Techmeme
January 15, 2017, 7:05 PM

Top News

Kate Conger / TechCrunch:
Cloudflare discloses 2013 National Security Letter, joins CREDO and EFF to challenge the constitutionality of the FBI's NSLs and their accompanying gag orders  —  For more than a decade, CEOs of major tech companies have opened innocuous envelopes to find letters from the FBI inside …
Amar Toor / The Verge:
Facebook says it will soon expand tools to fight fake news to Germany, will send flagged posts to Berlin-based nonprofit news org Correctiv for fact-checking  —  Social network introduces fact-checking tools ahead of national elections later this year  —  Facebook will begin rolling …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Windows 10 Creators Update will include a Game Mode option to maximize gaming performance  —  Microsoft has started officially testing a new Game Mode feature in Windows 10.  Traces of the new option were found back in December, but the most recent test build of Windows 10 …
Thomas Fox-Brewster / Forbes:
Law enforcement has used services like SiriusXM and GM's OnStar to track cars and listen in on conversations since at least 2001, review of court filings shows  —  The rapid spread of connected devices that can listen and locate has been a boon for law enforcement.
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Profile of 31-year-old Joshua Kushner, founder of Thrive Capital and brother of Jared Kushner; he has told his investors he will strive to stay out of politics  —  Just days after the 2016 presidential election, a young venture capitalist called an emergency staff meeting.
Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:
Hands-on with Nintendo Switch: 720p screen is sharp, using a single small Joy-Con controller with both hands is cramped  —  Unique Joy-Cons are a mixed bag, and where are all the games?  —  The Nintendo Switch is trying to be all things to all gamers.  This can be a strength in some ways …
Moxie Marlinspike / Open Whisper Systems:
Contrary to Guardian's report, Signal Protocol contains no “backdoor”; WhatsApp's encryption implementation is appropriate given the company's scale  —  Today, the Guardian published a story falsely claiming that WhatsApp's end to end encryption contains a “backdoor.”  —  Background
Barb Darrow / Fortune:
Microsoft buys Maluuba, a Canadian AI startup focused on natural language processing  —  Microsoft is buying Maluuba, a Canadian startup focused on giving software a better understanding of human language.  This natural language processing technology is a key underpinning of artificial intelligence (AI.)
Bloomberg:
Sources: Andy Rubin's new startup, Essential, is working on a suite of consumer hardware products; source says the company aims to launch a smartphone this year  —  Android's creator is building a high-end smartphone to be the centerpiece of a series of AI-infused consumer gadgets.  —  by

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Earlier Picks

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: