Google purchases rights to the entire .app top-level domain for $25 million | 9to5Google

Google purchases rights to the entire .app top-level domain for $25 million | 9to5Google: "Google paid $25 million to get exclusive rights to the .app TLD, according to a new report. TLDs, or ‘top-level domains’ are the bits like ‘.com’ and ‘.net’ at the end of web domains. ICANN, the organization responsible for managing web addresses, has been launching many new, customized TLDs in recent months."

I totally had the .app top level domain in my cart at GoDaddy and was about to check out when Google scooped me. Dang!

VLC pushes new Android & Android TV apps as part of massive cross-platform release | 9to5Google

VLC pushes new Android & Android TV apps as part of massive cross-platform release | 9to5Google
VideoLAN has today launched several updates to VLC across its apps on iOS, Android, OS X, and every other platform where the app is available, marking the first time that the company has pushed such a massive coordinated release.

An inspired project from the other great republic, France! Viva la France!

Apple’s growing presence in Israel geared to chip design, suggests WSJ | 9to5Mac

Apple’s growing presence in Israel geared to chip design, suggests WSJ | 9to5Mac: "The WSJ is suggesting that Apple’s growing presence in Israel is focused on expanding the company’s chip design capabilities, reporting that it has hired most of the local employees of a chip design company shut down by Texas Instruments and is advertising new positions in silicon and semiconductor design."

Chips ahoy!

Autodesk CEO: 3D printing in the home 'way overhyped' | VentureBeat | Business | by Daniel Terdiman

Autodesk CEO: 3D printing in the home 'way overhyped' | VentureBeat | Business | by Daniel Terdiman: "SAN FRANCISCO — Despite years of intense interest in 3D printing, and the proliferation of consumer-grade devices like the MakerBot, the technology is ‘way overhyped’ for home use, Autodesk CEO Carl Bass said today."

640K ought to be enough for everyone!

First Hollywood film edited with Final Cut Pro X hits theaters this week | 9to5Mac

First Hollywood film edited with Final Cut Pro X hits theaters this week | 9to5Mac: "The first Hollywood film edited in Final Cut Pro X is set to be released. To showcase the movie debut and FCPX’s role in the film, Apple has launched a microsite detailing the production."

I think it's more than possible to make a Hollywood feature with iMovie. That's the news.

How-To: Upgrade the SSD in your MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro, boosting size & speed | 9to5Mac

How-To: Upgrade the SSD in your MacBook Air or Retina MacBook Pro, boosting size & speed | 9to5Mac: "Over the past two weeks, I’ve written about the (surprisingly easy) process of adding solid state drives (SSDs) to radically speed up older iMacs, and the varied challenge levels of adding SSDs to older Mac Pros, Mac minis, and non-Retina MacBooks. Today’s guide looks at the easiest SSD installations of all: the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro."

Another great how-to from 9to5mac!

YouTube Kids iOS app arrives w/ family-focused content & parental controls | 9to5Mac

YouTube Kids iOS app arrives w/ family-focused content & parental controls | 9to5Mac: "Google just announced that its new YouTube Kids app is available for both iOS and Android devices starting today. The new app for kids is the first of its kind for Google, but the launch follows reports that Google was preparing kid-friendly versions of YouTube, Chrome, Search and other apps."

Really like this direction that media is heading.

WSJ: Google looking to revive Wallet to compete with Apple Pay, relaunch at I/O in May | 9to5Google

WSJ: Google looking to revive Wallet to compete with Apple Pay, relaunch at I/O in May | 9to5Google
According to a report out of The Wall Street Journal, Google is currently working to boost its Wallet payment service in order to keep up with Apple Pay. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the report claims that Google is currently in talks with carriers, banks, and device makers about reviving Wallet.

Payments is definitely the art of the long game. Look at VISA and MASTERCARD! Global juggernauts.

The original indie dev: How one man made 22 games in 22 years, mostly from his basement | GamesBeat | Games | by Heather Newman

The original indie dev: How one man made 22 games in 22 years, mostly from his basement | GamesBeat | Games | by Heather Newman: "Jeff Vogel’s been writing games, by himself, mostly in his basement, for longer than most people have been playing: 22 games in the past 22 years. The most recent, the role-playing game Avernum 2, just published last month."

A much-needed read. A diversion from that noise of venture capital and all the crAPPS those guys will churn out in the next few years before the next bubble implosion. I tip my hat to you.

Snapchat is reportedly raising $500M at a jaw-dropping $16B to $19B valuation | VentureBeat | Deals | by Harrison Weber

Snapchat is reportedly raising $500M at a jaw-dropping $16B to $19B valuation | VentureBeat | Deals | by Harrison Weber: "Snapchat could be raising a new round that values the company somewhere between $16 billion and $19 billion."

The investment bankers f*cked up the first tech bubble in 1999 and the signs are pointing to another dot com crash. Maybe now that Facebook has revenue it won't bubble over everywhere.

How-To: Now’s the right time to swap your old iMac’s hard drive for a fast new SSD | 9to5Mac

How-To: Now’s the right time to swap your old iMac’s hard drive for a fast new SSD | 9to5Mac: "There’s something you can do for $200 to $500 that will radically change your iMac’s performance: install a solid state drive (SSD) in addition to or instead of its original hard drive."

This is a great and practical idea that I have myself done to my oldest Mac.

Review: Hyper’s new Pearl is a compact, LED-lit mirror that can fully recharge the iPhone 6 | 9to5Mac

Review: Hyper’s new Pearl is a compact, LED-lit mirror that can fully recharge the iPhone 6 | 9to5Mac: "It’s not easy to create a legitimately novel accessory these days, and it’s even harder to sail smoothly through a crowdfunding campaign to bring one to market. Sanho — better-known as Hyper thanks to a popular line of battery products — spent much of 2014 preparing to release a female-friendly combination compact mirror and USB battery pack, using both Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns to raise funds for its production. After making a public splash at the 2015 CES alongside the new (and world’s smallest) laser pointer iPin, the mirror-battery Pearl ($39) is now shipping to customers through Indiegogo’s InDemand service."

Neat-o spaghetti-o.

Here's the trailer for Silicon Valley Season 2 -- because the tech scene wasn't meta enough | VentureBeat | OffBeat | by Jordan Novet

Here's the trailer for Silicon Valley Season 2 -- because the tech scene wasn't meta enough | VentureBeat | OffBeat | by Jordan Novet: "It wasn’t enough for T.J. Miller to roast the tech community at the Crunchies last night, following the buzz around the HBO show ‘Silicon Valley,’ in which Miller played tech incubator guru Erlich Bachman."

Do you Yahoo?

Screenshots of Windows 10 for phones leak, show off almost everything (Updated) | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Emil Protalinski

Screenshots of Windows 10 for phones leak, show off almost everything (Updated) | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Emil Protalinski: "The second image shows off the Action Center, which apparently has three rows of toggles. The last screenshot depicts the new design for the Settings app, featuring images and descriptions beside each section"

I like the way it's looking.

Twitter reaches new deal w/ Google to have tweets appear instantly in search results | 9to5Google

Twitter reaches new deal w/ Google to have tweets appear instantly in search results | 9to5Google: "Google and Twitter have allegedly come to an agreement for tweets to appear in search results, according to a report out of Bloomberg. During the first half of this year, tweets will begin to be visible in Google search results as soon as they are posted."

I can't think of anything less relevant in an internet search than what some random or celebrity user has to say in 140 characters.

First look at Fassbender and Rogen as Steve Jobs and Wozniak in upcoming Sorkin biopic | 9to5Mac

First look at Fassbender and Rogen as Steve Jobs and Wozniak in upcoming Sorkin biopic | 9to5Mac: "As filming for the announced Steve Jobs biopic continues, first at Steve Jobs’ childhood home, then at the Flint Center where the original Macintosh was unveiled, the first photos of Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak have appeared."

I think Ashton Kutcher was a much better fit than Fassbender.