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Twitter releases its handcrafted Windows 8 app

The Twitter for Windows 8 app has finally hit Microsoft's Windows Store. The social network announced today that it was launching the new app, which was uniquely tailored for Windows 8 devices.

Besides the usual Home, Connect, Discover, and Me tabs, the Windows 8 app has a host of other features. There's Snap view, which lets users adjust the size of the Twitter app and use other apps alongside it. Photos can also be expanded or shown in a photo gallery. There are two new charms -- Share and Search -- which let users tweet or search from … Read more

Twitter names Adam Messinger as company's new CTO

Twitter is continuing its recent overhaul of its executive ranks with the appointment of Adam Messinger as the company's new chief technical officer.

Messinger, who joined Twitter in 2011 as vice president of app development in the engineering department, revealed his new role at the company via his Twitter user profile. The move, which was first reported by AllThingsD, fills an executive position vacant since 2011 when Greg Pass left the company.

It wasn't immediately clear when this appointment occurred. CNET has contacted Twitter for more information and will update this report when we learn more.

Formerly responsible … Read more

Twitter working on a music app

CNET Update sings along:

Twitter is working on a music app called Twitter Music, CNET has learned. First, Facebook adds a Music News Feed, now Twitter works on an app for discovering music. Is everyone trying to be more like MySpace?

Also in Wednesday's tech roundup:

- Samsung's Galaxy S4 may not have eye-scrolling technology, but we'll know for sure on Thursday. Follow CNET's live blog of the announcement. Coverage begins at 3 p.m. Pacific, 6 p.m. Eastern.

- Whatever Samsung announces, there will be plenty of promotion. A report shows Samsung spends more than Apple on marketing. … Read more

Twitter adds line breaks and gets hit with the ugly stick

Twitter isn't broken, it just looks that way.

The company said today that people can now use line breaks in their tweets. The revelation has already spawned some hideous and absurdly elongated 140-character updates.

The information network fittingly announced the change with its own broken-line tweet in haiku form. The breaks in form are visible on the Web and in the company's mobile apps, though not in TweetDeck or third-party apps.

The addition is a rather unfortunate one for those who enjoy a clean stream. Creatives, poets, jokers, and teens, however, may appreciate the option to have a … Read more

We Are Hunted goes offline after report of acquisition by Twitter

Hours after CNET reported that Twitter acquired music service We Are Hunted to build a new, standalone music app, the service was taken offline.

Visitors to the site now get a message saying "We Are Hunted is not available at the moment."

A person familiar with the matter told CNET that Twitter acquired We Are Hunted last year and is using it to build an app, to be called Twitter Music, which could be released on iOS by the end of the month. The app suggests artists and songs based on a variety of signals. The experience is … Read more

Vatican reactivates pope's @Pontifex Twitter account

As the Vatican taps Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to lead the Catholic Church, the pope's Twitter account has been reactivated. Bergoglio's first official Tweet as @Pontifex was "Habemus papam franciscum," which means, "We have a Pope Francis."

Apparently, the account was actually the Vatican's official account, but was changed to @Pontifex after a the new pope was chosen, according to CBS News.

The original @Pontifex Twitter account went into hibernation this past month in light of Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign from the papacy due to health reasons.

Pope Benedict XVI … Read more

The 404 1,226: Where the faces don't match the voices (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bonobos opens stores that don't sell anything.

- The Smithsonian gets Warner Bros. movie props no one else wants.

- Moving Image art fair sells first ever "Vine art" for $200.… Read more

Twitter acquires We Are Hunted, readies standalone music app

Twitter acquired the music discovery service We Are Hunted last year and is using its technology to build a standalone music app, CNET has learned.

The app, to be called Twitter Music, could be released on iOS by the end of this month, according to a person familiar with the matter. Twitter Music suggests artists and songs to listen to based on a variety of signals, and is personalized based on which accounts a user follows on Twitter. Songs are streamed to the app via SoundCloud.

Twitter Music, which is set to arrive in the wake of key competitor Facebook … Read more

FTC places new rules on celebrity tweeters

The Federal Trade Commission has updated its consumer protection rules for online activities, and has specifically taken aim at celebrity tweeters.

The agency released the rules yesterday (PDF), and outlined how celebrities who want to promote a product on Twitter should do so. To illustrate its point, the FTC used a fictional celebrity it called Juli Starz. The original tweet shows her endorsing a "Fat-away" pill that helped her lose 30 pounds in six weeks. That tweet was accompanied by a URL to the product's site.

According to the FTC, that kind of endorsement is now illegal. … Read more