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January 15, 2017, 11:00 AM
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Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Kate Conger / TechCrunch: |
Cloudflare discloses 2013 National Security Letter, joins CREDO and EFF to challenge the constitutionality of the FBI's NSLs and their accompanying gag orders — For more than a decade, CEOs of major tech companies have opened innocuous envelopes to find letters from the FBI inside …
More:
Cloudflare Blog, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cloudflare Blog, VentureBeat, ZDNet, TechCrunch, Engadget, theWHIR.com, Techdirt, and The Register
Tweets: @eastdakota, @mschruers, and @filosottile
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Microsoft announces Windows 10 Creators Update will include a Game Mode option to maximize gaming performance — Microsoft has started officially testing a new Game Mode feature in Windows 10. Traces of the new option were found back in December, but the most recent test build of Windows 10 … | Bloomberg: |
Sources: Andy Rubin's new startup, Essential, is working on a suite of consumer hardware products; source says the company aims to launch a smartphone this year — Android's creator is building a high-end smartphone to be the centerpiece of a series of AI-infused consumer gadgets. — by
More:
TalkAndroid.com, BGR, Softpedia News, Tech Times, International Business Times, TechnoBuffalo, Droid Life, Digital Trends, Android Central, CNET, AppleInsider, Liliputing, Android Police, PhoneDog.com, 9to5Google, Engadget, Business Insider, Cult of Mac, The Verge, iPhone Hacks, Silicon Valley Business …, and Recode
Tweets: @markgurman, @charlesarthur, @charlesarthur, @greengart, and @amir
| Moxie Marlinspike / Open Whisper Systems: |
Contrary to Guardian's report, Signal Protocol contains no “backdoor”; WhatsApp's encryption implementation is appropriate given the company's scale — Today, the Guardian published a story falsely claiming that WhatsApp's end to end encryption contains a “backdoor.” — Background
More:
The Guardian, tobi.rocks, slashcrypto.org, The Guardian, Gizmodo, Security Affairs, Tech Times, Ars Technica, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Tech Portal, Mashable, CBS San Francisco, Business Insider, Liliputing, Inquirer, reddit, and WeLiveSecurity
Tweets: @fugueish, @licuende, @fredericjacobs, @filosottile, @zeynep, @zeynep, and @fredericjacobs
| Barb Darrow / Fortune: |
Microsoft buys Maluuba, a Canadian AI startup focused on natural language processing — Microsoft is buying Maluuba, a Canadian startup focused on giving software a better understanding of human language. This natural language processing technology is a key underpinning of artificial intelligence (AI.)
More:
Maluuba, The Official Microsoft Blog, Tech Times, International Business Times, iPhone in Canada Blog, eWeek, SlashGear, The Verge, The Register, Xconomy, VentureBeat, Petri, SiliconANGLE, The Next Web, GeekWire, Neowin, The Tech Portal, Seeking Alpha, ZDNet, BetaKit, On MSFT, MSPoweruser, Windows Central, and TechCrunch
Tweets: @benbajarin and @fxshaw
| Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: |
Users say AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming service is plagued with errors and nearly unusable — DirecTV Now has been plagued with errors in the month and a half since the streaming service was launched by AT&T. Subscribers have complained of being unable to watch shows, frequent interruptions …
More:
Gizmodo, Variety, BGR, and DSLreports
Tweets: @directvnowhelp, @silversharehold, and @cubs2008
| Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: |
Outgoing FCC chair Tom Wheeler uses his final public speech to make a case for maintaining net neutrality — The outgoing head of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, used his final public speech to make a closing argument for maintaining net neutrality, the signature achievement of his time at the agency.
More:
Wired, Ars Technica, Yahoo! Finance, Hollywood Reporter, Tech Times, Engadget, YouTube, Gizmodo, and MacDailyNews. Tweets: @backlon. See also Mediagazer
| Ryan Mac / Forbes: |
San Francisco District Attorney sues failed camera drone maker Lily, alleging the company intentionally lied to potential customers with its viral launch video — On Dec. 20, Lily Robotics was up against a wall. It was five days before Christmas, and dozens of eager customers who had spent … | Brooks Barnes / New York Times: |
Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton stepping down; he will become chairman of the board of Snap, where he was an early investor — LOS ANGELES — The chief executive of Sony's underperforming entertainment division, Michael Lynton, announced Friday that he would step down to focus … | Kyle Orland / Ars Technica: |
Hands-on with Nintendo Switch: 720p screen is sharp, using a single small Joy-Con controller with both hands is cramped — Unique Joy-Cons are a mixed bag, and where are all the games? — The Nintendo Switch is trying to be all things to all gamers. This can be a strength in some ways …
More:
TIME, VentureBeat, Engadget, Engadget, The Guardian, TIME, Wired, Yahoo! Finance, Kotaku, CNET, VG247, and TechCrunch
| Jason Del Rey / Recode: |
Walmart streamlines retail, web teams internal memos show; e-commerce CTO to oversee tech teams at retail stores, US CMO to lead Walmart.com & Jet.com marketing — Can the brick-and-mortar retailer become a tech company? — If Walmart is going to better compete with Amazon …
More:
CNBC
| Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica: |
Proposed Virginia Broadband Deployment Act would favor private ISPs by restricting municipal broadband deployment — Bill would ban muni networks where private ISPs offer 10Mbps download speeds. — Virginia lawmakers are considering a bill called the “Virginia Broadband Deployment Act …
More:
Bearing Drift and The Roanoke Times
| Deirdre Bosa / CNBC: |
Lyft, international partners will prompt users to install local apps while abroad, not allowing direct payment; source says firm is planning global expansion — In the ride-sharing battle of David vs Goliath, smaller, nimbler David may be gaining ground. Number two U.S. ride-hailing company … | Avery Hartmans / Business Insider: |
More:
The Information, TalkAndroid.com, Forbes, Recode, Engadget, CNBC, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @alex, @theinformation, @theinformation, @theinformation, and @amir
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