In an interview, Mark Zuckerberg says he will stay on as Facebook's chairman, defends COO Sheryl Sandberg, reiterates Facebook's potential as a force for good  —  New York (CNN Business)After spending much of this year apologizing for Facebook's many missteps, CEO Mark Zuckerberg was defiant …

Source: Apple quietly bought Silk Labs, a startup that makes lightweight AI software for consumer hardware, earlier this year; PitchBook: Silk Labs raised ~$4M  —  Apple has quietly acquired a startup, Silk Labs, that specializes in making artificial intelligence software lightweight enough …

Design software company Autodesk says it is acquiring PlanGrid, a provider of cloud-based construction software, for $875M  —  Autodesk has agreed to acquire Plangrid, a startup that makes cloud-based construction software, for $875 million net of cash.  —  Why it matters …

Critics argue that the FCC should classify text messaging as a telecommunications service so that phone companies can't discriminate against messages  —  Consumer advocacy group opposes the move  —  The FCC unveiled two proposals today to battle the scourge of phone spam …

Leaked memo: Foxconn aims to cut $2.9B from expenses in 2019 and eliminate ~10% of non-technical staff, as it faces “a very difficult and competitive year”  —  Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of Apple Inc. iPhones, aims to cut 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) …

Sources: Samsung plans to release a variant of the Galaxy S10 next spring that will have six cameras, 5G, and a 6.7" screen  —  The tech giant's response to sales slump is flagship phones packed with bigger screens and extra cameras  —  SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. is planning …

In an updated statement, Tumblr says an audit found child porn images were slipping through detection tools, leading to removal from App Store  —  Blames an ‘industry database’ that failed to filter prohibited content  —  Tumblr says that child pornography was the reason for its app's sudden disappearance from the iOS App Store.

Amazon is using “neural text-to-speech” (NTTS) tech to develop new speaking styles for Alexa, will launch a newscaster style to read articles in a few weeks  —  Amazon is using AI to develop new speaking styles for Alexa, including a newscaster voice for reading articles

Amazon opens up Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit to wearable makers, and Qualcomm debuts a $299 Smart Headset, an Amazon-approved reference design for Alexa on the go  —  Amazon today announced general availability for its mobile accessory kit, a toolkit to help manufacturers quickly add Alexa to their devices.

US cyber-security firm Recorded Future claims to have doxxed Tessa88, the hacker who sold MySpace and Dropbox databases in 2016, as a 29-year-old Russian  —  Recorded Future claims Tessa88's identity is a 29-year-old Russian named Maksim Vladimirovich Donakov.

Microsoft now supports standards-based FIDO2 security key devices, letting Windows 10 users access their Microsoft Account without entering username or password  —  Passwords aren't as effective a means as preventing account break-ins as they might seem.  Three out of four people use duplicate passwords …

LinkedIn launches Student Voices, its take on Snapchat Stories, for US colleges, and says it plans Stories-like features aimed at other sets of users too  —  No app is safe from the Stories plague  —  The social media singularity continues with the arrival of Snapchat Stories-style slideshows …

Uber partners with MV Transportation, a paratransit service provider, to improve access to wheelchair-friendly rides in six North American markets  —  Uber has long received flack for its lack of widely available wheelchair accessible rides.  Today, Uber is taking steps to ensure riders …

Sources: US DOJ probe into cryptocurrency manipulation has homed in on Bitcoin, Tether, and Bitfinex, and whether traders artificially inflated Bitcoin's price  —  - DOJ investigating whether Tether was used to prop up Bitcoin  — U.S. case part of broader review of possible coin manipulation