Techmeme: Following developer requests, Google delays blocking extensions not in the Chrome Web Store until May 1 (Emil Protalinski/The Next Web)

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February 27, 2014, 12:40 AM

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Harry McCracken / TIME:

Project Ara: Inside Google's Bold Gambit to Make Smartphones Modular — The two-year quest to create the ultimate customizable phone, inside and out. — On January 29, Google announced that it had agreed to sell Motorola, its phone-manufacturing business, to Chinese electronics giant Lenovo.

More: CNET, The Register, Android Central, Electronista, ZDNet, Yahoo Tech, The Next Web and MobileSyrup.com

Tweets: @tim and @jordannovet

Thanks:@mariedomingo

Bertel King, Jr / Android Police:

Google Announces Project Ara Developers' Conference, Taking Place Online Via Live Webstream April 15-16th

More: Google ATAP, The Verge, The Next Web, 9to5Google and TechCrunch. Tweets: @projectara

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.

More: TechSpot, Los Angeles Times, 9to5Google, iPhone in Canada Blog, WebProNews, PandoDaily, Lastest ITProPortal news, AndroidHeadlines.com, SlashGear, The Next Web, Engadget, SiliconBeat and Valleywag

Tweets: @sarahintampa, @amir and @mikeisaac

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

How Google is turning Mountain View into a company town — Welcome to Googletown — Here's how a city becomes company property — Some days it feels like Google is taking over the world. For the residents of Mountain View, California, that feeling is personal.

More: bizjournals. Tweets: @om, @caseynewton, @mattlynley and @starfire2258. Thanks:@srikardr

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 …

More: bizjournals, dailywireless.org and 9to5Google

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

Ben Popper / The Verge:

Uber kept new drivers off the road to encourage surge pricing and increase fares — Limiting supply at riders' expense — Andrew Lane is a regular Uber customer with some fond memories of the service. Last year on President's Day he was the lucky rider selected for an “Ubercade” upgrade.

More: PandoDaily, Valleywag, Business Insider, Gigaom and socalTECH.com. Tweets: @zpower

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.

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

Hands-on with Samsung's Tizen OS: An impressively capable Android clone — 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.

Tweets: @danieleran

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Apple Details Touch ID And The A7′s Secure Enclave In Updated iOS Security Document — Apple has shared some information around how Touch ID and its Secure Enclave keeps information private in an updated security document newly posted to its iPhone in Business microsite.

More: iMore, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, MacRumors, TechnoBuffalo and iPhone in Canada Blog

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:

Apple Launches Big Improvements For iOS Management Tools For Enterprise And Education — Apple has been busy in the IT department. Today, it released a slew of improvements and alterations to its large-scale deployment tools for education and enterprise customers.

More: AppleInsider, MacRumors, iPhone Hacks, iDownloadBlog.com … and 9to5Mac

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.

More: Business Insider, Joe Manchin, The Verge, CNET, Techdirt, CoinDesk, MarketWatch, newsBTC, The Switch, Mashable and Digital Trends. Tweets: @kashhill

Emily Flitter / Reuters:

U.S. attorney subpoenaed Mt Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source

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 …

More: DSLreports, Techdirt, Gotta Be Mobile, Gizmodo, Engadget, TheHill, Guardian, TechSpot, Electronista, TheHill, CNET, The Verge, SlashGear and Softpedia News

Devlin Barrett / Wall Street Journal:

Obama Officials Seek to Hold NSA Phone Records Longer

More: NationalJournal.com and The Verge. Tweets: @devlinbarrett

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.

More: Myce.com, The Verge, Ars Technica, CNET, Quartz, The Register, Gizmodo, AndroidSPIN, TechCrunch, Softpedia News and SlashGear. Thanks:@johnhcook

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Integration complete: New Skype users can now sign up with a Microsoft account — In addition to including Microsoft account support in its Windows Phone app, Skype today also started letting new users signing up on Skype.com to register with a Microsoft account (in addition to a Facebook account).

More: Skype BlogsSkype Blogs, SlashGear and Engadget

Derrick Harris / Gigaom:

IBM is challenging developers to insert Watson into mobile apps — At the Mobile World Congress event today, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty laid down the gauntlet for mobile developers. Over the next three months, IBM will host its Watson Mobile Developer Challenge to find the best ideas for mobile apps …

More: IBM, eWeek, InfoWorld, Smarter Computing Blog, PC Magazine, Wireless Week, InfoWorld, AdAge, ZDNet, thedrum.com, Re/code, CNET, CRN and Tech Trader Daily. Tweets: @manojsaxena

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.

More: Variety, VentureBeat, The Verge, Business Insider, AppleInsider, iDownloadBlog.com …, MacRumors, App Advice, WebProNews, bizjournals, MacNN and Mashable

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 …

More: SiliconBeat, VentureBeat, eBay Inc, VatorNews, Wall Street Journal, MediaNama and TechCrunch. Thanks:@delrey

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

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Following developer requests, Google delays blocking extensions not in the Chrome Web Store until May 1 — Google today announced it won't be blocking local Chrome for Windows extensions until May 1. The timing change is being made after some developers requested more time to get their extensions in the Chrome Web Store.

More: Chromium Blog, Techdows and ZDNet

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 …

More: CNET, TechCrunch, PR Newswire and ITworld.com

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.

Tweets: @coindesk

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