Techmeme
February 21, 2018, 4:25 PM

Top News

Steve Kovach / Business Insider:
YouTube and Facebook remove conspiracy videos claiming Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg was an actor but, in many cases, only after promoting them  —  - YouTube promoted a video featuring a conspiracy theory claiming that one of the survivors of the school shooting last week in Parkland, Florida, is a paid actor.
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton invests $50M in newly-formed Signal Foundation, a non-profit which will maintain Signal app, and joins as its executive chairman  —  IN THE FOUR or so years since it launched, end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal has become the security community's gold standard …
Yoel Roth / Twitter:
Twitter updates API guidelines to limit simultaneous actions across accounts, such as “any form of automation” to post “substantially similar” content  —  Keeping Twitter safe and free from spam is a top priority for us.  One of the most common spam violations …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Uber launches Express Pool, which gives cheaper fares to those willing to walk to shared rides, in SF, DC, LA, Miami, Philadelphia, San Diego, Denver, Boston  —  Uber's first new product in three years  —  UberPool has long occupied a weird place in the ride-hailing company's lineup of services.
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Intel begins rolling out updated patches for Spectre flaws in Skylake, Kaby Lake, and Coffee Lake processors, after first patches caused some systems to crash  —  All 6th, 7th, and 8th generation Core processors now have microcode available.  —  Intel reports that it has developed …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Nest adds Google Assistant support to its Cam IQ security camera and launches new $5/month tier for Nest Aware service with five days of video uploading  —  An update to the Nest Cam IQ will let you manage smart home devices with your voice  —  Smart home company Nest today announced …
Larry Dignan / ZDNet:
Google unveils recommendations for Android enterprise customers: select Android 7+ devices from BlackBerry, Google, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia; Samsung omitted  —  Google's Android Enterprise Recommended program includes a big chunk of the Android device field, but omits Samsung.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Qualcomm unveils new Snapdragon 845 standalone AR/VR reference headset with eye and body tracking, faster graphics, and higher battery efficiency  —  Qualcomm has revealed its Snapdragon 845 Xtended Reality (XR) platform for both mobile virtual reality and augmented reality mobile headsets.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is in talks to buy long-term supplies of cobalt, a key battery ingredient, directly from miners for the first time, amid fears of a shortage  —  iPhone maker one of the largest end users of the metal  —  Cobalt is a key ingredient in mobile phone batteries
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Amazon opens applications for second Alexa Accelerator program cohort, in partnership with TechStars, with option to work in London, the first non-US location  —  Amazon continues to tap into the developer community to expand the ubiquity of its Alexa voice-based assistant, and it's taking the strategy international.
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
Inside competition between multiple firms, such as Google, GM, and Uber, over mapping for self-driving vehicles, with many keen to stop Google from dominating  —  Self-driving cars need painfully detailed data on every inch of street.  Can automakers solve the problem without the reigning superpower of maps?
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Roku beats estimates with Q4 revenue of $188.26M, up 28% YoY, as active accounts rose 44% YoY to 19.3M, and predicts 2018 loss of $40M-$55M; stock down 15%+  —  Roku had a blowout holiday quarter: The company was able to handily beat analyst expectations, thanks largely to a big increase of its advertising revenue.
Jonathan Keane / Tech.eu:
Paris-based machine vision startup Prophesee, formerly known as Chronocam, raises $19M Series B led by unnamed investor with participation from Intel and others  —  Prophesee, the machine vision startup formerly known as Chronocam, has raised $19 million in initial funding for its Series B round led …

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