Techmeme
December 17, 2017, 7:15 PM

Top News

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
In 2017, big tech platforms began accepting some responsibility for negatively affecting the real world, but questions remain about companies' next steps  —  This was a terrible year for the tech industry.  —  That's an odd thing to say at a time of record growth and profits.
Kate Conger / Gizmodo:
After slipping an unexplained promotional plugin for the TV show Mr. Robot into Firefox and angering users, Mozilla will move the extension to its add-on store  —  This week, Mozilla slipped a browser extension that promoted Mr. Robot into Firefox.  The goal was to give Firefox users access …
Benedict Evans:
How Amazon's decentralized operating structure and small, independent teams that use common internal systems, are integral to the company's unending scalability  —  When you look at large manufacturing companies, it becomes very clear that the machine that makes the machine is just as important as the machine itself.
Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
Inside the investigation led by the FBI to identify key perpetrators behind the Mirai Botnet, which was created initially to DDoS Minecraft servers  —  THE MOST DRAMATIC cybersecurity story of 2016 came to a quiet conclusion Friday in an Anchorage courtroom, as three young American computer …
More: New World Notes and Techdirt.  Thanks:@gfififi
Reuters:
Oracle agrees to buy Aconex, an Australian project management cloud software provider for construction projects, for $1.2B  —  (Reuters) - Aconex Ltd (ACX.AX) said on Monday it had received a A$1.56 billion ($1.19 billion), A$7.80 in cash per share, buyout offer from U.S. software major Oracle Corp (ORCL.N).
Axios:
Amazon in advanced talks to acquire Sqrrl, a startup that analyzes big data to detect cybersecurity threats; Sqrrl has raised nearly $30M in VC funding  —  Amazon is in advanced talks to acquire Sqrrl, a Massachusetts-based cybersecurity software company whose founders used to work for the NSA, Axios has learned.
Chris Velazco / Engadget:
Eve V review: a more affordable, surprisingly worthy Surface Pro competitor designed by its forum community  —  If you've never heard of Eve, I like to think of it as the OnePlus of computers: By ditching middlemen, this 11-person startup found a way to build and sell premium computers at a significant discount.
Business Insider:
Interview with the “founding father of virtual reality”, Jaron Lanier, on Silicon Valley culture, VR, #MeToo backlash, AI, and the future  —  Widely recognized as a founding father of virtual reality, Jaron Lanier has been hugely influential in shaping the technology of today.
Thanks:@lexnfx

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work  —  Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
Zoho:
Labels that build themselves: Simplified Label Automation in Zoho Writer  —  Anyone who ships every day knows this feeling.  Forty orders, each with a different number of items, and every item needs its own label.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
WebBrain:
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser  —  Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox.  Use local models or your preferred AI provider.  Get started free.

Featured Podcasts

Machine Gods:
The purple tsunami against data centers
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
Invest Like the Best:
Ramtin Naimi on the State of Venture Investing
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
The Upstarts Podcast:
How Ramp Built A $60B AI Product Factory Off A Corporate Card | Co-CEO Eric Glyman
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Great Chat:
Would you let a robot do it?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Training Data:
A Model For Everyone: How Ronak From Trajectory Is Building Products For Continual Learning
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
Big Technology Podcast:
Can AI Keep Going After The Democrats' Big Win? — With Teddy Schleifer
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:15 PM ET, December 17, 2017.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Nathan Heller / New Yorker:
Sucheta Kulkarni / The Keyword: