Techmeme
January 8, 2018, 6:05 PM

Top News

Pali Bhat / The Keyword:
Google consolidates its payment offerings, including Android Pay and Google Wallet, under a single brand: Google Pay  —  If you've ever paid for groceries with Android Pay, used Chrome to automatically fill in your payment info, or purchased an app on Google Play, then you've already experienced …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: AT&T has walked away from a deal to sell smartphones made by Huawei, a partnership that was expected to be announced on Tuesday at CES  —  Reversal is set back for Chinese electronics giant's hopes to crack U.S. market  —  AT&T Inc. T .24% has walked away from a deal …
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
James Damore, author of controversial diversity memo who was fired by Google, files class action suit claiming it discriminates against white male conservatives  —  James Damore, a former Google engineer who was fired in August after posting a memo to an internal Google message board arguing …
Janko Rottgers / Variety:
HTC unveils Vive Pro VR headset with 2880x1600 resolution, a 78% increase over current Vive, and wireless adapter, so customers can lose the wired PC connection  —  HTC used its virtual reality (VR) keynote at CES in Las Vegas Monday to unveil an updated version of its Vive virtual reality headset …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Apple releases macOS 10.13.2 supplemental update and iOS 11.2.2 with security improvements to Safari and WebKit to mitigate Spectre vulnerability  —  Apple just released iOS 11.2.2 with some Safari and WebKit improvements to mitigate the Spectre vulnerability. macOS is also receiving an update.
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:
Facebook says it's sunsetting M as a standalone concierge bot, but its context-based suggestions will live on inside Messenger conversations  —  Facebook's standalone concierge bot M will soon be no more.  —  On Jan. 19, Facebook is sunsetting the initial version of M, which has been available in closed beta since fall 2015.
TechCrunch:
Sources: Telegram to launch Telegram Open Network on new blockchain with native Gram cryptocurrency, ICO pre-sale of $500M, with only real fiat currency buy-ins  —  Encrypted messaging startup Telegram plans to launch its own blockchain platform and native cryptocurrency, powering payments on its chat app and beyond.
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
HP, Asus, Acer, and others plan to integrate Alexa into some of their Windows 10 desktops and notebooks this year  —  Amazon Alexa will soon arrive on Windows PCs, creating new competition for Microsoft's built-in Cortana voice assistant.  —  Hardware makers HP, ASUS …
Sara Salinas / CNBC:
GoPro issues weak guidance, drops CEO cash compensation to $1, will cut staff by 20%, exit drone business; CEO says he'd consider selling firm; stock down ~15%  —  GoPro lowered fourth quarter guidance Monday and confirmed layoffs of at least 250 employees.  —  Shares were halted in premarket trading.
Roger McNamee / Washington Monthly:
Facebook and Google's influence on the US election and Brexit calls for regulations for more transparency, letting users own their data and social graphs, more  —  An early investor explains why the social media platform's business model is such a threat—and what to do about it.
Variety:
Facebook has signed a multi-year, multi-territory licensing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, allowing users to upload and share media from the catalog  —  Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Facebook on Monday announced the signing of a licensing agreement.  —  The multi-territory …
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
After breach exposing millions of parents and kids, toymaker VTech handed a $650K fine by FTC  —  VTech, the maker of smart toys whose poor security practices exposed data from millions of parents and children, has been slapped on the wrist by the FTC to the tune of $650,000 and probation.
Bloomberg:
How the semiconductor industry responded to Meltdown and Spectre: initial disbelief, followed by a collaborative months-long effort to patch major tech vendors  —  Technology titans work in secrecy for months to fix key flaws Researchers uncover security holes too big to believe Pause Mute Current …
More: Datanami

Sponsor Posts

Command Line:
Copilot to autopilot: Why no single safeguard is enough  —  Microsoft designed a layered model that lets an AI agent resolve network incidents on its own within defined boundaries.
Will Reed:
The best sales leaders aren't job hunting.  Here's how to reach them without months of cold outreach.  —  Our team came from Box, Square, and Brex, so we already know the GTM leaders worth meeting.
Zoho:
UK tax compliance with Zoho Books  —  The evolving tax landscape in the UK has added an additional responsibility to business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers to ensure their choice of accounting software supports compliance …
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.

Featured Podcasts

Training Data:
Inside the Robot Data Factory: Mecka's Josh Gao on Sensorizing Humans to Train Robots
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Christina Cacioppo - Building an Enduring Software Company in the Age of AI
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
The 20-Year Bet to Make Fusion Energy Work | Jeff Lawson
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
Seinfeld
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
Inside the black box of AI: How AI models actually think | Emmanuel Ameisen (Anthropic)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Anthropic IPO Panic, A Spy At OpenAI?, The Great Food Slop Debate
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 6:05 PM ET, January 8, 2018.

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

Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
David Benoit / Wall Street Journal: