In a blog post that seems to have been taken down, Google has announced a new “communities” feature for its social network Google+. Google+ Communities is the company’s answer to Facebook Groups. It lets you connect with others who share your passions or interests on particular topics, and create subgroups within each group. [Source: Google, although the page seems to have been removed]
Hackers who infiltrated Google’s network several years ago gained access to a database with information on US surveillance targets, the Washington Post reports. The purpose appears to have been finding out which Chinese intelligence operatives in the US may have been under surveillance by US law enforcement agencies. [Source: Washington Post]
The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based startup, which aims to make it easier for businesses to find affordable Internet providers, was awarded the loan from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The money will go to site updates. [Source: Silicon Prairie News]
The latest victim of the pro-Assad SEA is British newspaper the Daily Telegraph. According to reports, the Telegraph’s twitter handle began tweeting pro-regime messages. [Source: Business Insider]
Sensopia, the makers of the augmented reality software MagicPlan, has closed its latest round of funding at $1.2 million. In addition the company released a development kit today. [Source: VentureBeat]
Apple today released the text to Tim Cook’s upcoming senate testimony regarding the company’s tax practices. In the statement, Cook denies avoiding any taxes. [Source: The Verge]
Square has revealed a new product called Square Cash. While details about it are still nebulous, Cash will supposedly provide a platform for individuals to pay other individuals cash via email. [Source: TechCrunch]
In an attempt to build out its locations database, Facebook is now allowing users to submit and suggest photos for unadministered place pages. [Source: InsideFacebook]
Buyout firm Vista Equity Partners has acquired anti cyber and data theft software maker Websense. The deal came to about $1 billion. [Source: AllThingsD]
The latest update to Google Hangouts has removed the ability to make outbound calls. Users, however, are able to receive inbound calls. [Source: CNET]
After Google Hangout’s mobile launch, AT&T Android customers were unable to use its video chatting capabilities. Now AT&T has issued a statement saying it will be able to support any video chatting app by the end of the year. [Source: The Verge]
Doximity, the “Facebook for doctors”, is introducing a new model into the mix. In a collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic, the site will now offer online medical education. [Source: VentureBeat]
“Compared to other products, we’re much more long-term. Most of the stuff that people look at on Quora today was not written in the last month. You write something really good, and maybe it’s the definitive answer on the Internet for the next 10 years. Maybe it’s only a year, but not like a tweet, where it’s only relevant for a day or a week”
Dell is changing its public cloud strategy, and no longer plans to use OpenStack as its basis. Instead, it has decided to rely on third parties, making its recent acquisition Enstratius a new spotlight of the company’s cloud strategy. [Source: GigaOm]
News discover startup Newsle has raised $1.65 million in its first round of funding. Funding was led by American City Business Journals. [Source: AllThingsD]
After a successful IPO last week, Tableau’s shares continue to grow. Right now, Monday morning’s trading shows the shares are up more than 13%. [Source: GeekWire]
Google and Motorola’s upcoming unit the “X” Phone is slated to support AT&T’s LTE and HSPA+ networks. Now a leak makes reference to a possible CDMA model in the works, making it available to both Sprint and Verizon. [Source: BGR]
Haven’t heard enough news about Tumblr today? Today it unveiled an updated iOS app, with a brand new “path-like” interface. [Source: TechCrunch]
How many Tumblr pages contain porn? According to an analysis by web measurement firm Similar Group, out of the 200,000 most-visited domains on Tumblr 22,775 of them are considered “adult”. So now you know. [Source: TechCrunch]
Luke Wroblewski is the first recorded case of person losing his/her Google Glass. To make matters worse, Wroblewski was using it to develop Glassware and had many accounts synced to the piece of hardware. [Source: VentureBeat]
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