Techmeme
October 3, 2013, 4:55 PM

Top News

Alexia Tsotsis / TechCrunch:
Apple Buys Cue For Over $40M To Compete With Google Now  —  Personal assistant app Cue has been acquired, we've confirmed with a person who should know.  The app has sold for between $40 million to $60 million, we're hearing from two sources, including TechCrunch tips, who posit that Apple …
Kim-Mai Cutler / TechCrunch:
Cue, The Startup Formerly Known As Greplin, Shuts Down Its App  —  Cue, the personal assistant app that grew out of a promising search product, has shut down.  —  The company left a brief note on their main page today, shown below. … The company was backed with at least $4.7 million …
John Paczkowski / AllThingsD:
Schools Complain iOS 7 Upgrade Stripped Filters From Students' iPads  —  Apple's iOS 7 was supposed to make it easier for schools to manage the iPads that are becoming increasingly common in the classroom.  But for some, the latest version of the mobile operating system is proving to be a bit of a headache.
Matt Brian / Engadget:
Google will launch a native Google Music iOS app later this month  —  If you've been against trying Google's Play Music All Access streaming service for lack of an official iOS app, it may soon be time to change your tune.  Sources aware of Google's plans have let slip to Engadget …
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon Readies Set-Top Box for Holidays  —  Streaming Video Device Would Rival Roku, Apple TV  —  Amazon.com Inc. is taking steps toward releasing a video-streaming device in time for the holiday selling season, according to people briefed on the company's plans.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Chrome For iOS Bug Shows Private Browsing Search History In Google Mobile Search Bar  —  Update: Google has gotten back to us to let us know that this is an unfortunate but unavoidable loophole that comes with building a browser on iOS.  It's noted in the company's support docs around Incognito mode.
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Snapchat introduces “Stories”, a rolling compilation of snaps from the last 24 hours  —  Snapchat's next big thing: ‘Stories’ that don't just disappear  —  The app that introduced ephemeral messages sets its sights on Facebook  —  Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel's hands are shaking as he points to his iPhone.
Roger Cheng / CNET:
LG preps curved display smartphone, the G Flex  —  Samsung isn't the only company planning a smartphone with a curved display.  LG will likely unveil the device in November, CNET has learned, although plans are not yet final.  —  Get ready for the LG G Flex.
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Samsung execs shown confidential Apple-Nokia patent license terms, allegedly misused information  —  It came to light on Wednesday that at least fifty Samsung employees retained access to highly confidential Apple-Nokia licensing terms originating from the Apple v. Samsung court trial …
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Jukeboxing: Rdio brings free radio to mobile apps to stay in the ring against Spotify  —  Rdio is releasing a free version of its service today on iOS and Android, bringing personalized radio to non-paying users of its mobile apps for the first time.  Free of advertising for now …
Alex Colon / GigaOM:
Purported Android 4.4 KitKat screenshots reveal new apps and photo editing features  —  Last month Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat, but it didn't give us a good idea of what to expect.  Now Gadget Helpline claims it has its hands on a build of the new software and posted a number of screenshots and hands on impressions to prove it.
Gerry Shih / Reuters:
Fab.com cuts one-fifth of workforce  —  E-commerce startup Fab.com Inc will lay off nearly a fifth of its workforce beginning Thursday as it tries to attain profitability by automating more of its business.  —  The company, valued at $1 billion by private investors, said it will cut 101 jobs worldwide …
David Kravets / Wired:
How a Purse Snatching Led to the Legal Justification for NSA Domestic Spying  —  Photo: Courtesy of Philip Weiss Auctions  —  It began as an ordinary purse snatching.  On an early Baltimore morning in 1976, a local street thug crouched alongside his green Monte Carlo, pretending to change a flat, biding his time.
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Aiming to Get Into Smaller Devices, Intel Announces Big Push Into Arduino  —  Intel's latest effort to expand beyond its PC roots involves reaching out to hobbyists.  —  At Maker Fair in Rome, the chipmaker is announcing plans to partner with open-source hardware specialist Arduino.
Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:
Patent troll Lodsys chickens out, folds case rather than face Kaspersky Lab  —  In 2011, Lodsys seemed like it was working hard to earn the title of the nation's most-hated patent troll by sending threat letters to small developers.  At the end of the day, it turns out that Lodsys is one tremulous troll.
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Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch: