Techmeme
September 21, 2016, 7:35 AM

Top News

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Google launches Allo messaging app with Smart Reply and Google Assistant for iOS and Android  —  If you're going to unveil a new messaging app, it had better do something unique.  At this point, finding a place amongst entrenched options like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and iMessage is not an easy task.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Google backs off on previously announced Allo privacy feature, will store all non-incognito messages by default  —  The app will log conversations by default after all  —  When Allo was announced at Google's I/O conference earlier this year, the messaging app was presented as a step forward for privacy.
AT&T:
AT&T unveils plan for multi-gigabit Internet delivered over shaped radio transmissions that are guided by power lines; field trials set for in 2017  —  Urban, Rural and Underserved Parts of the World Could Benefit from AT&T's Innovative Wireless, Multi-Gigabit-Speed Internet Connectivity …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram rolls out a “Save Draft” feature to all users  —  Following tests earlier this year, Instagram today confirmed it's rolling out a “Save Draft” feature to all users.  This addition means you're now able to begin working on a post, then save a copy of your changes to be completed later.
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
macOS Sierra review: Siri and Optimized Storage features add convenience but can frustrate, as Siri lacks third-party tie-ins, and iCloud storage is too limited  —  For the last few years, nearly all of OS X's biggest updates have come in response to iOS.  First, the Mac got iOS's apps.
Jason Snell / Six Colors:
macOS Sierra's Optimized Storage iCloud syncing for Desktop and Documents folders is buggy and may not suit everyone's workflow  —  So that's it for the era of the big X. Version 10.12 of the operating system that runs the Mac is here, and with it, a new/old name: macOS.
Matthew Hughes / The Next Web:
Researchers find North Korea has only 28 TLDs on .kp domain after misconfigured nameservers allowed TL;DR project to obtain all the top-level DNS data  —  North Korea is the most repressive, secretive state in the world.  There's no free press, no independent media, and scarce few people have access to the Internet.
Mike Klein / Sunlight Foundation Blog:
Sunlight Foundation exploring merger or alliances with other organizations, will discontinue tool building and database maintenance  —  The board of directors of the Sunlight Foundation has reached some important conclusions about our future.  We want to share them with our friends, funders …
ProPublica:
For 250 popular items tracked over several weeks, Amazon ranked its own and affiliated products higher about 75% of the time, even when cheaper options existed  —  Amazon bills itself as “Earth's most customer-centric company.”  Yet its algorithm is hiding the best deal from many customers.
Josh Smith / Official Google for Work Blog:
Google adds natural language search, improved spell checking to Drive and enhances multi-column support in Docs  —  (Cross-posted on the Google Drive Blog)  —  Innovation is critical for business success, so we're constantly trying to build tools that enable our customers to do more.

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More News

Ben Fox Rubin / CNET:
Andrew J . Hawkins / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Jordan Novet / VentureBeat:
Steve Kovach / Business Insider: