Techmeme
January 20, 2016, 5:40 PM

Top News

Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Apple adds many new features to GarageBand for iOS including Virtual Drummers and Live Loops, which let you endlessly customize tracks on a grid-based interface  —  Apple's New GarageBand For iOS Is An Electronic Musician's Dream  —  GarageBand has always had a definite appeal …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Apple releases Music Memos, a simple, free recording app for iOS that caters to musicians while avoiding the complexity of GarageBand  —  Music Memos is Apple's new, simple recording app  —  Alongside some fun GarageBand updates being rolled out today, Apple is also introducing a completely new app for iPhone and iPad: Music Memos.
Maria Bobila / Fashionista:
Apple Watch Hermes collection will be available online January 22, prices start at $1,100  —  The Apple Watch Hermès Will Finally Be Available to Purchase Online  —  Mark your calendars for this Friday, Jan. 22.  Instead of having to visit a select boutique in a major city like New York …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
App Annie 2015: Google Play saw 100% more downloads than the iOS App Store, but Apple generated 75% more revenue  —  In 2015, Google Play saw 100 percent more downloads than Apple's App Store.  Double the number of downloads is a huge achievement.  In 2014, the figure was 60 percent …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft to exchange power cords for Surface Pro, Pro 2, and Pro 3 purchased before March 2015, due to possible overheating issues  —  Microsoft to recall some Surface Pro power cables  —  MIcrosoft will be allowing Surface Pro users who bought earlier models of the company's tablet …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers disclose an almost three year old privilege escalation bug in the Linux kernel that imperils millions of PCs, servers, and Android phones  —  Linux bug imperils tens of millions of PCs, servers, and Android phones  —  Vulnerability allows restricted users and apps to gain unfettered root access.
TechCrunch:
Spotify Buys Cord Project And Soundwave To Expand Messaging And Social Features  —  On the same day that streaming rival Deezer announced a new cash injection of €100 million, Spotify has confirmed two new acquisitions, Cord Project and Soundwave.  The startups are based respectively …
Jordan Novet / VentureBeat:
Ex-Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich's startup Brave launches open-source browser for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android that blocks tracking ads by default  —  Mozilla cofounder Brendan Eich's startup, Brave, launches browser for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android  —  Brave Software, the new startup …
Georgia Wells / Wall Street Journal:
Alphabet, Apple, Yahoo, Uber, and other tech firms are sponsoring the host committee financing the 2016 Super Bowl, to be held at Levi's Stadium in the Bay Area  —  Apple, Alphabet, Yahoo Hoping to Use Super Bowl to Score at Home  —  Tech firms including Alphabet Inc. …
Katie Roof / TechCrunch:
FinTech startup BlueVine raises $40M round led by Menlo Ventures to help small businesses with cash flow  —  BlueVine Raises $40 Million To Help Small Businesses With Cash Flow  —  Another big bet on “FinTech,” Palo-Alto based BlueVine has raised $40 million to provide credit lines for small businesses.
Ken Yeung / VentureBeat:
Norwest Venture Partners raises $1.2 billion for its 13th fund  —  Norwest Venture Partners announced that it has raised $1.2 billion for its 13th fund, which it'll use to support its sector and stage independent investment strategy.  With this fund, the firm now has a total capital and commitment size of more than $6 billion.
Reuters:
FireEye buys cyber intelligence firm iSight Partners for $200 million  —  FireEye Inc said on Wednesday it paid $200 million to buy privately held iSight Partners, in a move to boost its cyber intelligence offerings for governments and businesses as the sector consolidates.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
UiPath Unveils 10 Innovations that Will Shape the Agentic Future  —  Orchestration engine, API workflows and agentic testing among key features of new UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation, launched at UiPath DevCon 2025
Zoho:
How EQ plays a defining role in workplace communication  —  What if everyone you worked with had a psychic ability to understand how you're feeling and respond accordingly?  Wouldn't that be great?
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

The Logan Bartlett Show:
Debunking Healthcare's Biggest Myths with Zach Weinberg and Derek Thompson
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Techmeme Ride Home:
The Thin-Phone Era Is Here
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Spotlight On:
Supabase's Paul Copplestone on the difference between "playing startup" and strategy
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Royce Yudkoff & Rick Ruback - Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Diggnation:
Quitting Booze, Quitting Alexa, and AI Tries to Replace Us All
Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht give you their unique, sometimes awkward, and always hilarious take on the edges of the internet.
Subscribe to Diggnation.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:40 PM ET, January 20, 2016.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

The Economic Times:
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Paul Lilly / Maximum PC:
Dina Bass / Bloomberg Business:
Joseph Cox / Motherboard: