Techmeme
May 21, 2014, 10:20 AM

Top News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
eBay Advises Users To Change Passwords Following Cyberattack, “Large Number” Of Users Affected  —  Following an odd blog post which appeared overnight and then was quickly taken down which alerted eBay users to reset their passwords, eBay has now published its official statement informing …
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 …
Lauren Johnson / Adweek:
Google Beats Apple in List of World's Most Valuable Brands  —  Google, Apple, IBM and Microsoft are the companies that rank the highest in terms of brand value, according to a new study commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown.  McDonald's is the only non-tech brand within the top five …
Megan Geuss / Ars Technica:
California approves rules for testing self-driving cars in California  —  On Tuesday, the California DMV officially approved rules to allow the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads.  The rules will take effect September 16, 2014.  —  The move had been a long time coming …
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
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 …
Panos Panay / Surface Blog:
Microsoft Corporation:
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Local Services Marketplace Thumbtack Raises $30 Million  —  Thumbtack, a marketplace that connects local professionals with clients, has raised a $30 million Series C round from Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management, TechCrunch has learned.  —  The startup has an original approach when it comes to local services.
Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
Netflix launching in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg this year  —  Netflix to launch in six European countries this year  —  (Reuters) - Netflix Inc will launch its online movie and TV subscription service later this year in France, Germany and four other European countries …
Aloysius Low / CNET News:
Samsung announces Project Glued, a video-streaming service for Asia  —  The video-on-demand service will be available in the third quarter, with Singapore and the Philippines as launch markets.  —  Customers in Asia may soon be able to watch full seasons of popular US and UK shows in HD on their tablets and phones.
Clive Thompson / Wired:
How D-Wave began selling its quantum computer amid skepticism it was really a classical one  —  The Age of Quantum Computing Has (Almost) Arrived  —  Google owns a  —  lot of computers—perhaps a million servers stitched together into the fastest, most powerful artificial intelligence on the planet.
Tweets: @arala
Seth Rosenblatt / CNET News:
New lawsuit accuses Google of AdSense fraud  —  The lawsuit seeks class action status and could expose more of the internal workings of how Google manages AdSense if allowed to proceed.  —  Google  —  A lawsuit filed Tuesday against Google accuses the tech titan of engaging in widespread fraud …
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Govt officials say NSA routinely spies on other countries to advance US economic interests  —  Fine Line Seen in U.S. Spying on Companies  —  WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has never said what it was seeking when it invaded the computers of Petrobras, Brazil's huge national oil company …
More: Lawfare
Chris Welch / The Verge:
HTC reportedly working on larger, more powerful One M8 ‘Prime’  —  If leaks are correct, HTC is preparing to launch a bigger, faster version of its flagship One M8.  Details about the so-called One M8 Prime have been surfacing in recent weeks, with @evleaks leading the charge.

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Zoho RPA named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research  —  Zoho RPA has been named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix, published by Nucleus Research …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
The hidden pattern behind successful products | Mark Pincus (founder of Zynga)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
SpaceX's IPO Triumph, Anthropic's Fable Fumble, OpenAI's Price War
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Access:
A top iPhone app developer reacts to Apple's new Siri
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Upstarts Podcast:
TBC's Alex Ksendzovsky: The Neurosurgeon Using Brain Cells To Build Better AI
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:20 AM ET, May 21, 2014.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Dan Rayburn / StreamingMediaBlog.com: