Techmeme
October 12, 2013, 5:40 AM

Top News

Google:
Terms of Service update  —  We are updating the Google Terms of Service.  The new Terms will go live on November 11, 2013 and you can read them here.  —  Because many of you are allergic to legalese, here's a plain English summary for your convenience.  —  We've made three changes:
New York Times:
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
C.I.A. Warning on Snowden in '09 Said to Slip Through the Cracks  —  WASHINGTON — Just as Edward J. Snowden was preparing to leave Geneva and a job as a C.I.A. technician in 2009, his supervisor wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man's behavior …
Mercury News:
Apple's new headquarters: Exclusive images of Cupertino plan  —  The Mercury News was given an exclusive look at a model of Apple Computer's circular new corporate headquarters, proposed to be built on a 175-acre plot of land bounded by North Wolfe Road and East Homestead Road.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Yahoo Acquires Bread, Will Shut Down The URL Shortener That Earned You Money  —  Yahoo has just acquired Bread, a 2.5 year old startup that had raised $3.5 million [Update: and we hear was low on cash and shopping itself around to several companies].  Bread let people make money or generate donations by designing interstitial ads.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
iPhone 5S users report ‘Blue Screen Of Death’ reboots  —  Apple's latest iPhone 5S has an unexpected feature: the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD).  While it's typically an error found on older Windows PCs, a number of iPhone 5S users are reporting random reboots on their handsets following a BSOD.
Ina Fried / AllThingsD:
Milton Mueller / IGP Blog:
Major Internet organizations announce break with US, as ICANN president aligns with Brazil  —  The core Internet institutions abandon the US Government  —  In Montevideo, Uruguay this week, the Directors of all the major Internet organizations - ICANN, the Internet Engineering Task Force …
Brad Molen / Engadget:
AT&T to streamline traditional voice plans in favor of Mobile Share on October 25th  —  AT&T is planning to axe its traditional monthly calling and data plans for new customers — both individual and family — in favor of the network's latest shared data options, Engadget has learned …
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft CEO Search Reveals Board Rifts  —  Directors Have Approached at Least Two Microsoft Executives and Eight Outsiders, Including Ford's Mulally.  Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT +1.10% search for a new chief executive is exposing divisions of opinion among directors over the 38-year-old company's …
More: SlashGear
Reuters:
Sony to focus on Europe and Japan smartphone markets, leaves US and China for the future  —  Without grand plans for China, U.S., Sony set to lag in smartphones  —  (Reuters) - Kazuo Hirai's plan to restore Sony Corp to lasting profitability rests in large part on its smartphones leapfrogging rivals …
Jemima Kiss / Guardian:
Kevin Systrom, Instagram's man of vision, now eyes up world domination  —  The man who sold his photo-sharing app to Facebook for $1bn at the age of 28 talks about his continuing ambition for Instagram  —  Kevin Systrom might be the luckiest man in technology.
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Exclusive: Kleiner Perkins makes major changes  —  Memo reveals slimmed-down investment committee.  —  FORTUNE — Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is making some major changes to its early-stage investment practice, Fortune has learned.  —  The venerable VC firm this week sent a memo …

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Earlier Picks

Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
Brian Crecente / Polygon: