Techmeme
November 17, 2013, 12:25 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple Stores to implement iBeacon location technology to improve service, boost sales  —  iOS 7's flashy launch earlier this year with an entirely new design and streaming music functionality overshadowed a breakthrough new feature: iBeacons, a location-based technology with profound implications for industries such as retail.
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Apple reportedly acquires PrimeSense, company behind original Kinect 3D sensor tech, for $345 million  —  Apple reportedly buys Kinect tech-creator PrimeSense  —  Apple has reportedly acquired PrimeSense, the motion-tracking company responsible for the technology in the original Xbox 360 Kinect …
Adario Strange / Mashable:
Some PlayStation 4 Owners Reporting Defective Consoles  —  Sony's PlayStation 4 has been widely praised by reviewers as a significant step up from its predecessor, but some early consumers are reporting major problems with the console  —  Most of the reports are popping up as reviews on Amazon, as well as on Sony's own support forum.
Anne D'Innocenzio / Associated Press:
American Eagle, Target, and other retailers follow Wal-Mart in opening labs in Silicon Valley  —  Retailers Take On Silicon Valley  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Software engineers wearing jeans and flip flops test the latest smartphone apps.  Walls and windows double as whiteboards where ideas are jotted down.
Tweets: @andreawass and @qthrul
Derrick Harris / Gigaom:
How Amazon is building substations, laying fiber and generally doing everything to keep cloud costs down  —  If there's anyone still left wondering how it is that large cloud providers can keep on rolling out new features and lowering their prices even when no one is complaining about them …
More: NYT Bits
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter Ditches Redesign Involving Swipeable Streams, Reverts Alpha & Beta Testers To Old, Four-Button Interface  —  Twitter's tests involving a new mobile interface that would do away with the app's standard four buttons in favor of a “swipeable” menu at the top, have come to a halt.

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Monica Langley / Wall Street Journal: