Techmeme
January 5, 2016, 6:45 PM

Top News

Kurt Wagner / Re/code:
Sources: Twitter considers 10K-character limit for “Beyond 140” feature slated for Q1, testing timeline that shows 140 characters with option to expand for more  —  Twitter Considering 10,000-Character Limit for Tweets  —  Longer tweets are coming soon to Twitter.
@jack:
Jack Dorsey likens additional text in tweets to text screenshots, affirms the value of the 140-character constraint, predicts most tweets will still be short  —  At its core Twitter is public messaging. A simple way to say something, to anyone, that everyone in the world can instantly see. We didn't start Twitter with a 140 character restriction. We added that early on to fit into a single SMS message (160 characters).
Mike Brunker / NBC News:
Lumosity to Pay $2M to Settle FTC Charges Over ‘Brain Training’ Ads  —  The company that created the Lumosity “brain training” program has agreed to pay $2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers into believing that its mind games could help users excel …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Oculus giving Oculus Rift consumer edition headsets to original Kickstarter backers who pledged enough for the Oculus Rift DK1, in the countries it's launching  —  Oculus Rift Kickstarter backers will get a free consumer edition  —  Oculus will be shipping a consumer version of its Rift VR headset …
Lauren Goode / The Verge:
Fitbit's new fitness watch, Blaze, offers 5-day battery, improved heart rate tracking, touch LCD display, swappable bands, more available in March for $200  —  Fitbit's new wearable is a fitness watch called Blaze  —  How do you compete in a growing smartwatch market without making a smartwatch?
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
The second HTC Vive development kit has a built-in camera and new controllers  —  HTC is spending a surprisingly good name on a product that will only exist for a few months.  —  The product is the Vive Pre, a virtual reality headset that's going out to developers soon after its unveiling this morning.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Twitter's new “conversational ads” let users respond to ad tweets by choosing between multiple preselected hashtags and then tweeting them  —  Twitter's ‘Conversational’ Ad Unit Encourages Users To Participate With Customizable Hashtags  —  Twitter is announcing a new …
Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:
President Obama instructs Defense Department, the Justice Department, and DHS to research and regularly review smart gun technology in executive action  —  Obama embraces smart guns, thrilling proponents of the controversial technology  —  Proponents of smart guns say President Obama's executive action …
Will Oremus / Slate:
Facebook's News Feed team on algorithms, relevancy scores, and the importance of giving users more control over their feeds  —  How Facebook's news feed algorithm works  —  A small team of engineers in Menlo Park.  A panel of anonymous power users around the world.  And, increasingly, you.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon's Email And Calendaring Service, Amazon WorkMail, Exits Preview  —  Amazon this week took its enterprise-aimed email and calendaring service called WorkMail out of preview mode.  The product, which first debuted a year ago, is based on Amazon Web Services and is meant to sub in for legacy solutions, like Microsoft Exchange.
Leena Rao / Fortune:
Magic debuts premium service, Magic+, to cost $100/ hour for a virtual assistant that can complete any task  —  Magic, the Virtual Assistant for Everything, Debuts A Premium Service  —  When reality TV star and pawn shop owner Corey Harrison was jilted by a staff member at an unnamed Laguna Beach hotel …
More: TechCrunch and VentureBeatTweets: @semil
CB Insights:
Yahoo, Google, Facebook, and Dropbox eased up on “acquihires” in 2015  —  The End Of The Acquihire - Silicon Valley's Startup Severance Package Falls Out of Favor  —  Silicon Valley's “severance package” for startups fell out of favor in 2015 as Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Dropbox eased up on acquihires.
Tweets: @drew and @joshconstineThanks:@asanwal
Peggy Johnson / The Official Microsoft Blog:
Harman partners with Microsoft to integrate Office 365 into infotainment systems, Volvo to add Band 2 and Windows 10 smartphone integrations, more  —  Automakers choose Microsoft as connected car partner  —  When Microsoft talks about mobility, our interest is the mobility of the person, not of any single device.
Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:
Huawei Mate 8 review: excellent battery life and performance, while display and camera leave room for improvement  —  The Huawei Mate 8 Review  —  It's been over a year since we reviewed the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and Ascend Mate 2.  For many people and including ourselves at AnandTech …
Curt Woodward / BetaBoston:
Justice Department drops criminal probe of two former HubSpot executives  —  Justice Dept. drops HubSpot case with no charges, but leaves plenty of questions  —  The Justice Department has dropped its criminal investigation of two former HubSpot employees who allegedly tried to obtain …
Chris Velazco / Engadget:
Samsung's Galaxy TabPro S is a Windows 10 2-in-1 with dual-core Core M processor, 2560x1440 display, thinner than iPad Pro at 6.3mm thick, to ship in February  —  Samsung's Galaxy TabPro S is a crazy-thin Windows 10 2-in-1  —  Surface Pro 4 not your speed?  HP's Spectre X2 not svelte enough for you?

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

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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Mike Volpi from Hanabi Capital
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
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 6:45 PM ET, January 5, 2016.

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

Earlier Picks

Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
TechCrunch: