Techmeme: PS4 will go on sale in China in January after 14-year ban on foreign consoles (James Vincent/The Verge)

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December 11, 2014, 2:30 PM

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 …

More: HockeyApp, PC Magazine, Engadget, GeekWire, InfoWorld, eWeek, The Register, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada Blog, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, ZDNet, MacStories, VentureBeat, The Next Web, Neowin, iMore, MSDN Blogs, WinBeta, Windows Phone Central and The Fire Hose

Tweets: @msftnews and @scottgu

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority:

Chromecast app's new Guest Mode option allows others to cast to your TV without a WiFi password — (Update: video) Chromecast update: screen casting for 4.4.2 devices, Material design, guest mode — Tired of updates yet? Neither are we! The Chromecast Android app is next in line, and the new update brings some awesome features.

More: Google Chrome Blog, Gigaom, TechCrunch, The Next Web, The Verge and Electronista

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 …

More: ExtremeTech, Slate, ZDNet, ReadWrite, TIME, Geek.com, SiliconBeat, Tech Times, Ubergizmo, Geeky Gadgets, AfterDawn.com, Business Insider, Digital Trends, The Verge, Gizmodo, Washington Post, CNET, Guardian, BGR, SiliconANGLE and The Next Web

Tweets: @ahess247, @ldignan, @mikeisaac and @csoghoian

See also Mediagazer

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Apple Reverses Course, Allows Transmit to Reinstate ‘Send To’ Feature — Earlier this week, file management app Transmit from developer Panic gained some attention after Apple required the company to remove a key sharing feature that let files be sent to multiple services like Dropbox and iCloud Drive.

More: AppleInsider, Gigaom and 9to5Mac

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:

Ford's new in-dash infotainment system Sync 3 replaces MyFord Touch, uses BlackBerry's QNX instead of Microsoft's OS — Why Ford dumping Microsoft's automotive software was inevitable-and probably long overdue — Years ago, the carmaker took an early lead in infotainment.

More: Gigaom, TechCrunch, The Verge, Re/code, PC Magazine, CNET, Engadget, WinBeta, FierceWireless and Los Angeles Times

Rachel King / ZDNet:

Cloud collaboration startup Huddle raises another $51 million — Summary:Huddle plans to keep growing its geographical footprint in the United States and Europe while doubling the size of its product team. — The enterprise cloud storage market continues to be a stacked horse race.

More: 9to5Google, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, Fortune, PE Hub Blog, Xconomy and bizjournals

Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:

Microsoft makes its MSN consumer apps available on iOS, Android, Amazon devices — Summary:Microsoft is continuing its cross-platform push, bringing a number of its MSN-branded consumer apps to iOS, Android and Amazon devices. — The team inside Bing that built some of the best “Metro Style” …

More: The Verge, Wall Street Journal, The Fire Hose, Android Police, TechCrunch, Gigaom, MacRumors, The Next Web, 9to5Google, 9to5Mac and WebProNews

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.

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:

Q&A with Jack Dorsey on Square's past year and its future after the company hits record $100M in sales in a single day — Are All Payments Becoming Invisible? A Conversation With Square's Jack Dorsey — Square, the company famous for its tiny mobile credit-card reader …

More: VentureBeat, Wired and Quartz

Tweets: @mikeisaac and @jimprosser

William Petroski / Des Moines Register:

Iowa to allow drivers to use new mobile app as official driver's license in 2015 — Iowa to launch smartphone driver's license — Iowans will soon be able to use a mobile app on their smartphones as their official driver's license issued by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

More: The Verge, Gizmodo, PC World, SiliconANGLE, MacRumors, Android Authority, Cult of Mac, SlashGear, Business Insider, Laughing Squid, BetaNews, Gotta Be Mobile, Digital Trends and ExtremeTech

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.

More: Engadget, VentureBeat, The Next Web, CNET, GeekWire, Gamasutra, Tech Trader Daily, VG247, VideoGamer.com, Bloomberg, Seeking Alpha, Polygon, Neowin, Joystiq, Fortune, GameSpot, Geeky Gadgets and AfterDawn.com

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Google revamps its iOS app with Material Design, one-tap search, built-in Maps, and recently visited pages — Google today launched a major revamp of its main iOS app, bringing a new look and adding new features. You can download the new version now from Apple's App Store.

More: Inside Search, Gizmodo and MacRumors

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

LinkedIn Rolls Out A Simplified Homepage With Analytics And News Feed Front And Center — LinkedIn, the social network for the working world, today gets around 45 million monthly unique visitors to linkedin.com according to comScore, and to help grow that number, LinkedIn is debuting a pared …

More: Re/code, ReadWrite, SiliconBeat, Official LinkedIn Blog and TheStreet.com. Tweets: @ingridlunden

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

Qualcomm, Intel, and others speak out against Title II net neutrality — Much of the fight over how to handle net neutrality has been between the two industries that have the most obvious stake in it: cable companies and web services. Today, though, 60 tech companies, including Intel …

More: Cult of Mac, FierceWireless, The Register, FierceTelecom News, CNET, Engadget and Ars Technica

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) …

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Nation-backed malware targets diplomats' iPhones, Androids, and PCs — Researchers have uncovered yet another international espionage campaign that's so sophisticated and comprehensive that it could only have been developed with the backing of a well resourced country.

More: Securelist, Blue Coat, Ubergizmo, Inquirer, SC Magazine, SecurityWeek, cso.com.au, darkREADING and Sky News

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 …

More: PE Hub Blog

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” …

More: TechCrunch, VentureBeat and The Next Web. Tweets: @stevesi

Neha Dimri / Reuters:

LendingClub opens at $24.75 on first day of trading, rising as much as 67% above IPO price — Loan platform operator LendingClub's shares soar in debut — (Reuters) - Shares of LendingClub Corp, the world's largest online marketplace that connects borrowers and investors …

More: VentureBeat and Fortune

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 …

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.

More: PE Hub Blog, eWeek and SecurityWeek

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 …

More: The Jawbone Blog

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.

More: CNET, PC World, App Advice, VentureBeat, Engadget, The Verge, The Next Web and Ubergizmo. Tweets: @joshconstine. See also Mediagazer

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 …

More: Google Asia Pacific Blog, Official Google India Blog, Google Operating System, Android Police, Technology Personalized, MediaNama, memeburn, Trakin' the india …, 9to5Google, Digital Inspiration …, Tech in Asia, Android Beat and TIME

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.

More: Blogging Windows, GeekWire, Xbox Wire, Mojang, SlashGear, VentureBeat, The Next Web, GameSpot and The Verge

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.

Jillian D'Onfro / Business Insider:

eBay considering plan to cut up to 3k employees, or 10% of its total workforce, in its core marketplace division early next year

More: Associated Press, ITProPortal, TechSpot, TheStreet.com, CNET and The Register. Tweets: @mikeisaac

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