Techmeme: Airbnb expands its Verified ID process with support for Google and Weibo accounts (Emil Protalinski/The Next Web)

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August 15, 2014, 12:55 PM

Top News

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Microsoft to deliver Windows ‘Threshold’ tech preview around late September — Summary: Microsoft is aiming to make available a technology preview of Windows Threshold around late September or early October. — Microsoft is aiming to deliver a “technology preview” of its Windows “Threshold” …

More: LAPTOP Mag, BGR, Business Insider, Gizmodo, The Verge, Ars Technica, Mashable, SlashGear, WinBeta, Windows Phone Central and Neowin. Tweets: @maryjofoley

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Samsung acquires smart-home controller startup SmartThings for $200M — Internet of Bling: Samsung Buys SmartThings for $200 Million — Samsung has bought SmartThings, the startup that makes smart-home controllers. While the companies did not disclose the price, sources …

IDC:

Smartphone shipments surpass 300M in Q2, Android and iOS dominate with 96% global marketshare — Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Edge Past 300 Million Units in the Second Quarter; Android and iOS Devices Account for 96% of the Global Market, According to IDC

Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:

Lawsuit claims Steve Jobs, senior Apple directors hurt company with anti-poaching row — Piling onto Apple's anti-poaching courtroom saga, a new lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of shareholders for financial losses related to alleged misconduct by senior directors, including late cofounder Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook.

More: Gigaom, BGR, Patently Apple, The Drum, Electronista, ValueWalk, V3.co.uk, ITProPortal, 9to5Mac, The Register, Inquirer and The Mac Observer

Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Biggest cable TV providers sold more broadband than video subscriptions last quarter — The Cable Guys Have Become the Internet Guys — The cable TV business hit an important milestone last month: It turned into the Internet business. — Last quarter, for the first time ever …

More: The Verge and Gigaom. Tweets: @b_fung

Susan Decker / Bloomberg:

Vringo Loses Appeals Court Ruling in Google Patent Case — Google Inc. (GOOG) won its bid to overturn a $30.5 million patent-infringement verdict, a reversal that sent shares of Vringo Inc. (VRNG) down 11 percent before trading was halted. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit …

Emil Protalinski / The Next Web:

Airbnb expands its Verified ID process with support for Google and Weibo accounts — Airbnb today expanded its Verified ID process for improving accountability between renters and property owners on its service. The company now accepts Google and Weibo accounts, which have over 540 million and 500 million active users, respectively.

More: VentureBeat and The Airbnb Blog

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Delivery Hero Joins The $1B Valuation Club As It Gobbles Rival Pizza.de — On the heels of Rocket Internet's food delivery service FoodPanda taking another $60 million in funding, its German rival Delivery Hero is also stepping up its game in a consolidation play.

More: VentureVillage, TheDomains.com, PE Hub Blog and Delivery Hero. Tweets: @coophq

John Kell / Fortune:

Supervalu warns that payment card data from 200+ of its grocery stores may have been stolen — Supervalu warns card data may have been stolen — Supervalu on Friday warned its computer network was hacked and the intrusion could potentially have led to the theft of payment card data used at more than 200 grocery stores.

More: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Rick Kupchella's, myfoxtwincities.com, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Business Wire, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and Wall Street Journal

Susan Decker / Bloomberg:

InterDigital Loses ITC Patent Case Against Microsoft, ZTE — InterDigital Inc. (IDCC) lost its patent case against Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and ZTE Corp. at the U.S. International Trade Commission, dealing the phone-chip researcher another blow in its efforts to create a new royalty stream.

More: MarketWatch, CNET and Benzinga. Tweets: @fosspatents

Christopher White / Neowin:

Microsoft builds a Snapchat competitor called WindUp — It's no secret that Snapchat, the app that lets you send time-limited messages, has run into a few issues this year: From exposing nearly five million accounts, to the FTC ruling that the company was deceiving users, the app may still be popular but many people no longer trust it.

More: Windows Phone Central, The Next Web, Digital Trends, Pocketnow, Gizmodo, ITProPortal, SlashGear, WinBeta and WebProNews. Tweets: @joshconstine

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

Researchers use a smartphone's gyroscope as a crude microphone to eavesdrop on conversations — The Gyroscopes in Your Phone Could Let Apps Eavesdrop on Conversations — In the age of surveillance paranoia, most smartphone users know better than to give a random app or website permission to use their device's microphone.

More: Yahoo Tech, SlashGear, Engadget and Gizmodo. Tweets: @dannolan

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