Techmeme
August 11, 2014, 6:10 AM

Top News

Mike Isaac / New York Times:
BuzzFeed raises $50M from Andreessen Horowitz, valuing company at $850M; Chris Dixon to join board; most revenues come from creating ads for other brands  —  A Move to Go Beyond Lists for Content at BuzzFeed  —  Here are three completely crazy insights about BuzzFeed, the viral content start-up:
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
Inside Apple University, the company's highly secretive internal training program  —  Inside Apple's Internal Training Program  —  Inside Apple's Internal Training Program  —  CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple may well be the only tech company on the planet that would dare compare itself to Picasso.
Susanne Ault / Variety:
Survey: YouTube Stars More Popular Than Mainstream Celebs Among U.S. Teens  —  U.S. teenagers are more enamored with YouTube stars than they are the biggest celebrities in film, TV and music.  —  That's the surprising result of a survey Variety commissioned in July that found the five …
Benedict Evans:
A mid-range iPhone wouldn't notably grow Apple's profits, but it could hurt US Android sales  —  Note on cheap iPhones  —  Ever since the iPhone launched, people have been pointing out that it is very expensive, relative to the rest of the market, and wondering when, and how, and if Apple might go cheaper.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft reignites Mac vs. PC conflict for new Surface Pro 3 ads  —  Microsoft is bringing the Mac vs. PC battle back with full force today.  While the company targeted the MacBook Air at the launch of the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft's latest ads place both devices head-to-head.
Jon Russell / The Next Web:
Microsoft isn't out of the entry-level market yet, after announcing a $25 Nokia feature phone  —  Fresh from a change of direction which will mean an end to Nokia X, Asha and S60 devices, Microsoft has pulled a bit of a surprise with the announcement of a €19 ($25) device aimed squarely at first-time phone buyers across the world.
Matthew Lynley / BuzzFeed:
How Twitch co-founder and CEO Emmett Shear built a video game streaming site worth $1B  —  How A Site That Streams People Playing Video Games Became A Billion Dollar Business  —  Twitch CEO Emmett Shear wasn't born a leader, he became one almost by accident.  And he now runs one of the most valuable video properties on the web.
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
How Microsoft dragged its development practices into the 21st century  —For the longest time, Microsoft had something of a poor reputation as a software developer.  The issue wasn't so much the quality of the company's software but the way it was developed and delivered.
Adrienne Lafrance / The Atlantic Online:
Chinese manufacturers use eBay search data to quickly export products that match US desires  —  Why Ebay Tells Manufacturers in China What You're Searching For  —  A look into the nostalgia machine powered by big data  —  In a recent conversation with some colleagues about cool—okay …
Tweets: @vikramkansara
Eric Auchard / Reuters:
Online meal delivery firm foodpanda gets $60 million in financing  —  (Reuters) - Foodpanda, an online take-away food delivery company active in dozens of emerging markets, said it had raised $60 million in new financing from a group of investors including existing backer Rocket Internet AG.
Chris Tribbey / Home Media Magazine:
Amazon halts disc preorders of some Disney titles in an apparent contract dispute  —  Disney Disc Preorders Disappear From Amazon  —  The preorder option for almost every title from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been removed on Amazon, in an apparent repeat of what Warner Home Video went through earlier this summer.
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
Apple iPhone Privacy Changes Lead to Layoffs at Retail Tracking Startup Nomi  —  Apple giveth, and Apple taketh away.  —  When iOS8, Apple's new mobile operating software, rolls out in the fall, a subtle change in how Wi-Fi networks identify nearby iPhones is set to upend how some retail stores are tracking repeat visits by shoppers.

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Earlier Picks

Forbes: