Techmeme: Alienware Alpha Review: A shockingly good tiny PC and console complement (Gordon Mah Ung/PC World)

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December 14, 2014, 1:50 PM

Top News

Businessweek:

Iranian hackers in February remotely accessed and wiped thousands of servers to punish Sands Casino CEO for incendiary comments — Iranian Hackers Hit Sheldon Adelson's Sands Casino in Las Vegas — Most gamblers were still asleep, and the gondoliers had yet to pole their way down the ersatz canal …

Tweets: @razhael, @felixgillette, @abegreenwald, @kevinroose and @csis

Jim Finkle / Reuters:

Exclusive: Iran hackers may target U.S. energy, defense firms, FBI warns

More: SlashGear, The Register, Digital Trends, Tech Times, Gizmodo, Electronista and Engadget

Om Malik:

Why I'm excited about photos, the visual web, computer vision and the far reaching impact of visual sensors — On visual web, a photo is worth more than a 1000 words — Photos, photos and more photos! Photos are the atomic unit of social platforms. Photos and visuals are the common language of the Internet.

More: The Loop. Tweets: @rklau, @jhagel, @colerise, @ryanlawler, @matmullen, @hblodget, @johnolilly, @caseynewton, @om and @om

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Uber pressures regulators by mobilizing riders and hiring vast lobbying network — OUTSIDE IN: A new era of influence — On a Thursday in June, bureaucrats from Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles made their move against Uber Technologies. The fast-growing ride-for-hire company …

Tweets: @postroz

Gordon Mah Ung / PC World:

Alienware Alpha Review: A shockingly good tiny PC and console complement — AT A GLANCE — Hardware has a shelf life like a gallon of milk. If it sits on the store shelf too long, it ends up getting poured down the drain. — That's ultimately the ugly story behind Alienware's Alpha game console.

More: Shacknews, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, Engadget, TechCrunch, CNET and PC Magazine

Dan Seifert / The Verge:

Surface tablets on NFL sidelines used solely to replace printouts of plays from stadium cameras — How Surface tablets are changing the way NFL coaches work — Inside Microsoft's $400 million digital gridiron — NFL sidelines are almost always entertaining to watch, but this year …

Bloomberg:

Watershed event in cyberwar: how in 2008 hackers sabotaged a fortified oil pipeline in Turkey — Mysterious '08 Turkey Pipeline Blast Opened New Cyberwar Era — The pipeline was outfitted with sensors and cameras to monitor every step of its 1,099 miles from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean.

Tweets: @i_sidh

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Congress passes intelligence bill incorporating key parts of Reagan-era executive order authorizing NSA spying on Americans — How Congress Secretly Just Legitimized Questionable NSA Mass Surveillance Tool — We recently noted that, despite it passing overwhelmingly …

More: National Journal, The Daily Dot, and Newsmax

Ryan Gallagher / The Intercept:

How GCHQ used malware to penetrate Belgium's largest telecom and remain undetected for 2 years — The Inside Story of How British Spies Hacked Belgium's Largest Telco — When the incoming emails stopped arriving, it seemed innocuous at first. But it would eventually become clear that this was no routine technical problem.

More: Maps Mania. Tweets: @buchtan, @headhntr, @shashj, @rj_gallagher and @the_intercept

Adrienne Lafrance / The Atlantic Online:

The Story Behind AOL's Iconic Yellow Running Man — This is the first in an occasional series about abandoned Internet icons. — It was spring of 1997. “Mmmbop” was the pop song of the moment and unlimited access to AOL cost $19.95 a month. Dial-up Internet had finally tipped mainstream.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @adriennelaf

David Pogue / Yahoo Tech:

Parrot Bebop drone review: $500 drone with exceptional stability, solid video stabilization, built-in acrobatics, simple phone app — Parrot's New Bebop Drone Flies Like an Angel — Once You Learn Its Secrets — I've become a crazyhead about flying drones this year.

Eric Limer / Gizmodo:

Samsung Gear VR: a better, simpler version of the original Rift that lacks content at launch — Samsung Gear VR Review: Hell Yes I Will Strap This Phone to My Face — The Oculus Rift is an awesome virtual reality headset. Google Cardboard is an awesome one too. But what if you could have the best of both?

More: Engadget, Examiner, The Verge and Ars Technica

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Tinder Competitor Hinge Scores $12M To Bring Its Friends-Of-Friends Dating App Abroad — If you want to hook up or judge people for fun, there's Tinder. But if you want to meet someone you could start a relationship with, Hinge is the app for you. Now in 28 cities across the States …

More: Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Betabeat, Medium, BuzzFeed, VentureBeat, PE Hub Blog, Wired, TIME and The Register

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