Techmeme
August 19, 2015, 12:30 PM

Top News

Kim Zetter / Wired:
Hackers post 9.7GB of data apparently from Ashley Madison breach to dark web, including account details for 32M users and credit card transactions  —  Hackers Finally Post Stolen Ashley Madison Data  —  Hackers who stole sensitive customer information from the cheating site AshleyMadison.com appear …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Multiple sources report finding their personal info in Ashley Madison data dump despite former CTO's claims that some of the leaked data is not genuine  —  Was the Ashley Madison Database Leaked?  —  Many news sites and blogs are reporting that the data stolen last month from 37 million users …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Internal Ashley Madison documents found in hackers' data dump, confirms at least some of the data is real  —  Ashley Madison hack is not only real, it's worse than we thought  —  Intimate data for more then 30 million accounts, keys to Windows domain published.
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple to simplify retail stores by demoting iPods to shelves, dropping iPad Smart Signs  —  Apple is preparing to make significant changes to its stores to simplify the experience by relocating iPod stock to accessory shelves and removing iPad-based Smart Signs, according to several Apple Retail managers briefed today on the plans.
Cam Bunton / 9to5Mac:
KGI: Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro to feature optional Force Touch compatible stylus, 2015 shipments in the 4-5.5M range  —  According to respected and generally reliable analyst Ming Chi-Kuo from KGI Securities, Apple's long-awaited 12.9-inch iPad Pro will feature Force Touch stylus support …
Joanna Stern / Wall Street Journal:
Apple CarPlay review: great text messaging integration, responsive Siri, and voice DJ control, but lags behind Google Now and Maps  —  Apple CarPlay Review: Siri's Finally on the Right Road  —  Apple's in-dash system for the iPhone sure beats anything that comes with your car but it needs more gas to take on Google.
TechCrunch:
The 50 Startups That Launched At Y Combinator Summer 2015 Demo Day 1  —  Hardware took the spotlight at today's Y Combinator Demo Day, reflecting a major shift of the accelerator beyond the cliche mobile app startup.  Out of the 50 companies from the Summer 2015 batch that demoed on the record today, 20 featured hardware.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Parallels 11 brings Microsoft's Cortana to Macs before Siri  —  The latest version of Parallels, the popular Windows virtualization tool for Mac OS X, almost feels like it's trolling Apple.  One of Parallels 11's key features, alongside full Windows 10 support, is its ability to put Microsoft's Cortana right on your OS X desktop.
Eugene Kim / Business Insider:
LinkedIn is launching a new app called ‘Lookup’ to help you quickly find and text coworkers  —  See Also  —  After failing to buy $50 billion Salesforce, Microsoft has suddenly become its hottest competitor  —  In April, LinkedIn got some interesting data about the way people used its service.
Jay Yarow / Business Insider:
Ex-Google exec Nikesh Arora spends $483 million to buy shares in his new company, Softbank  —  This is how you show confidence in your company.  —  Softbank president Nikesh Arora announced plans to buy 60 billion yen, or $483 million, worth of the company's shares.  —  He calls it a “personal bet” on Softbank.
More: TechCrunch
Graham Cluley / The State of Security:
Microsoft issues emergency patch for vulnerability allowing attackers to hijack Windows machines via IE  —  IE Under Attack!  Microsoft Releases Emergency Out-of-Band Patch  —  If Microsoft calls a vulnerability “critical,” warns that it affects all versions of Windows …
Wall Street Journal:
Vaio will begin selling Z Canvas PCs in Microsoft Stores in US from October, prices start at $2,199  —  Vaio PCs Are Making a Comeback  —  Vaio, Sony's former unprofitable PC business, is attempting a comeback.  Vaio Corp. plans to start selling laptops at Microsoft retail stores in the U.S. in October—but it faces long odds.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
OnePlus 2 review: solid build quality and performance make the smartphone, starting at $329 for the 16GB model, the best deal on the market  —  OnePlus 2 review  —  “Flagship killer.”  That loaded term has been bandied about by virtually every smartphone maker since the iPhone took the scene by storm eight years ago.
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
Xiaomi announces MIUI 7, partners with Opera to add Max compression technology to Android ROM  —  Xiaomi Bakes Opera's Data Compression Tech Into Newest Version Of MIUI Android  —  Xiaomi may be best known for its competitively priced smartphones, which have soaked up marketshare in China …
Amanda Connolly / The Next Web:
United States of Emoji: SwiftKey tells you the most popular emoji where you are  —  SwiftKey's keyboard for iOS got an update today that will show you the emojis you use the most.  Yes, it has been keeping track of how many you send.  —  In July, people using the iPhone beta version got …
Ruth Reader / VentureBeat:
Ephemeral, off-the-record messaging app Confide expands to desktop for Windows and Mac, available now for free; paid business version coming later this year  —  Confide brings ephemeral messaging to desktop, with Mac and Windows clients  —  When off-the-record messenger Confide launched …

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Earlier Picks

Kurt Wagner / Re/code: