Techmeme
December 11, 2014, 11:05 AM

Top News

S Somasegar / MSDN Blogs:
Microsoft acquires cross-platform crash analytics and distribution service HockeyApp  —  Microsoft acquires HockeyApp, leading mobile crash analytics and beta distribution service for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone  —  Today I'm pleased to announce that we have acquired HockeyApp …
Re/code:
Sources: Sony Pictures using AWS to execute denial-of-service attack on sites where its stolen data is available  —  Sony Pictures Tries to Disrupt Downloads of its Stolen Files  —  Sony Pictures Entertainment is fighting back.  —  The studio behind the “Spider-Man” franchise and …
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Xbox, Windows Store now accepting Bitcoin payments  —  You can now use Bitcoin to add funds to your Microsoft account.  —  Microsoft has added Bitcoin support to Microsoft accounts.  Bitcoin funds can be added to accounts to enable digital purchases from the Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and Xbox Video stores.
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Google News to shut down in Spain Dec. 16 in response to recently passed Spanish copyright law  —  Strict New “Copyright Law” Forces End Of Google News In Spain  —  Google has decided to shut down Google News in Spain.  This drastic step will occur next week (December 16) …
Neeraj Saxena / Times of India:
Xiaomi banned from selling, importing phones in India: Report  —  NEW DELHI: Delhi high court has put paid to Xiaomi's surging sales juggernaut in India.  At least for now.  Hearing a case filed by Ericsson India against Xiaomi, the court on Monday passed an ex parte order forbidding …
Mark Hachman / PC World:
Microsoft's Minecraft finally arrives on Windows Phone  —  Microsoft has finally added Mojang's Minecraft to its repertoire of Windows Phone games, two months after buying the company.  —  Minecraft Pocket Edition appears to be the same version that's available for Android and iOS, and costs the same, too: $6.99.
Carmel DeAmicis / Gigaom:
Make your own Product Hunt collections and bookmarks  —  What a user profile's collections look like on Product Hunt  —  What a user profile's collections look like on Product Hunt  —  Happy holidays, early, from Product Hunt.  The self-described “Reddit for products” …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Social Address Book Connect Raises $10.3M As It Expands Into Messaging, International Markets  —  Connect, a social address book and friend finder application that launched earlier this year, has raised $10.3 million in new funding as the company prepares to expand into messaging …
Robert Hackett / Fortune:
Cybersecurity firm Area 1 Security, founded by ex-NSA employees, raises $8M Series A led by Kleiner Perkins  —  Can three ex-NSA snoops stop the worst hacks before they start?  —  An e-mail arrives in your inbox: relevant, knowingly addressed to you, hardly suspicious.
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Apple debuts cellular LTE-equipped iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 in China  —  Apple on Wednesday announced cellular-capable iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 models will be available in China later this week, offering support for region-specific wireless networks used by major telecoms like the world-leader China Mobile.
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
Wakie, the free ‘social alarm clock’ that replaces your alarm clock with a phone call from a stranger, is now available on iOS  —  Wakie, The Social Alarm Clock That Lets You Wake Up Strangers, Finally Arrives On iOS  —  “Hey there, I'm just calling to wake you up,” I said a little awkwardly.
More: TechSpot, MTV and Latin Post
Joshua Brustein / Businessweek:
Jawbone discounts its fitness trackers for corporate customers with UP for Groups  —  Your Boss Would Like You to Wear a Jawbone Fitness Tracker  —  Jawbone wants to become a part of the workday.  The company's new service, UP for Groups, will sell discounted fitness trackers …
James Vincent / The Verge:
PS4 will go on sale in China in January after 14-year ban on foreign consoles  —  A new front has opened up in the console wars.  Sony announced that its PlayStation 4 console will launch in China on January 11th — four months after Microsoft's Xbox One arrived in the country.
Holly Ormseth / Facebook Media:
Facebook releases new tools for publishers to offer greater automation and better targeting, improves Insights, fixes referrer data bug for iOS  —  New Tools and Insights for Publishers  —  Over the past few months, we've listened to publishers around the world to better understand …
Kyle Alspach / BostInno:
Confirmed: Backupify Has Been Acquired by Datto in Cloud Backup Consolidation  —  New England may have a new tech heavyweight in-the-making with the acquisition of Cambridge's Backupify by Norwalk, Conn.-based Datto, which will form a company with more than 400 employees and revenue potentially nearing the nine-digits for this year.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Spotify Now Converts What Friends Listen To Into A “Top Tracks In Your Network” Playlist  —  Now you can listen to Spotify like you read the Facebook News Feed.  Spotify's new “Top Tracks In Your Network” is a personalized, constantly updated playlist based on what the people you follow are listening to.
Mike Beasley / 9to5Google:
Google begins notifying users of $19 million settlement with FTC over in-app purchases  —  Google has started notifying users of its Play Store about a $19 million settlement it reached with the FTC in September.  The company is being required to pay out refunds for in-app purchases …
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
YouTube For Android Gets Offline Playback... But In India, Indonesia And Philippines Only  —  Here's something neat.  Google has introduced offline video playback for YouTube mobile users.  That's an exciting feature but there's bad news for most TechCrunch readers: it's only available …
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
eBay CEO Likely to Leave Board and Join PayPal's When Companies Split  —  EBay CEO John Donahoe will likely depart eBay's board of directors when the company spins off payment subsidiary PayPal next year, according to two people who have discussed the topic with him.
More: ParisLemon

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