Techmeme
November 15, 2016, 11:45 PM

Top News

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Google debuts PhotoScan app for iOS and Android, which makes it easy to digitize old print photos; Google Photos updated with more advanced image editing tools  —  On the surface, Google Photos has a simple mission: to store all your pictures.  Specifically, Google says it wants the service …
New York Times:
Adware on 700M+ devices sends text messages, contacts, call logs, location data to China every 72 hours; BLU says 120K of its Android phones in US are affected  —  WASHINGTON — For about $50, you can get a smartphone with a high-definition display, fast data service and …
Reuters:
Sources: Snap Inc. has filed confidentially for its IPO, could go public as soon as March at valuation of $20-$25B  —  Messaging app Snapchat has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO), sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
Twitter debuts an updated mute filter with ability to filter phrases and more, muted tweet threads, and new “hateful conduct” reporting option to combat abuse  —  At a pivotal moment, the company is introducing a mute filter, muted conversation threads, and user report infrastructure …
Jordan Novet / VentureBeat:
Google announces new AI group, to be headed by former head of Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Lab Fei-Fei Li and former head of research at Snapchat, Jia Li  —  During a media briefing at a Google office in San Francisco today, Google announced that it will launch virtual machine (VM) …
Andrew J . Hawkins / The Verge:
Lyft replaces mustache with Amp, a Bluetooth-enabled, dash-mounted LED device that displays a specific color indicated in riders' app  —  Meet the Lyft Amp  —  Lyft has outgrown its pink mustache.  Today, the ride-hail company says it will retire the oversized facial hair logo that has defined …
Cade Metz / Wired:
Elon Musk and Sam Altman's OpenAI partners with Microsoft, will use Azure for majority of its cloud computing needs  —  To build OpenAI—a new artificial intelligence lab that seeks to openly share its research with the world at large—Elon Musk and Sam Altman recruited several top researchers from inside Google and Facebook.
Ben Popper / The Verge:
DJI's new Inspire 2 drone for professional filmmakers has two cameras and starts at $2,999  —  More drone than most of us will ever need  —  DJI has a chokehold on the consumer drone market, and it's leveraging that dominance to try and establish itself as the clear leader for commercial drones used by professionals as well.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Report: after Apple's promise to purge outdated apps, 47K+ iOS apps were removed from App Store in Oct., 3.4x more than Jan. through Sept.'s average of 14K  —  Earlier this year, Apple promised it would clean up its iOS App Store by removing outdated, abandoned apps, including …
Brian Crecente / Polygon:
Super Mario Run launches on iPhone and iPad on December 15, will be free to download but unlocking full game will cost $10; Android release info not announced  —  Cost $9.99, but there's a free option too  —  Nintendo's Mario makes his grand appearance on the iPhone and iPad …
James Vincent / The Verge:
Apple releases $299 hardcover book “Designed by Apple in California” dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, chronicling 20 years of Apple design with 450 photos  —  A book like this takes courage  —  Running out of Christmas ideas for that diehard Apple fan in your life?
April Glaser / Recode:
Benioff on why he prodded FTC on Microsoft-LinkedIn deal after Salesforce lost bid: regulators should examine mergers resulting in monopolistic control of data  —  The FTC has never challenged a merger based on the anticompetitive acquisition of data.  —  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff …
Matthew Lynley / TechCrunch:
Pinterest launches an Explore section for trending topics and ideas; app now has native video player and auto-play videos in Explore section  —  Pinterest today is launching a new section of the app that is geared around surfacing trending and top ideas that'll get additional new content in front of users.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Pixelmator for Mac update adds Sierra Tabs, Touch Bar integration, content-aware Smart Refine, more  —  Pixelmator for Mac today updated to version 3.6 optimized for macOS Sierra and the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar, as well as a handful of other enhancements for the photo editor.

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