Techmeme
February 2, 2015, 11:55 PM

Top News

Brad Stone / Bloomberg Business:
Google developing its own Uber competitor, likely in conjunction with driverless car project  —  Exclusive: Google Is Developing Its Own Uber Competitor  —  The two companies are going to war over self-driving taxis  —  Don't Miss Out — … Uber faces an ever-growing cast of adversaries …
John Biggs / TechCrunch:
Uber Opening Robotics Research Facility In Pittsburgh To Build Self-Driving Cars  —  Driver-on-demand service Uber is building a robotics research lab in Pittsburgh, PA to “kickstart autonomous taxi fleet development,” sources close to the decision have confirmed to TechCrunch.
Tim Higgins / Bloomberg Business:
Apple plans to invest $2B in GT Advanced Arizona plant to convert it into a data center  —  Apple to Convert Failed Arizona Sapphire Plant Into Data Center  —  Don't Miss Out —  (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. plans to invest $2 billion to convert an Arizona factory into a data center …
Bloomberg Business:
RadioShack in Talks to Sell Half Its Stores to Sprint, Shutter the Rest  —  Don't Miss Out —  (Bloomberg) — RadioShack Corp. is preparing to shut down the almost-century-old electronics chain in a bankruptcy deal that would sell about half its stores to Sprint Corp. and close the rest …
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
In Net Neutrality Push, F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating Internet Service as a Utility  —  The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week is widely expected to propose regulating Internet service like a public utility, a move certain to unleash another round …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Pebble has now sold over 1 million smartwatches; new hardware and software are planned for this year  —  New hardware and software are planned for this year  —  While Google and Apple have been getting the lion's share of attention for smartwatches lately, indie darling Pebble …
Danny D. / SamMobile:
Samsung sends out invitations to March 1 event, hints at curved design for Galaxy S6  —  Samsung starts sending out press invitations for March 1st, hints at curved design  —  Press invites for an event scheduled for March 1st have finally started making rounds.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pay maker of Adblock Plus to have their ads whitelisted  —  Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are paying to get around Adblock Plus  —  Some of the web's biggest companies have been paying to get around Adblock Plus, according to a new report from Financial Times.
Vindu Goel / New York Times:
Twitter tests instant timeline, which shows tweets to new users who haven't followed anyone  —  Twitter Displays Its Value With Instant Timeline for New Users  —  Anyone who has created a Twitter account knows how difficult it can be to get value from the service.
Jason Del Rey / Re/code:
eBay layoffs begin with many involved in PayPal's disappointing in-store initiatives  —  Big Layoffs Begin at eBay and PayPal  —  The big job cuts eBay promised last month are here.  —  On Monday, eBay and PayPal began notifying employees who were losing their jobs as part of the cuts …
Tweets: @delrey
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Foursquare's original chief technical officer is the latest to leave the company  —  The company's first hire is moving on to “somewhere new”  —  Foursquare's original chief technical officer has left the company after more than five years, The Verge has learned.
Biz Carson / Gigaom:
Reddit fires lead Notes engineer, says launch delayed until cryptocurrency law and technology improve  —  After key engineer leaves, what will happen to Reddit Notes?  —  A company changing its project outline for a year isn't surprising, nor is laying off staff — except when that the project …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Sony Sells MMO Publisher And EverQuest Creator Sony Online Entertainment  —  Sony has sold Sony Online Entertainment, the studio and publisher that created EverQuest (and, to a large extent, the modern MMO genre), in a deal that will see it owned by investment management firm Columbus Nova and rebranded as Daybreak.
Steven Musil / CNET:
Lenovo third-quarter profit beats estimates on smartphone boost  —  Net income declines 4.6 percent to $253 million but comes in better than expectations after Motorola acquisition.  —  Lenovo recorded third-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as it expanded its footprint in the smartphone market.

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Earlier Picks

Kevin Dallas / Building Apps for Windows: