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• TidBITS: Apple Lowers iPod touch Prices
  Apple has introduced a 16 GB iPod touch for $199, while lowering prices on the existing models to $249 for 32 GB of storage and $299 for 64 GB. However, nothing else has been upgraded — these are the same A5-equipped models we’ve seen since 2012. However, it does break Apple’s traditional $100 storage upgrade pattern for the iPod touch. We can only hope that carries over to the iPhone and iPad.
• WatchESPN’s Record 1.7M Concurrent World Cup Viewers Beats The Super Bowl | TechCrunch
  The WatchESPN app (or site, or however you access it) was the way that many Americans were watching the US vs. Germany World Cup match today. So many, in fact, that the site had issues serving all of its users in the first half. Some folks, including me, couldn’t log on until many minutes into the match.
• Apple said to be working on ‘mainstream’ Smart Home hardware | 9to5Mac
  With iPhones in pockets, Macs on desks, iPads in bags, and iWatches soon coming to the wrist, Apple is said to be eyeing another category for continued growth: Smart Home hardware. The Cupertino-company is said to have assembled a team to work on various hardware products for the home that deeply integrate with the existing array of Apple devices on the market…
• News from The Associated Press
  The German government is ending a contract with Verizon over fears the company could be letting U.S. intelligence agencies eavesdrop on sensitive communications, officials said Thursday.
• The Laundry Quarters Delivery Startup Is Dead (And in Hell?)
  Some things are too precious to last in this brutal world, and Washboard, a startup that mailed you quarters to do your laundry, is one of them. It is, against all odds and after only a week in business ("business"), shutting down.