Techmeme
February 26, 2014, 10:30 PM

Top News

Matt Warman / Telegraph:
Google never offered to acquire WhatsApp, says SVP Sundar Pichai  —  Google did not bid for WhatsApp  —  Claims that Facebook outbid Google in its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp are untrue, a top executive has said.  —  Google did not bid for WhatsApp, the company revealed yesterday.
Jason Green / Mercury News:
Mountain View: City Council inks deal with Google for new Wi-Fi network  —  Google is set to replace its frustrating to use Wi-Fi network in Mountain View with one that is smaller but more capable.  —  On Tuesday night, the Mountain View City Council enthusiastically approved a new five-year agreement …
Andy Greenberg / Forbes:
Senator Calls For Bitcoin Ban In Letter To Financial Regulators  —  Since Senator Charles Schumer first called on law enforcement nearly three years ago to shut down the Silk Road and cited the black market's use of Bitcoin for anonymous transactions, the cryptocurrency community has been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Emily Flitter / Reuters:
Liam Spradlin / Android Police:
This Is An Early Prototype Of The Google Watch Made By Motorola Last Year [Update: One More Image]  —  A few days ago, we published a story about Google's possibly upcoming smartwatch.  Current rumors suggest that the watch may be ready in time for Google I/O, and that it might be made by LG.
Wall Street Journal:
White House Weighs Four Options for Revamping NSA Phone Surveillance  —  Proposals Range From Running Program Through Phone Companies to Ditching It Altogether  —  WASHINGTON—Administration lawyers have presented the White House with four options for restructuring the National Security …
Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:
Apple retires Snow Leopard from support, leaves 1 in 5 Macs vulnerable to attacks  —  Twice now that Apple's bypassed Snow Leopard when it patched newer editions  —  Apple on Tuesday made it clear that it will no longer patch OS X 10.6, aka Snow Leopard, when it again declined to offer …
More: Apple and InfoWorld
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Boeing's secret ‘Black’ spy phone will detect tampering, self-destruct if cracked open  —  Nearly two years after word leaked about Boeing's plans to build a secure Android phone, the aerospace giant and defense contractor has quietly filed documents with the FCC for what it's calling the “Black” phone.
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Hands-on with Samsung's Tizen OS: An impressively capable Android clone  —  The Tizen home screen.  —  BARCELONA, SPAIN—Samsung has such a large presence at Mobile World Congress that it doesn't just have one giant booth; there are also several smaller ones scattered around the show halls.
Tatiana Siegel / Hollywood Reporter:
David Fincher in Early Talks to Direct Steve Jobs Film for Sony (Exclusive)  —  Based on Walter Isaacson's best-selling biography, the film would reteam Fincher with “Social Network” writer Aaron Sorkin and producer Scott Rudin.  —  David Fincher already has tackled one Silicon Valley billionaire in Mark Zuckerberg.
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
eBay Leads Giant $133.7 Million Investment in Indian Shopping Site Snapdeal  —  EBay is leading a $133.7 million investment in online shopping website Snapdeal that could result in a buyout of what is viewed as the eBay of India.  —  EBay contributed a large majority of the total investment …
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
A Closer Look At Blackphone, The Android Smartphone That Simplifies Privacy  —  One of the more interesting devices here at Mobile World Congress is Blackphone: a pro-privacy handset being developed by Spanish startup Geeksphone, in partnership with U.S. security company Silent Circle using a …
Thanks:@riptari
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
“Google Now Launcher” hits Play Store, brings Google homescreen to GPE & Nexus devices  —  When KitKat launched, Google made the odd decision to make one of the headline features, a brand-new launcher, exclusive to the Nexus 5.  The new launcher was actually a merging of the standard home screen with the Google Search app.
Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:
Google must remove all “Innocence of Muslims” videos from YouTube, appeals court rules  —  A California appeals court on Wednesday ordered Google to take down all copies of a controversial anti-Islamic movie, granting an injunction to an actress in the film who had filed a copyright claim after being subjected to global death threats.
Sharif Sakr / Engadget:
Wacom lets people share handwritten notes across devices and platforms  —  Wacom has been pushing into the world of mobile for a while, and its efforts have just culminated in a pretty bold move: A single, cross-platform standard for sharing handwritten notes and sketches between users …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google Becomes A “Second Screen,” Teams Up With FOX To Offer Online Voting Tools For “American Idol”  —  Blippar Introduces Image Recognition And AR Advertising On Google Glass  —  So much for Twitter as the “second screen” and all its TV partnerships - Google announced this morning …
Laura Hazard Owen / Gigaom:
As Barnes & Noble Nook revenues slide 50%, the company says it's launching another tablet  —  Barnes & Noble is cutting jobs and revenues fell again in the third-quarter earnings report released Wednesday, with the Nook segment once again taking a particularly large hit …
CoinDesk:
Exclusive: State of Bitcoin 2014 Report Analyses Emerging Trends  —  Today CoinDesk is pleased to release its first ever ‘State of Bitcoin’ report.  —  This report is not intended to be another guide to answer the question ‘what is bitcoin?’, which we cover in detail elsewhere on our site.

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