Boeing is pushing a software update across its 737 Max models that goes “beyond what many industry officials familiar with the discussions had anticipated,” to better measure in-flight conditions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Investigators are still determining the exact cause of the most recent crash in Ethiopia, but a preliminary report about the earlier Indonesian crash of the same model raises questions about the role of automation in the accident. The report found that an automated system incorrectly sensed the aircraft was in a stall, putting the plane in a nosedive that the pilots struggled to override manually. Boeing’s new software update will use multiple sensors to better detect such situations. In the meantime, many countries have grounded the model, while Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Authority maintain the plane is safe to operate. [Andrew Tangel and Andy Pasztor / WSJ]
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Silicon Valley investor Bill McGlashan was implicated in a college admissions cheating scandal. McGlashan was one of 50 people charged with participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe athletic coaches, cheat on standardized tests, and falsify information to get their kids accepted into top universities. McGlashan is a founding member of the firm TPG, which has made significant investments in companies such as Uber and Airbnb. Ironically, he’s also been an active voice in favor of social responsibility and equity in Silicon Valley. As of Tuesday, McGlashan was placed on “indefinite administrative leave” from the firm. [Theodore Schleifer / Recode]
Researchers are sounding the alarm on Switzerland’s new online voting system, saying they’ve found a severe flaw in the code that allows for people to undetectably alter votes. The research was conducted by an international team of two academic cryptography experts and a computer scientist who formerly worked for England’s GCHQ intelligence agency. The Swiss government acknowledged the flaw but told Motherboard that to exploit it, someone would need help “from several insiders with specialist knowledge of Swiss Post or the cantons.” Researchers say the government should halt its planned rollout of the software in next year’s election until the problem is resolved. [Kim Zetter / Motherboard]
Inside Twitter’s new prototype app, twttr. Twitter has started rolling out a new testing version of its app to a select group of users that it first launched around two months ago. The updated version aims to improve the color coding and organization of replies. It also hides engagement — “Likes” and retweets — until a user reveals them. The big picture here is Twitter is trying to increase meaningful conversation on its platform, and the latest iteration of twttr gives us an idea of how it’s planning to do that. [Sarah Perez / TechCrunch]
Top stories from Recode
Spotify is asking European regulators to help it fight Apple — just before Apple launches a big new subscription service. Spotify has complained about Apple for years. Now it has filed a formal complaint with the EU. [Peter Kafka]
Kathy Griffin says Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey should resign and she wouldn’t let Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg into her house. “I actually think they are as complicit or, rather, responsible for manipulating worldwide elections. I mean, worldwide,” said Griffin on Recode Decode. [Kara Swisher]
As Pinterest and Facebook move to shut down anti-vaxxers, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey appeared on a podcast with one. Dorsey endorsed Ben Greenfield as a health expert. Greenfield thinks vaccinations lead to autism. [Kurt Wagner]
Mark Cuban says everyone needs to understand how AI works. Cuban talked algorithms, Donald Trump, the future of TV, and more with Peter Kafka in the latest episode of Recode Media. [Peter Kafka]
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“How Yahoo won the search wars” and other comically wrong predictions about tech written by journalists over the years.
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