Techmeme
April 19, 2016, 2:45 PM

Top News

Apple:
Apple's MacBook gets faster dual-core Skylake processors, longer battery life, 8GB memory, faster graphics, and Rose Gold finish, starting at $1,299  —  Apple Updates MacBook with Latest Processors, Longer Battery Life & New Rose Gold Finish  —  CUPERTINO, California April 19 …
Fred Lambert / Electrek:
Sources: Apple hires former Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Chris Porritt for “special projects”, a likely candidate to lead Apple's electric car initiative  —  Exclusive: Apple hires former Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Chris Porritt for ‘special [car] project’
Kevin Kelly / Wired:
Magic Leap impressions: works well close up unlike some MR/VR systems, transition back to reality is effortless; mixed reality interface demoed in short video  —  The Untold Story of Magic Leap, the World's Most Secretive Startup  —  Don't call it a lens: Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz displaying …
Adrian Ludwig / Google Online Security Blog:
Android security 2015 annual report: Google checks 6B+ installed apps per day for malware, and fewer than 0.15% of devices using only Google Play have malware  —  Android Security 2015 Annual Report  —  Posted by Adrian Ludwig, Lead Engineer, Android Security
Dustin Volz / Reuters:
Apple refused China's request for source code within last two years, said Apple's top lawyer Bruce Sewell in congressional hearing  —  Apple refused China request for source code in last two years: lawyer  —  Apple has been asked by Chinese authorities within the last two years to hand …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Viber adds end-to-end encryption and hidden chats as messaging app privacy wave grows  —  Following WhatsApp's move to add end-to-end encryption to its platform, another big messaging company is joining the wave of apps turning on expanded privacy features.  Viber — a messaging app …
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:
Supposed pictures of 2016 Moto G show a fingerprint reader, and an extra sensor above the camera  —  The 2016 Moto G gets photographed, complete with fingerprint reader  —  See what is probably the first Motorola phone made under Lenovo's direction.  —  A supposed picture of the new Moto G …
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
A look at the people working behind the human-assisted AI personal assistants and bots like X.ai, Clara, and GoButler  —  The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots  —  Behind the artificial intelligence personal assistants and concierges are actual people, reading e-mails and ordering Chipotle.
Joshua Brustein / Bloomberg:
How the Amazon Echo started as part of a secret AR project and ended up as a surprise hit  —  The Real Story of How Amazon Built the Echo  —  The talking speaker started as part of a secret augmented-reality project and ended up as a surprise hit. … Telling Jeff Bezos he's wrong is always a frightening proposition.

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