LG’s LTE-packing smartwatch drops Android Wear for its own OS, and more for Thursday, February 26, 2015

LG’s LTE-packing smartwatch drops Android Wear for its own OS Kif Leswing Feb 26 2015, 6:33am PDT Here’s a bit of a surprise: In addition to the Android Wear version of the G Watch Urbane, LG is prepping a version that doesn’t run Google’s smartwatch operating system, instead swapping it out for something called the “LG Wearable Platform.” The LG Watch Urbane LTE […] Read More » Barnes & Noble is splitting up its businesses (again) Laura Hazard Owen Feb 26 2015, 6:26am PDT Barnes & Noble intends to separate its college business from its Nook and retail businesses, it announced Thursday, creating two separate publicly traded companies. The move is supposed to be completed by August. B&N CEO Michael Huseby pulled out all the possible jargon to describe the […] Read More » Google & SolarCity partner on $750M fund for rooftop solar Katie Fehrenbacher Feb 26 2015, 6:00am PDT Solar installer and financier SolarCity announced on Thursday that it plans to raise a $750 million fund to invest in installing solar panels on the rooftops of home owners, and $300 million of that fund will come from tech giant Google. While Google has put over […] Read More » Sponsored post: Think big. Solve tomorrow Teradata Feb 26 2015, 5:55am PDT Are you a Data Engineer that has mentored and led software teams to victory? Can you manage clients to success? Do you want a bigger platform to speak from? Or are you a Data Scientist that thrives by helping your team execute data science solutions that deliver client value? Do […] Read More » Net Neutrality day is here: a guide to today’s vote Jeff John Roberts Feb 26 2015, 4:30am PDT What is the right way to run the internet? After months of pitched debate over so-called net neutrality, the FCC will finally vote on a proposal that will prevent broadband providers from slowing down or speeding up certain websites. While there’s little doubt about the outcome of the vote, Thursday’s FCC […] Read More » Telefonica’s Tu Go service turns to WebRTC for in-browser calls David Meyer Feb 26 2015, 3:17am PDT The Spanish carrier group Telefónica is big on WebRTC, the technology that allows for plugin-free in-browser voice and video calls, among other things – it uses it for the in-browser Skype rival that’s built into Firefox these days, for example. So it’s no surprise to see […] Read More » Orange’s Libon app lets you take calls to your number over Wi-Fi David Meyer Feb 26 2015, 12:00am PDT Libon, the WhatsApp and Skype competitor from French carrier group Orange, has an interesting new feature called Reach Me, which will allow people to send and receive calls over Wi-Fi using their mobile phone number, regardless of who their actual carrier is. The Libon app has […] Read More » Here’s how one marketing firm is tackling the Pinterest problem Carmel DeAmicis Feb 25 2015, 4:40pm PDT Pinterest is coming of age and marketing firms are gathering to preach Pinterest marketing gospel. The site is an unusual beast: a mix of image-focused design (like Instagram), founded on a social-follower premise (like Twitter), but has since shifted to search-driven results (like Google). Making the most of […] Read More » Sooooo, what’s new with HP’s cloud strategy? Barb Darrow Feb 25 2015, 1:56pm PDT Look! Hewlett-Packard is doing something with Eucalyptus after all, at least according to a new web page touting HP Helion Eucalyptus, the “Open. Agile. Secure AWS-compatible private cloud.” HP bought Eucalyptus in September, put that company’s CEO, Marten Mickos, in charge of the overall HP cloud business and things […] Read More » While others shut down comments, the NYT wants to expand them Mathew Ingram Feb 25 2015, 1:50pm PDT While many other media organizations have gotten rid of their reader comments, including Reuters and Bloomberg, the New York Times says it plans to expand its commenting features and invest more resources in them because they help create a valuable relationship with readers Read More » Windows Phone left out as Google Wallet swallows Softcard Kif Leswing Feb 25 2015, 12:26pm PDT Google purchased Softcard earlier this week, and today it posted a support page about what to expect from the mobile wallet service in the future as it shuts down. No surprises here: Android users should download Google Wallet, which is replacing Softcard. But for users of the […] Read More » You can now store 50,000 songs online with Google Play Music Kevin C. Tofel Feb 25 2015, 11:29am PDT Google just made its Play Music service a bit more appealing, even if you don’t use a Google Android phone. You can now upload 50,000 songs to your Google Play Music account at no charge; the previous limit was 20,000. announced the storage boost in a […] Read More » Spark Electron wants to make cellular connectivity easy as Wi-Fi Stacey Higginbotham Feb 25 2015, 9:00am PDT Spark Labs is coming back to Kickstarter with a new project and a mission to change how cellular carriers think about the internet of things. The company, which launched a popular Wi-Fi development board for the internet of things almost two years ago on Kickstarter, is […] Read More » Microsoft is working on Pebble support for Windows Phone Kevin C. Tofel Feb 25 2015, 7:32am PDT This week’s Kickstarter darling, the Pebble Time smartwatch, has much to offer — if you use an iPhone or Android handset, that is. Pebble doesn’t officially support Windows Phone, and although a Microsoft employee was tinkering to fix that last year, it hasn’t happened yet. Based […] Read More » Apple must pay patent troll $532M, Texas jury rules Jeff John Roberts Feb 25 2015, 5:07am PDT Apple must pay a shell company $532.9 million because iTunes infringes upon three patents related to online patents, a jury in East Texas ruled on Tuesday. The company in question, named Smartflash LLC, is also based in Texas and doesn’t make or do anything besides file patent lawsuits, […] Read More » Robots vs. pop stars: Who is better at curating your music? Janko Roettgers Feb 25 2015, 5:00am PDT The Apple rumor mill is getting its groove on these days as new details appear about a revamped streaming service slated to be launched in the coming months. 9to5Mac reported last week that Apple is working on a new music service that uses some of Beats […] Read More » Want Fiber? Do more to get it, Google exec tells cities Jeff John Roberts Feb 24 2015, 4:10pm PDT Google has a tip for those who want more high-speed internet options: tell your town to get rid of its fax machine, touch up its maps and streamline the permitting process. “If you make it easy, we will come. If you make it hard, enjoy your Time Warner […] Read More » Medium gets a bit more Twitter-like, and a bit more blog-like Mathew Ingram Feb 24 2015, 1:45pm PDT Medium has been known primarily for its long-form, magazine-style pieces -- but founder Evan Williams says it wants to be a home for shorter posts as well, so it has launched several new features that make it more Twitter-like and more blog-like Read More » Snapchat’s “Our Stories” are generating tens of millions of views Carmel DeAmicis Feb 24 2015, 12:01pm PDT Snapchat is telling people how many views their “Our Story” clip receives if they make one in the collective, crowdsourced section. Based on people I’ve interviewed, it appears Snapchat’s Our Stories are hitting viewing numbers that television’s most popular shows see, although it’s tough to get […] Read More » Why Apple would benefit from building electric car tech Katie Fehrenbacher Feb 24 2015, 9:08am PDT When the first report came out a little over a week ago that Apple has an internal team working on an Apple-branded electric car — that might or might not actually launch one day — it was easy to avoid weighing in. Apple no doubt has […] Read More »