Techmeme: John Markoff on slow pace of automation, shorter term bets from VCs and government, future of transportation, AR as the next big platform, more (John Markoff/Edge.org)

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July 19, 2015, 10:10 PM

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John Markoff / Edge.org:

John Markoff on slow pace of automation, shorter term bets from VCs and government, future of transportation, AR as the next big platform, more — The Next Wave — A Conversation With John Markoff — This can't be the end of human evolution. We have to go someplace else. — It's quite remarkable.

Tweets: @bigdata, @dangillmor, @cdixon, @hunterwalk, @johnolilly and @digiphile

Ina Fried / Re/code:

China's Xiaomi Building Patent ‘War Chest’ in Preparation for U.S. Launch — Xiaomi international head Hugo Barra said on Thursday that the Chinese electronics company is looking to file more patents and strike more deals ahead of a launch into the U.S. market.

More: Bloomberg Business and Bloomberg Business

Jeff Baumgartner / Multichannel News:

Sling Media announces $199 Slingbox M2 set-top-box, makes mobile apps for it free, introduces pre-roll video ads — New ‘M2’ Slingbox Drops Mobile App Fees — But Apps Will Support Advertising — Taking another stab at the consumer mainstream, Sling Media has launched the Slingbox M2 …

More: TechSpot, TechCrunch, Engadget, Slingbox.com, Android Police, SlashGear and FierceCable

Aileen Lee / TechCrunch:

Welcome To The Unicorn Club, 2015: Learning From Billion-Dollar Companies — It's been over a year since we wrote our original post sharing our analysis of the last decade's most successful U.S.-based, venture-backed tech companies. — As we wrote in our original post - many entrepreneurs …

Tweets: @edithyeung, @cdixon, @adamshostack, @stevecheney, @valaafshar, @mmarinucci, @cappaert, @slh, @hunterwalk, @joshconstine and @mdudas

Washington Post:

Survey of 121 universities in US and Canada shows CS graduates are 4% black and 7.7% Hispanic, much higher rates than hired at major tech companies — Silicon Valley struggles to hack its diversity problem — Yahoo disclosed last week that African Americans made up just 2 percent of its workers, while Hispanics stood at 4 percent.

Washington Post:

Why the Islamic State leaves tech companies torn between free speech and security — The Islamic State and its supporters use social media to post propaganda and recruit followers. The Washington Post takes a closer look at how several groups in the United States monitor this activity.

Tweets: @mcandrew. See also Mediagazer

Brandon Chester / AnandTech:

Samsung announces 8-inch and 9.7-inch Galaxy Tab S2 tablets with new form factor and 4:3 2048x1536 displays, available in August — Samsung Announces The 8.0" and 9.7" Galaxy Tab S2 Tablets — Today Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S2, the followup to last year's Galaxy Tab S tablets.

More: Samsung and Android Central

Hollywood Reporter:

A look inside Jeff Bezos' Amazon Studios as it makes its push into original movies — Amazon's Hollywood Shopping Cart Secrets — “Can I show you my Pinterest board?” offers Roy Price, holding out his iPhone. “This is how we develop shows on Amazon.” — The head of Amazon Studios …

More: Business Insider, GeekWire and CNNMoney

Tweets: @jyarow, @jyarow and @jmmandel

Cho Mu-hyun / ZDNet:

Hands-on with Samsung Pay, the mobile payments system Samsung recently began testing in South Korea — Samsung Pay beta test shows promise, but the evolution must continue — Samsung has begun beta testing its mobile payment system Samsung Pay in its home country of South Korea.

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

Facebook Builds A Rough Road Back For Those Booted By Its “Real Name” Policy — Process hell and faceless bureaucracy may await those locked out of their accounts — even when they use their legal names. — Eveshka Ghost — Eveshka Ghost — Until recently, Daniel Wilson …

Roy Goldenberg / Globes Online:

Microsoft reportedly buying Israeli cloud security startup Adallom for around $320M — Microsoft buys Israeli cloud security co Adallom for $320m — With its development center in Tel Aviv, the cyber security company has raised $49.5 million to date. — Microsoft Inc. (Nasdaq: MSFT) …

More: Microsoft News and The Next Web. Tweets: @hilzfuld

Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:

Asus Chromebook Flip review: great design and build quality starting at just $250, but compromised by cramped keyboard, mediocre performance — Asus' Chromebook Flip looks and feels great, unless you're typing on it — Review: $250 Convertible Chromebook compromised by cramped keyboard.

More: Mashable, SlashGear, Computerworld, Fortune and The Verge

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