Techmeme
October 4, 2018, 1:30 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese spies inserted tiny chips onto products from US-based motherboard giant Supermicro to infiltrate almost 30 US companies like Amazon and Apple  —  In 2015, Amazon.com Inc. began quietly evaluating a startup called Elemental Technologies, a potential acquisition to help …
Bloomberg:
Amazon, Apple, Supermicro, and the Chinese government issue statements disputing the allegations of Bloomberg Businessweek's hacking story  —  Complete text.  —  In emailed statements, Amazon, Apple, and Supermicro disputed summaries of Bloomberg Businessweek's reporting.
Takashi Mochizuki / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Nintendo plans to release a new version of Switch in the latter half of 2019, perhaps as soon as summer  —  Updated console isn't expected to adopt the OLED panels used in Apple's iPhone X series  —  TOKYO— Nintendo Co. NTDOY -1.78% plans to release a new version …
BBC:
US DOJ indicts seven GRU officers with charges relating to cyberattacks on the global chemical weapons watchdog, anti-doping agencies, and a US nuclear company  —  Russian spies have been accused of involvement in a series of cyber-plots across the globe, leading the US to level charges against seven agents.
Valentina Palladino / Ars Technica:
Dell unveils the 15.6-inch Alienware m15, its thinnest and lightest gaming laptop, with Nvidia Max-Q GPUs, available October 25 starting at $1,099  —  Dell hopped on the ultra-portable gaming-PC bandwagon with a revamped Alienware laptop designed to appeal to serious and wannabe gamers alike.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
LG V40 ThinQ review: 6.4" QuadHD display, 6GB of RAM, Snapdragon 845, available for preorder now for $900+; five camera system is versatile but not high-quality  —  The V40 gives you a camera bag full of lenses in one device  —  All too often, when we evaluate smartphone cameras, we are looking at incremental improvements.
Chris Velazco / Engadget:
Frank Chaparro / The Block:
TD Ameritrade and a slew of Wall Street firms invest an undisclosed amount in cryptocurrency exchange ErisX, which plans to launch spot trading in Q2 2019  —  Brokerage giant TD Ameritrade, a slew of high-speed traders, and a long list of Wall Street firms are getting behind a brand new market …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
DevOps platform JFrog raises $165M Series D led by Insight Venture Partners, at a valuation “way north” of $1B, says CEO  —  DevOps platform JFrog has raised $165 million in a series D round of funding led by Insight Venture Partners, with participation from Battery Ventures …
Ryan Gilliam / Polygon:
Blizzard co-founder Michael Morhaime steps down as president, will remain an advisor, is succeeded by World of Warcraft executive producer J. Allen Brack  —  World of Warcraft executive producer J. Allen Brack is new president  —  Mike Morhaime, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment …
CNBC:
Barnes & Noble to look at strategic alternatives including a possible sale, after receiving interest from multiple parties including Chairman Leonard Riggio  —  - The announcement follows expressions of interest from multiple parties, including its chairman Leonard Riggio, it said in a statement.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Senate passes FAA Reauthorization Act, designed to modernize US aviation rules, which lets authorities shoot down drones without a warrant  —  U.S. authorities will soon have the authority to shoot down private drones if they are considered a threat — a move decried by civil liberties and rights groups.
More: Engadget and epic.org
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
BitTorrent says uTorrent Web, which has been available in beta since 2010 and as a full release since September 4, has passed 1M MAUs  —  BitTorrent today announced that its latest creation, uTorrent Web, has passed 1 million daily active users.  Although uTorrent Web had been available in beta for years …
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
VR workplace training startup STRIVR raises $16M led by GreatPoint Ventures, bringing total raised to $21M  —  Though some of the biggest names in tech are wholly focused on getting consumers to strap into VR, there has been an increasing amount of movement in companies adopting virtual reality to help train employees.

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More News

Brian Fung / Washington Post:

Earlier Picks

Spencer Soper / Bloomberg: