Techmeme
February 7, 2016, 3:15 PM

Top News

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter's algorithmic timeline is like expanded version of “while you were away” feature, according to users testing it; opt-out is available  —  Here's how Twitter's new algorithmic timeline is going to work  —  Twitter went into an uproar Friday after a BuzzFeed report …
Jack Dorsey / @jack:
Jack Dorsey responds to #RIPTwitter, links Twitter's identity with real-time, doesn't deny an algorithmic feed but says there was no plan to launch next week  —  Hello Twitter! Regarding #RIPTwitter: I want you all to know we're always listening. We never planned to reorder timelines next week.
Glyn Moody / Ars Technica UK:
GCHQ's data-mining techniques revealed in new Snowden leak  —  Shhh!  Top Secret—don't pass it on...  (credit: GCHQ)  —  A “Data Mining Research Problem Book” marked “top secret strap 1” has been leaked that details some of the key techniques used by GCHQ to sift through the huge volumes …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Amazon and other retailers should stop selling cheap USB-C cables with faulty wiring that can damage laptops, and instead demand certification for these cables  —  USB-C cables are playing Russian Roulette with your laptop  —  Over the past year or so, one of the biggest tech stories …
Mark Suster / Fortune:
Upfront survey of VCs: 91% expect valuations do go down in the first half of 2016, 62% say their portfolios are cutting costs  —  The State of Venture Capital  —  There are a lot of data points that one can use to get a sense of the venture capital markets, including the number of startup financings and the level of VC fundraising.
More: SlideShareTweets: @davepell
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Twitter says it has suspended 125K accounts for promoting or threatening terrorist acts since mid-2015  —  Twitter Steps Up Efforts to Thwart Terrorists' Tweets  —  For years, Twitter has positioned itself as a “global town square” that is open to discourse from all.
Sarah Tavel:
“Uber for X” services must be more convenient than incumbents and more importantly, cheaper  —  Taking the wrong lesson from Uber  —  The last few years, it's become cliche for startups to describe themselves as “Uber for X”.  With Uber as the north star, the mobile phone became the …
Tweets: @joshelman
New York Times:
Popular messaging app Kik, which grants anonymity to teenagers and predators, is a growing concern for law enforcement  —  Wildly Popular App Kik Offers Teenagers, and Predators, Anonymity  —  The allegations are beyond chilling: two Virginia Tech freshmen charged with the premeditated kidnapping …
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Sources: Google to release Gear VR-like headset this year compatible with a broad range of smartphones, embed VR technology into Android OS  —  Google pushes further into world of virtual reality  —  Google is developing a new virtual-reality headset for smartphones, and adding extra support …
More: 9to5Google and Engadget
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon's Alexa voice recognition service on Echo speaker and Fire TV gets Uber ordering, Spotify streaming, and Domino's pizza delivery  —  Amazon Alexa Can Now Order An Uber From Your Echo Speaker Or Fire TV  —  It's been a big week for Amazon's connected speaker Echo.

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More News

Brendan Klinkenberg / BuzzFeed:

Earlier Picks

Microsoft:
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
T.C. Sottek / The Verge: