Techmeme
January 4, 2016, 6:45 PM

Top News

Nick Wingfield / New York Times:
Activision acquires assets of Major League Gaming for $46M; CEO Robert Kotick says he wants to build “the ESPN of video games”  —  Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E-Sports  —  Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty and other hit video game franchises …
Paul Thurrott / Thurrott.com:
Windows 10 is Now Active on 200 Million Devices Worldwide  —  Share Tweet Pin it Reddit Share Share  —  Microsoft announced this morning that Windows 10 is now “active” on over 200 million devices worldwide.  This figure presumably includes PCs, phones, Xbox Ones, and other devices …
Johana Bhuiyan / BuzzFeed:
GM invests $500M in Lyft as part of a $1B round at a $5.5B valuation, will work with Lyft on a fleet of on-demand autonomous vehicles within next 10 years  —  Lyft And General Motors Are Partnering To Bring You On-Demand Driverless Cars  —  Silicon Valley companies have given …
James Risley / GeekWire:
Oculus says Rift pre-orders start 8AM PST on January 6, price and ship date unknown  —  Oculus Rift preorders start in less than 48 hours, but price and ship date still a mystery … It's been nearly four years since Oculus wrapped up the Kickstarter campaign for its virtual reality headset, the Rift.
Andrew Wallenstein / Variety:
Yahoo shuts down Yahoo Screen, moves video content to its digital magazines like Yahoo Music  —  Yahoo Shutters Video Service Yahoo Screen (Exclusive)  —  Yahoo has shut down Yahoo Screen, the video hub the beleaguered company launched over two years ago to unite its many original and syndicated programming under one roof.
Evan Blass / VentureBeat:
Source: waterproof 5.1" Samsung Galaxy S7 and 5.5" S7 edge will come with microSD support, larger 3000 mAh, 3600 mAh batteries, and 12 megapixel f/1.7 cameras  —  Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will feature microSD, water resistance, and larger batteries  —  EXCLUSIVE:
Brent Snavely / Detroit Free Press:
Fiat Chrysler will integrate CarPlay and Android Auto into its Uconnect infotainment system in some models this year  —  FCA's Uconnect to adopt Apple CarPlay, Android Auto  —  Automakers are increasingly rushing to offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in addition to their own proprietary infotainment systems to meet consumer demand.
Steve Dent / Engadget:
WiFi Alliance approves 802.11ah HaLow WiFi standard in 900 MHz band for IoT devices, with double the range of today's WiFi, lower power consumption  —  New WiFi standard offers more range for less power  —  The WiFi Alliance has finally approved the eagerly-anticipated 802.11ah WiFi standard and dubbed it “HaLow.”
Brittany A. Roston / SlashGear:
Lenovo expands X1 line with new Yoga convertible, tablet, updated Carbon laptop, standalone monitor, and all-in-one  —  Lenovo's X1 PC line scores new Thinkpads and more  —  Lenovo's popular X1 product lineup is getting a big expansion in coming weeks, not the least of which is the addition of yet another ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

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Earlier Picks

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Chris Ziegler / The Verge: