Techmeme
December 18, 2018, 5:20 PM

Top News

Ina Fried / Axios:
AT&T to launch 5G mobile service on December 21 across 12 US cities via a $499 mobile hotspot device and $70/month data plan  —  The 5G era has arrived.  AT&T is launching 5G mobile service in a dozen U.S. cities beginning this Friday, becoming the first carrier to do so.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter is relaunching the reverse-chronological feed as an option for all users starting today on iOS and other platforms in the coming weeks  —  Just hit that sparkle, fam  —  Twitter is offering users another escape hatch from its ranked timeline.  The company said today that it will introduce …
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Anthony Levandowski's Pronto.ai plans to ship level 2 automated driving systems for trucks in 2019  —  Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has taken his newest autonomous vehicle technology company …
Wall Street Journal:
iPhone prices are unpalatable in India, where reports say its marketshare has shrunk to ~1%, and a source says it's taking in <50% the revenue once hoped for  —  With global smartphone sales flattening, Apple has looked to India for new growth, with little success so far
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
As shilling products has become a sign of success for influencers, up-and-comers on Instagram are posting fake sponsored content to boost their credibility  —  Tapping through Palak Joshi's Instagram Stories recently, you might have come across a photo that looked like standard sponsored content …
New York Times:
Senate report on Russia's disinformation campaign accuses Google, Facebook, and Twitter of being evasive and withholding data about Russian activity  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When lawmakers asked YouTube, a unit of Google, to provide information about Russian manipulation efforts …
Ina Fried / Axios:
Bloomberg:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Ry Crist / CNET:
Alexa Guard first impressions: hears sounds and alarms well, but can't contact emergency services, isn't supported by previous-gen Echo and Echo Dot speakers  —  “Alexa, I'm leaving.”  —  “OK — I'll be on guard.”  —  That's the gist of Alexa Guard, a new feature from Amazon that lets …
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
NPR's podcast measurement technology RAD has sparked debate within the industry, with Overcast's Marco Arment expressing concerns about tracking and privacy  —  Until recently, it hasn't been easy to measure the success of podcasts, beyond how many people download them …
Matthew Leising / Bloomberg:
Leaked bank docs spanning four separate months in 2017 and 2018 show Tether has a large cash stockpile, perhaps allaying fears that the digital coin is a scam  —  - Bank statements seen by Bloomberg show a large cash stockpile  — One of the biggest fears in crypto is whether Tether's a scam

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Zoho RPA named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research  —  Zoho RPA has been named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix, published by Nucleus Research …
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

Big Technology Podcast:
SpaceX's IPO Triumph, Anthropic's Fable Fumble, OpenAI's Price War
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.
Access:
A top iPhone app developer reacts to Apple's new Siri
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
TBC's Alex Ksendzovsky: The Neurosurgeon Using Brain Cells To Build Better AI
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
BG2 Pod:
The SpaceX IPO, Fable 5, AI Capex Update & Market Check w/ Gavin Baker, Andrew Fox & Clark Tang
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:20 PM ET, December 18, 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

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
Aliya Ram / Financial Times:
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal: