Techmeme
January 16, 2014, 11:45 PM

Top News

The Official Google Blog:
Introducing our smart contact lens project  —  You've probably heard that diabetes is a huge and growing problem—affecting one in every 19 people on the planet.  But you may not be familiar with the daily struggle that many people with diabetes face as they try to keep their blood sugar levels under control.
Re/code:
Google's Latest Moon Shot Is a Smart Contact Lens for Diabetes Patients  —  Google has shrunk down a chip and sensor system so small it can be embedded in a contact lens.  —  Instead of a circuit board, the tiny pieces are connected to a circular gold foil antenna mounted on a flexible plastic …
Re/code:
Inside Google X's Smart Contact Lens  —  Google's smart contact prototypes squeeze a glucose sensor, antenna, capacitor and chip between two contact lens layers, making a kind of electronics sandwich.  A tiny hole on the eye side allows tear film, which contains glucose, to reach the sensor.
More: Re/codeTweets: @lizgannes, @kashhill and @karaswisher
James Ball / Guardian:
NSA collects almost 200 million text messages a day in global “untargeted” sweep  —  NSA collects millions of text messages daily in ‘untargeted’ global sweep  —  The National Security Agency has collected almost 200 million text messages a day from across the globe …
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Exclusive: Yahoo's Editor-in-Chief Jai Singh Departs Company  —  According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo's Editor-in-Chief Jai Singh has quit the company, a major departure which comes in the wake of changes made to its media unit after the firing of COO Henrique De Castro yesterday.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Farhad Manjoo heads to NYT after 4 months at WSJ to replace David Pogue  —  The New York Times Gets its David Pogue Replacement from the Wall Street Journal  —  The New York Times has found a replacement for David Pogue, its high-profile reviewer: Sources say the Times is filling his old slot …
Alex Chitu / Google Operating System:
Google Now integrated in Chrome Canary builds, with weather, scores, traffic, and reminder cards  —  Google Now in Chrome for Desktop  —  Google Now cards are available in the latest Chrome Canary build for Windows and Mac (34.0.1788).  You only need to go to chrome://flags/#enable-google- now …
Ina Fried / Re/code:
T-Mobile expands ETF payment program to include US Cellular, other regional carriers  —  T-Mobile Broadening Its Program to Pay Switchers  —  T-Mobile plans to expand a recently introduced program that pays new customers up to $350 for breaking their contract with a rival carrier.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple to begin in-store iPhone 5c screen repairs next week  —  We've gotten word from multiple sources that Apple will begin repairing/replacing broken iPhone 5c displays in its retail stores next week.  The current plan is to begin offering replacements on Monday, January 20th.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Nokia's Android phone includes Windows Phone-like UI  —  Images of Nokia's Android phone, codenamed Normandy, were originally published in November, but a number of recent leaks have provided a closer look at the hardware and its software.  Vizileaks has published what appears …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Launches Trending Topics On Web With Descriptions Of Why Each Is Popular  —  Following tests of Twitter-style Trending Topics on the web and mobile in August, Facebook today officially launches a redesigned “Trending” section on its web homepage's sidebar in the US, UK, Canada, India and Australia.
Larry Downing / Reuters:
U.S. government warns merchants on methods used by Target hackers  —  Merchandise baskets are lined up outside a Target department store in Palm Coast, Florida, December 9, 2013.  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. government sent a confidential, 16-page technical bulletin to retailers and other merchants …
More: The Verge
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Facebook plans suite of standalone mobile apps for 2014  —  Messenger is just the tip of the iceberg  —  Facebook's new Messenger app is lightning fast and utilitarian — a vision of the “mobile first” mentality Facebook promised one year ago.  In an earnings call two weeks after Messenger launched …

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Earlier Picks

Brad Molen / Engadget:
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: