Techmeme
July 17, 2014, 10:35 PM

Top News

Satya Nadella / Microsoft Corporation:
Satya Nadella's email to Microsoft employees on integration of Nokia Devices and Services  —  Starting to Evolve Our Organization and Culture  —  Last week in my email to you I synthesized our strategic direction as a productivity and platform company.  Having a clear focus is the start of the journey, not the end.
Dawn Chmielewski / Re/code:
Microsoft to Shutter Xbox Entertainment Studios  —  Microsoft will shut down the Xbox Entertainment Studios, ending an ambitious foray into original video programming.  —  The Santa Monica studio will be shuttered as Microsoft focuses on strengthening its core videogame business.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft is killing off Nokia's feature phones in favor of Windows Phone  —  Nokia might have been famous for its feature phones, but Microsoft is planning to wind that business down over the course of the next 18 months.  In an internal memo sent to Microsoft employees, Jo Harlow …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft cuts to affect nearly all groups; OS Group restructuring to become more startup-like  —  Beyond 12,500 former Nokia employees, who else is Microsoft laying off?  —  Summary: The former Nokia employees who joined Microsoft in April are bearing the brunt of Microsoft's just-announced layoffs.
Google:
Google Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2014 Results and Management Change  —  Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.  —  “Google had a great quarter with revenue up 22% year on year, at $16.0 billion”, said Patrick Pichette, CFO of Google.
Apple:
Longtime Apple board member Bill Campbell retires after 17 years; BlackRock director Sue Wagner to replace him  —  Sue Wagner Joins Apple's Board of Directors  —  Apple® today announced that Susan L. Wagner, founding partner and director of BlackRock, has been elected to Apple's board of directors.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook starts testing Buy button on News Feed ads and Page posts, will not charge participating US businesses for now  —  Facebook Tests Buy Button To Let You Purchase Stuff Without Leaving Facebook  —  Facebook is trying out letting you pay for ecommerce purchases from other businesses without leaving its site or app.
Kevin Fitchard / Gigaom:
No signal?  GoTenna has a messaging gadget that will work in the middle of nowhere  —  For all of our dependency on mobile phones, there are still quite a few places in this world you can't get a wireless signal, from mountaintops to national parks to rural highways and even the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Facebook launches Mentions iPhone app, intended for use by public figures with verified Pages  —  You Can't Use Facebook's New iPhone App — Unless You're Famous  —  Stars aren't just like us.  They need a special app to post on Facebook.  —  That's the thinking behind Mentions …
Jemima Kiss / Guardian:
Snowden: Dropbox is hostile to privacy, unlike ‘zero knowledge’ Spideroak  —  Whistleblower urges consumers to adopt more secure file storage systems which are less susceptible to government surveillance  —  Edward Snowden has warned against the cloud storage service Dropbox which he says is …
Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:
They Might Be Tearing Down The Creamery To Build Condos  —  If you're involved in the startup world in San Francisco you've likely been to the Creamery on Townsend and 4th streets.  It's iconic, even if only recently so.  —  In 2012 I wrote about the Creamery in a post talking about the shift …
Tweets: @caseynewton
CNBC:
US Copyright Office says Aereo not a cable company under terms of Copyright Act  —  US copyright officials have told Aereo that they do not consider it a “cable company” under the terms of copyright law, according to a letter obtained by CNBC.  Aereo, which lost a key Supreme Court ruling …
HP:
HP announces board changes: CEO Meg Whitman is Chairman, Pat Russo now lead independent director  —  HP Announces Changes to Its Board of Directors  —  Meg Whitman appointed chairman of the board; Pat Russo appointed lead independent director; Klaus Kleinfeld, chief executive officer and chairman of Alcoa, joins board
Stephen Hall / 9to5Google:
Google planning to support Android Wear custom watch faces with new API  —  When Android Wear first launched, it was unclear whether Google was going to be offering official support for third-party watch faces.  This uncertainty definitely didn't stop developers from just going ahead and making some …
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Oculus preparing motion controllers to complement its forthcoming goggles  —  Oculus to get hands on with new virtual reality gear  —  Facebook's virtual reality company is readying motion control prototypes for its headsets to offer a more immersive experience for consumers.  —  Sarah Tew

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