DailyDose, your everyday technology news brief is here. In today’s news: Youtube to launch new streaming music service & 12 other top stories.
Stuff
Google launches Chrome Beta for Android: Google announced Chrome beta for android which will speed up your data flow, the company said in a blogpost. Traffic to websites are routed through a proxy which optimizes and transcodes all images to the WebP format, which requires fewer bytes than other popular formats, such as JPEG and PNG. More here.
Microsoft Adds Android Support To Windows Azure Mobile Services: Last year, Microsoft launched Azure Mobile Services, a cloud backend for mobile applications. But at the time, it only supported Windows 8, and the team then added iOS and Windows Phone 8 support a short while later. Starting today, Android users can also connect their apps to Azure Mobile Services and use the platform to store their structured data, use its user authentication tools and send out push notifications. More here.
Inc
Amazon Takes More Steps Toward Building A Mobile Ad Network With An API In Beta: Amazon is taking the first steps toward building a mobile ad network across its Kindle devices with a new advertising API in beta for developers. If you judge by the earnings of publicly traded mobile advertising companies like Millennial Media, which has had annual losses for the last five years, it’s a tough business with low margins. More here.
Apple Asks Judge to Dismiss Suit Alleging IPhone Monopoly: Apple Inc. lawyers asked a federal judge to dismiss a consumer lawsuit alleging the company maintains a monopoly over iPhone applications. Attorneys who filed the suit in 2011 claim that a monopoly exists because an iPhone user who doesn’t want to pay what developers charge for applications available through Apple’s App Store can’t go anywhere else to buy them. More here.
Google tests same-day delivery, raising marketplace speculation: Google Inc began testing a same-day delivery service with retailers in recent weeks, the latest move into Amazon.com Inc’s e-commerce turf by the world’s largest Internet search company. Google Shopping Express helps local retail stores sell products online and have the items delivered to shoppers the same day, according to a person familiar with the test. More here.
Samsung set to give Sharp $110 mn lifeline, shares soar: Samsung Electronics Co is set to invest $110 million in Sharp Corp, ensuring it a stable supply of TV panels and bolstering the survival chances of the Japanese maker of Apple Inc iPhone and iPad screens. Shares in Sharp jumped as much as 19 percent in early trade on the news. More here.
HP Faces Mounting Pressure to Remove Chairman Ray Lane: Hewlett-Packard Co. faces mounting pressure to remove Chairman Ray Lane and several other board members after proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co. urged investors to block their re- election over failures to properly vet acquisitions. Shareholders should vote against Lane, John Hammergren, and G. Kennedy Thompson, ISS said in a report released in advance of the company’s annual meeting, set for March 20. Glass Lewis urged the removal of Hammergren, Thompson, Marc Andreessen and Rajiv Gupta, the lead independent director. More here.
.Gov
Microsoft Faces Fine in Europe After Breaking a Deal: Europe’s antitrust regulators are preparing to deliver a strong message: a deal is a deal, and if a company fails to live up to a settlement agreement, there will be consequences. On Wednesday, the European Union is expected to impose a large fine on Microsoft for failing to give users of the company’s Windows software a choice of Internet browsers. More here.
China Mobile Industry Too Dependent on Google Android: China’s smartphone makers are “heavily dependent” on Google Inc’s Android mobile operating system, hampering the development of the domestic industry, according a white paper from a government research institute. Android’s core technology is strictly controlled by Google, and Chinese businesses face commercial discrimination, including delays in sharing code, according to a document dated in February from the China Academy of Telecommunication Research, under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. More here.
Social
Facebook Study: Each Post Seen by One-Third of Friends, on Average: It’s hard to know who saw that picture you posted on Facebook of your Friday night escapade or that screed you wrote about how so-and-so looked during the Oscars. According to a study done by data scientists at Facebook, more of your Facebook “friends” saw what you posted than the average Facebook user realizes. More here.
Facebook News Feed Draws More Criticism: In my column this week, I wrote about how content I shared on Facebook saw a paltry amount of interaction unless I paid Facebook to highlight it on the company’s signature news feed. Other reporters and bloggers said they had seen a similar drop in connection. On Monday, Facebook put up a blog post saying “engagement has gone up 34 percent on posts from people who have more than 10,000 followers.” But Facebook did not share real numbers or metrics, leaving people guessing what 34 percent actually equals. More here.
Digital Living
Pandora Gains Access to $14 Billion Radio Ad-Sales Market: Pandora Media Inc. (P), the music- streaming service, will compete directly with radio stations for the first time on the industry’s biggest advertising services, gaining better access to the $14 billion annual ad-sales market. More here.
YouTube to launch music streaming service, take on Spotify: Google is planning to roll out a music streaming service to capitalize on the power of YouTube. More here.
