Techmeme
July 29, 2014, 12:00 AM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook Forces Users Worldwide To Download Messenger For Mobile Chat  —  Over the next few days, Facebook will stop allowing messaging in its main iPhone and Android apps, and force all their users around the world to download its standalone Messenger app.  Facebook first started forcing users …
Mitchell Baker / The Mozilla Blog:
Interim Mozilla CEO Chris Beard appointed as permanent CEO  —  Chris Beard Named CEO of Mozilla  —  I am pleased to announce that Chris Beard has been appointed CEO of Mozilla Corp. The Mozilla board has reviewed many internal and external candidates - and no one we met was a better fit.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft pits Siri against Cortana in new Windows Phone 8.1 ad  —  Microsoft is focusing on Apple's Siri digital assistant in one of the first Windows Phone 8.1 commercials.  It's another return to the Mac vs. PC war, as Microsoft choses to mock Siri in an effort to showcase Cortana for the first time.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
AT&T, Verizon offer HBO with basic cable and internet for $40-50; still no cable-free option  —  Why HBO and Pay TV Still Aren't Getting Divorced  —  Reminder: You still can't get HBO without paying for other TV channels, too.  —  But you can still get a cheapish package that includes HBO …
Wall Street Journal:
Most Hilton locations worldwide will let customers unlock rooms with their smartphones by 2017  —  A New Room Key at the Hilton: Your Smartphone  —  Hilton is placing a $550 million bet that hotel guests increasingly will use smartphones to choose rooms, check in and even unlock doors.
South China Morning Post:
Microsoft China placed under official investigation as offices in four cities raided  —  Government investigators have been sent to the company's offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu  —  The mainland's business authorities are investigating the offices of Microsoft Corp, the US technology giant has confirmed.
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Twitter Won't Unveil New Growth Metrics for Q2 Earnings  —  Twitter reports its Q2 earnings tomorrow afternoon, which means investors will be judging whether Dick Costolo has fixed his growth problem.  —  One thing they won't see or hear about, though, will be a new set of metrics from Twitter describing the company's reach scale.
Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times:
Zillow to Buy Trulia for $3.5 Billion in All-Stock Deal  —  For much of the last nine years, Zillow and Trulia have competed in the online real estate listings market they helped create.  —  But after a speedy six-week courtship, the two are set to combine forces.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Windows comes to Raspberry Pi-style board in Microsoft/Intel project  —  Sharks Cove.  —  Microsoft  —  Even Microsoft wants a piece of the development board market made famous by Arduino and Raspberry Pi.  —  Microsoft has teamed up with Intel and hardware maker CircuitCo to design the $300 …
Liz Gannes / Re/code:
Apple to Buy Radio App Swell for $30 Million  —  Apple is close to buying the Pandora-for-talk-radio app Swell, according to multiple sources.  —  The deal is worth about $30 million, these sources say.  —  Swell had raised $7.2 million from investors including DFJ, Google Ventures and InterWest Partners.
Quentyn Kennemer / Phandroid:
LG launches new Android tablet/netbook hybrid with 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSD and an Intel Core i5  —  Add one more to the list of ridiculous Android tablets.  LG has revealed a variant of their Tab Book, a netbook/tablet hybrid that folds down into a tablet while you're on the go and slides …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bolt, Instagram's photo-messaging app expected to launch this week, may face legal challenge over name  —  Instagram's Forthcoming Photo Messaging App Bolt Could Face Legal Trouble  —  The developer behind the mobile voice app Bolt is none too pleased with Instagram's decision to launch …
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Multiple reports say Google and Motorola are planning a Nexus phablet  —  The Nexus line is definitely not dead.  Over the weekend, a report from Android Police claimed Google and the soon-to-be Lenovo-owned Motorola are working together on a 5.9-inch Nexus phone.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
NPR One Delivers A Curated Public Radio Stream For The Smartphone Era  —  Radio is an increasingly perplexing mode of content delivery as we gain access to more and better streaming services with on-demand programming.  But the serendipity of radio is still appealing, the ability to turn …

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More News

Dan Palmer / CoinDesk:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
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Earlier Picks

Steve Dent / Engadget: