Techmeme
September 27, 2017, 10:10 PM

Top News

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Amazon unveils new Echo with smaller design, cloth surface and multiple color options, improved speakers, multi-room audio, for $100 or $250 for three  —  A smaller, more powerful voice device  —  Amazon introduced a second-generation version of the Echo today with a dedicated bass tweeter and a modified, shorter design.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Amazon debuts updated Fire TV with 4K and HDR support, Dolby Atmos integration, 2160p video at 60 frames per second, available for $70 preorder today  —  And it's tiny, too  —  Amazon today introduced a new Fire TV with HDR and 4K capabilities, which marks the first time the device has offered the higher-resolution video.
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Amazon debuts $150 Echo Plus, which comes with built-in smart home hub that has 100 launch partners and ships with a free Hue light bulb; preorders start today  —  Sure, the new $99 Echo is a more premium (if lower cost) version of Amazon's wildly popular home assistant.
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Amazon launches Alexa-powered Echo Spot alarm clock with videoconferencing, as a smaller and more focused alternative to Echo Show, shipping in Dec. for $130  —  Amazon's Alexa-themed event apparently includes Echo speakers for every possible use case under the Sun.
Mark Zuckerberg:
Trump and some liberals say Facebook helped their opponents, but Facebook's role was different: enabling discussions, voter registration, and candidate outreach  —  I want to respond to President Trump's tweet this morning claiming Facebook has always been against him.
Tony Romm / Recode:
In tweets, President Trump accuses Facebook of always being “anti-Trump” and questions whether it colluded with newspapers and TV networks  —  President Donald Trump charged on Wednesday that Facebook was “always” opposed to him, suggesting it is part of a network of “collusion” …
Mark Harris / Wired:
Profile of Anthony Levandowski, covering his early life and schooling, career before and after Alphabet and Uber, and AI-focused religion, founded in 2015  —  Many people in Silicon Valley believe in the Singularity—the day in our near future when computers will surpass humans in intelligence …
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Uber shuts down its US auto-leasing business, affecting ~500 jobs, to find “a less capital-intensive approach” after it underestimated the loss per vehicle  —  Decision to close down Xchange Leasing will affect some 500 jobs  —  Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday confirmed …
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Apple publishes updated privacy page and white paper on Face ID, detailing security measures  —  A new technical paper sheds light on Apple's facial recognition system  —  Today, Apple published a newly refreshed privacy page.  With it came the most new information the company has released …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook on efforts to defend German election: deleted tens of thousands of fake accounts in preceding month, Related Articles for different views, Election Hub  —  Facebook may have dropped the ball with the U.S. presidential election, but it was much better prepared for last weekend's federal election in Germany.
Reuters:
Sources: private trades in Spotify ahead of public offering value company at ~$16B, or about 4X its 2016 sales  —  LONDON/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Private trades in Spotify shares are valuing the music streaming company at about $16 billion, according to people familiar with the deals, raising the prospect of a bumper flotation next year.

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