Techmeme
December 12, 2017, 2:45 PM

Top News

Jeff Benjamin / 9to5Mac:
Apple iMac Pro in 8-core and 10-core variants will be available to order on December 14, starting at $4,999; 14-core and 18-core models are coming later  —  Apple's pro-oriented all-in-one desktop, the iMac Pro, is set to launch this Thursday on December 14, 2017.
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Instagram now lets you follow hashtags, surfacing highlights from that collection in your main feed, rolling out today  —  The glass facade of the SuperMoon Bakery (#newforkcity, #eatingnyc) has a pleasing symmetry to it.  Two black rectangles sit on either side of a square, a neon smiley face suspended upside down in the center.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter makes it easier to tweetstorm by adding a threads feature, letting you easily add linked tweets from the compose screen, rolling out in coming weeks  —  Time for some game theory  —  A few months after being spotted in tests, Twitter's tool for creating tweestorms is now an official part of the app.
Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed:
Leaked documents show how Steve Bannon and Breitbart sought to sabotage Twitter via negative coverage, potential litigation, and stock manipulation  —  Steve Bannon and his associates at Breitbart News planned a broad financial, legal, and editorial campaign to damage Twitter, according to documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, who had a close relationship with the tech industry, has died of a heart attack aged 65  —  Ed Lee, the mayor of San Francisco who worked closely with leaders in the city's tech industry, has died after a heart attack aged 65.  A statement issued by his office confirmed …
Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
Facebook says it's changed and grown in the 6 years since ex-VP of user growth Palihapitiya left, after he said he felt tremendous guilt for what he helped make  —  - Facebook has responded to recent comments made by a former executive that criticized the company.
James Vincent / The Verge:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Nintendo says it has sold 10M Switch consoles since its release 10 months ago, meaning it may top first-year sales of the Wii, its best-selling console to date  —  Nintendo is boasting that its Switch hybrid console has sold 10 million units worldwide in the first nine months of release, helped by Black Friday promotions.
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Many alt-right alternatives to popular social networks are struggling to attract talent, users, and funding; a few have gone offline altogether  —  If you've lost sleep worrying about the growing power of the alt-right — that shadowy coalition that includes white nationalists, anti-feminists …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook's AR Studio platform is now in open beta, letting all developers make AR experiences for Facebook Camera; World Effects also arrive on Messenger Camera  —  Facebook is trying to close the augmented reality gap with Snapchat with the help of an army of third-party developers.
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
YouTube TV rolls out to 34 new metro area markets, bringing the total to 83 US markets  —  The unbundling of the cable media empire is well underway, as players like Netflix grow and others like Hulu and YouTube offer live TV service.  —  YouTube TV, in particular, is executing an aggressive rollout …
Scott Stein / CNET:
Apple's GymKit, which pairs an Apple Watch to fitness machines, makes its US debut in New York before rolling out to Equinox gyms in 2018  —  Apple just made connecting to treadmills and ellipticals as easy as tapping your Apple Watch on a piece of gym equipment.

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Earlier Picks

John Voorhees / MacStories:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: