THE NEWS WRAP: Uber takes Lyft for a ride in the taxi disruptor wars

The battle between transportation network startups Uber and Lyft isn’t a close fight, Wired reports.

According to the research, which draws on credit card transactions by almost four million Americans, Uber’s revenue was about 12 times more than Lyft’s between May 2013 and May 2014.

Uber provided more than seven times the number of rides and charged higher rates for its service, from $21 per ride on average compared to Lyft’s $13.

HP purchases Eucalyptus

Hewlett-Packard has announced it will buy cloud software startup Eucalyptus Systems, Re/code reports.

The deal calls for Eucalyptus chief executive officer Marten Mickos to take over as senior VP and head of HP’s cloud business unit.

Sources familiar with the deal told Re/code the price of the acquisition is less than $100 million.

Windows 9 screenshots leaked

More Windows 9 screen shots have leaked, providing a close look at the return of the Start Menu and changes to the Windows task bar, The Verge reports.

The screenshots, which are from a “Windows Technical Preview”, show a new search icon next to the Start button, alongside a button for the virtual desktops feature. Windows 8-style apps can be seen floating on the desktop in several screenshots, with app commands for search, share, play and settings available in context menus within the apps. 

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 19.71 to 17,049.00. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US91 cents.

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