Techmeme
December 15, 2023, 3:50 PM

Top News

Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
How Microsoft's 10-year-old Digital Crime Unit uses unique legal tactics and the company's technical reach to disrupt global cybercrime and state-backed actors  —  Ten years in, Microsoft's DCU has honed its strategy of using both unique legal tactics and the company's technical reach …
Forbes:
Google says it will no longer respond to geofence warrants after making changes to how Google Maps stores and accesses users' opt-in Location History  —  “Geofence warrants,” which allow law enforcement to get location data across a wide area, have become commonplace in recent years.
David Gilbert / Wired:
Researchers: Microsoft Copilot answers some political queries in the US and other countries with conspiracies, misinformation, and out-of-date or incorrect info  —  Research shared exclusively with WIRED shows that Copilot, Microsoft's AI chatbot, often responds to questions about elections with lies and conspiracy theories.
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Cox Media Group claims it can listen to consumers' conversations through microphones in smartphones, smart TVs, and other devices and use the data to target ads  —  A marketing team within media giant Cox Media Group (CMG) claims it has the capability to listen to ambient conversations …
Stacy Elliott / Decrypt:
Crypto wallet maker Ledger updates Connect Kit to remove some malicious code, live for five hours, after a former employee “fell victim to a phishing attack”  —  Crypto wallet manufacturer Ledger has confirmed an exploit that led it to warn users to “stop using dapps” …
Financial Times:
Glenn Fleishman / Retool:
A look back at Yahoo Pipes, which from 2007 to 2015 let users drag and drop elements in a browser to make data feeds, influencing a generation of UI designers  —  Want to know whether the latest logged earthquakes were near you?  Aggregate 100 top news sites, but only see items that mention cats?
Nikkei Asia:
Sources: Apple plans to use advanced OLED screens in high-end iPads in 2024 and in a MacBook model in H2 2025, and is also considering making foldable tablets  —  Display industry in for disruption as investment pours into newer technology  —  Apple is the leader in the global tablet computer market thanks to its popular iPad lineup.
Ash Parrish / The Verge:
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / ZDNet:
In iOS 17.2, Apple has closed off Flipper Zero devices' ability to carry out DoS attacks on iPhones by continuously sending Bluetooth pairing requests  —  Apple has finally closed off the ability of the Flipper Zero pen-testing tool to flood iPhones with so many popups that the handset would lock up and require a reboot.
Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central:
Microsoft launches its basic Office suite on the Meta Quest store for free, letting all Quests run Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a mixed reality environment  —  Now you can tweak spreadsheets while playing Xbox, all in VR.  —  What you need to know  — Meta Quest users can now use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in VR.
Wall Street Journal:
Some publishers estimate that Google's Search Generative Experience could cut referral traffic by 20% to 40% if the final version resembles recent iterations  —  Tech giant's AI-powered search product is being tested on roughly 10 million users; publishers rely on Google for traffic and see a gathering storm
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Toy startup Curio launches three AI-powered plush toys, including a $99 one called Grok, that use OpenAI's tech to converse with kids and are voiced by Grimes  —  Grok is the first in a line of toys from start-up Curio intended to allow kids to converse with an AI chatbot
Jordan Pearson / VICE:
Some X users report seeing ads for apps that use AI to “undress” women in photos; TikTok and Meta blocked certain search terms related to such “nudify” apps  —  A week after TikTok and Meta blocked certain search terms related to so-called “nudify” apps, X has not taken the same measures, Motherboard found.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
Introducing the UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation  —  UiPath's new platform empowers enterprises to experience the full power of AI to transform industries
Zoho:
Mastering bot filtering and Apple MPP compliance  —  Why is bot filtering important for your business?  As marketers, we live and breathe data.  Open rates, click-through rates, conversions—these metrics serve as the compass that guides our campaigns.
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

Techmeme Ride Home:
The New Netflix
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Ian Rogers tells me I need a crypto wallet
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.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Azeem Azhar's Exponential View:
What does Spain's blackout mean for the future of clean energy?
Azeem Azhar explores how AI and exponential technologies are shaping our future.
Subscribe to Azeem Azhar's Exponential View.
Invest Like the Best:
David Senra - The Focused Few
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
HubSpot CEO on the Future of SaaS, AI, & Leading Through Change
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Inside Devin: The world's first autonomous AI engineer that's set to write 50% of its company's code by end of year | Scott Wu (CEO and co-founder of Cognition)
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:50 PM ET, December 15, 2023.

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

Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk:
Timmy Shen / The Block:
Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:

Earlier Picks

Ben Horowitz / Andreessen Horowitz:
Will Knight / Wired:
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Will Douglas Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Aria Alamalhodaei / TechCrunch:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: