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Techmeme
November 20, 2015, 7:00 PM

Top News

Jordan Valinsky / Digiday:
Yahoo Mail is blocking ad-block users from accessing their email  —  Yahoo Mail is purportedly locking out people who use ad-blockers.  —  According to a post on Adblock Plus' message boards, a Yahoo user noticed the issue on Google Chrome when trying to access email this morning, posting this screenshot:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook At Work Gets Its Own Version Of Messenger With Debut of “Work Chat”  —  Facebook at Work, the version of Facebook designed for chatting with colleagues on a private social network, now has its own chat client as well.  Somewhat like Facebook at Work's version of Messenger, the new …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Jawbone Lays Off 60, 15% Of Staff Globally, Closes NY Office  —  Some difficult news this week for Jawbone, maker of fitness trackers, speakers and Bluetooth headsets.  TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that the company yesterday laid off around 60 employees, or 15% of staff.
Peter Rubin / Wired:
Samsung Gear VR Review: $99 headset paired with a Samsung phone is the best VR experience available until dedicated systems arrive next year  —  Review: Samsung Gear VR  —  In the space of three and a half years, virtual reality has matured from a long-dead relic of '90s futurism …
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Lumia 950 review: great screen and camera, using phone as a PC is neat but limited; it's not the ground-breaking phone Windows Phone needed to attract new users  —  Lumia 950 review: Windows Phone finally has a new flagship—will anyone care?  —  Camera is great and Continuum is cool …
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Cisco buys conferencing software maker Acano for $700 million  —  Cisco said Acano's technology and expertise will bolster Cisco's development in the key collaboration areas of interoperability and scalability.  —  Cisco said Friday it plans to acquire Acano, a London-based tech firm …
Reuters:
Google aims for China launch of Google Play app store next year: sources  —  Google, part of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), aims to launch the China version of its Google Play smartphone app store next year, according to people familiar with the matter, its first major foray in the market since ending localized product support in 2010.
Kurt Wagner / Re/code:
Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off When His New Baby Arrives  —  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is about to become a father, and he's decided to take two months of parental leave when the new baby arrives, he shared on his Facebook page Friday.  —  Facebook offers its employees …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Coinbase Partners With Shift Payments To Issue Bitcoin Debit Card  —  This isn't the first bitcoin debit card in the world, but this is the first one that works with your Coinbase account.  Coinbase has partnered with Shift Payments so that you can get a Visa card for just $10 and pay everywhere with your bitcoins.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Wheeler says FCC will keep an eye on T-Mobile's Binge On, which offers free data for some services, but calls it “highly innovative and highly competitive”  —  T-Mobile's data cap exemption for video gets FCC chairman's approval  —  Wheeler: T-Mobile zero-rating is “pro-competition” and “pro-innovation.”
Jake Muncy / Wired:
PlayStation 2 Emulation Coming to PS4, Sony Confirms  —  Sony is working on bringing PlayStation 2 titles to the PlayStation 4, the company confirmed to WIRED Thursday evening.  —  “We are working on utilizing PS2 emulation technology to bring PS2 games forward to the current generation,” a Sony representative told WIRED via email.

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Earlier Picks

Ed Bott / ZDNet:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Jacob Demmitt / GeekWire:
David Ruddock / Android Police: