Techmeme: A history of Marissa Mayer's tenure at Yahoo, and why her efforts haven't been enough to turn the company around (Bloomberg)

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May 1, 2016, 3:42 AM

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Janko Roettgers / Variety:

Samsung Is Working On a Standalone Virtual Reality Headset … Samsung's plans for virtual reality go beyond the company's current Gear VR headset: The company is working on a standalone virtual reality (VR) headset that will incorporate positional tracking similar to the technologies …

More: Engadget, The Verge, ZDNet, UploadVR, Fone Arena, Pocket-lint, Digital Trends, Quartz, PhoneDog.com, Android Authority, SlashGear, VG247, Gizmodo, Phandroid, Ubergizmo, GamesIndustry.biz and Pocketnow. Tweets: @benbajarin. Thanks:@jank0

Anna Wiener / n+1:

A first-person narrative on the allure and anxiety of working at a Silicon Valley startup — Uncanny Valley — I would say more, but I signed an NDA. — MORALE IS DOWN. We are making plenty of money, but the office is teeming with salespeople: well-groomed social animals with good posture …

Tweets: @ashleymayer, @leighalexander, @qhardy, @tomkrazit, @calebgarling, @ibogost, @willoremus, @ftrain and @xor

Sundar Pichai / Official Google Blog:

Sundar Pichai lays out priorities for Google in his first Founders' Letter, with machine learning and AI playing a key role — This year's Founders' Letter — Every year, Larry and Sergey write a Founders' Letter to our stockholders updating them with some of our recent highlights and sharing our vision for the future.

More: Digital Trends, VentureBeat, Petri, SiliconBeat and SiliconANGLE

Tweets: @sundarpichai, @guy_levin, @qhardy and @whatthebit

The Intercept:

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper complains that Edward Snowden sped up spread of encryption by seven years — Spy Chief Complains That Edward Snowden Sped Up Spread of Encryption By 7 Years — THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE on Monday blamed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden …

More: Techdirt, Fortune and Digital Trends

Tweets: @dnvolz, @snowden, @guan, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @theintercept and @dangillmor

Bloomberg:

A history of Marissa Mayer's tenure at Yahoo, and why her efforts haven't been enough to turn the company around — Yahoo's $8 Billion Black Hole — These moves haven't mollified investors. In March, Starboard Value, which once got the board of Darden Restaurants replaced by …

More: Tech Insider and New York Magazine. Tweets: @alexcartaz, @editorialiste, @dannysullivan, @bradstone, @ericjackson and @willoremus

Patrick Howell O'Neill / The Daily Dot:

FBI uses malware created by an ex-employee of the Tor Project, Matt Edman, to hack Tor users — Former Tor developer created malware for the FBI — How does the U.S. government beat Tor, the anonymity software used by millions of people around the world? By hiring someone with experience on the inside.

More: Forbes and Security Affairs

AnandTech:

Intel's Changing Future: Smartphone SoCs Broxton & SoFIA Officially Cancelled — The past two weeks have been a busy - if not tumultuous - period for Intel. Driven by continued challenges in various semiconductor markets, culminating in weaker-than-desired earnings in the most recent quarter …

More: PCWorld, Neowin, Android Beat, Redmond Pie, Android Authority, Android Police, Fone Arena, Android Central, Liliputing, EE Times, eWeek and Forbes

Tweets: @stevesi, @withfries2 and @ryansmithat

Thanks:@ryansmithat

Bloomberg:

Internet retailers like Adore Me, JustFab, and Birchbox are placing customers into unwanted, hard-to-cancel subscriptions, leading to complaints and lawsuits — Trapping You in a Club You Didn't Know You Joined — A $19.95 set of lacy lingerie had already cost Hailee Taylor more than $300 …

More: Boing Boing. Tweets: @shiraovide

Reuters:

How Google's aggressive lobbying put it in a leadership position to shape regulation for driverless cars — How Google is shaping the rules of the driverless road — The battle to dominate the next generation of cars hinges in part on autonomous driving technology.

More: Automotive News Automaker. Tweets: @reuters and @reuters

Scott Gilbertson / Ars Technica:

Vivaldi browser review: ultra customization and clever tab management great for power users, but no mobile version and some glitches in version 1.0 — Even at 1.0, Vivaldi closes in on the cure for the common browser — Review: Ultra customization, clever tab management breaks from Chrome, Firefox.

Neil Mawston / Strategy Analytics:

Smartwatch shipments grew 223% year-over-year in Q1 2016; Apple had 52% marketshare, down from 63% in prior quarter — STRATEGY ANALYTICS: Apple Watch Slips to 52% Global Smartwatch Marketshare in Q1 2016 — According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartwatch …

More: Business Insider, SlashGear and FierceWireless

Michele Chandler / Investor's Business Daily:

Report: Yahoo reaches deal to sell 48.6-acre undeveloped site in Santa Clara to Chinese tech firm LeEco — Yahoo Reportedly Selling Huge Silicon Valley Site To Chinese Firm — Yahoo (YHOO) has reached a deal to sell a 48.6-acre undeveloped site in Santa Clara, Calif. …

More: SiliconBeat. Tweets: @howardlindzon

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