Techmeme
September 18, 2013, 3:15 PM

Top News

Google:
Google announces Calico, a new company focused on health and well-being  —  MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - September 18, 2013 - Google today announced Calico, a new company that will focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases.
TIME:
Google vs. Death  —  In person, it can be a little hard to hear Larry Page.  That's because he has vocal-cord nerve damage, one cord paralyzed about 14 years ago, the other left with limited movement after a cold last summer.  This rare condition doesn't slow him down, though it has made his voice raspy and faint.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The iPhone 5S and 5C  —  The 5C  —  Let's consider the new iPhone 5C1 first, because it's easier to understand.  —  On the inside, it's an iPhone 5, with a few relatively minor upgrades.  (To wit: the cellular antenna now supports more LTE bands and faster LTE speeds, and the front-facing FaceTime camera is better.)
Anand Lal Shimpi / AnandTech:
The iPhone 5s Review  —  For much of the iPhone's life Apple has enjoyed a first-mover advantage.  At the launch of the first iPhone, Steve Jobs expected the device and OS would give it a multi-year head start over the competition.  Indeed that's how the market played out.
Walter S. Mossberg / AllThingsD:
iPhone 5s is “the best smartphone on the market”  —  A New Touch for iPhone  —  Apple brings out a new top-of-the-line iPhone model every year, but a redesign only every other year.  In the intervening cycles, the company tends to keep the phone's exterior the same, but change the innards and the software.
David Pogue / New York Times:
In Arrival of 2 iPhones, 3 Lessons  —  We can draw three lessons from the arrival of Apple's two new iPhone models, the 5C and 5S.  —  LESSON 1 Apple may have set its own bar for innovation too high.  —  Year after year, Steve Jobs used to blow our minds with products we didn't know we wanted.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
iOS 7 now available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch  —  iOS 7, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, is now available for download.  The update can be installed on any compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch by visiting your device's settings menu, choosing “general,” …
Ben Woods / The Next Web:
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Donny Halliwell / Inside BlackBerry:
BBM Available for Android on September 21 and iPhone on September 22  —  That's right BBM fans — the iconic mobile social network will begin rolling out for Android and iPhone customers around the world from September 21.  Soon, you'll be able to easily connect with friends on different platforms.
Will Connors / Wall Street Journal:
BlackBerry to Slash Its Workforce by Up to 40%  —  TORONTO—BlackBerry Ltd. is preparing to make deep staff cuts by the end of the year via layoffs that could cost up to 40% of its employees their jobs, people familiar with the matter said.  —  The layoffs will cut across all departments …
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
BlackBerry Z30 official: 5-inch Super AMOLED display, 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2,880mAh battery and BB 10.2  —  If you were paying attention to the late summer leaks, then the BlackBerry above won't strike you as a surprise.  That's because it's the newly announced BlackBerry Z30 …
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
No Internet?  No Problem: YouTube Getting Ready to Let You Watch Videos Offline, on Your Phone.  —  YouTube streams more than six billion hours of video a month.  Soon it will let people watch some of those videos even if they're not connected to the Web.  —  Next month, Google's video site …
Joe Palazzolo / Law Blog:
Court: Facebook ‘Like’ Is Protected By the First Amendment  —  “Liking” something on Facebook is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, reviving a closely watched case over the extent to which the Constitution shields what we say on social media.
Fernando Delgado / Yahoo:
Yahoo app for iOS 7: Now with breaking news, “My Saves,” and cinemagraphs  —  by Fernando Delgado, Senior Director of Product Management, Mobile and Emerging Products  —  The Yahoo app is one of our daily experiences — we present news that's personalized just for you.
Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:
Hulu signs content deal to add 144 titles from BBC  —  Hulu Lines Up New Video Content  —  After Months in Limbo, Streaming Site to Add 144 Titles From the BBC  —  Hulu LLC is once again making significant investments in content, after months in limbo on the auction block.
More: CNET and The VergeTweets: @erickopekaSee also Mediagazer
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twilio Adds Picture Messaging To Its API Frame, Cuts Text API Pricing By 25% For U.S. Numbers  —  Photo-sharing services like Instagram have become some of the most popular of all mobile apps, and today Twilio launched a new service that could help a much larger swathe of developers tap into that trend: picture messaging.

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Cloudflare:
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Zoho:
Stop re-entering Shopify order details in Zoho CRM  —  This is a guest blog from Xapplets (Zeeyes AI Inc).Here's a scene that plays out in many growing Shopify stores every day: a customer places an order …
IDrive:
IDrive Autonomy: low-cost L2+ driver assistance with AI  —  L2+ driver assistance with a scalable AI stack built for automotive companies and laying the foundation for the autonomous future.

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Zachary Lutz / Engadget:

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