Techmeme
December 17, 2014, 1:35 PM

Top News

Hugh Langley / TechRadar.com:
Netflix: offline viewing is ‘never going to happen’  —  Well damn … For some time now, services like BBC iPlayer and 4oD have offered the ability to download shows for offline viewing, yet Netflix hasn't  —  And despite the pleas of the masses (or maybe it's just us) …
Shane Dingman / Globe and Mail:
BlackBerry Classic review: old-fashioned phone that won't please traditionalists or new users  —  Review: BlackBerry Classic is a trip back in time  —  The BlackBerry Classic is a curmudgeonly phone.  —  That's not entirely pejorative: a curmudgeon can be a beloved figure with a kind of …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
BlackBerry officially launches Classic, with full QWERTY keyboard and physical navigation keys  —  BlackBerry officially launches the Classic, a smartphone for yesterday  —  A full QWERTY keyboard and physical navigation keys round out the Classic's throwback design
Peter Kafka / Re/code:
Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar opens Creator Preview for YouTube rival Vessel to lure stars; $2.99/month service includes ads, offers up to $50 CPM for creators  —  Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vessel, His YouTube Rival  —  Six years ago Jason Kilar made a big splash in Web video when he launched Hulu.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft's Xim app now shares photos to Apple TV, Chomecast, and Xbox One  —  Microsoft's Xim photo sharing app debuted in October from the company's research labs, and today it's getting a big update.  Available across Windows Phone, iOS, and Android, the latest version of Xim lets …
Jeff John Roberts / Gigaom:
Netflix's streaming app now available on Dish's Hopper DVR in first big pay-TV partnership  —  Netflix now on Dish's Hopper in first big pay-TV partnership  —  Subscribers to Dish's satellite TV service can now access Netflix right on their set-top box, the companies announced on Wednesday.
January Machold / Purch:
Purch, owner of Tom's Guide and Laptop Magazine, acquires AnandTech months after founder Anand Shimpi leaves for Apple  —  Purch Acquires AnandTech, Dominates Tech Expert and Enthusiast Market  —  Leading content and commerce company adds respected mobile, computing, and IT reviews site to its brand portfolio
Mike Shields / Wall Street Journal:
21st Century Fox to Acquire Ad Tech Firm TrueX for $200 Million  —  21st Century Fox Inc. has agreed to acquire the online advertising technology company TrueX Media, people familiar with the matter said.  —  21st Century Fox is paying a sum approaching $200 million for TrueX, said a person familiar with the deal.
David Meyer / Gigaom:
Sony previews smart glasses module that attaches to existing glasses, targets sports and work use cases  —  Sony's smart glass uses regular glasses, aims for sports and work  —  Sony Single-Lens Display Module  —  Sony Single-Lens Display Module  —  Sony has announced its own take on the smart glass concept.
Reuters:
Uber faces tough rivals, regulatory glare in China  —  (Reuters) - Deep-pocketed Chinese rivals and tough regulators stand in the way of U.S. car-hailing service Uber's plans to conquer one of the world's biggest transportation markets, even after it signed a tieup with domestic internet giant Baidu Inc.
Ben Thompson / stratechery:
Wearables, Bitcoin, or messaging may underpin the next consumer computing epoch, after the PC, internet, and mobile  —  The State of Consumer Technology at the End of 2014  —  While the modern computing era in many respects began with the IBM System/360 mainframe and further expanded with the minicomputer …
More: AVCTweets: @tuckershouse
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Brandwatch buys top-influencer analytics firm PeerIndex  —  Brandwatch, the maker of technology for acquiring social intelligence, has purchased PeerIndex, an analytics firm that finds and measures social influencers.  —  Above: Giles Palmer, CEO of Brandwatch.
Andrew Binstock / Dr. Dobb's:
Dr. Dobb's to stop producing content at year end due to decline in ad revenue despite 10M+ page views this year  —  Farewell, Dr. Dobb's  —  This year, our website will deliver almost 10.3 million page views, which is an unprecedented number for Dr. Dobb's.  It's up from 9 million last year and 8 million three years ago.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google Drive gets Gmail attachment support, Google voice search on Android, uploading from other apps on iOS  —  Google today rolled out new Google Drive features in Gmail, as well as updated Android and iOS apps.  Gmail attachment support is live now, while the Android update is rolling out on Google Play …

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Earlier Picks

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