VentureBeat
Mobile messaging startup Line is rolling out a group-calling feature that supports up to 200 people. “Interestingly, Line is first launching the feature outside the company’s native Japan, and Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia will also have to wait for the service to arrive,” Venture Beat notes. “These are Line’s core markets, so it feels like Line is essentially beta-testing the feature globally in its less-popular markets -- basically everywhere outside of Asia.”
Engadget
Coming as a surprise to literally no one, Oculus is adding social features to its VR platform. “Starting tomorrow, Gear VR owners will be able to create a profile of their own, and then search for others by their real name or username,” Engadget reports. “Social hooks aren't that unexpected for a company owned by Facebook and of course, tie-ins for that are coming as well.”
Wall Street Journal
Trying to retain its remaining talent, Twitter is boosting its employee compensation packages. “Over the past month, the social media company has been offering additional restricted stock to employees company-wide, extending from the upper ranks to junior-level employees,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source.
Fortune
Fortune takes up behind the scenes at Twitter, as the social network tries desperately to right its ship. “A jolt of electricity is exactly what Twitter needs,” Fortune writes. The solution? Jack Dorsey, apparently. “Conversations with advertisers, investors, and 15 current and former employees reveal confidence in him,” Fortune writes of the second-time CEO.
Mashable
Facebook Lite just became the fastest Facebook interface to hit the 100 million monthly active users mark, Mashable reports. Launched last year, the app is basically a simplified version of the social giant’s flagship app. “While Facebook Lite has been rolled out in over 150 countries, those with the maximum users include Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Philippines,” Mashable notes.
BBC
Following a major overhaul of its tax structure, the UK is reportedly ready to make Facebook pay millions more in taxes. “After heavy criticism that it was avoiding tax … profits from the majority of Facebook's advertising revenue initiated in Britain will now be taxed in the UK,” BBC News reports. “It will no longer route sales through Ireland for its largest advertisers.”
Arstechnica
Apple computers just aren’t powerful enough to support Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets. That’s according to Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey. “Even the highest-end Mac you can buy would not provide an enjoyable experience on the final Rift hardware,” ars technica reports, citing Luckey’s comments. According to Luckey: “It just boils down to the fact that Apple doesn’t prioritize high-end GPUs.”
Mac Rumors
Apple just released a Twitter support account to help users figure out the social platform. “One of the account's first tweets shares step-by-step instructions on how to turn lists into checklists in the stock Notes app on iPhone,” MacRumors reports. “Many large companies provide customer service on Twitter.”
Re/code
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner is forgoing his annual stock package worth about $14 million, and instead giving it to his employees. “It’s a nice gesture for sure, and probably a smart one given that LinkedIn’s stock fell more than 43 percent in a single day after the company reported earnings early last month, Re/code reports.
Washington Post
Brazilian authorities have detained Diego Dzodan, Facebook’s vice president for Latin America. The arrest came “after the company’s WhatsApp cellphone chat subsidiary told federal authorities it was unable to intercept instant messages in connection with a drug investigation,” The Washington Post reports. “The case reflects the growing conflict between technology firms and governments around the world over access to customer data.”