Techmeme
December 15, 2014, 3:25 PM

Top News

Gurdeep Pall / Skype Blogs:
Skype Translator preview goes live on Windows 8.1 with support for real-time translation of English and Spanish  —  Skype Translator Preview - An Exciting Journey to a New Chapter in Communication  —  For more than a decade, Skype has been breaking down geographical barriers to make every day audio and video communications possible.
Kia Kokalitcheva / VentureBeat:
You can now control your Nest thermostat with the Google app on iOS and Android  —  The “Works with Nest” program has a new addition: the Google app.  —  Starting now, Nest thermostat owners can use Google's self-titled iOS or Android apps to control their home's temperature, much like they do with Nest's own app.
Laura Lorenzetti / Fortune:
SurveyMonkey is worth $2 billion after new $250 million fundraising round  —  SurveyMonkey, the online survey platform, raised $250 million in equity financing, making the company worth close to $2 billion.  —  The funding will help the company pursue future acquisition purchases …
Brian Ries / Mashable:
Uber introduces surge pricing during Sydney hostage siege, then backtracks, offers free rides, refunds  —  Uber intros surge pricing during Sydney hostage siege, then backtracks after user outcry  —  This post was updated at 10:45 p.m. ET to include an updated statement from Uber
Alex Heath / Cult of Mac:
Workflow lets you easily chain together and automate hundreds of actions across iOS apps  —  Workflow pushes the limits of how powerful iOS can be  —  A new app called Workflow aims to close the divide between the power of OS X and the convenience of iOS.
Arik Hesseldahl / Re/code:
Sony hackers offer to withhold posting emails from specific employees if they write in and ask  —  Sony Hackers Offer to Withhold Stolen Data From Promised Leak  —  A group claiming responsibility for the devastating hacking attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment on Sunday offered …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Gartner: 301M Smartphones Sold In Q3 As Xiaomi Muscles Into The Top 5 At Samsung's Expense  —  Smartphones now account for 66% of all mobile phones worldwide and are on track to see 2014 sales of 1.2 billion units in 2014.  But while Android appears to have “won” the so-called platform war …
Matthew Bennett / The Spain Report:
Spanish Newspaper Publishers' Association Now Asks Government To Help Stop Google News Closure  —  NEWS: AEDE announces it wants the Spanish government and EU competition authorities to stop Google closing Google News: “to protect the rights of citizens and businesses”.
Chine Labbe / Reuters:
France says UberPop to be banned as irate taxi drivers stall traffic  —  (Reuters) - The UberPop transport service will be banned in France from Jan. 1 to avoid unfair competition, the interior ministry said on Monday as taxi drivers impeded morning traffic into Paris in a one-day protest against the U.S.-based online cab-hailing firm.
Ben Lovejoy / 9to5Google:
T-Mobile teases a new uncarrier deal livestreaming tomorrow as it claims 50% faster LTE in NY  —  T-Mobile has announced that it will be unveiling its latest contract-free deal in a livestreamed ‘fireside chat’ tomorrow, Un-carrier 8.0. … The company hasn't hinted at any of the details, but we'll of course let you know ...
Dina Bass / Businessweek:
Microsoft's Azure Is Starting to Close the Gap With Amazon's Cloud Service  —  Last year software maker K2.com stopped relying on Amazon.com (AMZN) for its cloud services and turned to Microsoft (MSFT) instead.  K2 Chief Executive Officer Adriaan van Wyk says he's happy with the choice—most of the time.
Gerry Shih / Reuters:
Xiaomi made $56 million profit in 2013: filing  —  (Reuters) - China's Xiaomi Technology Ltd Co [XTC.UL] made a profit of 347.48 million yuan ($56.15 million) on 26.58 billion yuan ($4.30 billion) in revenue in 2013, Chinese securities filings dated Monday show.

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Zac Bowden / WinBeta: