Techmeme
May 20, 2014, 7:05 PM

Top News

Microsoft Corporation:
Surface Pro 3 starts at $799 for Core i3 SKU, i5 SKUs start shipping first to US and Canada on June 20, other configurations in August  —  Microsoft introduces Surface Pro 3: the tablet that can replace your laptop  —  Pre-order beginning 12:01 a.m. EDT May 21.  —  Surface Pro 3
Dana Wollman / Engadget:
Microsoft announces its biggest tablet yet, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3  —  When Microsoft invited us to a “small gathering” here in New York City, we thought that meant a smaller-screened Surface Mini was in order.  Instead, the company just announced a larger Surface, the 12-inch Surface Pro 3.
Bloomberg:
Microsoft backed off from debuting smaller Surface today, concerned it lacked differentiation  —  Microsoft Said to Back Off Plans to Debut Smaller Surface  —  Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), struggling to break into the tablet market, backed off plans to introduce a smaller version …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
What Microsoft didn't announce today: An ARM-based Surface Mini  —  Summary: In spite of numerous leaks indicating an ARM-based Surface was going to be launched at Microsoft's “small gathering” in New York City, no such device materialized.  What happened?  —  It's not fair to call …
Dan Rayburn / StreamingMediaBlog.com:
Apple Negotiating Paid Interconnect Deals With ISPs For Their Own CDN  —  In February I blogged about a new group formed inside of Apple last year, tasked with building out their own CDN to deliver Apple software updates, apps and other Apple related content.
Wall Street Journal:
Twitter backed out of talks to buy SoundCloud because “the numbers didn't add up”  —  Twitter Considered Buying German Music-Streaming Service  —  'Numbers Didn't Add Up' on Deal That Would Have Been Messaging Company's Largest  —  Twitter Inc. considered buying German music …
Peter Rubin / Wired:
The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and How Virtual Reality Became Reality  —  As he flew from Orange County to Seattle in September 2013, Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus, couldn't envision what the next six months would bring.  The rhapsodic crowds at the Consumer Electronics Show.
More: The VergeThanks:@srikardr
Reuters:
China bans use of Microsoft's Windows 8 on government computers  —  (Reuters) - China has banned government use of Windows 8, Microsoft Corp's latest operating system (OS), in a blow to the U.S. technology company which has long been plagued by sales woes in the country.
Nathan Donato-Weinstein / bizjournals:
Google to take over former Palm HQ in Sunnyvale  —  Google Inc. has leased the former headquarters of Palm Computing Inc. in Sunnyvale , demonstrating that the No. 1 search advertising company's appetite for real estate showing no signs of abating — and showing again how the technology industry recycles …
Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
New York Taxi commission official joining Uber as head of policy development  —  Taxi Commission Official Plans to Join Uber  —  At first, they were adversaries — the taxi agency leery of a smartphone app that could upend decades of street-hailing history and the business that responded …
Kevin Fitchard / Gigaom:
Verizon's voice-over-LTE service will include Facetime-like video calling at launch  —  AT&T may have beat Verizon off the starting line when it took its new voice-over-LTE service live this week, but Verizon said on Tuesday it plans to finish the VoLTE race strong.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Privacy-Focused Search Engine DuckDuckGo Gets A New Look, Smarter Search With “Instant Answers”  —  DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine whose popularity grew last year following the NSA and PRISM leaks, is today rolling our an updated interface for its website, which features …
Kate Tummarello / The Hill:
Privacy advocates angry as NSA reforms ‘watered down’  —  Privacy advocates that have pushed for legislation to reform U.S. government surveillance are backing away from a House bill that they say has been “watered-down” as it heads to the floor.  —  Though the original bill intended …

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Earlier Picks

Rhiannon Williams / Telegraph: