Techmeme
November 8, 2018, 3:30 PM

Top News

The Keyword:
Google says it will make arbitration optional for individual sexual harassment claims, provide more info about investigations, expand training, and more  —  Editor's note: Today, our CEO Sundar Pichai sent an email to Google employees about changes we're making to better support them.
David Gelles / New York Times:
Sundar Pichai on the walkout, company culture, and how, China aside, Google already operates in countries with censorship laws like “right to be forgotten”  —  Growing up in India, he slept on the floor of a house without a refrigerator.  Today, the chief executive …
Megan Wollerton / CNET:
Facebook Portal and Portal+ video chat devices go on sale on Thursday on Portal online store, Amazon, and Best Buy  —  Facebook on Wednesday announced retail availability for its Portal Plus and Portal smart displays on the Portal online store, Amazon and Best Buy.
Facebook:
Portal doesn't listen to or view video calls, which are encrypted, runs camera and sound AI locally, and processes usage info like any device with FB apps  —  We know there are some questions around Portal privacy and ads, so we'd like to provide more details on these topics.  —  Privacy and Security
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Portal and Portal+ review: work great for video calls using Facebook Messenger, but as general purpose smart displays they lag behind the competition  —  Facebook's video calling device demands lots of trust for little return  —  It's not often that a new gadget gets announced and I don't immediately want to get my hands on it.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Samsung teases foldable phone that acts as a phone when closed and a tablet when opened, says mass production will begin within months  —  Our foldable future is here  —  Samsung has been teasing its foldable smartphone for weeks, and now the company has unveiled it for the first time today.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Amazon makes the Alexa app, previously available on select laptops, available to all Windows 10 users via Microsoft Store  —  Available in the Microsoft Store  —  Amazon is releasing its Alexa app for Windows 10 today.  While the app has been available on select Windows 10 laptops recently …
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
YouTube finally arrives on the Nintendo Switch, available to download now, following Hulu  —  Nintendo has sold over 22 million Switch consoles since launch, with plans to sell another 20 million this financial year.  —  That said, Nintendo hasn't seemed too focused on building out its portfolio of non-gaming apps.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Google is planning an expansion of its NYC real estate, which currently houses ~7,000 employees, to add space for an additional 12,000+  —  Nears office property deal in Manhattan's West Village for enough space to multiply city workforce  —  Google is gearing up for an expansion …
Conversations with Tyler:
Eric Schmidt on growing up in Italy, years at Bell Labs, PARC, and Sun, scaling Google, polarization on social platforms, how tech will shape the future, more  —  Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / SoundCloud / RSS  —  The son of an economist, Eric Schmidt eschewed his father's profession …
Will Oremus / Slate:
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Tesla names board member and Telstra CFO Robyn Denholm as Chairman of the Board, replacing Elon Musk; Denholm to leave Telstra to work as Tesla chair full-time  —  - Tesla delivered its largest quarterly profit in the company's history in the third quarter of 2018, reporting about $6.8 billion …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
RealtimeBoard, a whiteboarding platform that allows teams to collaborate remotely, raises $25M Series A led by Accel, with Altair Capital participating  —  RealtimeBoard, a whiteboarding platform that allows teams to collaborate remotely, has raised $25 million in a series A round of funding led by Accel …
More: TechCrunch

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