Techmeme
December 17, 2017, 5:50 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 …
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.
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).
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.
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.
Felix Salmon / Nieman Lab:
The meteoric rise of bitcoin and difficulty in tracing ownership make disclosures from journalists and the experts they quote even more important  —  2018 will be the year of inadequate bitcoin disclosures.  —  In April 2013, Farhad Manjoo (then at Slate, now at The New York Times) …
Wall Street Journal:
Profile of US investment firm Voleon, which has $1.8B under management and has been using machine learning to pick stocks since 2007 with mixed success  —  Voleon is among investors deploying machine learning, a technology in which computers develop trading strategies.  It's harder than it sounds.

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Earlier Picks

Nathan Heller / New Yorker:
Sucheta Kulkarni / The Keyword:
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed: