Techmeme
December 16, 2015, 11:45 AM

Top News

Ken Yeung / VentureBeat:
Slack hits 2M daily active users, launches third-party App Directory, $80M developer fund  —  Slack has made its next move in building out its platform.  At a major press event in San Francisco today, the company announced that it has launched a third-party App Directory aimed …
Owen Thomas / ReadWrite:
Slack launches Botkit, an open-source framework for building apps for Slack, after working closely with Howdy  —  Slack Is Releasing Botkit To Make Bots Easier To Build  —  Slack, the increasingly popular team-messaging software, wants more developers to build apps that hook into its work-chat software.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google's top tech searches in 2015: iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy S6, and Apple Watch  —  Just like every other company on the planet, Google puts together end-of-year lists for its various properties.  But there's only one that matters more than all the rest: Search.
Brad Smith / The Official Microsoft Blog:
Microsoft deepens longstanding commitment to philanthropy with expanded vision, new organization  —  Today we're announcing an expanded commitment to our corporate philanthropy around the world with a broader ambition and a new organization within the company, Microsoft Philanthropies, to make this ambition a reality.
Mark Scott / New York Times:
New EU privacy rules make parental consent mandatory for kids under 16 to use social media, add hefty fines, more; EU countries to have two years to pass laws  —  E.U. Expected to Approve Tough New Data Protection Rules  —  European officials are expected to approve long-awaited data protection regulations …
Husain Sumra / MacRumors:
Social Analytics Firm Topsy Shut Down by Apple Two Years After Purchase  —  Two years after being purchased by Apple for $200 million, social analytics firm Topsy today announced the end of its service.  On Twitter, the company tweeted that it has “searched [its] last tweet.”
Charlie Osborne / CNET:
UK police arrest 21-year-old in connection with last month's VTech hack that exposed data of 6M+ children  —  Man arrested in VTech children's data hack  —  A 21-year-old British man is accused in the cyberattack, which stole data of more than 6 million children.
Bloomberg Business:
Google to Make Driverless Cars an Alphabet Company in 2016  —  Unit said to plan transportation service in Uber challenge  —  Autonomous vehicles seen reducing roadway fatalities  —  Google Inc. plans to make its self-driving cars unit, which will offer rides for hire …
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Vroom Raises $95M And Acquires Texas Direct Auto In Its Quest To Bring Car-Buying Online  —  People seem to be comfortable buying an ever-growing number of things online, but are they ready to purchase their cars that way?  Vroom says they are, and it's making a couple of big deals to move forward with that vision.
Cade Metz / Wired:
SEC approves Overstock's plan to sell public securities using blockchain technology  —  SEC Approves Plan to Issue Stock Via Bitcoin's Blockchain  —  The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a plan from online retailer Overstock.com to issue company stock via the Internet …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Philips Hue Reverses Decision To Block Third-Party Light Bulbs  —  Philips shipped a controversial firmware update for its Philips Hue bridge yesterday.  The company decided to block third-party light bulbs to fix interoperability issues.  Today, the company announced that this move was a mistake.
Ben Wheeler / Medium:
App developer calls for transparency at Product Hunt, decrying hidden role of power users, some with financial conflicts, in promoting products to front page  —  How Product Hunt really works  —  It starts with a mystery  —  Earlier this year, having devoted countless hours to creating my latest app …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Agentic AI: The need for a data foundation  —  This is the first post of the 4-part series on Agentic Data Infrastructure.Every business app now ships with an AI agent.  Each one is good at its own job.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

BG2 Pod:
The SpaceX IPO, Fable 5, AI Capex Update & Market Check w/ Gavin Baker, Andrew Fox & Clark Tang
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
All about Interest Rates
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Training Data:
Google DeepMind's Logan Kilpatrick: Why the Model Eats the Harness
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Big Technology Podcast:
What Should An AI Device Look Like? — With Alex Himel
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Great Chat:
Founders dish on VC bad behavior (and bring receipts)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:45 AM ET, December 16, 2015.

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.

More News

Bloomberg Business:
Laurie Burkitt / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

David Ruddock / Android Police:
Lauren Goode / The Verge:
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: