Ex-Apple employees say Siri was released prematurely, leading to development debates after launch, and that the Siri team was unaware of HomePod until 2015
The Information has published an in-depth look at how Siri has transitioned from one of Apple's most promising technologies into a “major problem” for the company.
Leaked docs: by early 2017, Amazon had a US audience of ~26M for all Prime video programming, including films, TV shows, and content licensed from others
Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters :
Trump administration announces new Russia sanctions on 5 entities, including IRA, and 19 individuals, in response to US election interference and cyberattacks
Putin's ‘chef,’ the man behind the troll factory — Washington (CNN)The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting …
Coinbase gets e-money license in the UK and partners with Barclays, enabling easier deposits and withdrawals for UK customers
Coinbase Inc., one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said it obtained an e-money license in the U.K. as it expands services in Europe.
Wikimedia says it was unaware of YouTube's plans to use Wikipedia content next to conspiracy videos, amid concerns it could increase article vandalism
Well, this is awkward — At SXSW yesterday, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that the platform would start adding information …
Analysis of how Amazon became the third most valuable company in the world after a disappointing 2014, and the industries the company might shake up next
Amazon makes no sense. It's the most befuddling, illogically sprawling, and—to a growing sea of competitors—flat-out terrifying company in the world.
Android Security 2017 Year in Review: 60.3% of potentially harmful Android apps were detected via machine learning, Play Protect reviews 50B+ apps every day
Google released its Android Security 2017 Year in Review report today, the fourth installment of the company's attempt to educate …
Nest officially launches its Ring competitor, the $229 Nest Hello video doorbell along with a $249 Nest x Yale door lock and a $39 temperature sensor
Plus, the Nest Hello video doorbell and Nest x Yale smart lock are now shipping — Nest just announced a new $39 Temperature Sensor …
Timeline of Amazon's rise as it now gets 40%+ of all spending by US consumers online; 54% of US households with internet use Prime; and Alexa has 30,000+ skills
Amazon has grown into a $178 billion-a-year revenue business with online retail, a dominant cloud-services business, a grocery chain and a Hollywood studio. Tweets: @scottmaustin Tweets: Scott Austin ...
Spotify confirms it is testing an in-app voice control feature and user demo shows fairly accurate speech recognition
Now Spotify listens to you instead of the other way around. Spotify has a new voice search interface that lets you say “Play my Discover Weekly,” “Show Calvin Harris” or “Play some upbeat pop” to pul...
iHeartMedia files for bankruptcy after reaching an agreement in principle with investors for restructuring more than $10B of its outstanding debt of over $20B
Filing, agreement with investors pave way for radio giant to shed most of the debt taken on in 2008 buyout …
London-based startup Blue Vision Labs, which helps developers build collaborative AR apps, raises $14.5M Series A led by GV
Blue Vision Labs, a London-based augmented reality startup co-founded by computer vision experts from Oxford and Imperial College, is emerging from stealth today …
EU is drafting regulations requiring platforms like Google or Amazon to be more transparent about their search rankings, reasons for demotion and delisting
(Reuters) - Online platforms such as Google (GOOGL.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) face new European Union rules …
SEC charges Theranos, CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and former president Ramesh Balwani with defrauding investors for $700M+; Theranos and Holmes have settled
but there are more companies like Theranos out there Fortune : Theranos, Kudlow, Unilever: CEO Daily for March 15, 2018 Abhimanyu Ghoshal / The Next Web : Theranos CEO charged with $700 million fraud,...
EU Commission is considering a proposal that requires code-sharing platforms like GitHub to monitor all uploaded content for potential copyright infringement
Upload filters ("censorship machines") are one of the most controversial elements of the copyright proposal, raising a number of concerns, including:Tweets:@owTweets:@ow:Between VAT, GDPR and this, th...
Sources: NYC's Madison Square Garden has quietly used facial-recognition technology to bolster security and identify those entering the building
Madison Square Garden has quietly used facial-recognition technology to bolster security and identify those entering the building …
Proposed net neutrality law in California would be toughest yet by banning zero-rating, affecting programs like Verizon FreeBee and AT&T's Sponsored Data
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica :
Enterprise productivity firm Airtable raises $52M Series B led by Caffeinated Capital and CRV; Airtable's app uses a spreadsheet interface to build custom apps
- Airtable has raised $52 million in Series B funding led by Caffeinated Capital and CRV. — Airtable uses a simple spreadsheet …
Lyft to develop and manufacture autonomous car systems with Canadian auto supplier Magna; Magna making $200M equity investment in Lyft, now valued at $11.7B
Daisuke Wakabayashi / New York Times :
Google's new Maps platform for games gives developers access to real-time Google Maps data, an SDK for Unity, and a new API to use real-world locations in games
buildings — Create games with millions of 3D structures. Mark Wycislik-Wilson / BetaNews : Google opens up Maps API to game developers Joe Maring / Android Central : Google's bringing its Maps APIs ...
Sources: SEC is scrutinizing hedge funds dedicated to cryptocurrencies and ICOs, concerned about how they are pricing assets and protecting clients' money
SEC examiners question crypto-focused funds about investments — Agency asks how funds price assets and protect clients' money
Reddit has banned cryptocurrency ads since “early 2016”; some cryptocurrency ads from programmatic ad platforms still appear, which are removed when found
Jordan Pearson / Motherboard :
Experian to acquire UK fintech company ClearScore and its financial product matching engine for £275M; deal is expected to close later in the year
While credit-scoring behemoth Equifax continues to work through the fallout from its massive security breach, one of its big competitors …
Sources: Twitter is working on a camera-first feature to rival Snap that combines location-based photos and videos with Twitter Moments around notable events
Michelle Castillo / CNBC :
Comparison of low light photos from Galaxy S9+ and Pixel 2 XL: the Pixel produces the best images, but S9+ more reliably produces good first shots due to OIS
Vlad Savov / The Verge :
Former CIO of an Equifax unit, Jun Ying, faces criminal and civil charges from SEC over alleged insider trading on confidential info about 2017's data breach
Walmart to offer home delivery of groceries in 100 cities by year's end by partnering with delivery companies using contract workers, starting with Uber
for a fee Monica Chin / Mashable : Walmart's grocery delivery service to launch in 100 cities Business Wire : Walmart to Expand Online Grocery Delivery Coast to Coast Shawn Knight / TechSpot : Walmart...
Palo Alto Networks is acquiring Evident.io, a cloud security and compliance firm, for $300M in cash, with Evident.io founders joining Palo Alto
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet :
Josh Elman, who formerly worked on product at Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, will join Robinhood as its VP of product while remaining a partner at Greylock
Josh Constine / TechCrunch :
Sources: Chinese app Qu Toutiao, which aggregates news and video and is a rival of ByteDance's Jinri Toutiao, weighs US IPO, seeking as much as $3B valuation
Bloomberg :
Twitter tests algorithmically curated timelines for big news events, promoting them at the top of users' timelines, similar to its News tab tested in 2015
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed :
NBC News planning online streaming service this year to attract younger viewers; company says it has no plans to bring any of its content back to Facebook
calling it ‘Fakebook’ — while heaping praise on Snap See also Mediagazer
Microsoft says it has trained AI that can match human performance in translating news from Chinese to English
Circle debuts a Coinbase competitor called Circle Invest, which allows for fee-free trading in the US except in NY, MN, HI, and WY, now in App Store, Play Store
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch :
Boxed CFO Naeem Ishaq leaving the company after weeks of rumors that the company might be acquired and after the company rejected a $400M offer from Kroger
Ruth Reader / Fast Company :
Disney combines direct-to-consumer businesses including streaming services with tech and international media operations into one division, led by Kevin Mayer
Reddit says its iOS and Android apps account for 41% of time spent on all of its platforms and will introduce native in-feed ads to them in the coming weeks
Ginny Marvin / Marketing Land :
Warby Parker raises $75M round led by T. Rowe Price, sources say at a valuation of $1.75B
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