Techmeme: Facebook releases “Conceal,” a lightweight tool to make Android apps safer (Dan Goodin/Ars Technica)

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February 4, 2014, 8:00 PM

Top News

Microsoft Corporation:

Microsoft Board Names Satya Nadella as CEO — Bill Gates steps up to new role as Technology Advisor; John Thompson assumes role as Chairman of Board of Directors. — Microsoft Corp. today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Satya Nadella as Chief Executive Officer and member …

More: Re/code, The Verge, New York Times, Gigaom, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Tech Trader Daily, Reuters, LAPTOP Magazine, Tim Anderson's ITWriting, Fortune, ZDNet, Slate, VentureBeat, SiliconANGLE, CNBC, Re/code, CITEworld, GeekWire, Computerworld, Quartz, The Official Microsoft Blog, iDownloadBlog.com, Forbes, TechnoBuffalo, Gotta Be Mobile, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Gigaom Research, Gamasutra, The Official Microsoft Blog, Gizmodo, Geeky Gadgets, Cult of Mac, CITEworld, VG247, virtualization.info, SecurityWeek, Mashable, Guardian, WinBeta, Geek Beat Technology News, BGR, Digits, WebProNews, CNET, Engadget, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, iPhone in Canada Blog, BetaNews, PhoneArena, iMore, VatorNews, eWeek, Inquirer and PhoneArena

Tweets: @microsoft, @stevesi, @paulgallen, @bill_gross, @pmarca, @sacca, @stevesi, @mseurope, @jason_pontin, @billgates, @maryjofoley, @microsoft, @thurrott, @bradsmi, @ingridlunden and @dannysullivan

Microsoft Corporation:

Satya Nadella email to employees on first day as CEO — Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world.

More: New Yorker, BuzzFeed, NYT Bits, TechCrunch, PC World, Communities Dominate Brands, InfoWorld, Anshu Blog, Ars Technica, Re/code, Xconomy, Quartz, Computerworld, Forbes, Salon, Gigaom, PC Magazine, It's a Gadget, TechWeekEurope UK, LiveSide.net, VentureBeat, ExtremeTech, Engadget, SiliconBeat, Financial Post, CNET and The Switch

Tweets: @karaswisher and @toddbishop

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Microsoft's Bill Gates “Steps Up” To New Role As Technology Advisor: Was He Pushed Or Did He Jump? — Along with the news today that Satya Nadella will be the next CEO of Microsoft, another big change in the executive ranks: Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, is leaving his role as chairman …

More: CNN, eWeek, The Switch, Digits, Tech Trader Daily, IntoMobile and GeekWire. Tweets: @karaswisher

Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:

With Nadella's Appointment, The “Search CEOs” Now Run Google, Yahoo & Microsoft — Satya Nadella being named CEO of Microsoft isn't just big news for Microsoft. It's big news for search. For the first time in ages, the three major search companies in the US are all run by CEOs who either came …

More: Search Engine Watch. Tweets: @bill_gross and @pmarca

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Longtime Developer Scott Guthrie to Lead Microsoft's Server Group, for Now

More: Dice News

Microsoft Corporation:

Steve Ballmer email to employees on new CEO

More: The Verge, PC Magazine, PhoneNews.com, Geek.com, Digital Trends, Business ETC, Pocketnow, Mobile Marketing Watch, Forbes, SlashGear, TechSpot and Los Angeles Times

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Ready for Their Close-Ups: Nadella, Gates, Ballmer and Thompson Do YouTube on CEO Pick (Video)

More: Computerworld, Guardian, Forbes and Valleywag

Bloomberg:

Thompson Replacing Gates as Microsoft Chairman in Revamp

More: Bloomberg and ZDNet

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:

Today is Facebook's 10th anniversary. — It's been an amazing journey so far, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. It's rare to be able to touch so many people's lives, and I try to remind myself to make the most of every day and have the biggest impact I can.

More: eWeek, Guardian, SlashGear, Forbes, TIME, TechnoBuffalo, LinkedIn Pulse, ZDNet, TechSpot, CNN, VentureBeat, Gigaom, AllFacebook, Los Angeles Times, Techvibes, PetaPixel, Mashable and Marketing Land. Tweets: @marshallk

Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:

Facebook celebrates 10-year anniversary with personalized ‘Look Back’ videos just for you — As Mark Zuckerberg reflects upon Facebook's first ten years as a company today, he's encouraging the community he built to do the same. Starting this morning, hundreds of millions of Facebook users …

More: Los Angeles Times, Computerworld, Engadget, ABC News, NYT Bits, iDownloadBlog.com, Digits, SiliconBeat, ZDNet, CNBC, Motherboard, The Next Web and Slate. Tweets: @ranjanxroy

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

YouTube co-founder: Mixbit isn't shutting down — YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley denied reports Tuesday that his video remix platform Mixbit is shutting down. Hurley took to Twitter to contradict a VentureBeat article that claimed MixBit was about to fold:

More: The Next Web. Tweets: @chad_hurley

Tom Cheredar / VentureBeat:

YouTube founders' startup Avos is laying off 80% of staff & killing video app Mixbit

More: Valleywag. Thanks:@tched

Austin Carr / Fast Company:

Microsoft Injects $15M Into Foursquare, Strikes Licensing Deal For Location Data — The big news from Microsoft this week isn't only about its new CEO Satya Nadella. — Today, the company announced that it has made a $15 million strategic investment in Foursquare, the New York-based startup focused …

More: Digits, The Foursquare Blog, Bloomberg, NYT Bits, Re/code and ReadWrite

Tweets: @danprimack, @sarahfrier and @alex

Thanks:@austincarr

Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:

FiftyThree Files Trademark For “Paper” — Yesterday, as Facebook launched its news reader app Paper, design-focused startup FiftyThree called out Facebook publicly for using their brand name. Facebook declined to change the name of their brand new reader app. — But FiftyThree has taken action to protect its brand name.

More: Daring Fireball, Notes from Figure 53, Examiner, VatorNews, MacRumors, SlashGear, GeekWire, iPhone in Canada Blog, TechnoBuffalo, iDownloadBlog.com, The Next Web and Pocketnow

Tweets: @viticci and @fiftythree

Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:

Apple hires sleep research expert Roy J.E.M Raymann from Philips for iWatch team — Joining a longlist of Apple executives and new hires thought to be working on Apple's highly anticipated iWatch project, the company has recently picked up Roy J.E.M Raymann from Philips Research …

More: MacRumors, The Mac Observer, SlashGear, iPhone in Canada Blog and iDownloadBlog.com. Thanks:@llsethj

Martyn Williams / Computerworld:

North Korea goes OSX-like with new operating system — The latest version of the software dumps a Windows-like interface for a Mac-style desktop — If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, might the folks in Cupertino be pleased when they see the latest version of North Korea's home-grown operating system?

More: Computerworld, AppleInsider, MacRumors and Gizmodo

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Facebook releases “Conceal,” a lightweight tool to make Android apps safer — Writing secure crypto apps is hard. Facebook hopes to make it easier. — Producing secure cryptographic code has never been easy, especially for developers cranking out smartphone apps on tight deadlines.

More: Facebook Code, The Register and Wired

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

Apple and Microsoft join US carriers in $750 million commitment to education — iPads, MacBooks, Windows 2-in-1s, teacher training, and wireless broadband have all been promised as part of a wide-ranging commitment from US companies to support Barack Obama's ConnectED plan.

TechCrunch:

Source: Flipagram Raising $50-$60M At A $300M Valuation From Sequoia — Buzzy mobile video app Flipagram is raising $50 to $60 million in funding at a $300 million valuation. We're hearing from a source that Sequoia is in the round. — The WSJ reported recently that Flipagram …

Washington Post:

Senate cybersecurity report finds agencies often fail to take basic preventive measures — The message broadcast in several states last winter was equal parts alarming and absurd: “Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the living. .

More: Techdirt, ZDNet, Gizmodo and Federal Computer Week

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix to Raise $400 Mil in Additional Debt to Fund Original Content, Euro Expansion — Netflix formally announced it is seeking to offer $400 million aggregate principal amount of 10-year senior notes due 2024 to institutional investors, coin it expects to use for acquiring original content and expanding into Europe.

More: TechCrunch, Gigaom, The Verge, VatorNews, VentureBeat and PR Newswire. See also Mediagazer

Shane Cole / AppleInsider:

Flash flaw could allow attackers to remotely control Macs and PCs, Adobe issues critical update — Adobe on Tuesday released a security update for their Flash Player to address a vulnerability that could allow an attacker to remotely take control of users' computers, an exploit that the company says has been documented in the wild.

More: helpx.adobe.com, Securelist / Blog, ZDNet, Krebs on Security, 9to5Mac, Adobe Product Security …, Computerworld, MacRumors, http://www.tottenhamnews.org, iPhone in Canada Blog, Naked Security, The Next Web, Graham Cluley, Ars Technica, Electronista, SecurityWeek, iPhone Hacks and Threatpost. Tweets: @ru_itsecurity

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

DFJ Raises $325M For Eleventh Early Stage-Fund, Tim Draper And John Fisher Will Not be Investing Partners In Fund — DFJ is announcing the raise of DFJ Venture XI, a $325 million early-stage venture fund. For background, DFJ Fund X was $350 million, closed in 2010.

More: Inside DFJ, PandoDaily, Re/code and PE Hub Blog

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