Techmeme
December 5, 2013, 9:05 PM

Top News

David Pierce / The Verge:
Fixing the Nexus 5: with a new version of Android, Google tackles the camera  —  Android 4.4.1 is coming to help you take better pictures  —  Only a few years ago, Dave Burke remembers, cellphone users were just happy to have a camera at all.  But expectations have changed.
Adrianne Jeffries / The Verge:
Bank of America says Bitcoin could become a ‘major means of payment’  —  Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued the bank's first research report today on Bitcoin, the virtual currency that approximates cash on the internet, concluding that the currency has the potential to become a …
Kara Swisher / AllThingsD:
Ryan Seacrest invests $1 million in Typo iPhone keyboard case, will debut CES 2014  —  Ryan Seacrest Wanted a Keyboard for His iPhone, So He Invested $1 Million in One  —  Well-known entertainment personality and producer Ryan Seacrest said he had invested in a startup, which he also co-founded …
Reed Albergotti / Digits:
Big Data, Big Bucks: Palantir Valued at $9 Billion  —  Palantir Technologies, the “big data” miner that the counts the CIA and the FBI among its clients, is poised to announce a new round of funding that will value the company at roughly $9 billion, according a person familiar with the matter.
Shara Tibken / CNET:
Instagram invites press to ‘share a moment’ at NYC event  —  CNET today received a mysterious invite — sent via FedEx, not e-mail — from Instagram for an event it's hosting next week.  —  The package, wrapped with brown paper and a white ribbon, contained a wooden block …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Twitter Names Marjorie Scardino, Ex-CEO Of Pearson, As The First Female Member Of Its Board  —  Twitter has announced the appointment of its first female board member, Marjorie Scardino, the former CEO of media company Pearson.  The appointment is effective immediately.
Hannah Karp / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify to Introduce Free Mobile Music Service  —  Free Version of Streaming Service Was Previously Only Available on Desktop and Laptops  —  Spotify AB is planning a free, ad-supported version of its streaming-music service on mobile devices, according to people familiar with the matter …
Bing Blog:
Bing Maps Preview Arrives on Windows 8.1  —  A first step in introducing a new way to explore the world, the Bing Maps Preview app hits the Windows Store today.  Built from the ground up for clarity, detail and scale, the app provides a seamless and dynamic way to experience mapping.
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Google now lets you download a copy of your Gmail and Google Calendar data  —  Google today rolled out a long-requested feature: being able to download a copy of your Gmail and Google Calendar data.  The new feature means you can now back up your emails and calendars, or just export …
Jason Del Rey / AllThingsD:
Online Retail Giant's Grocery Delivery Service AmazonFresh May Launch in San Francisco Next Week  —  Another online grocery delivery service seems set to launch in San Francisco, and it's a big one: AmazonFresh.  —  All signs are pointing to Amazon publicly launching the same- and next …
Cotton Delo / AdAge:
Facebook Admits Organic Reach Is Falling Short, Urges Marketers to Buy Ads  —  Brands Urged to Think of Fan Acquisition As Way to Enhance Performance  —  Facebook is being more blunt about the fact that marketers are going to have to pay for reach.  —  If they haven't already …
Julie Bort / Business Insider:
Snapchat Is Raising $54.5 Million On A Valuation Of Up To $2 Billion, This Regulatory Filing Says  —  The sleuths at VC Experts, a site that tracks the financial information of private companies, have done it again.  They uncovered a new regulatory filing that shows Snapchat is about to raise …
Sruthi Ramakrishnan / Reuters:
Twitter to be available on mobile phones without Internet  —  (Reuters) - Twitter Inc is tying up with a Singapore-based startup to make its 140-character messaging service available to users in emerging markets who have entry-level mobile phones which cannot access the Internet.
More: CNET and The Next WebTweets: @kenyanpundit
Reuters:
JPMorgan warns 465,000 card users on data loss after cyber attack  —  (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co is warning some 465,000 holders of prepaid cash cards issued by the bank that their personal information may have been accessed by hackers who attacked its network in July.
Joshua Goodman / Associated Press:
Venezuela Cyber Crackdown Ensnares Web's Bitly  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans have been scrambling for dollars for weeks, taking refuge in the greenback as their own currency is in free fall.  Rather than address the economic imbalances behind the bolivar's plunge …
More: TIME and bitly blog
Kevin Fitchard / Gigaom:
Verizon quietly unleashes its LTE monster, tripling 4G capacity in major cities  —  We've already logged a few sightings of Verizon's powerful new LTE network in New York and other cities, but in the last few months Verizon has been rapidly working behind the scenes on upgrading its LTE infrastructure across the country.

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Earlier Picks

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Joe Mullin / Ars Technica:
Brad Smith / The Official Microsoft Blog: