Techmeme: VLC gets iOS 7 redesign, Google Drive integration, Dropbox streaming, the ability to download files, and more (Emil Protalinski/The Next Web)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise Site News Contact Editors

January 20, 2014, 7:40 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:

HP brings back Windows 7 ‘by popular demand’ — HP really wants people to buy a Windows 7 PC instead of a Windows 8 machine. The PC maker has been emailing customers over the weekend noting that “Windows 7 is back.” A new promotion, designed to entice people to select Windows 7 over Windows 8 …

More: The Register, Ars Technica, Computerworld, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Geek Beat Technology News, Inquirer, ZDNet, The Mac Observer, Softpedia News, Gizmodo, SlashGear, VentureBeat, Digital Trends, GeekWire, TechnoBuffalo, BGR, Gigaom and Global Nerdy. Tweets: @mitsuhiko

Nick Summers / The Next Web:

Nest CEO Tony Fadell vows to make any privacy policy changes transparent and opt-in — Following last week's Google acquisition, Nest chief executive Tony Fadell has vowed to make any alterations to its privacy policy opt-in, and to be transparent about such changes to all of its users.

More: Re/code, Ars Technica, BGR, TechnoBuffalo, 9to5Google, Valleywag, Gotta Be Mobile, TechCrunch, SiliconANGLE, GeekWire, VatorNews, Engadget, The Verge, App Advice, WebProNews, Electronista and Softpedia News

Tweets: @boris and @caseynewton

Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:

Apple insists on anti-cloning provision as part of any patent settlement with Samsung — When the CEOs of Apple and Samsung, accompanied by several in-house lawyers, meet for their (court-requested) settlement negotiations on or before February 19, there will probably be flexibility …

More: CNET, AppleInsider, Ubergizmo, iPhone in Canada Blog, PhoneArena and Electronista

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

Stealth marketing: Microsoft paying YouTubers for Xbox One mentions — Machinima campaign offered undisclosed money to videos promoting new console The line between traditional, paid advertising and organic editorial content on the Internet can sometimes be hazy.

More: Pastebin, iGame Responsibly, The Verge, Forbes, BGR, PC World, VG247, destructoid, Joystiq, Kotaku, The Escapist, Polygon, CinemaBlend.com and WinBeta. Tweets: @sirtaptap

Todd Spangler / Variety:

As Netflix Rises, HBO and Showtime Subscribers Shrink as Percentage of U.S. Households — NPD finds that U.S. households subscribing to premium cable channels dropped 6 percentage points over 18-month period, while Netflix and other SVOD services grew 4 points — Is Netflix putting a dent in premium cable subscriptions?

More: Gigaom, Betabeat, Engadget, The Verge, Electronista and WebProNews

Dan Levine / Reuters:

Intellectual Ventures' first ever trial is set to begin against Google's Motorola this week — Google set to face Intellectual Ventures in landmark patent trial — (Reuters) - Intellectual Ventures is set to square off this week against Google Inc's Motorola Mobility unit in the first trial …

More: Gigaom, Softpedia News, SiliconBeat and GeekWire. Tweets: @fosspatents

Kim Zetter / Wired:

Target Got Hacked Hard in 2005. Here's Why They Let It Happen Again — A gang of shadowy hackers tears through the systems of big-box retailers, making off with millions of credit and debit card numbers in a matter of weeks and generating headlines around the country. — Target and Neiman Marcus in 2013?

Tweets: @pmarca and @pmarca

David Meyer / Gigaom:

Fon pulls in $14M as it partners with Qualcomm and Facebook — The crowdsourced Wi-Fi network Fon is about to find its way into a whole lot more routers, as Qualcomm and others have plowed $14 million into the Spanish company. Qualcomm in particular will bake Fon functionality into its Atheros wireless chipsets.

More: Martin Varsavsky, TechCrunch, Re/code, VentureBeat, ZDNet and dailywireless.org

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

VLC gets iOS 7 redesign, Google Drive integration, Dropbox streaming, the ability to download files, and more — VideoLAN today updated VLC for iOS with a slew of new features, including a new design for iOS 7 as well as Google Drive and Dropbox features. You can download the new version now from Apple's App Store.

More: Engadget, feepk@videolan, AppleInsider, Gigaom, Lifehacker, GSMArena Blog, PC & Tech Authority, Cult of Mac, Ubergizmo, 9to5Mac, App Advice, Gotta Be Mobile, iDownloadBlog.com, iMore, MobileSyrup.com, iClarified and PadGadget

Michael Mace / Mobile Opportunity:

After Nest acquisition, Google looks more like a conglomerate than a unified product company — Google the Conglomerate: After Nest, No Industry is Safe — I've spent many hours trying to puzzle out Google's product plans. What's the logic behind Google Drive, how does Motorola fit in a software company, and on and on (link).

More: Monday Note. Tweets: @cdixon and @cdixon

Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:

Jimmy Wales joins UK-based charitable MVNO The People's Operator as chairman, plans international expansion — Jimmy Wales' Plan to Save The World With Mobile Phones — Jimmy Wales, the founder and public face of Wikipedia would like to give $1 billion to charity, but he doesn't have $1 billion to give.

More: CNET, The Next Web, VatorNews, Wired.co.uk, Inquirer, The Verge, Guardian, Telegraph and Gigaom

Dan Seifert / The Verge:

Ex-Vertu designer launches iBeacon competitor for Android — Datzing wants to turn your phone into a mobile billboard — Location-aware advertising was thrown into the spotlight last year when Apple launched its iBeacon service in 254 stores. iBeacon uses Bluetooth transmitters to push alerts …

More: Gigaom, AndroidHeadlines.com, All Points Blog and dailywireless.org

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:

Fast, affordable law for startups — Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!

Equals:

Stop vibe coding analytics — Equals AI turns questions about your business into auditable spreadsheet models and dashboards. Build once, iterate for years.

Zoho:

Deep dive into SalesIQ's Summer '26 release: 40+ features for the agentic era — We've already introduced you to Zoho SalesIQ's Summer '26 release, our annual release, and the one where SalesIQ enters a new territory: the era of agentic intelligence.

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

The Upstarts Podcast:

Blitzy's Brian Elliott: Cursor And Claude Code Are Looking At Your Enterprise Code 'Through A Straw'

Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.

Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:

Re-Release: The Death of Hollywood? W/ Allan Loeb

Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.

Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.

Great Chat:

Maybe Twitter isn't real life

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Big Technology Podcast:

OpenAI's Plan To Merge Chat And Agents — With Greg Brockman

The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.

Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

Encore: Inside Joe Weisenthal's brain

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:

Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin

Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.

Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:40 PM ET, January 20, 2014.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.