Techmeme
October 20, 2013, 9:40 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
OS X Mavericks may arrive this week, plus rounding up expectations for Tuesday's Apple event  —  Tune in Oct. 22 for new iPads, Mac Pro details, MacBook Pros, and Mavericks  —  Apple's next event is upon us, and it's likely to be action-packed.  As Apple says: it has “a lot to cover.”
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple silently updates OS X Mavericks Golden Master to new version  —  This weekend, Apple seems to have updated the OS X Mavericks Golden Master (GM) version to a new build.  The new build is 13A603 while the original GM seed was 13A598.  It's not common for Apple to change the GM build for a Mac OS, but it is not without precedent.
Spiegel Online:
NSA Hacked Email Account of Mexican President  —  The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years.  It hacked into the president's public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system.  The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Selling gold: Apple debuts its first iPhone 5S TV spot  —  Just a few days after Apple rolled out its first print ads for the iPhone 5S on the back of several magazines, the company has debuted the first TV commercial for its flagship device during a football broadcast on FOX.
Leslie Picker / Bloomberg:
Twitter's Lack of Patents Seen as a Risk to Investors  —  Profits aren't the only thing lacking at Twitter Inc. ahead of its planned initial public offering.  It's got a dearth of patents, too.  —  The microblogging service said in its prospectus this week that it has nine issued U.S. patents.
Tweets: @biz, @zolbayarsays and @qthrul
Michael J. de la Merced / DealBook:
AT&T will lease 9,100 cell towers to operator Crown Castle for $4.85 Billion  —  AT&T in $4.85 Billion Tower Deal With Crown Castle  —  AT&T agreed on Sunday to lease or sell 9,700 cellphone towers to Crown Castle International, a big wireless tower operator, for $4.85 billion in cash.
More: CNET and GigaOM
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Anonymity of Bitcoin transactions a boon to ransomware crooks  —  You're infected—if you want to see your data again, pay us $300 in Bitcoins  —  Malware that takes computers hostage until users pay a ransom is getting meaner, and thanks to the growing prevalence of Bitcoin …
steve cheney:
Why Android First is a Myth  —  In mobile, particularly in consumer markets, there has been an ongoing debate about when or if Android will become the first platform that sophisticated startups develop for.  Often times, this argument is wrongly centered around vanity metrics for Android …
Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:
Twitter Likely to Kill Its Music App  —  Just six months after launching it, Twitter is strongly considering killing off its Twitter #Music mobile application, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.  —  It is unclear what Twitter's time frame is for ultimately ending support …
Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:
Government promises “tech surge” to address problems with HealthCare.gov  —  ‘Tech Surge’ Planned to Fix Obamacare Exchanges  —  The Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it was bringing in outside help to resolve some of the technical woes that have beset …

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