A curated selection of the day’s most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to you everyday.
Netflix may be the exclusive distributor behind Kevin Spacey's new TV series. Photo: Michael Buckner/WireImage Netflix, which owns 60% of the digital movie market, thinks the next step is to offer exclusive video content that can’t be found anywhere else. The content in question? A new series, House of Cards, directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. The company reportedly outbid Netflix HBO and AMC for it, and the deal could be worth $100 million or more. (AllThingsD and Business Insider)
- Google, via YouTube, just acquired Green Parrot Pictures, an Irish company that develops tools for editing digital videos and images for an unspecified amount of cash. In a YouTube blog post, the streaming video giant revealed it will integrate Green Parrot’s tech so users can do stuff like sharpen images, reduce visual noise and render higher-quality, steadier video. (Business Insider)
- Google plans to start testing a new unnamed mobile payment service in New York and San Francisco stores within the next four months. The program relies on near-field-communication technology (NFC), which has been available in Japan and other markets for nearly a decade, so equipped smartphones will act as methods of payment. In theory, a transaction would be as simple as swiping the phone within a few inches of the new cash-register devices from VeriFone Systems. (Bloomberg via Fortune)
- According to mobile analytics firm Chitika, nearly 1 out of every 8 iPhone in the U.S. — or 12.4% — now run on Verizon Wireless. Not too shabby considering that percentage was just 3% a month ago. (Boy Genius Report)
- Daily deals site LivingSocial, which just recently raised $175 million from Amazon and made a pretty big splash with the sales of steeply discounted Amazon gift cards and Fandango movie tickets, is supposedly game for another round of funding already, this time in the ballpark of between $400 million and $500 million. The company reports it’s doing extremely well — it plans to add 150 employees per month moving forward and expects to make $500 million in sales this year. (Wall Street Journal)
- U.C.L.A. student Alexandra Wallace angered millions with her racist comments in a recent YouTube video during which she criticized Asian students for using cellphones in the school library to call family members after the tsunami in Japan. “The problem is these hordes of Asian people that U.C.L.A. accepts into our school every single year, which is fine,” Ms. Wallace said in the video. “But if you’re going to come to U.C.L.A., then use American manners.” Wallace has since taken down the controversial video, and the school is contemplating disciplinary action against her. (New York Times)
- Nvidia’s CFO, David White, is leaving the company for personal reasons. Company corporate controller and vice president of tax Karen Burns will fill the position in the meanwhile. (San Jose Business Journal)
UPDATE: We corrected a typo in the first item.
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