Techmeme
December 19, 2014, 7:00 AM

Top News

Reuters:
Google will build Android Auto software directly into cars with Android M, no smartphone needed  —  Exclusive: Google aiming to go straight into car with next Android - sources  —  (Reuters) - Google Inc (GOOGL.O) is laying the groundwork for a version of Android that would be built directly into cars …
Richard Lawler / Engadget:
Samsung to shut down its ChatOn messaging service Feb. 1, 2015 in all markets except U.S.  —  Samsung's ChatOn service will shut down next year (update)  —  After denying reports that its ChatOn service was close to being disbanded on a region-by-region basis, Samsung has announced in Korea that it's going away.
Kent Walker / Google Public Policy Blog:
Google concerned by reports that MPAA is secretly working with studios to resurrect SOPA  —  The MPAA's Attempt to Revive SOPA Through A State Attorney General  —  We are deeply concerned about recent reports that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) led a secret …
Marc Rogers / Marc's Security Ramblings:
Why the Sony hack is unlikely to be the work of North Korea.  —  Everyone seems to be eager to pin the blame for the Sony hack on North Korea.  However, I think it's unlikely.  Here's why:1.  The broken English looks deliberately bad and doesn't exhibit any of the classic comprehension mistakes …
Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
Richard Bilton / BBC:
BBC investigation finds Apple repeatedly not meeting its supply chain standards on workers' hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers  —  Apple ‘failing to protect Chinese factory workers’  —  The undercover reporter filmed workers falling asleep on 12-hour shifts
Bloomberg:
China is Planning to Purge Foreign Technology and Replace With Homegrown Suppliers  —  China is aiming to purge most foreign technology from banks, the military, state-owned enterprises and key government agencies by 2020, stepping up efforts to shift to Chinese suppliers, according to people familiar with the effort.
Junio C Hamano / Gmane:
Vulnerability in Git, Mercurial allows for arbitrary code execution on OSX, Windows; affects Visual Studio, Github client app, among others  —  Subject: [ANNOUNCE] Git v2.2.1 (and updates to older maintenance tracks)  —  Newsgroups: gmane.linux.kernel, gmane.comp.version-control.git
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Longtime Internet Explorer leader Dean Hachamovitch is leaving Microsoft  —  Dean Hachamovitch is leaving Microsoft.  And yes, of course, there is an IE shirt associated with this milestone, too.  The longtime Internet Explorer leader, who led the efforts to modernize and revitalize Microsoft's web browser …
More: Learning, Neowin, The Verge and Re/codeTweets: @maryjofoleyThanks:@mnickelsburg
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
GameAnalytics Scores $5.5M Series A, Hires Ex-Aol European MD As CEO  —  GameAnalytics, a free analytics platform for games developers, has leveled-up its funding.  The Copenhagen-headquartered startup, which also has a sales office in London and a development hub in Berlin, has closed a $5.5 million Series A round.
Rachel King / ZDNet:
Google launching open source Cloud Dataflow SDK for Java  —  Summary:Cloud Dataflow fills a major puzzle piece in Google's rapidly evolving and growing cloud stack as the Internet giant continues to challenge Amazon Web Services.  —  Google is looking to woo cloud developers once again …
Ginny Marvin / Search Engine Land:
Google Launches “Store Visits” Metric In AdWords, To Help Prove Online-To-Offline Impact  —  It's been well known that Google has been working on a solution to tie clicks on search ads back to in-store traffic and sales as part of Estimated Total Conversions in AdWords.
Cory Bennett / The Hill:
EFF to argue NSA's “upstream” data collection program is unconstitutional in first public court challenge Friday  —  NSA to defend Internet collection in court  —  Digital rights advocate the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is taking the National Security Agency (NSA) …

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Earlier Picks

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Katie Benner / Bloomberg View: