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January 8, 2019, 4:15 PM
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Top News

Joseph Cox / Motherboard:
Investigation shows how easy and affordable obtaining cellphone customers' real-time location data can be, as T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T peddle it to middlemen  —  T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T are selling access to their customers' location data, and that data is ending up in the hands …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google is evolving Assistant to combat Alexa by adding flight check-ins, helping developers integrate services via a new Assistant Connect platform, and more  —  Today, Google is showing off auto-translation on smart display speakers, letting you naturally talk to each other with the speaker acting as the translator automatically.
Lauren Goode / Wired:
Google debuts Interpreter Mode in Google Assistant for smart displays and speakers, to translate languages in real-time for people in the same physical space
Mark Zuckerberg:
Mark Zuckerberg says his challenge for 2019 is to host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society  —  Every year I take on a personal challenge to learn something new.  I've built an AI for my home, run 365 miles, visited every US state, read 25 books, and learned Mandarin.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Apple erred on China and “S” cycles, XR, and growth strategies, but reasons for optimism remain as headwinds, like cheap battery swaps, will fade  —  As rare as last week's Apple revenue warning from CEO Tim Cook may have been — the company last issued a revenue warning in June 2002 …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Over a dozen ex-Facebook employees detail how the company's leaders and stacked ranking performance reviews foster a culture where any dissent is discouraged  —  - More than a dozen former Facebook employees detailed how the company's leadership and its performance review system has created a culture where any dissent is discouraged.
Axios:
Amazon is quietly piloting a program for brands like Folgers to pay to send free samples to Amazon users, who are likely to enjoy them based on order history  —  Amazon is quietly piloting a program to let brands like Maybelline and Folgers pay to send free samples to consumers …
Sam Kim / Bloomberg:
Samsung forecasts decline in Q4 operating profit to ~$9.65B, below analyst estimates of ~$12.4B, due to weak memory chip demand and competition in smartphones  —  Samsung Electronics Co. posted fourth-quarter profit below estimates as demand for memory chips slumps amid deteriorating relations between the U.S. and China.
Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:
Lambda School, which trains students online to be software engineers in exchange for a share of future income, raises $30M Series B from Bedrock, GV, YC, others  —  Income Sharing Agreements are gaining the attention of higher education and Wall Street.  One early success story is getting a boost from venture capital.
Melissa Eddy / New York Times:
Twenty-year-old German man admits to stealing and publishing data on hundreds of lawmakers, journalists, and other figures from every party except far-right AfD  —  BERLIN — A 20-year-old German student took advantage of passwords as weak as “Iloveyou” and “1234” to hack into online accounts …
Washington Post:
Facebook is investigating whether News for Democracy, a left-leaning organization backed by Reid Hoffman, violated its community standards and ad policies
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
Instagram accounts were allegedly coordinating sharing of child porn using hashtags, then a viral campaign spotlighted it, and finally Instagram banned the tags  —  A hashtag war has been brewing on Instagram between users who appear to be trading child pornography and the memers intent on stopping them.
Theodore Schleifer / Recode:
Sources: self-driving startup Aurora is raising $500M+ at a $2B+ valuation in a round led by Sequoia  —  Aurora's appeal is predicated on three well-credentialed founders from Google, Tesla, and Uber.  —  The startup Aurora — which is not yet two years old but has made waves …

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:15 PM ET, January 8, 2019.

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

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD's board says it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount's revised offer, which includes a full backstop personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison

More News

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Alienware unveils the Area-51m, an ultra-powerful gaming laptop with a 17.3" 1080p display that's designed to let users swap out parts, starting at $2,549

Earlier Picks

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Intel demos its first 10nm Ice Lake chip, which is based on its Sunny Cove architecture, says PCs with the processor will ship by the end of 2019
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
AT&T has rolled out software updates to some Android phones changing its branding of 4G LTE to “5G E”, says that 5G with mmWave technology will be branded “5G+”
CoinDesk:
Coinbase says it's halted Ethereum Classic transactions, withdrawals, and deposits, after a 51% attack on the cryptocurrency led to coin double-spending
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Kroger partners with Microsoft, rolls out a pilot project in two stores with digital shelves, guided shopping, personalized ads, and “pick-to-light” shelf tech
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