Techmeme
May 24, 2015, 1:55 PM

Top News

Erin Kelly / USA Today:
Senate blocks USA Freedom Act and extensions to key provisions of Patriot Act, will reconvene just hours before expiration on May 31  —  Senate blocks extension of Patriot Act provisions  —  WASHINGTON - Three key sections of the Patriot Act are set to expire on June 1 unless the Senate resolves …
Ben Dummett / Wall Street Journal:
BlackBerry to Lay Off Undisclosed Number of Employees in Device Business  —  Arm focused on development of smartphone software, applications to be affected  —  BlackBerry Ltd. said Friday it is laying off an undisclosed number of employees in its device business including those focused …
Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
Young Saudis increasingly rely on mobile apps and social media to circumvent conservative strictures  —  Young Saudis, Bound by Conservative Strictures, Find Freedom on Their Phones  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Life for many young Saudis is an ecosystem of apps.  —  Lacking free speech, they debate on Twitter.
JC Torres / SlashGear:
Google Maps rolls out traffic alerts and alternate routes  —  Memorial Day is just around the corner and for some, nay many, that means a lot of traveling.  And when traveling is involved, especially by land, then headaches and tempers caused by traffic are as well.
TechCrunch:
AOL's MapQuest Inks UI Deal With Mapbox As It Prepares To Overhaul The Product  —  AOL, which is in the process of getting acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion, says it has no plans to divest itself of its content operations (which include TechCrunch) as part of that deal.  But it's not leaving them on autopilot, either.
Josh Lowensohn / The Verge:
Inside the labs where Netflix tests the latest TVs for its Recommended TV program  —  Inside the labs where Netflix is trying to make televisions suck less  —  In a nondescript room in the center of Netflix's headquarters, you can walk into a small, paper white chamber called the Shu.

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