GCHQ, aided by NSA, intercepted and stored webcam images of millions of global Yahoo users  —  UK spy agency intercepted webcam images of millions of Yahoo users  —  • Optic Nerve program collected Yahoo webcam images in bulk  —  • 1.8m users targeted by GCHQ in six-month period alone

Amazon Talks to Music Labels About a Streaming Service  —  Amazon gives away movies and TV shows to people who join its Amazon Prime subscription service.  When will it start giving away music, too?  —  Maybe this year.  People have been predicting that Amazon would offer a Spotify …

EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Shrem Speaks Out About Mt. Gox, His Arrest and the Bitcoin Bromance  —  “I've known Mark Karpeles for a very long time.  Mark is a very sweet guy.  Very non-confrontational, but has he made bad business decisions?  Yes.  Has he failed to do everything he should have?  Yes.”

Google donates $6.8 million to fund free transit rides for San Francisco youth  —  Amid widespread protests over tech companies' use of public transit infrastructure, Google said today it would fund two years of free transit rides for San Francisco youth.  The $6.8 million grant …

Hands-free Google Voice Search in Chrome  —  If you've ever tried to cook and search at the same time—say, when your hands are covered in flour and you need to know how many ounces are in a cup—you know it can be tricky.  With the latest Chrome Beta, you can search by voice on Google—no typing, clicking or hand-washing required.

Here's How The Comcast & Netflix Deal Is Structured, With Data & Numbers  —  There's been a lot of speculation involving the business and technical details surrounding the recent deal between Comcast and Netflix and plenty of wrong numbers and information being used.

Andreessen Offers Defense in Wake of Icahn's eBay Criticism  —  Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen defended the corporate-governance practices of the technology industry and said he recuses himself from boardroom discussions that could involve companies his firm is backing.

It's official: Google Barge moving to Stockton  —  The guessing game about Google Barge's future destination after leaving its current construction site on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay is over.  —  CNET has confirmed that Google Barge will be heading to Stockton, Calif. (a move we first reported was imminent).

California Court: Drivers Can Read Cellphone Maps … FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Drivers in California can legally read a map on their hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.  —  The 5th District Court of Appeal reversed the case of a Fresno man …

Apple Explains Exactly How Secure iMessage Really Is  —  Millions and millions of people use iMessage every day.  But how many people know exactly what's going on behind the scenes, or what happens to a message once you send it?  —  Maybe a handful.  Up until now, the vast majority …

Google Redesigns Hangouts For iOS, Adds Video Messages And Animated Stickers  —  California Court Rules In Favor Of Using Cellphone Maps While Driving  —  Google today launched a new version of its Google+ Hangouts for iOS app.  This new version is the first to be fully optimized for iOS 7 …

Microsoft to add a standalone Windows Enterprise version to its business line-up  —  Summary: Microsoft is introducing a Windows Enterprise Edition SKU available for the first time to those without Software Assurance.  —  Microsoft is tweaking its line-up of Windows versions for business users …

Salesforce Q4 Beats Street, as CFO Smith Plans Exit  —  Cloud software company Salesforce.com just announced quarterly earnings results that were slightly better than what analysts had estimated, and the company announced that CFO Graham Smith will retire next year.

How an ad-hoc team of outside coders and troubleshooters revived HealthCare.gov  —  Obama's Trauma Team  —  How an unlikely group of high-tech wizards revived Obama's troubled HealthCare.gov website  —  more than two weeks after the launch of HealthCare.gov—White House chief …

“Free-to-play” shouldn't include in-app purchases, says European Commission  —  The European Commission has begun talks with tech companies and authorities to crack down on misleadingly advertised “free” games and apps.  —  “Consumers and in particular children need better protection …

Meet Oppia, Google's New Open Source Project That Allows Anyone To Create An Interactive Learning Experience  —  Google has become an increasingly active participant in the world of education, particularly when it comes to exploring the role technology can play in re-imagining the way we learn.

ABC will live-stream Oscars on web and mobile only to pay-TV subscribers in select markets  —  ABC Will Live-Stream Oscars to Web, Mobile Apps for First Time — But There's a Catch  —  Alphabet net to offer kudocast through Watch ABC apps and website, accessible only through certain pay-TV partners

TrustyCon: Hypponen warns of government malware, loss of vendor trust  —  SAN FRANCISCO - “We're slaving away, not seeing what is going on in the world, and what we should do is wake up.”  —  That was the closing plea that Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Helsinki …

Netflix engineers experiment with bump-based video sharing and sleep tracking  —  Netflix uses its internal Hack Day competitions to encourage new thinking around its streaming video service, and its latest event has produced a few clever experiments that we wouldn't mind seeing in finished apps.