Techmeme: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1 with Bing to help partners sell lower-cost devices, will debut at Computex (Emil Protalinski/The Next Web)

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May 23, 2014, 7:30 PM

Top News

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Amazon escalates battle with Hachette, refuses coming book orders, lists some as unavailable — Amazon Escalates Its Battle Against Hachette — Amazon, under fire in much of the literary community for energetically discouraging customers from buying books from the publisher Hachette, has abruptly escalated the battle.

Yinka Adegoke / Billboard:

Apple-Beats deal delayed due to discussions over Beats Music valuation, Dre/Iovine roles in Apple, outrage over Dre/Tyrese video, more — Five Things Holding Up the Apple-Beats Deal … Questions? Comments? Let us know: @billboardbiz

More: Daring Fireball, Daring Fireball, Business Insider, SlashGear and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @parislemon, @fromedome, @caseynewton and @pkafka

See also Mediagazer

John Biggs / TechCrunch:

Source: 70% chance Apple's Beats deal is happening, it's a Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine acquihire — Apple's Beats Deal Is Happening, And It's A Dre Acquihire — A well-placed source has confirmed rumors that Apple's acquisition of Beats “is happening” but was close to falling apart multiple times.

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Google Close To Snapping Up Satellite Startup Skybox Imaging For $1B+, Say Sources — Google made a play for the skies in April when it swept in and acquired Titan Aerospace amid reports that the drone maker was being pursued by Facebook. But Google's interest in hardware companies …

More: CNET News, TechnoBuffalo, Softpedia News, Mashable, SlashGear, 9to5Google, Search Engine Land, VentureBeat, WebProNews, bizjournals, Business Insider, silicontap.com and Google Enterprise Blog. Tweets: @shaig

Wall Street Journal:

Samsung plans summer launch for standalone smartwatch that can work as a phone, take photos — Samsung Plans to Introduce a Stand-Alone Smartwatch — Electronics Maker's Watch Will Make Calls Without Being Tethered to a Smartphone; Expected in Summer Months

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Microsoft announces Windows 8.1 with Bing to help partners sell lower-cost devices, will debut at Computex — Microsoft today confirmed the rumors of a new edition of its latest operating system by unveiling Windows 8.1 with Bing. The company says the main purpose is to allow its hardware partners …

Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:

Google Rated Top Employer for Pay and Benefits by Glassdoor — Google and three other Silicon Valley companies recently settled a lawsuit alleging that they agreed not to recruit each other's employees. Maybe Google didn't need to worry about poaching. — The search giant ranked …

More: Glassdoor Blog, Inside Facebook, BGR, GeekWire, SiliconBeat, 9to5Google, The Verge, CNET News, NBC Bay Area and Mashable. Tweets: @scottmaustin

Vlad Savov / The Verge:

The LG G3 will be the first smartphone with laser autofocus — It will also take selfies when you clench a fist in front of it — Almost everything is known about it, and LG is openly discussing its accessories, but now we've confirmed one final exciting spec for the LG G3: its camera will feature a laser autofocus system.

More: LAPTOP Magazine, Android Central, CNET News, Engadget, Redmond Pie, The Next Web, Gigaom, Electronista and AndroidGuys

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

YouTube is building a mobile app for creators, a feature to let fans donate funds, and crowdsourced subtitles — YouTube today announced a new initiative called Creator Preview, a video series in which the Google-owned company shares what features it is working on for creators.

More: YouTube Creator Blog, CNET News, 9to5Google, 9to5Mac, Computerworld, AppleInsider, Engadget, The Verge, TechCrunch, Pocketnow, MobileBurn.com and WebProNews. See also Mediagazer

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

After Supreme Court's ruling against CAFC rules, Newegg can seek legal fees from patent troll — Newegg Given The Go Ahead To Pursue ‘Douche Bag’ Patent Troll For Fees — A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court smacked down the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for its made up rules that made it almost impossible …

More: Newegg Unscrambled. Tweets: @glynmoody

David Chartier / Agile Blog:

1Password 4 for Android arrives on June 10th, free until August 1st — 1Password 4 for Android is coming — We've been busy. Not just busy—busy. A while ago we decided that we could rebuild 1Password Reader for Android. We have the technology. We have the capability to build …

More: BGR, Android Community, 9to5Google, Android Central, Droid Life and The Droid Guy

Sophia Pearson / Bloomberg:

Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe agree to settle anti-poaching lawsuit for $324.5M — Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe Settle for $324.5 Million — Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc. (GOOG), Intel Corp. (INTC) and Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) agreed to pay $324.5 million to settle an employee antitrust lawsuit …

More: Reuters, Gigaom and AppleInsider

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