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August 18, 2014, 6:50 PM

Top News

Amir Efrati / The Information:

Google is working to overhaul Web services so it can legally offer them to kids; new features include dashboard for parents, child-safe YouTube, more — Google Seeks New Customers: Kids — Google has been working to overhaul its Web services so it can legally allow children to use them …

More: CNET, Gizmodo, Gigaom, Pocket-lint, Engadget, The Hill, Electronista, AndroidHeadlines.com, The Verge, EdSurge, 9to5Google and Android Authority. Tweets: @theinformation

Kevin C. Tofel / Gigaom:

Hello, HP Stream 14: A $199 Windows laptop aimed squarely at the Chromebook market — Microsoft isn't taking the low-cost Chromebook threat lightly. Instead it's working with partners to create $199 to $249 Windows laptops and it has enlisted HP's help with the HP Stream 14.

More: Liliputing, 9to5Google, Digital Trends, Engadget, The Verge, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, LAPTOP Mag, SuperSite for Windows, Neowin, DailyTech, SlashGear, Geeky Gadgets, Windows Phone Central, Gotta Be Mobile, The Tech Report and Softpedia News

Tweets: @gigaom and @joannastern

Aliya Sternstein / Nextgov:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it was targeted and hacked by suspected foreign powers — Exclusive: Nuke Regulator Hacked by Suspected Foreign Powers — Nuclear Regulatory Commission computers within the past three years were successfully hacked by foreigners twice …

More: The Verge, Engadget and Daily Dot. Tweets: @markrussinovich

Ben Popper / The Verge:

Nextdoor now adopted by one in four neighborhoods in the US — The anti-Facebook: one in four American neighborhoods are now using this private social network — Neighborhood gossip and community policing thrive on Nextdoor — It was early in the morning when the flooding hit The Knolls …

Tweets: @joshelman, @brandee, @greylockvc, @jessgitner, @amcafee and @nextdoor

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

The team behind webOS TV jumps to Pebble to design the next generation of smartwatches — Pebble is dead-serious about competing in the face of Android Wear and whatever Apple is presumably working on. To that end, the company has just announced that it has hired Itai Vonshak as head …

More: Gigaom, TechnoBuffalo, Engadget, bizjournals and Connectedly

Eli Hodapp / Touch Arcade:

Exclusive Hands On With ‘Flappy Bird’ Creator Dong Nguyen's Next Game: ‘Swing Copters’ — Looking back on the Flappy Bird phenomenon, and the onslaught of games developer Dong Nguyen inspired with his brutally difficult single-tap gameplay, it's clear what made it so hard to put down.

Todd Wasserman / Mashable:

Tumblr Partner Will Now Scan Photos for Clues About Brand Affiliation — Every day, users post about 130 million photos on Tumblr. Starting this week, the Yahoo-owned media brand will start to parse all those images for clues to users' brand affiliations.

More: VentureBeat, Engadget, The Verge, The Drum, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Adrants, SlashGear and Pocket-lint

David Gelles / New York Times:

Tech M&A deals increasingly conducted by corporate development teams with less input from investment banks — In Silicon Valley, Mergers Must Meet the Toothbrush Test — MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — When deciding whether Google should spend millions or even billions of dollars in acquiring a new company …

More: Quartz and Business Insider. Tweets: @erigonatti, @owlese, @reformedbroker, @sobendito, @epicureandeal, @jeffrey_cane and @nytimesbusiness

Mayumi Negishi / Wall Street Journal:

SoftBank picks Sharp as partner for low-cost smartphones, will launch Aquos Crystal on Sprint — SoftBank Picks Sharp as Partner for Low-Cost Smartphones — SoftBank Hopes Aquos Crystal Will Help Differentiate It and Sprint From Rivals — TOKYO— SoftBank Corp. and its U.S. unit …

More: PhoneArena, The Verge, Phandroid, Gigaom, PC Magazine, Gizmodo, PhoneNews.com, FierceWireless, AndroidOS.in, Android Police, Compare Mobile Phones …, Geeky Gadgets, VentureBeat, TabTec, 9to5Google, Ubergizmo, Pocket-lint, AndroidHeadlines.com and DisplayBlog

Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:

Chinese Hackers Stole Info on 4.5 Million U.S. Hospital Patients — If you've been to a hospital in a small town or anywhere in the southeastern portion of the United States in the last few years, it's worth keeping an eye on your personal information. — Community Health Systems …

Carole Cadwalladr / Guardian:

Kim Dotcom: from playboy entrepreneur to political firebrand — He was the flamboyant founder of the popular Megaupload site. But when the US got New Zealand police to arrest him on charges of internet piracy, Kim Dotcom began a remarkable fightback — There are no hot-tubs. No super-yachts.

Tweets: @hkanji and @markamesexiled

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

Rumor suggests Apple is working on its own reversible USB cable — A strange new type of USB cable that aims to solve an age-old problem. — Dianxinshouji.com.cn — If reader reaction is any indication, most of you are looking forward to the new reversible USB Type-C connector spec that was finalized earlier this week.

More: MacRumors, The Verge, TechCrunch, The Register, PadGadget, TUAW, Guardian, Electronista, SlashGear, MacDailyNews and MacRumors

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