Techmeme
October 20, 2013, 7:30 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple silently updates OS X Mavericks Golden Master to new version  —  This weekend, Apple seems to have updated the OS X Mavericks Golden Master (GM) version to a new build.  The new build is 13A603 while the original GM seed was 13A598.  It's not common for Apple to change the GM build for a Mac OS, but it is not without precedent.
Spiegel Online:
NSA Hacked Email Account of Mexican President  —  The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years.  It hacked into the president's public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system.  The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.
Ellis Hamburger / The Verge:
Selling gold: Apple debuts its first iPhone 5S TV spot  —  Just a few days after Apple rolled out its first print ads for the iPhone 5S on the back of several magazines, the company has debuted the first TV commercial for its flagship device during a football broadcast on FOX.
Leslie Picker / Bloomberg:
Twitter's Lack of Patents Seen as a Risk to Investors  —  Profits aren't the only thing lacking at Twitter Inc. ahead of its planned initial public offering.  It's got a dearth of patents, too.  —  The microblogging service said in its prospectus this week that it has nine issued U.S. patents.
Tweets: @biz, @zolbayarsays and @qthrul
Mike Isaac / AllThingsD:
Twitter Likely to Kill Its Music App  —  Just six months after launching it, Twitter is strongly considering killing off its Twitter #Music mobile application, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.  —  It is unclear what Twitter's time frame is for ultimately ending support …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Anonymity of Bitcoin transactions a boon to ransomware crooks  —  You're infected—if you want to see your data again, pay us $300 in Bitcoins  —  Malware that takes computers hostage until users pay a ransom is getting meaner, and thanks to the growing prevalence of Bitcoin …
Michael J. de la Merced / DealBook:
AT&T will lease 9,100 cell towers to operator Crown Castle for $4.85 Billion  —  AT&T in $4.85 Billion Tower Deal With Crown Castle  —  AT&T agreed on Sunday to lease or sell 9,700 cellphone towers to Crown Castle International, a big wireless tower operator, for $4.85 billion in cash.
More: CNET and GigaOM
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
US Companies Raised $8.1B In 806 VC Deals In Q3, Capital Raised, M&A Activity And IPOs All Up From Previous Quarter  —  Dow Jones Venture Source released its quarterly report on the state of venture capital, including data on number of VC deals, funds raised, M&As and IPOs in the technology sector.
Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:
Government promises “tech surge” to address problems with HealthCare.gov  —  ‘Tech Surge’ Planned to Fix Obamacare Exchanges  —  The Department of Health and Human Services said Sunday it was bringing in outside help to resolve some of the technical woes that have beset …
Ron / WinBeta:
Microsoft pulls Windows RT 8.1 update from the Windows Store due to ‘a situation’  —  Microsoft has apparently removed the Windows RT 8.1 update from the Windows Store, citing a situation as the culprit for some users.  Microsoft is investigating the issue and will provide further details once the update is ready to be released again.

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Emil Protalinski / The Next Web: