Note: Techmeme is hiring part-time editors. Apply here or tell a friend!
Techmeme
January 9, 2018, 3:55 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft halts AMD Meltdown and Spectre patches after reports of some AMD PCs becoming unbootable after installing recent updates  —  Microsoft blames AMD's documentation  —  Microsoft has paused distributing its Meltdown and Spectre security updates for AMD machines after reports of PCs not booting.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft on Spectre updates' speed impact: “single-digit slowdowns” on new PCs, big effect on PCs with Haswell/older chips and servers with I/O-intensive work  —  It's bad news for older Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines  —  Microsoft is taking the surprise step of detailing …
Alex Heath / Cheddar:
Sources: Facebook plans to unveil Portal, an Echo Show-like video chat device with a screen and camera, at F8 in May and ship it in second half of 2018 for $499  —  Facebook is about to jump into the consumer hardware business in a big way with a video chat device named “Portal,” …
Taylor Lorenz / The Daily Beast:
Leaked Snapchat DAU metrics from April to September 2017 show Snapchat is used mainly as a chat app, with Snap Maps' usage trailing off to ~19M since launch  —  Snapchat takes its secrecy seriously.  Very, very seriously.  —  Take the case of one former Snapchat employee.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google Assistant is coming to smart speakers from a variety of companies this summer, including speakers with displays from JBL, Lenovo, LG, and Sony  —  Google Assistant is coming to a ton of speakers, some with their own screens  —  If Google's gigantic “Hey Google” …
Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
Wi-Fi Alliance unveils WPA3, a new set of security standards to address weak points of open Wi-Fi networks, expects it in devices this year  —  Finally, a security reprieve for open Wi-Fi hotspot users.  —  At last, Wi-Fi security — or lack of — is about to get its day in the sun.
Corinne Reichert / ZDNet:
At CES keynote, Intel CEO claims major breakthrough with new 49-qubit quantum computing chip, showcases Loihi “neuromorphic” chip, reveals VR partnerships, more  —  Intel's CES 2018 keynote focused on its 49-qubit quantum computing chip, VR applications for content …
Michelle Robbins / Search Engine Land:
Google announces that Google AMP cache will display publisher URLs and drop the Google AMP URL prefix in search results, starting in the second half of 2018  —  Google announced today that it is well on its way to solving one of the most annoying (to publishers) “features” of AMP …
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Ripple countersues bank consortium R3, claiming R3's option contract for roughly 10% of the total supply of XRP, now worth ~$12B, was signed in bad faith  —  In the summer of 2016, Ripple's former CEO Chris Larsen made a fateful decision: he signed a deal with a bank consortium R3 …
Reuters:
Trump signs executive order that lets companies more easily build broadband infrastructure on federal land and buildings, in effort to improve rural broadband  —  U.S. President Donald Trump was expected on Monday to sign an executive order to make it easier for the private sector …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Generate videos with Veo 3 in Google Gemini  —  Create high-quality, 8-second videos with Veo 3, our state-of-the-art AI video generator.  Try it with a Google AI Pro plan or get the highest access with the Ultra plan.
Warp:
The #1 Coding Agent  —  #1 on Terminal-Bench.  71% on SWE-bench Verified.  Trusted by 600K+ devs.  Try the top agentic dev tool for $1 for 1st month with code TECHMEME.
Zoho:
Boost technician productivity on the go with the Zoho FSM mobile app  —  Life on the move: Inside a technician's daily workflowIn field service, unpredictability is part of the job.  One moment, a technician is on schedule.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
Why ChatGPT will be the next big growth channel (and how to capitalize on it) | Brian Balfour (Reforge)
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:
Can The Web Survive Generative AI? -- With Matthew Prince
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.
Tech Brew Ride Home:
AI Business Bigger Than The Smartphone Business?
Tech news headlines every day. 15 minutes and you're up to date. From Tech Brew, Morning Brew's tech hub.
Subscribe to Tech Brew Ride Home.
Hard Fork:
GPT-5 Backlash + Perplexity C.E.O. Aravind Srinivas on the Browser Wars + Hot Mess Express
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The head of ChatGPT on AI attachment, ads, and what's next
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Great Chat:
Warm intros and hot takes: It's time to get ready for fundraising season
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:55 PM ET, January 9, 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

Alex Cranz / Gizmodo:
Thuy Ong / The Verge:
Reuters: