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September 15, 2014, 12:45 PM

Top News

Owen Hill / Mojang:

Mojang's founders Markus “Notch” Persson, Carl Manneh, and Jakob Porsér to leave the company after Microsoft acquisition — Yes, we're being bought by Microsoft — Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft. — It was reassuring to see how many of …

Microsoft Corporation:

Microsoft buys Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5B — Minecraft to join Microsoft — Iconic cross-platform franchise to become part of Microsoft Studios. — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Mojang, the celebrated Stockholm-based game developer, and the company's iconic “Minecraft” franchise.

More: ReadWrite, stratechery, The Verge, ZDNet, VatorNews, TechCrunch, Guardian, The Register, GeekWire, Tech Trader Daily, Inquirer, CNET, BBC, Reuters, GeekWire, Engadget, Kotaku, Bloomberg, WinBeta, Electronista, iDownloadBlog.com, HotHardware.com News, The Tech Report, Re/code, GSMArena Blog and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @pkafka, @edbott, @fxshaw and @dinabass

Markus Persson / notch.net:

Markus “Notch” Persson on selling and leaving Mojang: “It's not about the money. It's about my sanity.” — I'm leaving Mojang — September 15th, 2014 I don't see myself as a real game developer. I make games because it's fun, and because I love games and I love to program …

More: Washington Post, Forbes, PC World, ReadWrite, PC World, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Re/code, VentureBeat, ExtremeTech, PC Gamer, TIME, ArcticStartup, GamePolitics blogs, Neowin, ParisLemon, Eurogamer.net, Om Malik and TechnoBuffalo

Tweets: @rich_lem, @mattcutts, @notch, @garrynewman, @geoffkeighley, @therealcliffyb and @bfod

Phil Spencer / Xbox Wire:

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer: we will “grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise”, continue to make the game available on all existing platforms — Minecraft to Join Microsoft — By Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox — Today is an incredibly exciting day for our team …

More: BetaNews, Digital Trends, Ars Technica, CNNMoney.com, Gizmodo, Gigaom, TechCrunch, DailyTech, Wired, Gotta Be Mobile, Apps Playground, TIME, BGR, SuperSite for Windows, Softpedia News, Blue's News, Windows Phone Central, WebProNews, Mashable and App Advice

Tweets: @satyanadella and @thurrott

Larry Dignan / ZDNet:

Microsoft buys Mojang, Minecraft: Five reasons it makes strategic sense

More: Guardian

Apple:

Apple Announces Record Pre-orders for iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Top Four Million in First 24 Hours — Available in More Than 20 Additional Countries on Friday, September 26 — Apple® today announced a record number of first day pre-orders of iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus …

Brett King / Finextra:

Apple Pay cements NFC as the industry standard, accelerates the shift toward ubiquitous mobile payments — Africa, ApplePay and the iPhone 6: Resistance is futile — If you've followed my bullish ramblings on mobile payments here at Finextra, you'll know that talk of the coming ubiquitousness …

More: 9to5Mac, Tech-Thoughts and TechCrunch

The Hill:

With Apple Pay, Apple could be regulated like a financial institution

More: Credit Slips, ValueWalk, Los Angeles Times and MarketWatch

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Apple Pay's in-app checkout option competes directly with PayPal, could pose a greater threat if Apple offers checkout button for mobile web

More: Bank Innovation, ReadWrite, CNNMoney.com and PandoDaily

Wall Street Journal:

Bill Gurley says Silicon Valley is taking on the most risk since 1999 — Venture Capitalist Sounds Alarm on Startup Investing — Silicon Valley Has Taken on Too Much Risk, Gurley Says — Silicon Valley is a risk-driven place. But over the past year, it may have taken on more than it can handle …

More: SiliconBeat and Business Insider. Tweets: @bgurley

Leo Kelion / BBC:

Google launches Android One smartphones for around $105 in India, supports seven local languages and offline YouTube playback — Android One smartphones released in India by three companies — The three new smartphones feature the Android One branding on their backs

Christina Farr / Reuters:

Stanford, Duke University hospitals to launch HealthKit trials with diabetics, other patients — Exclusive: Two Apple medical trials shed light on how HealthKit will work — (Reuters) - Two prominent U.S. hospitals are preparing to launch trials with diabetics and chronic disease patients …

More: Macworld, Engadget, MacRumors, CNET, iMore, AppleInsider, ZDNet, iPhone in Canada Blog, Patently Apple and MacDailyNews

Boing Boing:

Several Massachusetts libraries installing Tor on all public PCs, coordinating privacy classes — Radical Librarianship: how ninja librarians are ensuring patrons' electronic privacy … It's no secret that libraries are among our most democratic institutions.

Tweets: @aprilaser

Ina Fried / Re/code:

T-Mobile to Upgrade iPhone “Test-Drive” Units to iOS 8, With iPhone 6 Coming — T-Mobile, which has been letting potential customers try out an iPhone 5s for free, says it wants to incorporate Apple's latest technology into its program. — The carrier told Re/code that it will start upgrading …

More: MacRumors, iDownloadBlog.com, App Advice, TmoNews, App Advice and Ubergizmo

Jon Russell / The Next Web:

Netflix makes its much-anticipated debut in France — Netflix has finally said ‘bonjour’ to France after the video-on-demand site marked its long-awaited arrival in the country, another part of its ambitious European expansion program. — Announced via a tweet, Netflix's imminent arrival …

More: CNET, Reuters, Engadget, Financial Times, Softpedia News, PC World, SlashGear, BGR, Gigaom and Associated Press. See also Mediagazer

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