Techmeme
April 19, 2017, 3:40 AM

Top News

Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Facebook debuts Spaces, its social VR platform that lets up to four users hang out in VR, available in beta for Oculus Rift, to expand to other VR platforms  —  More than three years after its acquisition of Oculus, Facebook is a product even more deeply intertwined with people's online identities.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook debuts Camera Effects developer platform: Frames Studio for simple picture effects, available now; AR Studio for creating masks, scene effects, in beta  —  Facebook will rely on an army of outside developers to contribute augmented reality image filters and interactive experiences to its new Camera Effects platform.
Tim Peterson / Marketing Land:
Interview with David Marcus on making bots easier to find on Messenger, updates to M assistant, debut of Chat Extensions to help devs add in-chat functionality  —  ‘We have a shot at becoming the Yellow Pages of messaging apps,’ says Facebook's Messenger boss, David Marcus.
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
BuzzFeed:
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple makes iMovie, GarageBand, and iWork apps for Mac and iOS free for all users; formerly they were free with the purchase of a new Mac or iOS device  —  Apple today updated several of its Mac and iOS apps, making them available for all Mac and iOS users for free.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Samsung S8/S8+ review: gorgeous design, build quality, great camera, but fingerprint scanner is in awkward spot, Bixby's useless, preinstalled apps are annoying  —  The new S8 and S8 Plus aren't perfect, but they are damn close  —  People “aren't excited by new phones anymore.”
Serdar Yegulalp / InfoWorld:
Docker unveils LinuxKit, a containerized kit for assembling custom Linux distributions, and the Moby Project for building customized container systems  —  LinuxKit provides tools for creating container-centric Linux distros, and the Moby Project helps integrate container elements Docker has released to the community
Jason Del Rey / Recode:
Sources: PetSmart is acquiring Chewy.com for $3.35B in the largest e-commerce acquisition ever  —  Bigger than Walmart's deal for Jet.com.  —  PetSmart has agreed to make the biggest e-commerce acquisition in history, putting a deal in place to snatch up fast-growing pet food …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple to unveil three iPhones this fall, including two revamped models and new high-end model with curved OLED display; high-end model could be delayed  —  Apple is testing a revamped iPhone with an all-screen front, curved glass and a stainless steel frame alongside upgrades to the current models.

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Say hello to Zia Answer Bot: Your organization's knowledge, on-demand in every Zoho Lens session.  —  Imagine your technician is halfway through a live remote assistance session.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

The Upstarts Podcast:
Mutiny's Jaleh Rezaei: Walking Away From Millions In Software To Grow Even Faster With Sales AI
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 3: Differing Visions of an A.I. Future
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:
The billionaire paying AI researchers to stay out of Big Tech
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Race to the Middle
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Great Chat:
After you ring the bell
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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 3:40 AM ET, April 19, 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

Earlier Picks

Rich McCormick / The Verge:
Casey Newton / The Verge: