Techmeme: Google announces Android 4.4 KitKat rollout for Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 (Wi-Fi) has begun (Jake Smith/Pocket-lint)

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November 12, 2013, 11:45 PM

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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.

More: GeekWire, Business Insider, Digits, The Switch, The Register, CNET, Global Nerdy, Slashdot, NBCNews, BGR, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Gigaom and Valleywag. Tweets: @pkedrosky

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore takes over Internet Explorer app development — Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch revealed earlier this week that he is switching roles to a new team inside the software giant. Hachamovitch has essentially been the Internet Explorer man at Microsoft for a number of years now …

More: TechCrunch, LiveSide.net, WinBeta and WMPoweruser. Tweets: @tim_stevens

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.

Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:

The Future of Twitter Events Is Here — Twitter's biggest draw to date has been the power of the event. — From Hurricane Sandy to the Academy Awards, “events” are those moments of large-scale, even worldwide interest, ripe with the potential to show Twitter newcomers just how valuable and interesting the service can be.

More: Twitter Developers, NYT Bits, Gigaom, Digital Trends, VentureBeat, iMore, Engadget, Computerworld and Mashable

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Retina iPad Mini Has 1.3 GHz A7 Processor With 5X The Performance of the Original Mini — Apple's new Retina iPad mini includes the same 64-bit A7 chip used in the iPad Air and the iPhone 5s, which offers significantly better performance than the A5 chip found in the original iPad mini.

More: TechCrunch, Ubergizmo, BGR, iPhone in Canada Blog, Cult of Mac, PadGadget, InvestorPlace and TechnoBuffalo. Tweets: @jfpoole

Sam Byford / The Verge:

iPad mini with Retina display on sale now starting at $399

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Initial Retina iPad mini Apple Store rollout to be exclusive to Personal Pickup, Apple issues press release

More: AppleInsider, Washington Post, Cult of Mac, iDownloadBlog.com, App Advice, Touch Arcade, Gotta Be Mobile, ZDNet, ABC News, Reuters, MacDailyNews, MacStories, Business Insider, everythingiCafe and iDownloadBlog.com. Tweets: @marcoarment

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Apple II DOS source code released by Computer History Museum — With permission from Apple, The Computer History Museum and the Digibarn Computer Museum announced today it is publishing the original DOS source code for Apple's 1978 Apple II. The Apple II was the first fully assembled computer …

More: @CHM Blog, The Verge, MarketWatch, AppleInsider, MacRumors, The Register and Electronista

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.

More: CyanogenMod, ZDNet, Ars Technica, Engadget, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, GeekWire, Forbes, SlashGear, Fone Arena, SlashGear, CNET, IntoMobile, The Next Web, Pocket-lint and Geek.com

Barry Schwartz / Marketing Land:

Want Google Glass? Sign Up At Google's Glass Web Site To Be Added To The List — Are you itching to get Google Glass? Google has quietly launched a new form at google.com/glass/start/how-to-get- one to allow US resident to be notified when Google Glass invites open up.

More: CNET, The Verge, TechnoBuffalo, Phandroid, IntoMobile, Android Central, SlashGear, pocketnow.com, Gotta Be Mobile and 9to5Google

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.

More: Valleywag. Tweets: @caseynewton, @dannysullivan, @cjc, @evelynrusli, @jenna, @mattrosoff, @evelynrusli, @joshhelfferich and @joshconstine. Thanks:@mikeisaac

Jake Smith / Pocket-lint:

Google announces Android 4.4 KitKat rollout for Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 (Wi-Fi) has begun — Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat has begun to rollout to Wi-Fi versions of the Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013) and Nexus 10, following the October unveil of the new OS. Users can open software update and check for the new software via their tablet.

More: Engadget, 9to5Google, The Next Web, MobileSyrup.com and Gotta Be Mobile. Tweets: @android

Deborah Gage / Venture Capital Dispatch:

Maxta introduces software-based storage system, announces $10M Andreessen Horowitz investment — Andreessen Horowitz Backs Maxta, Whose Software is Eating the Storage Box — Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen told The Wall Street Journal more than two years ago that software …

More: The Register, IT-TNA, InfoStor, virtualization.info, willemterharmsel.nl and Maxta Inc.. Tweets: @djventurewire

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 …

More: iDownloadBlog.com, 9to5Mac, Electronista and iPhone in Canada Blog

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 …

More: CNET, Cult of Mac, 5by5 Master Audio Feed, Forbes, iPhone in Canada Blog, TUAW, iMore, Electronista, App Advice, 9to5Mac, Computerworld, MacRumors and iDownloadBlog.com. Tweets: @cue

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 …

More: The Airbnb Blog, TechCrunch, The Verge, VentureBeat, PC Magazine, TechCrunch, Gigaom, AllThingsD and App Advice

Tweets: @jguynn and @paulg

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

Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch:

Microsoft Updates Surface Firmware, Patches IE Zero-Day Exploit Among 19 Total Flaws — We don't cover Patch Tuesday much here at TechCrunch because the majority of you know how to leave Windows Update on and suck down the new software each month direct from the source.

More: The Verge, TechNet Blogs, SuperSite for Windows, ZDNet, Windows Phone Central, Gotta Be Mobile, ZDNet, Ubergizmo and PC World

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 …

Tweets: @adrianchen, @cryptomeorg and @kpoulsen

Ted Johnson / Variety:

Rockefeller to Introduce Bill to Give Online Video Parity With Cable and Satellite Providers — Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is introducing legislation to bolster the online video market, what he says is an effort to prevent cable …

More: DSLreports, FierceCable, Quartz, Bloomberg, The Verge, Adweek, CNET, Washington Post, Multichannel.com and Los Angeles Times

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.

More: AllThingsD, VentureBeat and Gigaom

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 …

More: The Verge, BGR, CrackBerry.com, Softpedia News, Gotta Be Mobile and pocketnow.com

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.

More: IDC, CNET, The Verge, Android Community, Engadget, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Slashdot, Ubergizmo, The Register, WinBeta, CITEworld, App Advice, iPhone in Canada Blog, WMPoweruser, 9to5Mac and The Next Web

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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