Techmeme: Google will stop running Flash display ads on January 2, 2017 (Emil Protalinski/VentureBeat)

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February 9, 2016, 7:05 PM

Top News

Jason Tanz / Wired:

Andy Rubin's Playground is developing technology to help companies build AI-enabled devices, first available for startups in which Playground has invested — Andy Rubin Unleashed Android on the World. Now Watch Him Do the Same With AI — A couple of years ago, Andy Rubin …

More: The Verge, SlashGear, Tech Times, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Verge, playgroundblog, Phandroid, Graham Cluley, 9to5Google and Android Authority. Tweets: @brianroemmele. Thanks:@jasontanz

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Gmail Now Warns Users When They Send And Receive Email Over Unsecured Connections — Google is marking Safer Internet Day, which falls today, by introducing new authentication features to Gmail to help better identify emails that could prove to be harmful or are not fully secure.

Eric Geller / The Daily Dot:

Obama unveils $19B Cybersecurity National Action Plan, asking Congress for 35% increase in cybersecurity funding — Obama unveils $19 billion plan to overhaul U.S. cybersecurity — President Obama on Tuesday unveiled an expansive plan to bolster government and private-sector cybersecurity …

More: The White House, ZDNet, Wall Street Journal, Wired, New York Times, Re/code, Forbes, Reuters, Reuters, Linux Foundation Blogs, Engadget, BuzzFeed, USA Today, Digital Trends, The Verge, The Next Web, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Access Now, SecurityWeek, The Register, theWHIR.com, Tech Times, CSO, Silicon Republic, Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, ZDNet, The Hill, Washington Post and Defense One. Tweets: @mkaiserncsa. Thanks:@ericgeller

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

Oculus reveals first “Oculus Ready” PCs, with bundles starting at $1499 and pre-orders beginning February 16 — Oculus reveals first “Oculus Ready” PCs, bundled starting at $1,499 — Asus, Dell, and Alienware towers certified to run virtual reality.

More: Oculus, GeekWire, Digital Trends, PCWorld, Forbes, Windows Central, Geek.com, destructoid, The Next Web and Ars Technica

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Twitter Forms A “Trust & Safety Council” To Balance Abuse Vs Free Speech — Twitter's latest step in the tricky balancing act of championing free speech without also handing a free pass to orchestrated harassment via its platform is the announcement today that it's formed a “Trust & Safety Council” …

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Twitter introduces First View, new video ads placed at the top of users' timelines — Timing Is Everything: Twitter Unveils First View Ads, Videos At The Top Of Your Timeline — Twitter has been in the spotlight for the past several days over allegedly imminent (longstanding) plans to change the order of Tweets in your timeline.

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Amazon launches free cross-platform 3D game engine Lumberyard, with Twitch integration — Amazon takes on Unity et al with Lumberyard, a free cross-platform game engine — Amazon has unveiled two new products aimed squarely at the professional game-developer fraternity: Lumberyard …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Google allows Adblock Fast back in Play store, after pulling the app and slowing app updates for other ad blockers last week — Google Reverses Its Decision To Ban Ad Blocking Apps From The Google Play Store — Google appears to have reversed its earlier decision to ban ad blockers …

More: log.rocketshipapps.com, Engadget, VentureBeat, The Verge, Pocketnow and Ubergizmo

Spencer Soper / Bloomberg Business:

Amazon Is Building Global Delivery Business to Take On Alibaba — New unit would connect Chinese factories with U.S. shoppers — Strategy will turn FedEx and UPS into Amazon competitors — In recent weeks, speculation has mounted that Amazon.com Inc. plans to launch a global shipping …

More: USA Today, The Verge, Investor's Business Daily, GeekWire and Business Insider

Tweets: @mdudas and @amir

Mark Coppock / WinBeta:

Zikera, maker of Groove music player for iOS, announces Microsoft acquired its technology and brand assets — Microsoft officially acquires Zikera's Groove app for iOS — When Microsoft rebranded the Xbox Music service to Groove Music, some people thought that perhaps the Redmond company …

More: Zikera, VentureBeat, ZDNet and Windows Central

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Google will stop running Flash display ads on January 2, 2017 — Google today announced that the Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing are completely ditching Flash for HTML5 next year. More specifically, advertisers will no longer be able to upload display ads built …

More: AdWords - Google+, PCWorld, Wired, TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Marketing Land and Digital Trends

Paul Thurrott / Thurrott.com:

Microsoft to now share Windows 10 release notes, debuting Windows 10 update history website — Microsoft Finally Offers Windows 10 Update Information — After months of complaints, Microsoft has finally opened a Windows 10 Update History web site that will document the changes it makes to its flagship OS.

More: The Verge, The Next Web and Ars Technica

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Mac apps using Sparkle, a third-party updating service, are subject to MiTM attacks, affected apps include Camtasia, uTorrent, DuetDisplay, and Sketch — “Huge” number of Mac apps vulnerable to hijacking, and a fix is elusive — Apps that use 3rd-party updater over insecure HTTP channels subject to MiTM attacks.

More: AppleInsider, MacRumors, 9to5Mac and The Next Web. Tweets: @steveriggins

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