Techmeme
November 28, 2018, 7:05 PM

Top News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon announces new blockchain services: Amazon Quantum Ledger Database, in preview today, and AWS Managed Blockchain  —  Amazon last year dismissed the idea of getting into the blockchain with AWS, but today that's changed.  The company announced a new service called Amazon Quantum Ledger Database …
Bloomberg:
AWS debuts Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, to sway customers from Microsoft, and Glacier Deep Archive as a cheaper data storage option, coming in 2019  —  - Internet giant seeks to maintain lead in cloud computing  — New tools aim to lower costs, win business from Microsoft
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google rebrands Project Fi to Google Fi and adds support for iPhones, currently in beta, and the “majority” of Android devices  —  Looks like the MVNO is here to stay  —  Three years after it first launched, Google is making its cell service a little more official today.
Shara Tibken / CNET:
Amid worries about demand for iPhone XR, Apple VP of product marketing Greg Joswiak says it's “been our most popular iPhone” every day since it became available  —  Apple's iPhone XR has been outselling the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max every day since the cheaper, colorful phone hit the market last month.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
DOJ indicts two Iranian nationals for creating and deploying the SamSam ransomware, which caused $30M in losses and had 200+ victims  —  U.S. federal prosectors have indicted two Iranian nationals for creating and deploying the notorious SamSam ransomware.  —  Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34 …
Larry Cermak / The Block:
Steemit, a social network that rewards users with its own cryptocurrency, says it's laying off nearly 70% of its team, after its currency declined 96%  —  Steemit, the company behind a blogging website that uses the Steem blockchain and cryptocurrency to reward publishers and curators …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Instagram begins rolling out a tool that describes photos for visually impaired users using AI or user descriptions  —  They'll know what they're seeing  —  Instagram announced today that it's rolling out new features that'll make the app easier to use for people with visual impairments.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook is launching its “Today In” local news section in 400 US cities, after beginning testing it in January  —  Facebook has a new area of its app it will have to police for fake news and biased sensationalism.  Facebook is launching “Today In”, its local news aggregator …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Starting next year, YouTube says its original content will be free and supported by ads, instead of being behind a premium paywall  —  YouTube has concluded that its investments in original programming should have a home on the free, ad-supported side — not just tucked behind a paywall.
Jessi Hempel / LinkedIn:
Silicon Valley should move past its glowing perception of the Zuckerberg-Sandberg paradigm, where the challenges created by a brash CEO are tackled by the COO  —  Sheryl Sandberg had been working at Facebook for just 13 days the first time we sat down for an interview.
Wall Street Journal:
Amazon says it is phasing out sponsored product ads on baby registries, which attach a small “sponsored” label, after some users found them deceptive  —  Unwanted gifts arrive after friends say company's baby registries tricked them  —  Kima Nieves recently received two Aveeno bath …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Dell says it detected hackers “attempting to extract Dell.com customer information”, such as customer names, email addresses, and hashed passwords, on Nov. 9  —  Company says it detected an intrusion at the start of the month, but financial data was not exposed.
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on December 5 regarding claims the company is biased against conservatives  —  Google chief executive Sundar Pichai is set to testify to Congress in December, facing off against lawmakers for the first time at a hearing …
Joshua Brustein / Bloomberg:
The Army says Microsoft has won a $480M contract to supply prototypes for AR systems for combat missions and training, may buy up to 100K HoloLens devices  —  Microsoft Corp. has won a $480 million contract to supply prototypes for augmented reality systems to the Army for use on combat missions and in training, the Army said.
Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
Pew survey of 743 US teens: 81% feel social media makes them more connected, 69% say it helps diversify friend groups; 26% say it makes them feel worse  —  The vast majority of teens in a new survey believe social media is actually good for them, a Pew Research Center report shows.
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
The DOJ indicts eight men on charges related to a global ad fraud scheme discovered with the help of about 15 tech companies, including Google and White Ops  —  In August 2017, the FBI organized a secret meeting of digital advertising and cybersecurity experts in a secure room in a Manhattan federal building.

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