Tech Roundup: Kindle Unlimited, Project Zero & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Friends resemble each other genetically, reveals a new study.
• Scientific research finds plants can hear themselves being eaten and exhibit self-preservation mechanisms to deter predators.
• Several of US Department of Defense funded studies monitored and messaged unwitting users in Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to gauge their reactions, according to latest report from The Guardian; (dis)information spread on social networks also tracked.
• Naturalist Charles Darwin's complete library aboard HMS Beagle goes online.
• Hidden From Google aims to keep track of every search result blocked by Google following recent right to be forgotten ruling in the European Union; Microsoft opens page to accept requests.
• Google announces Project Zero, a new initiative designed to fight zero-day vulnerabilities across the web and boost user confidence in the Internet (all thanks to recent NSA revelations).
• Microsoft disables option to set Google as the default search engine on new Windows Phone smartphones.
• Google unveils Athena, a Material Design makeover for Google Chrome OS; Google Alerts rolls out with the new design.
• Microsoft to axe 18,000 jobs over the next one year as part of its recent Nokia phone business acquisition and other managerial restructuring efforts in what's seen as the biggest job cuts in the company's 39 year history; kills off Nokia's Android smartphone lineup Nokia X barely four months after launch.
• Apple to pay US$ 450 million to settle ebook price fixing case.
• Google scraps real name requirement for Google+.
• Jolla lands in India; set to launch smartphones running on Sailfish OS, a Meego-based open source OS.
• Online retail giant Amazon announces Kindle Unlimited ebook subscription service in the USA; lets you read any number of ebooks and audiobooks for US$ 9.99 per month (although book selection at present doesn't include most of the best sellers).
• People in the UK who persistently pirate music and movies will soon start getting emails warning them that their actions are illegal, reports BBC.
• Google subsidiary Nest, ARM and Samsung team up to launch Thread, a common network protocol that lets Internet of Things devices talk to each other.
• Google to kill Quickoffice apps for Android and iOS once its features are incorporated into Google Drive.
• Samsung launches 4G compatible version of Samsung Galaxy S5 in India for Rs. 53,500; non 4G variant selling for as low as 36,000.
• Apple takes on Microsoft's enterprise capabilities with IBM partnership to develop business applications for iOS devices.