Techmeme
December 18, 2018, 5:55 PM

Top News

Ina Fried / Axios:
AT&T to launch 5G mobile service on December 21 across 12 US cities via a $499 mobile hotspot device and $70/month data plan  —  The 5G era has arrived.  AT&T is launching 5G mobile service in a dozen U.S. cities beginning this Friday, becoming the first carrier to do so.
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter is relaunching the reverse-chronological feed as an option for all users starting today on iOS and other platforms in the coming weeks  —  Just hit that sparkle, fam  —  Twitter is offering users another escape hatch from its ranked timeline.  The company said today that it will introduce …
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Anthony Levandowski's Pronto.ai plans to ship level 2 automated driving systems for trucks in 2019  —  Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has taken his newest autonomous vehicle technology company …
New York Times:
Senate report on Russia's disinformation campaign accuses Google, Facebook, and Twitter of being evasive and withholding data about Russian activity  —  SAN FRANCISCO — When lawmakers asked YouTube, a unit of Google, to provide information about Russian manipulation efforts …
Bloomberg:
Ina Fried / Axios:
Wall Street Journal:
iPhone prices are unpalatable in India, where reports say its marketshare has shrunk to ~1%, and a source says it's taking in <50% the revenue once hoped for  —  With global smartphone sales flattening, Apple has looked to India for new growth, with little success so far
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
As shilling products has become a sign of success for influencers, up-and-comers on Instagram are posting fake sponsored content to boost their credibility  —  Tapping through Palak Joshi's Instagram Stories recently, you might have come across a photo that looked like standard sponsored content …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
NPR's podcast measurement technology RAD has sparked debate within the industry, with Overcast's Marco Arment expressing concerns about tracking and privacy  —  Until recently, it hasn't been easy to measure the success of podcasts, beyond how many people download them …
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Uber says it has been given approval by Pennsylvania officials to restart its self-driving car tests on public roads in Pittsburgh  —  It's been nine months since a self-driving Uber killed a pedestrian in Arizona  —  Uber has been given the green light by Pennsylvania officials to restart its self-driving car tests on public roads.
More: ABC NewsTweets: @amir
Ry Crist / CNET:
Alexa Guard first impressions: hears sounds and alarms well, but can't contact emergency services, isn't supported by previous-gen Echo and Echo Dot speakers  —  “Alexa, I'm leaving.”  —  “OK — I'll be on guard.”  —  That's the gist of Alexa Guard, a new feature from Amazon that lets …

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Earlier Picks

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
Aliya Ram / Financial Times:
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal: