Techmeme
December 14, 2018, 5:25 PM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook says that between Sept. 13 and Sept. 25 a photo API bug gave user-approved apps access to photos that were uploaded but never shared by ~6.8M users  —  Reset the “days since the last Facebook privacy scandal” counter, as a Facebook has just revealed a Photo API bug gave app developers …
Jeff Grubb / VentureBeat:
Discord says its PC game store will offer a 90/10 revenue split when it opens for all game developers in 2019  —  The video game industry is witnessing the death of the standard revenue split for distribution platforms.  For years, stores like Steam have taken 30 percent of every sale.
Julie Verhage / Bloomberg:
SIPC, which insures money in brokerage accounts, disputes Robinhood's claims that funds in newly launched checking and savings accounts is protected by the SIPC  —  The Securities Investor Protection Corp. said a new checking account from Robinhood Financial LLC raises red flags …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Reuters:
Sources: T-Mobile and Sprint expect prompt merger approval from CFIUS after SoftBank, Deutsche Telekom agree to consider curbing the use of Huawei's equipment  —  WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp expect their merger to be approved by a U.S. national security panel …
Bernadette Tansey / Xconomy:
Udacity, which has 10M+ registered users from 160+ countries, says 50,000 students have graduated from its nanodegree programs that cost between $1K and $2.4K  —  Bernadette Tansey  —  Udacity, a pioneer in the online teaching of IT skills, is celebrating a milestone today …
Eduard Kovacs / SecurityWeek:
Italian energy company Saipem was hit by a new variant of the notorious Shamoon disk-wiping malware, which attacked Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco in 2012  —  Italian oil and gas services company Saipem has confirmed that its systems were hit recently by a new variant of the notorious Shamoon malware.
Bloomberg:
In a court filing, Apple argues that China's ban on the sale of some iPhones, which it is appealing, would force it to settle its licensing battle with Qualcomm  —  Apple Inc. said a Chinese ban on the sale of some models of the iPhone will force it to settle a long and bitter licensing battle …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Revolut gets a European banking license via the Bank of Lithuania, which allows it to offer services like current accounts and non-prepaid debit cards across EU  —  Fintech startup Revolut is now officially a bank.  While the startup initially expected to get its European banking license during …
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: private equity firm Thoma Bravo is in early talks to acquire McAfee from TPG and Intel for a “significant premium” on McAfee's 2016 valuation of $4.2B  —  - Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is in early talks to acquire all of McAfee from TPG and Intel, sources say.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Spammers are emailing businesses, schools, and other locations in the US, Canada, and New Zealand, demanding bitcoin as ransom to not detonate a supposed bomb  —  Spammers are sending a wave of threats to businesses, schools, and other locations in English-speaking countries across the world …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Facebook adds a custom-built browser and support for its Instant Games platform to its Portal devices  —  Making its dedicated video chat screen more interactive  —  A new update out today for Facebook's Portal devices adds some much-needed features to the dedicated video chat screens.
Scott Scrivens / Android Police:
Xiaomi Mi 8 and Mi 8 Pro review: great camera, performance, and value for money but MIUI has many quirks and the in-display fingerprint scanner is inconsistent  —  Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi is a jack of all trades.  It makes a variety of connected gadgets, including TVs, toothbrushes, scooters, and even kettles.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Transform ML Experimentation with Tangle  —  Save months of compute time with Tangle, built by Shopify.  Try this open-source platform to simplify ML workflows, ensure reproducibility, and seamlessly share with collaborators.
Zoho:
Contract Signed.  Project Ready.  Tasks Created.  —  Every project begins with a promise; a contract that outlines the deliverables, the timelines, and the terms.  But for most businesses …
Bitrix24:
Bitrix24 powers the next generation of high-performing businesses  —  Chat, projects, CRM, and automation — all in one place.  Replace dozens of tools so your team moves faster, collaborates smarter, and grows effortlessly.
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

Hard Fork:
OpenAI Calls a 'Code Red' + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
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.
Access:
Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders" | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
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.
Great Chat:
Code red: our favorite tech rivalries
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
How An AI Model Learned To Be Bad — With Evan Hubinger And Monte MacDiarmid
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 5:25 PM ET, December 14, 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

Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Kent Walker / Google:
Sam Levin / The Guardian:
Amy Gesenhues / Marketing Land:
Arielle Pardes / Wired:
Ina Fried / Axios: