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September 20, 2018, 3:25 PM
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Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon announces an update to the $49 Echo Dot speaker with improved sound quality  —  A new, fabric design and better sound comes to the other members of the Echo lineup  —  Amazon has just announced an update to its most popular Echo speaker, the Echo Dot, along with its larger Echo Plus model that it had introduced last year.
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Amazon adds Alexa Guard to Echo devices enabling them to listen to sounds like breaking glass or smoke alarms and notify users  —  Amazon is adding a few new features to the Echo that turn it into one of the basic pieces of a smart security system.  Since Echo speakers are always listening …
More: CNET and TechCrunch
Natt Garun / The Verge:
Amazon is holding a surprise event in Seattle at 1pm ET today to announce new hardware
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
A look at Facebook Dating, which launches today in Colombia as a test and limits users to expressing their interest in a maximum of 100 people per day  —  Does deeper data produce perfect matches?  Facebook is finally ready to find out, starting today with a country-wide test in Colombia of its Dating feature.
Sean O'Kane / The Verge:
GoPro launches Hero 7 Black with live-streaming, super slow motion, smooth stabilization, and 4K video at 60 fps for $399, going on sale September 27  —  With new cheaper options at $199 and $299  —  Just a few hours after a last-minute leak, GoPro has officially announced the new Hero 7 line of cameras …
Noam Cohen / New Yorker:
Reporter says Linus Torvalds' decision to temporarily step away from Linux maintenance came after he was asked a series of questions about his conduct  —  The e-mails of the celebrated programmer Linus Torvalds land like thunderbolts from on high onto public lists, full of invective, insults, and demeaning language.
Wall Street Journal:
A look at how Google decides on Gmail's Smart Reply suggestions, which make up 10% of all Gmail responses, as the feature gets rolled out to all 1.4B accounts  —  Google's automated email replies, which are being rolled to its 1.4 billion accounts, have baffled users with some peculiar suggestions
Dani Deahl / The Verge:
Spotify says it will now allow indie artists to directly upload their music to the service; the upload feature is debuting in beta on an invite-only basis in US  —  The beta program is still invite-only  —  Spotify has announced a new beta feature that will allow independent artists to upload …
Mallory Locklear / Engadget:
Amazon updates the $180 Ring Stick Up camera and adds a wired version with an ethernet cable, available later in the year  —  Amazon is rolling out a bunch of new gadgets today, a few of which are focused on home security.  Among those is a new Ring Stick Up Cam, which will come in both wired and battery-powered versions.
Suzanne Barlyn / Reuters:
John Hancock, one of the largest life insurers in the US, will now only sell policies that track fitness and health data via wearable devices and smartphones  —  (Reuters) - John Hancock, one of the oldest and largest North American life insurers, will stop underwriting traditional life insurance …
BBC:
Equifax fined the maximum £500,000 by UK's Information Commissioner's Office for failing to protect the personal data of ~15M Britons in 2017 breach  —  Credit rating agency Equifax is to be fined £500,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after it failed to protect the personal data of 15 million Britons.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Study: online ad sales will increase 16% this year to $106.6B accounting for more than half of all US ad sales  —  - With new video services, their next phase of growth targets TV  — Politics bolster local, national TV, Magna Global report says  —  Online advertising will account …
More: Bloomberg and Axios
Wolfie Zhao / CoinDesk:
Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange Zaif says it was hacked and ~$60M worth of cryptocurrency, including 6,000 bitcoin, were stolen from exchange's hot wallets  —  Yet another Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange has been hacked with a loss of total 6.7 billion yen, or $60 million worth of cryptocurrency, including 6,000 bitcoin.

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:25 PM ET, September 20, 2018.

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.

From Mediagazer

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Major brands were replaced by direct-response advertisers during commercial breaks of CBS News' December 13 town hall with Erika Kirk, moderated by Bari Weiss

Kanis Leung / Associated Press:
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is found guilty of colluding with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious articles, and faces a possible life sentence

Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
The Boston Globe says Brian McGrory will return as editor, after Nancy Barnes' departure at the end of 2025; McGrory previously was editor from 2012 to 2023

More News

Earlier Picks

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Threat researcher: hackers stole customer credit cards in a month-long data breach at online retailer Newegg, between August 14 and September 18
Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal:
Google partners with T-Mobile to send Google Maps-like location data from Android phones in the US to emergency call centers
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple Watch Series 4 review: beautiful screen, great battery life, and health-tracking features, but Siri is unreliable, and there is no always-on screen option
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