Techmeme
November 12, 2013, 11:45 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft axes its controversial employee-ranking system  —  Microsoft is killing off its controversial stack-ranking system today.  While it could be viewed as an internal change that won't affect consumers directly, it will have a broad effect on current and future Microsoft employees that may just shape the future of the company.
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Twitter Announces Custom Timelines For Hashtags Or Topics On Tweetdeck, Launching API Too  —  Twitter will let you create custom timelines based on topics, hashtags and more from Tweetdeck, it announced today.  Twitter is also providing an API to allow developers to build this functionality into their products.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Tim-o-tato / Droid Life:
CyanogenMod Installer Hits Google Play, Flashing the Custom ROM Now Easier Than Ever  —  At the time CyanogenMod announced that it had officially become Cyanogen Inc., and received $7 million in funding, the team made public the idea to bring a CyanogenMod Installer right to Google Play.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Justin Bieber-Backed “Shots Of Me” Launches Selfie Sharing App  —  Sunsets?  Landscapes?  Latte art?  Look back at your old photos and you'll notice they're boring unless there's a human face in them.  Now think about teens on social media.  Immaturity fuels bullying and drama-filled comment reels.
Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg:
Apple Heads to Trial With Inventor Over Smartphone Patent  —  Apple Inc. (AAPL), the world's most valuable technology company, faces a trial over claims by a California inventor that a patent he holds covers key features of the iPhone.  —  Apple maintains the NetAirus Technologies LLC patent …
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Steve Jobs Inducted Into Bay Area Business Hall of Fame, Eddy Cue Gives Heartfelt Acceptance Speech  —  Steve Jobs was posthumously inducted into the Bay Area Business Hall of Fame last Thursday, and Apple SVP Eddy Cue tweeted a link to the video, and was at the ceremony to accept the award …
Ken Yeung / The Next Web:
Now in 34k cities, Airbnb unveils redesigned iOS and Android apps that show how to be a better host  —  Airbnb today announced a series of new features for hosts in its iOS and Android mobile apps.  As the company strives to become a better hospitality company, it is enabling hosts …
Wall Street Journal:
Hulu Wants to Be Offered With Pay-TV Bundles  —  Online Video Outlet Could Be Centralized Location for Full Seasons of Shows … Online video outlet Hulu LLC is in early discussions with several pay-TV providers about potential partnerships, said people familiar with the situation …
More: The Verge and Gigaom.  Tweets: @pkafka
Adrian Chen / Gawker:
After 30 Years of Silence, the Original NSA Whistleblower Looks Back  —  The four-story brownstone at 141 East 37th Street in Manhattan has no remarkable features: a plain building on a quiet tree-lined street in the shadow of the Empire State Building.  In the summer of 1920, Herbert O. Yardley …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
SmartThings Raises $12.5 Million From Greylock And Highland To Power The Internet Of Things  —  Internet-of-Things startup SmartThings has spent the last year or so building a platform that people can use to connect to an increasingly wide range of devices in their homes.
Joseph Volpe / Engadget:
BlackBerry Z30 hits Verizon on November 14th for $200 on-contract  —  We knew the BlackBerry Z30 was headed to Verizon as a US-exclusive, but now we actually have a date for it: November 14th.  Starting this Thursday, BlackBerry's 5-inch flagship will be made available to Big Red subscribers …
Chloe Albanesius / PC Magazine:
Android Nabs Milestone 81 Percent of Smartphone Market  —  Google's Android platform had a milestone third quarter, topping 80 percent of global smartphone shipments for the first time, according to IDC.  —  The analyst firm also said Microsoft's Windows Phone had an “amazing” quarter with 156 percent year-over-year growth.
James Kanter / NYT Bits:
In Europe, Thousands of Requests for Facebook Data  —  BRUSSELS — Online surveillance by the United States was the main subject of a hearing on Monday evening organized by the European Parliament's civil liberties committee.  But one of the more noteworthy parts of the session was a presentation …

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