Techmeme
December 8, 2016, 10:55 PM

Top News

Satya Nadella / LinkedIn:
Microsoft closes LinkedIn acquisition, will pursue specific integration scenarios like LinkedIn identity in Office, notifications within Windows, and more  —  Today is an exciting day, one I've been looking forward to since June.  It marks the close of the agreement for Microsoft …
Bloomberg:
Facebook investor lawsuit alleges Marc Andreessen aided Zuckerberg's interests instead of shareholders'; documents show Zuck interested in government service  —  Earlier this year, Facebook Inc.'s Mark Zuckerberg came to his shareholders with a big question: would they approve …
Bloomberg:
How Alphabet has tightened spending on its Other Bets divisions such as Fiber, a strategy enforced by CFO Ruth Porat, leaving some employees frustrated  —  Alphabet's CFO Ruth Porat wants to bring focus to Mountain View.  Can the moonshot factory adapt?  —  by  —  Subscribe Reprints
Benjamin Mullin / Poynter:
NBC News' alert app Breaking News to shut down at the end of the year due to lack of revenue; all 20+ staff to remain on payroll until January 20  —  Breaking News, the popular alert app from NBC News, is shutting down at the end of the year.  —  The entire staff at Breaking News …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Former Magic Leap employees say planned release won't include tech seen in early prototypes; Magic Leap recruiting aided by video that didn't use firm's tech  —  Reality check  —  Magic Leap's allegedly revolutionary augmented reality technology may in fact be years away from completion and …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google will now let select developers create pre-approved “conversation actions” for Google Home, with all developers getting access “early next year”  —  Actions for the Google Assistant are coming early next year  —  Google is announcing today that it's ready …
Jon Russell / TechCrunch:
Source: Spotify backs away from SoundCloud acquisition after months of talks to focus on IPO  —  The digital music marriage that many wanted to happen isn't happening after all.  Spotify has given up on its latest effort to buy SoundCloud following months of talks between the two …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Google Daydream adds two video apps, NextVR and HBO, which will let subscribers watch TV on a virtual big screen; Netflix is listed as coming later this month  —  Google's Daydream virtual reality headset is getting a new slate of games and apps.  Today, seven more titles are padding out the library …
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Shigeru Miyamoto explains why Mario runs on his own in Super Mario Run, launching next week on iPhone, and says the game will introduce new players to Nintendo  —  The creator of Mario on how smartphones will introduce new players to Nintendo  —  In 2004, Nintendo released …
Alex Cranz / Gizmodo:
Many Pebble customers are left without a warranty or technical support after the Fitbit acquisition  —  Pebble, one of the best-known smartwatch brands, is dead.  Rumors about the company's demise have been swirling since The Information reported a potential Fitbit buyout last week.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Anonymous social network Yik Yak lays off about 30 of its 50 staffers as growth stalls; sources say the remaining employees are mostly engineers  —  Yak to square one  —  Yik Yak has laid off a “significant” number of employees amid a downturn in the app's growth prospects, The Verge has learned.

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Earlier Picks

Laura Jones / Windows Blog:
Bloomberg:
Todd Bishop / GeekWire: