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.
- Starting today, Facebook is testing its Groupon-like online discount effort, Deals, in five cities — Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco — and says Deals will show up via email and news feed updates. The social network also announced the “Send” button, which users should think of as a more selective version of the “Like” button. According to TechCrunch, clicking it on Web sites brings up a prompt asking users to share it with Facebook Groups, Facebook friends, or standard email addresses. (New York Times and TechCrunch)
- Netflix, which just reported a record quarter, isn’t the only media company with expansion on the brain. YouTube plans to launch a movies-on-demand service intended to compete against iTunes and may announce it within the next two weeks. So far, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Brothers Universal, and Lionsgate are onboard, with one Hollywood executive saying he expects the video-on-demand model will eventually expand to digital movie sales, too. Update: YouTube’s movies on demand store is now live. Thanks to colleague Seth Weintraub for the tip-off.
(The Wrap) - Nintendo confirmed that it’s developing a successor to its Wii console and will unveil it at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles in June. According to Kotaku, the machine may boast graphics technology that outclasses Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, along with a totally new controller interface that fuses the traditional game pad experience as we know it with a large touchscreen. (Kotaku)
- Why the white iPhone 4’s “mystique” will drive sales. (All Things D)
- Steve Jobs reportedly responded to one MacRumors reader inquiring about the recent iPhone “LocationGate.” Q: Steve, Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone? It’s kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don’t track me. A: Oh yes they do. We don’t track anyone. The info circulating around is false. Sent from my iPhone. (MacRumors)
- Yahoo reportedly bought the start-up IntoNow for between $20 million and $30 million. It’s a big boon for IntoNow, a mobile app that attempts to create a social experience around favorite TV shows, as the start-up launched a mere 12 weeks ago. (TechCrunch)
- Did Zynga inadvertently snatch away once-loyal soap opera viewers? Maybe… (AdWeek)
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