Techmeme
October 3, 2017, 7:15 PM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Verizon says Yahoo breach in 2013 affected all of its 3B users, up from initially reported 1B users  —  Company disclosed late last year that 2013 hack exposed private information of over 1 billion users  —  A massive data breach at Yahoo AABA 1.95% in 2013 was far more extensive than previously disclosed …
Alex Kipman / Windows Blog:
Microsoft says developers can access Mixed Reality SteamVR preview and Halo: Recruit and other VR games are coming October 17  —  Mixed reality will unleash the creativity of every person and every organization on the planet.  Our journey has been filled with key moments in time that have shown us …
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Microsoft acquires social virtual reality app AltspaceVR, which had 35K MAUs as of July  —  At a special event today in San Francisco, Microsoft announced that it has acquired social VR app AltspaceVR.  —  The virtual reality social networking app allows users across headset and web platforms …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Samsung announces Windows Mixed Reality headset, Odyssey, with two AMOLED displays, motion controllers, 110º field of view; preorder today for $499, ships Nov 6  —  Microsoft is getting ready to launch the next major update to Windows 10, the Fall Creators Update, on October 17.
Max Read / New York Magazine:
How Facebook's increasing size and scope, potential for abuse, and new use cases led Zuckerberg to rethink its neutral role and emphasize community values  —  The same company that gives you birthday reminders also helped ensure the integrity of the German elections.
Washington Post:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Intel's former CEO Paul Otellini has passed away at the age of 66; he joined Intel in 1974 and became its fifth CEO in 2005  —  Former Intel CEO Paul Otellini has passed away at the age of 66.  —  Otellini was a lifelong Intel employee who had silicon in his blood.
Droid Life:
Walmart listing showed a $49 pre-order for Google Home Mini, arriving on October 19, and another image of the Pixel 2 XL  —  The Google Home Mini, a device we first revealed back in mid-September as the cheaper, smaller Google Home assistant speaker for $49, is now up for pre-order at Walmart.
TechCrunch:
Amazon has acquired 3D body model startup, Body Labs, for $50M-$70M  —  TechCrunch has learned that Amazon has acquired Body Labs, a company with a stated aim of creating true-to-life 3D body models to support various b2b software applications — such as virtually trying on clothes or photorealistic avatars for gaming.
Johana Bhuiyan / Recode:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Instagram adds polling stickers to Stories, an eyedropper color-picking tool to Android and iOS, and text and sticker alignment tool, limited for to iOS now  —  Instagram is making its Stories a little more interactive with a new polling feature that users can add with a “poll” sticker.
Ryan Christoffel / MacStories:
YouTube for iOS updates with iMessage app for sharing videos, with easy access to most recently watched  —  Today YouTube's iOS app received an update that includes the video service's first iMessage app.  The app only focuses on a single function - sharing videos - but it does well with that one thing …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Uber board voted to proceed with SoftBank talks, moves ahead with some governance changes; source says some shareholder super-voting rights were removed  —  Uber's board of directors today failed to approve major governance changes that would have prevented former CEO Travis Kalanick …
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
How the big tech platforms including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, who've pledged to provide accurate information during major crises, are failing miserably  —  In aftermath of Sunday evening's mass shooting in Las Vegas, visitors to Facebook's Crisis Response page for the tragedy …
Cale Guthrie Weissman / Fast Company:

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Earlier Picks

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: