Techmeme
January 17, 2014, 9:40 AM

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.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google's New Smart Contact Lens Is Old News For Microsoft  —  Google today announced its smart contact lens project, but it's not the first by a long shot (or even a moon shot).  Other companies have long been working on smart lenses — including Microsoft Research, which unveiled a similar project …
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 …
Reuters:
Obama to move NSA phone metadata storage to third parties, require court order to access it  —  Exclusive: Obama to announce overhaul to controversial NSA program  —  (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will announce on Friday a major overhaul of a controversial National Security Agency program …
James Ball / Guardian:
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Breach at Neiman Marcus Went Undetected From July to December  —  The computer network at Neiman Marcus was penetrated by hackers as far back as July, and the breach was not fully contained until Sunday, according to people briefed on the investigation.  —  The company disclosed the data theft …
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Apple details secure ‘touchless’ e-wallet strategy in patent filing  —  Apple has been coy in revealing its plans for a touchless payment solution, but a patent filing discovered on Thursday gives clues as to where the company is headed.  —  Tech companies like Google are looking …
Nick Summers / Businessweek:
ATMs, 95% of which run Windows XP, must upgrade by April 8 to avoid losing support  —  ATMs Face Deadline to Upgrade From Windows XP  —  One-dollar bills.  Envelope-free deposits.  Stamp dispensers.  These are a few of the features that Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC) …
Bloomberg:
HTC Said to Plan New One Phone With Larger Screen, Better Camera  —  HTC Corp. (2498) plans a March release for the latest version of its HTC One smartphone featuring a larger screen and twin-sensor rear camera, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.
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 …
Computerworld:
IBM pumps $1.2 billion into global cloud data centers  —  Dispelling any lingering doubt that IBM sees cloud computing as the way of the future, the company announced that it will invest US$1.2 billion this year in expanding its global cloud infrastructure.  —  Dispelling any lingering doubt …
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
Twitter Gets Serious About Commerce, Nears Deal With Payments Startup Stripe  —  Twitter is close to letting its users purchase products directly through the social network and is nearing a deal with payments startup Stripe to help it accept credit card payments from its users, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Reuters:
Casually-dressed security guards seen monitoring Google commuter buses in San Francisco  —  Latest perk on Google buses: security guards  —  (Reuters) - First, San Francisco-based commuters to Google Inc got buses with plush seats and free WiFi.  Now, they are getting security.
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.
Rebecca Grant / VentureBeat:
VCs invested $11B into software companies in 2013, the most since 2000, up 27% from 2012  —  Software investment hit record levels in 2013 (report)  —  Software is eating the world, just like cookie monster is eating cookies.  —  Investments into software companies hit $11 billion in 2013, the highest level since 2000.

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Jeffrey Grubb / VentureBeat:
Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch: