Techmeme
December 18, 2019, 6:50 PM

Top News

Todd Haselton / CNBC:
Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance announce a partnership to create a universal smart home standard, called the “Project Connected Home over IP”  —  - Amazon, Apple, Google and the Zigbee Alliance announced a new partnership.  — It's called Project Connected Home over IP …
New York Times:
An examination of poorly secured police and private databases reveals how China is ramping up its ability to spy on its citizens to new and disturbing levels  —  The authorities can scan your phones, track your face and find out when you leave your home.  One of the world's biggest spying networks …
New York Times:
The defining moments of tech in the 2010s, including the Arab Spring and unveiling of the iPad, as recalled by Zuckerberg, Snowden, Phil Schiller, and others  —  An oral history of the 2010s  —  When the decade began, tech meant promise — cars that could drive themselves, social networks that could take down dictators.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Lawmakers balk after Facebook explains how it collects and monetizes location data of users who have denied location services in their smartphone OS for its app  —  - In response to a letter from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Facebook explained why it tracks users' locations …
Bloomberg:
Current and ex-employees of SoftBank's Vision Fund describe an environment of sycophancy towards Son, harassment, rivalries, and a culture of recklessness  —  Masayoshi Son's venture capital firm is famous for making outsize bets on tech startups.  It has also been described as an environment of sycophancy and harassment.
Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
Author details how he created a deepfake video over two weeks at a cost of $552 using Faceswap, with an explanation of the tech and some of its limitations  —  I learned a lot from creating my own deepfake video.  —  Deepfake technology uses deep neural networks to convincingly replace one face with another in a video.
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Facebook says it will ban any branded content, including influencers' posts, promoting tobacco products, vaping, or weapons on Facebook and Instagram  —  - For the first time, Facebook and Instagram are putting restrictions around the types of items that brands can promote using “branded content.”
First Round:
State of startups survey: 33%+ of founders worry about the end of a tech bubble, diversity and mental health are key, and 65% say 2020 fundraising will be hard  —  Welcome to the fifth edition of State of Startups.  What started as an experiment in 2015 has since become a treasured tradition here at First Round.
Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post:
US government says Uber will pay $4.4M to victims of alleged gender discrimination and strengthen sexual harassment defenses, following an EEOC investigation  —  An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation found “reasonable cause to believe that Uber permitted a culture …
Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed News:
A meditation on digital life during the 2010s, which has become fractured, alienating, and contentious, falling short of the lofty ideals articulated in the 90s  —  In April 1997, Wired magazine published a feature with the grand and regrettable title “Birth of a Digital Nation.”
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Share Now, a car sharing service collaboration between Daimler and BMW formerly known as Car2Go, says it is leaving North America to focus on Europe  —  Daimler and BMW, which jointly own Share Now, say they are focused on European markets  —  Share Now, the car-sharing service formerly known as Car2Go, is leaving North America.

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Featured Podcasts

Channels with Peter Kafka:
Joanna Stern on the New Siri, OpenAI's Weird Gadget, and Life After the Wall Street Journal
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
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Big Technology Podcast:
Here's How The AI Bubble Bursts — With Paul Kedrosky
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Eric Vishria - A Decade of Lessons Investing in Software & Hardware
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The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'Getting the Snack Right', With Chance Miller
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
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Grit:
Booking.com CEO on AI and the Future of Travel
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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.
 

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CNN:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Daniel Cooper / Engadget:
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