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October 20, 2014, 9:45 AM

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Parmy Olson / Forbes:

Microsoft plans to launch a fitness-focused wearable in the next few weeks with more than two-day battery life, multi-platform support — Microsoft Plans To Launch A Wearable Device Within Weeks — Microsoft is gearing up to launch a wearable device within the next few weeks, Forbes has learned.

More: SiliconANGLE, Gigaom, 9to5Google, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, Guardian, The Verge, Inquirer, TechSpot, Wearable Tech Insider, TechnoBuffalo, Japan Today, BetaNews, Ubergizmo, CNET, GeekWire, Electronista, THE CORNERPLAY, ITProPortal, PC World, USA Today, TechWeekEurope UK, Channel EYE, SlashGear, Neowin, Connectedly, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, App Advice, The Tech Report, Business Insider, WMPoweruser and Seeking Alpha. Tweets: @tomwarren. Thanks:@aatilley

Bloomberg:

IBM Agrees to Pay Globalfoundries $1.5 Billion to Take Chip Unit — International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) agreed to pay Globalfoundries Inc. $1.5 billion to take an unprofitable chip-manufacturing unit off its hands, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Tiernan Ray / Tech Trader Daily:

IBM Drops 7% on Q3 Miss; $4.7B Charge to Divest Chip Unit — Shares of International Business Machines (IBM) are down $13.32, over 7%, at $168.73, in early trading, after the company this morning reported Q3 revenue and earnings per share that missed analysts' estimates …

More: Fortune, Re/code, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC, New York Times and Wall Street Journal

Kevin Roose / New York Magazine:

Marc Andreessen on the evolution of Silicon Valley and technology's impact on the economy — Marc Andreessen on Why Optimism Is Always the Safest Bet — The Netscape creator turned Silicon Valley sage on why optimism is always the safest bet. — It's not hard to coax an opinion out of Marc Andreessen.

Tweets: @jessmisener, @ajs, @buzzfeedben, @jyarow, @aweissman, @longform, @felixsalmon, @jeffjarvis, @bznotes, @caseynewton, @davemcclure, @codinghorror, @seldo, @pkafka and @semil

Chris Welch / The Verge:

This is the Fitbit Surge, a $250 ‘superwatch’ with built-in GPS — GPS and heart rate monitoring headline Fitbit's next flagship wearable — Fitbit is preparing to launch three new fitness trackers in the coming weeks. Two of those will be the Charge and Charge HR.

More: Business Insider, Consumerist, Engadget, Digital Trends, Wearable Tech Insider, CNET, Ubergizmo, SlashGear, The Wearable Stuff, Gizmodo, Gizmodo UK, Connectedly and App Advice

Tweets: @piercedavid and @ow

Chris Velazco / Engadget:

Amazon Kindle Voyage review: The best e-reader is also the priciest — When Amazon introduced an updated version of its flagship Kindle Paperwhite last year, it took the easy way out — after all, tweaked internals, improved software and slightly better lighting do not a thrilling e-reader make.

More: Ars Technica, New York Times, VentureBeat, The Verge, Gizmodo, Re/code, TechCrunch, The Next Web, PC Magazine and SlashGear

Owen Williams / The Next Web:

Spotify announces family plans for up to 5 users — Spotify has announced new plans designed for families of up to five members, which was one of its most requested features. — Pretty much anyone in a family has experienced fighting over a shared account that stops playing music …

More: Re/code, Spotify Press, Gizmodo, Spotify Blog, PC World, Engadget, Inquirer, Gigaom, 9to5Mac, Guardian, TechCrunch, CNET, iMore, Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, The Verge, Electronista and Ubergizmo. Tweets: @thenextweb

Brian Stucki / Macminicolo Blog:

2014 Mac mini: RAM is not user-replaceable, no dual-drive server version — A look at the 2014 Mac mini — We've been working extensively with Mac minis for nearly 10 years. (Yes, we're nearing the tenth anniversary for the more-popular-than-you-think Mac.)

More: iPhone, Geek.com, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, ITProPortal, Engadget and SlashGear. Tweets: @drunknbass

Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:

Amid pressure from activist investors, Marissa Mayer to detail Yahoo's cost-cutting plan and acquisitions strategy during Tuesday's earnings call — Yahoo CEO Set to Refresh Turnaround Plan — Firm to Release Quarterly Results Tuesday, Detail Its Current Efforts

More: VentureBeat, TheStreet.com, Business Insider, Bloomberg and Seeking Alpha

John Herrman / The Awl:

Doctors share and discuss anonymous photos of patients with Instagram-like app Figure 1 — The Uncanny Language of Medical Instagram — A few months ago I came across an old story about an app called Figure 1. It was billed as “Medicine's Answer to Instagram,” and had apparently just raised a couple million dollars.

Chris Ziegler / The Verge:

Tesla built a sophisticated autonomous driving system, but its advancements are incremental — Tesla's autopilot isn't special (but it's still cool) — An important non-revolution for self-driving cars — “We've been able to accelerate autopilot and bring it to market faster …

More: Engadget

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