Engadget
Taking over the world one face at a time, Google is now inviting software developers to buy its Glass gadgets. “The widened reach is good news for Glassware producers eager to test their code on real devices,” Engadget reports. “Google has offered a preview of Glass' SDK and opened the Mirror API to all developers, it has a strong incentive to get its eyewear in the hands of app writers.”
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal investigates the increasingly manufactured world of Twitter trends, and those that specialize in manipulating the social network on behalf of paying clients. “Fake accounts remain a cloud over Twitter Inc. in the wake of its successful initial public offering,” WSJ writes. “Fake accounts thrive on Twitter in part because, unlike Facebook, Twitter doesn't limit users to a single account, or require them to use their real names.”
Engadget
Call it rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but BlackBerry continues to shuffle its management structure. Getting the boot this week are Chief Operating Officer Kristian Tear and Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben. “There's no mention of immediate replacements,” Engadget reports.” The Waterloo firm is also replacing Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka with the company's Compliance head James Yersh.”
VentureBeat
Would you trust Kanye West to give you good directions to LAX? Betting that many consumers would, Waze is partnering with Universal Pictures on a novel celebrity voice-navigation feature. “The first celebrity to guide you from point A to point B is comedian and actor Kevin Hart,” Venture Beat reports. “Waze is a popular app that crowdsources traffic and navigation data.”
AllThingsD
Among Yahoo Mail users, a disgruntled minority has been expressing its displeasure with the service’s latest redesign. “The ire includes a lot of distress over the removal of its tabs function and the addition of a multitasking feature in its place,” AllThingsD reports. Some Yahoo employees agree, too, with only 25% of them heeding management pleas to move over from their longtime corporate email -- Microsoft Outlook -- to the new Yahoo Mail product.”
TechCrunch
Meet TapCommerce -- a new mobile ad retargeting startup that just raised $10 million in Series A funding. Speaking with TechCrunch, the company describes its approach to mobile retargeting as “very large amounts of data coupled with sophisticated statistical analysis.” Got that? TapCommerce also says it is already has more than 50 clients, including more than 30 of the top 100 grossing apps, TechCrunch reports.
Rude Baguette
U.S. consumers better brace themselves for another online music streaming service. Yes, Deezer is vowing to make its U.S. invasion in 2014, Rude Baguette reports. No novice, the French startup already boasts 5 million subscribers in 180 countries, which, as the tech blog reports, “stacks up well against Spotify’s 7 million subscribers.” Yet, “in order to launch [stateside], Deezer will likely need to partner with a strong local player, which may explain the rumors around the Microsoft acquisition.”
Cnet
Putting other nonprofits to shame, Mozilla said this week that revenue increased from $163 million in 2011 to $311 million in 2012, while its net cash from operations increased from $13.4 million to $70.3 million. As CNet report, Mozilla attributes the windfall to favorably renegotiating its search deal with Google. As for future investments, Mozilla is building a brand new mobile OS.
The Wall Street Journal
For better or worse, consumers could soon be digitally connected every waking hour of their day. To that end, the Federal Communications Commission is ready to let passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes. “While cellphone use would still be restricted during takeoff and landing, the proposal would lift an FCC ban on airborne calls and cellular-data use by passengers once a flight reaches 10,000 feet,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
Business Insider
Business Insider has published videos of depositions from a lawsuit involving Snapchat’s founders and their claims to company equity. The videos “suggest that even the defendants in the Snapchat case believe [the startup’s disputed third co-founder, Reggie Brown] may deserve ‘something’ for his role in starting the company -- an assertion that the company has vehemently denied,” BI reports.