Remains of the Day: Facebook Messenger Looks to Replace SMS

You no longer need a Facebook account for Facebook Messenger on Android, iTunes comes to 52 new countries, the new iMac makes it impossible to have a SSD hard drive, and SoundCloud launches a redesigned site.

• A New Way to Sign Up for Messenger for Android An update to Facebook's Messenger app for Android completely does away with the need for a Facebook account in order to sign up. Once you update, all you'll need is your name and phone number, and you'll be able to message your mobile contacts (provided, of course, that they have the app too). [Facebook Newsroom]
• Apple Launches iTunes Store in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa & 52 Additional Countries Today Today the iTunes Store launched in 52 additional countries, including Russia and India. In addition to featuring internationally released movies and music artists, iTunes will also feature local musicians and films. [Apple]
• You won't be adding an aftermarket SSD to your new iMac iMacs have always been notoriously hard to upgrade, but the newest models are even more so. They're hard to open, and even if you can open them, you won't be able to connect a new SSD to the logic board. You're basically stuck with either the traditional hard drive it comes with or the Fusion Drive, should you wish to upgrade. [Ars Technica]
• The Next SoundCloud Becomes SoundCloud Audio streaming network SoundCloud's big redesign has just emerged from private beta, and it's full of new features. New to the site are repost support, curated collections called "Sets", continuous play that lets users continue to listen while browsing, and improved search and explore functions. [The SoundCloud Blog]
• Netflix and The Walt Disney Studios Announce Multi-Year Premium Pay TV Window Agreement in the United States Today Netflix announced a deal with The Walt Disney Company that will make Netflix the exclusive streaming service in the US for most of Disney's streaming video content. Included in the agreement are features from the Disney catalog which will soon be live, all direct-to-video releases beginning in 2013, and, beginning in 2016, theatrical features available during their pay cable window?roughly six months after release. [Yahoo! Finance]
• Google's Knowledge Graph Expands To More Languages, Including Italian, French, Japanese And Russian Google's Knowledge Graph project expands today to include more languages, such as Italian, French, Japanese, and Russian. Other languages have yet to be confirmed. The feature was formerly only available in English. [TechCrunch]
• Evernote Business Is Here. Start Building Your Team's Knowledge Today. Today Evernote announced a new Business Premium tier of service. Business Premium users will be able to create Business Notebooks in addition to Personal Notebooks. Business Notebooks can be shared and searched, and as you type notes a new feature will pull up any relevant notes based on what you're writing. The Business class includes 2 GB extra storage for personal notes per month, and 2 GB per Business every month. It will cost $10/person per month, and comes with a number of new Admin features and support. [Evernote Blogcast]
• Verizon CEO: Redbox Streaming Video Venture Launch Pushed Back to Early 2013 Looks like it might be a while before we get a look at the Verizon-backed Redbox Instant. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam told reporters earlier today that the service would be pushed back to early 2013 following more testing, as opposed to later this month as was initially thought. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Photo by photastic (Shutterstock), a2bb5s (Shutterstock), and Feng Yu (Shutterstock).

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