Techmeme
March 17, 2017, 11:25 AM

Top News

Johana Bhuiyan / Recode:
Internal docs: Uber's 43 self-driving cars drove 20,365 miles last week with human intervention every 0.8 miles and “critical interventions” every 200 miles  —  A first look at Uber's progress.  —  Some of Uber's self-driving cars aren't driving as smoothly as the company hoped they would.
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Netflix to replace star ratings with thumbs up and thumbs down in coming weeks after A/B testing showed thumbs got 200% more ratings  —  Get ready to say good-bye to star ratings on Netflix: The company is getting ready to replace stars with Pandora-like thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs in the coming weeks.
Sebastian Anthony / Ars Technica UK:
Google open-sources new JPEG encoder that reduces file sizes by around 35%, and is compatible with existing browsers, photo editing apps, and the JPEG standard  —  New algorithm is based on human psychovisual system.  Images look better, too.  —  Google has developed and open-sourced …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Some users report Google Home playing a promo for “Beauty and the Beast”; Google says it “wasn't intended” to be an ad, will keep experimenting  —  Google Assistant now does advertising  —  Today some Google Home owners are hearing something extra when they ask …
Ryan Smith / AnandTech:
Snapdragon processors rebranded as “Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform”; lower-end Snapdragon 200 series SoCs will now just be “Qualcomm Mobile Platform”  —  While all eyes are on Qualcomm for the impending release of devices containing their high-end Snapdragon 835 SoC …
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Gmail now lets desktop users stream video attachments rather than downloading them  —  Google's making a small but helpful change to desktop Gmail today that'll be useful for anyone who sends or receives video attachments: from now on, you'll be able to stream them on the page, rather than having to download the file first.
Jordan Kahn / 9to5Mac:
Report: Spotify is negotiating with music labels to decrease royalty fees ahead of future IPO, possibly by limiting some releases to paid users for a period  —  Spotify is considering a move that would mean some of its biggest new releases will be restricted to paid users, according to a new report from Financial Times.
Sam Kim / Bloomberg:
Sources: Galaxy S8 will allow Samsung Pay authorization via facial recognition, building on authorization via fingerprint and iris scans  —  It's counting on features to differentiate its flagship phone  —  Phone to feature digital assistant, all-screen front as well
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:
Amazon says Alexa is coming to its iPhone app next week, with the ability to shop, track packages, tell jokes, check the weather, more  —  Starting today and available to all iPhone users next week, you can talk to Amazon's intelligent assistant Alexa while using the Amazon app.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review  —  As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People.  Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:25 AM ET, March 17, 2017.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Miguel Helft / Forbes:
Corinne Gretler / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Rita El Khoury / Android Police: