Techmeme: Firefox 35 launches with simplified Hello video chat, Android download manager support, and MP4 playback on Mac (Emil Protalinski/VentureBeat)

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January 14, 2015, 4:35 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:

Leaked Apple Watch iPhone “Companion” app reveals activity reminders, monograms on clock faces, watch passcode, and ability to unlock watch from phone — Apple Watch iPhone ‘Companion’ app revealed w/ new Watch features, monograms — Yesterday, we reported …

More: I4U News, Gizmodo, Engadget, Ubergizmo, The Verge, iPhone in Canada Blog, MacRumors, TechnoBuffalo, Redmond Pie, Mashable, iDownloadBlog.com, Macworld, Ars Technica, SlashGear, Electronista, App Advice, Business Insider, Pocket-lint, MacDailyNews, The Next Web, iMore, BGR, TechCrunch, iLounge and everythingiCafe

Tweets: @spencerchen, @piercedavid and @umad

Thanks:@apollozac

Dan Levine / Reuters:

Apple, Google reach new deal to end U.S. lawsuit over poaching — (Reuters) - Four Silicon Valley companies including Apple Inc and Google Inc have agreed to a new settlement that would resolve an antitrust class action lawsuit by tech workers, who accused the firms of conspiring to avoid poaching each other's employees.

More: CNET, PC World, The Verge, Electronista, 9to5Google, bizjournals, 9to5Mac, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, AppleInsider, App Advice and iMore. Tweets: @fedcourtjunkie

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

Obama calls for an end to 19 state laws that restrict the rights of cities and towns to build their own broadband networks — Obama calls for end to 19 state laws that harm community broadband — President Obama today called for an end to state laws that restrict the rights of cities and towns to build their own broadband networks.

More: The White House, Washington Post, New York Times, PC World, CNET, Politico, Reuters, Deadline, Mashable and Gizmodo

Tweets: @bgurley and @jonfortt

Bloomberg:

Etsy planning IPO as soon as this quarter, looking to raise $300M — Etsy Said to Target U.S. IPO of Craft Marketplace — Etsy Inc., the global marketplace for handmade and vintage goods — from knitted sweaters to soaps — is planning an initial public offering that could take place …

More: CNBC, Business Insider, SiliconANGLE, Mashable, AuctionBytes Blog and Seeking Alpha

Peter Burrows / Bloomberg:

GoPro stock drops over 12% after Apple is awarded patent for remote-control camera system — GoPro Plunges After Apple Gains Remote Camera Patent — GoPro Inc. (GPRO) shares plummeted as much as 15 percent today in their steepest decline since August, after Apple Inc. (AAPL) was granted a patent for remote-control camera system.

More: Patently Apple, CNNMoney.com, Wall Street Journal, Macworld, The Next Web, Cult of Mac, Daring Fireball, InvestorPlace, MacDailyNews, Business Insider, Benzinga and Business Insider. Tweets: @elizwasserman

Peter Burrows / Bloomberg:

GoPro shares plunge after Apple gains remote camera patent

More: Reuters, The Register, NEWS.com.au, ABC News and Fortune

Reuters:

Apple sues Ericsson over LTE wireless telecom patents — (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) sued Ericsson (ERICb.ST) alleging that the Swedish company's LTE wireless technology patents are not essential to industry cellular standards and that it is demanding excessive royalties for these patents.

More: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Wall Street Journal, App Advice and Bloomberg

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

Revamped “New Nintendo 3DS XL” to launch in US on February 13 — Sources inside Gamestop have confirmed to Ars Technica that the revamped “new Nintendo 3DS” hardware will be available in US stores on February 13 and that the retailer will begin taking pre-orders for the unit tomorrow.

More: Kotaku, Electronista, Gizmodo and Gamnesia

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Samsung Launches Its First Tizen-Powered Phone, The Z1, In India For $92 — After plenty of speculation and aborted launches last year, Samsung has finally outed its first phone powered by the Tizen operating system. The Samsung Z1 is coming to India initially, where it is available to buy for 5,700 INR …

More: Samsung Mobile Press, Samsung Tomorrow, CNET, Gizmodo, 9to5Google, The Verge, Engadget, The Next Web, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Ubergizmo, SlashGear and Pocketnow

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Clinkle Ditches Its Soured App Name For “Treats,” Refocuses On P2P Discounts — Not since Color has a startup been as widely laughed at as the troubled Stanford payments startup Clinkle. So it's little surprise that the company has changed the name of its app to “Treats”, as well as its direction.

More: Business Insider and Wall Street Journal. Tweets: @semil, @caseynewton, @joshconstine, @evelynrusli and @fmanjoo

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Firefox 35 launches with simplified Hello video chat, Android download manager support, and MP4 playback on Mac — Firefox 35 arrives with room-based conversations, MP4 playback on Mac, and Android download manager support — Mozilla today launched Firefox 35 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

More: Gigaom, The Mozilla Blog, The Next Web, gHacks Technology News, Computerworld, WebProNews and TechCrunch. Tweets: @jeremiahlee. Thanks:@epro

Alex Barinka / Bloomberg:

IBM announces high-end z13 mainframe, able to handle 30,000 transactions per second, encrypt and analyze data in real time — IBM Debuts New Mainframe in a $1 Billion Bet on Mobile — IBM is introducing a new mainframe in a bet that clients will need its souped-up speed and security …

More: IBM, TechCrunch, The Register, Engadget, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

Tweets: @fxshaw and @levie

Scott Rosenberg / Backchannel:

How Bitcoin's Blockchain Could Power an Alternate Internet — The code that secures Bitcoin could also power an alternate Internet. First, though, it has to work. … That is exactly how the Web looked back in 1994—right before it exploded. Two decades later, it's beginning to feel like we might be at a similar liminal moment.

More: Wordyard and Conferences. Tweets: @marypcbuk, @strangerworks, @blockstream, @agl__, @interfluidity and @danielnbarbosa

Washington Post:

Obama proposes legislation to protect firms that share cyberthreat data with the government, criminalize sale of botnets and stolen financial info, more — Obama to propose legislation to protect firms that share cyberthreat data — President Obama plans to announce legislation Tuesday …

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:

LinkedIn has plans for an app to connect co-workers and for another product to help companies share content with employees — Upcoming LinkedIn Products Connect Coworkers — LinkedIn, long the place to hunt for a new job, plans to make it easier to connect with the colleagues you already have.

Dani Grant / Medium:

On Macs, Apple's two-factor authentication still doesn't protect iMessage, iTunes, FaceTime, or the App Store — Why Two-Factor Authentication Isn't Protecting Your iCloud Account — Users that turn on Two Factor Authentication (2FA) have the expectation that every access point …

More: TechSpot and Engadget

Patrick Howell O'Neill / The Daily Dot:

Ross Ulbricht admits he created Silk Road, but says he's not Dread Pirate Roberts — For the first time, Ross Ulbricht has admitted that he invented the Silk Road. — Ulbricht's defense, which has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges, admitted that he came up with the idea as …

More: Wired, Gigaom, Ars Technica, Forbes, Motherboard, Mashable, Slate and Tech Times. Tweets: @a_greenberg

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

PayPal Here Adds Windows Support, Will Launch An EMV Card Reader Later This Year — The PayPal Here card reader, PayPal's hardware device that lets merchants accept credit and debit card payments through a dongle attached to their iOS or Android device, is being updated with support for EMV …

More: PayPal Forward, The Verge, ZDNet, BetaNews, VentureBeat and Windows Central

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