Techmeme: Belgian telco says it was hacked, while reports point to NSA or GCHQ as culprit (David Meyer/GigaOM)

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September 16, 2013, 1:35 PM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Bump Mobile Contact Sharing App Acquired By Google, Will Stay Alive For Now — After raising nearly $20 million and becoming one of the most downloaded mobile apps but never finding real revenue, Bump Technologies has been acquired by Google. Its namesake app Bump lets you physically tap phones together …

More: 9to5Google and silicontap.com. Tweets: @caseynewton

Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:

Google Acquires Bump for at Least $30M — Google has acquired the mobile startup Bump. A source close to the transaction said it was worth at least $30 million, and perhaps as much as $60 million. — Bump had raised about $20 million from backers including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz …

More: Bump Blog, Digits, The Next Web, The Verge, CITEworld, GigaOM, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Engadget, VentureBeat, Mashable, MobileSyrup.com, iDownloadBlog.com, WebProNews, IntoMobile and iPhone in Canada Blog

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Apple Stores to show off iPhone 5s Touch ID feature using demo app — One of the cornerstone features of Apple's upcoming iPhone 5s is the Touch ID fingerprint scanning system. The feature allows an iPhone 5s user to unlock their iPhone or authenticate iTunes/App Store/iBooks downloads …

More: MacRumors, Business Insider, TUAW, Softpedia News, iDownloadBlog.com, iMore, I4U News, App Advice and iPhone in Canada Blog

Matt Rosoff / CITEworld:

Box Notes takes on Google Docs with a web beta for collaborative, lightweight file editing — Box joins the crew of companies trying to disrupt Microsoft Office — You knew it had to happen. — A year ago, file storage and collaboration service Box hired Sam Schillace …

More: The Box Blog, The Verge, The Next Web, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, ZDNet, Ars Technica, NYT Bits, ZDNet, Engadget, PC Magazine, Computerworld, CNET, The Technology Chronicles, GigaOM, Electronista, Pocket-lint and Softpedia News

Tweets: @levie and @mattrosoff

Thanks:@citeworld

Cade Metz / Wired:

Box.com Melds Google and Microsoft Into Document Engine of the Future

Thanks:@randall1976

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Tumblr Inks Firehose Deal With DataSift To Tumble Further Into The World Of Big Media Advertising — When Yahoo acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion earlier this year, Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer and CFO Ken Goldman both pointed out that advertising on the site (and revenues from those ads) …

More: The Next Web, Marketing Land, Internet Evolution, I4U News, WebProNews, GigaOM, Softpedia News and ResearchBuzz

Tweets: @msuster and @nik

See also Mediagazer

Alexis Santos / Engadget:

Google Glass no longer requires tethering plan for smartphone data sharing — An Explorer Edition of Glass is already a pricey piece of tech, and smartphone tethering plans required to give it a mobile Internet connection have only made ownership that much more expensive.

More: Examiner, Ars Technica, Electronista, 9to5Google, Gearburn, VentureBeat, I4U News, The Next Web and MobileBurn.com. Tweets: @tim_stevens

David Meyer / GigaOM:

Belgian telco says it was hacked, while reports point to NSA or GCHQ as culprit — Here's a curious one: Belgium's largest telco has filed a complaint against an “unknown third party” that hacked into its internal IT systems and apparently inserted a virus.

More: Belgacom Group, ZDNet, Ars Technica, Web Host Industry Review, Reuters, Graham Cluley, Softpedia News and Inquirer. Tweets: @virusbtn

David Meyer / GigaOM:

Jolla's Sailfish OS gains Android compatibility, making it an easier sell for manufacturers — Finland's Jolla has made its Sailfish OS hardware- and app-compatible with Android, a move it says will help manufacturers pick up the new mobile operating system with minimal hassle.

More: ZDNet, BetaNews, ZDNet, Softpedia News, TechCrunch, SlashGear and The Next Web. Tweets: @mims

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Upworthy Raises $8 Million for Clickbait With a Mission — Can you build a successful website by repackaging work done by other people? — Of course you can! — What about building a successful website by repackaging other people's work, in service of a “mission-driven” agenda?

More: Upworthy Insider, VentureBeat, Fast Company, Digits, TechCrunch, Venture Capital Dispatch, paidContent and The Gong Show. See also Mediagazer

Carlo Rotella / New York Times:

Educators are cautious of reliance on tech as schools adopt tablets from News Corp's Amplify — No Child Left Untableted — Sally Hurd Smith, a veteran teacher, held up her brand-new tablet computer and shook it as she said, “I don't want this thing to take over my classroom.”

More: The Switch, dylan tweney, VentureBeat, The Verge and TechSpot. Tweets: @ldignan. See also Mediagazer

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

Twitter iOS Redesign Focuses on Streams, Media, TV and Photos — Twitter has lots of users. It wants a lot more. — That is, in part, why it is planning a massive overhaul of its mobile apps, designed to make the service more appealing to mainstream users.

More: The Verge and stratechery. Tweets: @mikeisaac and @mikeisaac. See also Mediagazer

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