Techmeme
March 29, 2017, 8:00 PM

Top News

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Samsung debuts 5.8" Galaxy S8 and 6.2" S8 Plus with slim bezels, Snapdragon 835 or Exynos octa-core CPUs, USB-C, 12MP/8MP cameras, face and iris unlock  —  Preorders begin March 30th, three weeks before the release date  —  The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the nicest phone I've ever held.
Mark Spoonauer / Tom's Guide:
Samsung Galaxy S8 hands-on: great screen, impressive design and good build, but how the Bixby assistant will stack up against rivals remains unknown  —  The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the sexiest phone ever made, and it also looks to be one of the smartest.  —  With an all-new design …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Samsung aims to eclipse iPhone with bevy of features and Infinity Edge design on its Galaxy S8 and to redeem trust after the Note7 by improving safety processes  —  The Galaxy S8 is Samsung's most ambitious project yet  —  “We have a dream to overcome Apple.”
Chris Welch / The Verge:
S8 costs $720 on Verizon, $750 on AT&T/T-Mobile/Sprint; S8 Plus is $840 on Verizon, $850 on AT&T/T-Mobile/Sprint; pre-order 3/30 with free Gear VR, ships 4/21  —  Samsung just unveiled its brand new smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, and US carriers along with big retailers …
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Steven Musil / CNET:
Google debuts Google Calendar for iPad and says a Today View Widget is coming soon  —  Users of Apple's tablet get a full version of the calendar app, complete with room scheduler and goal setting.  —  If you're an iPad user who depends on Google Calendar to keep your world straight, the web giant has some good news for you.
Yusuf Mehdi / Windows Blog:
Microsoft announces Windows 10 Creators Update will roll out on April 11 as a free update; Surface devices will arrive in more countries on April 20  —  Creativity has led the inspiration of our world's greatest inventors, architects, educators, entrepreneurs, developers, and students …
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Amazon says it will shutter its Quidsi division, bought for $545M in 2011 and home of Soap.com and Diapers.com, after failing to make it profitable  —  Amazon is shutting down its Quidsi division, owner of Diapers.com and Soap.com, because it's not profitable, as Bloomberg first reported and the company confirmed to Axios.
Jim Coudal / The Deck:
Ad network The Deck, used by blogs including Daring Fireball and Kottke, to shut down after 11 years  —  “If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.”  - Mickey Mantle.  LONG STRANGE TRIP We started The Deck in 2006 and for the first couple years it struggled.
TechCrunch:
Dog-sitting platform Rover acquires rival DogVacay in all-stock deal, with Rover CEO Aaron Easterly leading the new firm  —  Putting an end to a fierce competition in the pet-sitting business, Rover and DogVacay have agreed to join forces.  Rover will be acquiring DogVacay in an all-stock deal.
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Samsung's Oculus-powered Gear VR headset will now ship with a bundled controller, for $129 starting April 21  —  Samsung wasn't going to get out of today's Unpacked event without an update on the VR front.  The company has long had the best low-cost VR headset (courtesy of a partnership with Oculus) …
Xbox Wire:
Xbox One gets Beam streaming, screen time limits, a new dashboard and guide, starting today  —  We're excited to announce that we are shipping new features to the broader Xbox One community today.  This is a big release, and includes Beam streaming, an updated Xbox experience with the new Guide, home improvements, and much more.
Karl Bode / DSLreports:
House passes resolution that lets ISPs sell customers' browsing history without user permission, 215 to 205 along party lines  —  As most had expected, the House of Representatives today voted 215 to 205 to kill privacy rules protecting US broadband subscribers.
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:

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