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.

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
See how your customer experience priorities compare  —  TELUS Digital surveyed leaders about the tech they're investing in, the KPIs they're tracking and their plans for outsourcing.  Get the results.  No form fill required!
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
The rise of AI in recruitment  —  Note: This is a guest post by our integration partner Ringover.AI has already begun transforming recruitment, but in the coming years, it will reach new heights.
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

Lenny's Podcast:
Become a better communicator: Specific frameworks to improve your clarity, influence, and impact | Wes Kao (coach, entrepreneur, advisor)
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
(BNS) The Legality Of The AI Stuff
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Hard Fork:
Tech Stock Shock + Solving the Mystery of OpenAI's "Blip" + Tinder's Flirt-Off
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
BG2 Pod:
Liberation Day, Tariffs, US v China Open Source, OpenAI Fundraise, $CRWV, TikTok
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
What AI anime memes tell us about the future of art and humanity
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Great Chat:
Battle of the startup cities
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:05 PM ET, November 28, 2018.

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

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed News: