The Switch: Google Wallet just got a lot better. That doesn’t necessarily make your life any easier.

Today's technology and tech policy news  •  Tue., Feb. 24, 2015 View in your Web browser

Google Wallet just got a lot better. That doesn’t necessarily make your life any easier. Google announced that it has bought Softcard, a mobile payments system developed by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. (It was formerly called Isis, but changed its name last year to avoid any association with the Islamic State.) The purchase is big for Google, which has had its mobile payments system for years but has had trouble gaining ground against competitors such as, well, Softcard and the recently launched Apple Pay.  Read full article »

How the FCC could use an obscure Internet power to change the pay-TV market

In a few days, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on the government's strict new net neutrality rules for Internet providers. And while the proposed regulations are mainly focused on whether companies like Comcast can block or slow Web sites, a small piece of the rules could give the government wider authority over television programming — and by extension, your TV experience. Here's how.  Read full article »

Pebble releases a new smartwatch as the threat of the Apple Watch looms

Pebble, the company that first cracked the smartwatch market, is back with a new model as the competition for consumers' wrists heats up in earnest.The company showed off the new Pebble Time on Kickstarter on Tuesday. The watch has a color e-paper screen and boasts seven days of battery life and a microphone so that users can reply to notifications by voice or dictate short voice memos. The slimmed-down watch will come in three face colors — black, white and red — and have swappable silicone bands.  Read full article »

This is Snowden’s one regret

Edward Snowden has one regret about his decision to reveal the inner workings of National Security Agency spying programs: He wishes he did it sooner.Following Laura Poitras' best documentary win for "Citizenfour" at the Oscars, the filmmaker and Glenn Greenwald, a fellow co-founding editor at Pierre Omidyar-backed news site the Intercept, joined Snowden on reddit Monday to answer questions about the movie and the experience that inspired the film. One person asked Snowden what he would do differently if he had a chance to do it all over again. This was Snowden's response:  Read full article »

The Switchboard: What you need to know from Edward Snowden’s online Q&A

Published every weekday, the Switchboard is your morning helping of hand-picked stories from the Switch team.LinkedIn settles class-action suit over weak password security. The New York Times reports: “LinkedIn, the largest business-oriented social network, has agreed to compensate up to 800,000 people who paid for its premium services to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that it falsely assured them it was using strong security measures to protect their personal information.”  Read full article »

Innovations: Drones: The next big thing in wedding photography, or a tacky intrusion?

Inez Edwards had no clue what a drone was, but when the bride-to-be’s wedding photographer suggested it as a way to get some stunning aerial photos, Edwards was sold.So in October, at a hotel in Washington, a drone buzzed overhead as she walked down the aisle.  Read full article »

Here’s how the clash between the NSA Director and a senior Yahoo executive went down. In an unusual public exchange, the director of the National Security Agency and a senior Yahoo executive clashed over cyber-spying Monday, illustrating the growing chasm between Washington and Silicon Valley over whether intelligence officials should have broad access to the products being developed by the nation's top technology firms.  Read full article »