuffalo, App Advice, iDownloadBlog.com, Network World, ZDNet, Examiner, Washington Post and PC Magazine. Thanks:@luminaryws

Will Connors / Wall Street Journal:

BlackBerry Weighs Messenger Spinoff — Move Signals Firm Is Trying to Position BBM as a Valuable Asset Ahead of Potential Sale — BlackBerry Ltd. is considering spinning off its messaging service into a subsidiary that would operate with more independence, according to people familiar with the matter.

More: CNNMoney.com, Network World, PC Magazine, Telegraph, ZDNet, The Next Web, VentureBeat, GigaOM, Business Insider and BuzzFeed. Tweets: @parislemon

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

“thereisnofatebutwhatwemake” — Turbo-charged cracking comes to long passwords — For the first time, the freely available password cracker ocl-Hashcat-plus is able to tackle passcodes with as many as 55 characters. It's an improvement that comes as more and more people are relying …

More: PC World, ZDNet, Daily Dot and We Live Security

Tweets: @omeganon, @robhale77, @sireel and @lylepratt

John Tozzi / Businessweek:

Jack Dorsey's Plan to Save America's Struggling Cities — Square co-founder (and Twitter chairman) Jack Dorsey started hosting events to bring together local business owners in California earlier this year. This fall he's taking the idea to places normally off the tech world's radar …

Tweets: @pkafka

Brian Fung / The Switch:

Inside the Bitcoin advocates' closed-door meeting with federal regulators — The U.S. government took the latest step toward regulating virtual currencies on Monday as representatives from the Bitcoin Foundation met behind closed doors with federal officials in Washington.

More: Business Insider, CoinDesk, Daily Dot and Associated Press. Tweets: @willnoon

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

ARM Acquires Internet Of Things Startup Sensinode To Move Beyond Tablets And Phones — As more reports of ARM-based Windows and Apple devices continue to fill the airwaves — the latest being reports of a Surface 2 and Nokia's first Windows tablet, along with upcoming iPhone handsets …

More: ARM, SiliconANGLE, TechSpot, ZDNet, EE Times, GigaOM and VentureBeat

Stefan Constantinescu / Android Beat:

Samsung Exec confirms Note III and Galaxy Gear launch for September 4th (next week!) — Lee Young-hee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business, told The Korea Times that Samsung will be unveiling the Galaxy Note III and Galaxy Gear smartwatch on September 4th.

Nick Summers / The Next Web:

Google releases a Chromecast app for iOS to help users set up and manage their $35 TV dongle — Google released an official Chromecast app for iOS devices today, making it easier for users to set up the new $35 TV dongle, switch between multiple Chromecasts and change common network settings.

More: TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, LAPTOP Magazine, BetaNews, AppleInsider, Engadget, GigaOM, Macgasm, Ars Technica, Macworld, The Verge, VentureBeat, IntoMobile, Softpedia News and MobileSyrup.com. See also Mediagazer

Om Malik / GigaOM:

Vine gets better with age: How screens, speed and networks are changing the future of online video — Earlier this morning when sitting in the San Diego Airport while waiting for my flight, I did what most people do these days in those situations — I peered into my phone and cycled through my various social media applications.

Tweets: @om

Catherine Ho / Washington Post:

Patent seller Intellectual Ventures sets up its own lobbying effort in D.C. — As the White House and federal regulators work to crack down on so-called patent trolls, one company that's found success relying on a business model of licensing patents is building a new in-house lobbying team in Washington.

More: GeekWire, Ars Technica and AllThingsD. Tweets: @mjasay

Jeff John Roberts / GigaOM:

Google calls book scanning “transformative” in latest push for fair use ruling — Google and the Authors Guild's eight-year legal fight over digital books is coming to a head once again, as both sides prepare to make their final case next month about whether Google's scanning …

See also Mediagazer

Ricardo Bilton / VentureBeat:

Yahoo brings fresh redesigns — and native ads — to its biggest websites — Under Marissa Mayer, Yahoo has made a concerted effort not only to update its image, but also to completely reinvigorate all of its products. — We're now seeing that effort extend to more of the company's websites.

More: Yahoo!, AllThingsD, The Next Web, Yahoo! Advertising Solutions, PC Magazine, Forbes, The Technology Chronicles, ReadWrite, Marketing Land, bizjournals, WebProNews and Adotas

Joseph B. White / Wall Street Journal:

Nissan Pledges ‘Affordable’ Self-Driving Cars by 2020 — Japanese Auto Maker Pledges to Offer Vehicles That Can Operate Autonomously — IRVINE, Calif.—Nissan Motor Co. plans to offer cars with self-driving technology by 2020, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.

More: Gizmodo, The Verge, Nissan, CNBC, The Atlantic Wire, Engadget, Softpedia News and Benzinga

Cory Gunther / Android Community:

Hangouts update brings support for AT&T video calling — Back in May Google announced their new messaging service to replace Google Talk, and hopefully one day Google Voice. That being their new Hangouts app. It was revealed at Google I/O, and since has been updated with a slew of new features, smiley faces and more.

More: Engadget, SlashGear, Gotta Be Mobile, I4U News, Android News, Rumours …, PhoneArena and Android Beat

Alex Colon / GigaOM:

Samsung Announces colorful Galaxy Tab 3 built for kids — The Galaxy Tab 3 is a lovely tablet, but it's not the kind of device you'd want to share with your toddlers. To that end, Samsung on Tuesday announced the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids, a brightly colored variation of the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 …

More: Samsung Mobile Press, The Verge, LAPTOP Magazine, PC Magazine, Global Nerdy, TechCrunch, ABC News, 9to5Google, AndroidGuys, AllThingsD, Sammy Hub and IntoMobile

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

Microsoft Fires Back After Box Steps On Its Turf, Boosts SkyDrive Pro Storage To 25 GB — This is the real storage wars. Today Microsoft announced that it has increased the storage capacity of its SkyDrive Pro cloud document storage and syncing service to 25 gigabytes, from the formerly proffered 7 gigabytes.

More: The Microsoft Office Blog, The Next Web, SuperSite for Windows and TechNet Blogs

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