Techmeme
March 18, 2014, 12:15 PM

Top News

Mike Beasley / 9to5Mac:
Apple introduces 8 GB iPhone 5c in five markets to help boost disappointing sales  —  Update: Apple has now added the 8 GB 5c to its European online stores.  In the UK, the device is priced at £429 unlocked — a difference of £40 between it and the 16 GB model.
Ina Fried / Re/code:
Apple Says Lower-Cost iPhone 5c Should Help It in Growing Mid-Tier Market  —  Apple said its move to add a lower-cost iPhone 5c in some countries is designed to help the company take advantage of a booming market for mid-range smartphones.  —  The company on Tuesday started selling …
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon to Ship Video-Streaming Device in April  —  Amazon.com Inc. will begin shipping its long-awaited video-streaming device in early April, through its website as well as retailers including Best Buy Co. and Staples Inc., said people familiar with the company's plans.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Tom Simonite / MIT Technology Review:
Facebook's AI research group reports major improvement in face recognition software DeepFace  —  Facebook Creates Software That Matches Faces Almost as Well as You Do  —  Facebook's new AI research group reports a major improvement in face-processing software.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Viacom and Google settle 7-year-old YouTube copyright lawsuit, sources say no money changed hands  —  It's Over!  Viacom and Google Settle YouTube Lawsuit  —  Viacom, which been suing Google over alleged copyright violations at its YouTube unit since 2007, has settled out of court, the two companies announced today.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft Office for iPad will be unveiled this month  —  Satya Nadella is planning to host his first press event as Microsoft CEO next week.  The software maker has been inviting members of the media to a special cloud- and mobile-focused event in San Francisco on March 27th.
Mike Beasley / 9to5Mac:
Apple re-introduces fourth-generation iPad in 16 GB model starting at $399, discontinues iPad 2  —  Today it was rumored that Apple had plans to bring the previous-generation iPad back into production to replace the aging iPad 2.  As expected, the fourth-gen iPad is now available once again …
Selena Larson / ReadWrite:
Foursquare CEO: How We'll Tell You Where To Eat And What To Order  —  Dennis Crowley's vision for Foursquare extends way beyond the check-in.  —  The cofounder and CEO of Foursquare envisions a future where our mobile devices learn our behavior and provide suggestions for events …
Tweets: @anthonymobile
Washington Post:
NSA system can record 100% of a foreign country's calls, store every conversation for 30 days  —  NSA surveillance program reaches ‘into the past’ to retrieve, replay phone calls  —  The National Security Agency has built a surveillance system capable of recording “100 percent” …
More: Gizmodo and The Verge
Seth Weintraub / 9to5Google:
Google plans to kill Google Voice in coming months, integrate features into Hangouts  —  We've heard that Google Voice is getting dragged to the trash can and most of its functionality will be incorporated into G+ Hangouts apps on both Android and iOS.  This has already happened to an extent …
More: TechCrunch and Gizmodo
Bloomberg:
Cloudera Said to Raise at Least $200 Million in Funding  —  Cloudera Inc. is raising at least $200 million in a new round of financing from investors including Intel Corp., according to people with knowledge of the situation.  —  The fundraising values the maker of open source database software …
More: Gigaom and VentureBeatTweets: @mjasay
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Dropbox Acquires Zulip, A Stealthy Workplace Chat Solution Still In Private Beta  —  Dropbox has quietly acquired Zulip, the makers of a workplace chat solution for desktop and mobile, which had yet to publicly launch.  Though still in private beta at the time of the acquisition …
Nellie Bowles / Re/code:
Apple doesn't accept Steve Jobs-themed apps  —  Quoth Steve Jobs, but Never in the App Store  —  Since he died in October of 2011, people have looked for a myriad of ways to remember Apple legend Steve Jobs.  —  That has included a recent mosaic by San Francisco-based artist Jason Mecier …
Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:
YouTube is reportedly building a version for kids under 10 years old, asks creators for child-oriented content  —  As the biggest video sharing site by a landslide, YouTube attracts people from all walks of life, for better or for worse.  Yet the Google-owned company is reportedly developing …
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Seattle limits number of ride-sharing drivers on the road to 150 per company at any given time  —  Seattle City Council approves cap on Lyft, UberX, Sidecar drivers  —  Councilmember Mike O'Brien speaks at Monday's Seattle City Council meeting.  —  After nearly one year of deliberation …
Eric Johnson / Re/code:
With Global Ambitions, Chinese Gaming Company FunPlus Raises $74 Million  —  You've heard of Zynga and FarmVille, but have you heard of FunPlus and Family Farm?  Enough people have that the Chinese social-mobile gaming startup will announce today that it has raised a huge round: $74 million …
Chance Miller / 9to5Google:
Google Play Movies expands availability to 37 new markets  —  Google today has announced a pair of expansions for its Play Movies and TV app.  First off, the app itself has been updated with support for 40 new languages.  The update has also added the ability to download movies in either HD or SD …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Move and National Association of Realtors Sue Zillow After It Poached Former President Of Realtor.com  —  Move, the company behind real estate sites like Realtor.com and moving.com, and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) today filed a lawsuit against Zillow and its recently hired chief …
More: Motley Fool and Inman NewsTweets: @danprimack
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Xbox One launching in 26 new countries in September  —  Microsoft's Xbox One console was originally supposed to launch in 21 countries in November, but the company delayed the launch for eight European markets at the time citing localization issues.  Today, Microsoft is revealing that its Xbox …

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