Techmeme
January 10, 2014, 8:55 AM

Top News

Siobhan Gorman / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Readies Revamp of NSA  —  WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is leaning toward extending broad privacy protections to non-U.S. citizens and is seriously considering restructuring the National Security Agency program that collects phone-call data of nearly all Americans, officials familiar with the process said on Thursday.
Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:
It's Never Too Early To Say Goodbye  —  “You can't just quietly slip out the door,” I've been told by too many people I trust.  So okay, fine, here's this post!  —  Since you asked, TechCrunch is in a really good place right now.  —  The various numbers we use to measure ourselves …
Sam Biddle / Valleywag:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Closing Windows: Microsoft and its platforms are nowhere to be found at CES  —  For over a decade, Microsoft was the dominant presence at CES.  But after pulling out the show in 2013, the company has faded almost completely from view this year: the biggest Microsoft story at CES 2014 …
More: EngadgetTweets: @bdsams
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Google updates Play services with turn-based multiplayer, Google Drive API, improved battery life, and more  —  Google today updated Google Play Services to version 4.1, adding turn-based multiplayer support, a preliminary Google Drive API, improved battery life for all users …
Cade Metz / Wired:
Overstock.com becomes the first major online retailer to accept bitcoins, will use Coinbase's payment system  —  The Grand Experiment Goes Live: Overstock.com Is Now Accepting Bitcoins  —  Overstock.com is now accepting payments in bitcoin, making it the first major online retailer to embrace …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
New Gmail Feature Allows Anyone On Google+ To Email You & Vice Versa, But Opt Out Is Provided  —  Google is today making a change to Gmail that will further bake in Google+ to its webmail product in a way that's actually somewhat practical, though also potentially invasive.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
PlayStation Now will require a DualShock controller for TVs, tablets, and phones  —  PlayStation Now could be the future of gaming, but you're going to need a proprietary controller to play.  Though Sony has announced that the streaming game service will come to tablets and smartphones …
David Moskowitz / Coin Republic:
Singapore Tax Authorities (IRAS) Recognize Bitcoin and Gives Guidance  —  Singapore, January 8, 2014: While most governments are scratching their heads about how to handle Bitcoin, Singapore has once again shown its leadership in the region by letting Bitcoin businesses and merchants know how to handle taxation on transactions.
Chance Miller / 9to5Google:
Motorola offering free Google Chromecast with purchase of off-contract Moto X  —  After the Cyber Monday madness surrounding the $349 Moto X, Motorola officially dropped the device's off-contract price to just $399 last week, looking to get the device into even more consumer's hands.
New Yorker:
How SnapchatDB Attacked Snapchat's Servers  —  Snapchat, the social network that allows people to send photo and video messages that disappear within ten seconds, had a grim end to 2013.  Late on New Year's Eve, SnapchatDB, an anonymous collective of self-described “independent security researchers …
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:

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Earlier Picks

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Businessweek: