Sources: US intelligence has determined that China and Russia spy on phone calls Trump makes using his iPhones instead of his secure White House landline
WASHINGTON — When President Trump calls old friends on one of his iPhones to gossip, gripe or solicit their latest take on how he is doing …
UK data watchdog fines Facebook the maximum £500K amount for its failure to protect users' personal information in the Cambridge Analytica scandal
The fine is just £500,000, but regulators say it should have been ‘significantly higher’ — The UK's data watchdog has levied …
Twitter beats estimates with Q3 revenue of $758M, up 29% YoY, but monthly usage drops to 326M MAUs, down 9M since Q2; stock opens up 14%+
- Estimated monthly active users (MAUs): 326 million vs. 330.1 million, according to FactSet and StreetAccountnt — Twitter shares was up as high …
Xiaomi announces 6.4-inch Mi Mix 3 flagship with a 1080p OLED screen, sliding cameras and no notch, 10GB RAM, out in China on November 1 for ~$475
Xiaomi has announced the Mi Mix 3, the latest entry in its series of full-screen flagship phones. It's yet another high-end Chinese device …
Microsoft reports Q1 revenue of $29.1B, up 19% YoY, net income of $8.8B, up 34% YoY; Azure revenue grew 76%, LinkedIn revenue grew 33%, Surface revenue grew 14%
Microsoft Cloud Strength Powers Record First Quarter Results — REDMOND, Wash. — October 24, 2018 — Microsoft Corp. today announced …
Facebook rolls out music-related features: expanding Lip Sync Live, adding music stickers to Stories, and songs to a new music section on user profiles
Dami Lee / The Verge :
Sources: Facebook is working on a new TikTok-like music app to let users record and share videos of themselves lip-syncing or dancing to popular songs
Josh Constine @JoshConstine / 8 hours — Facebook is working on a new app that it hopes could win back the attention of teens …
Tim Cook attacks the “data industrial complex” and calls for comprehensive US privacy laws in speech at conference on data protection and privacy in Brussels
and its work to thwart most Web tracking in the last two versions of Safari—but this ethical stance hasn't stopped it from accepting billions of dollars from Google to keep that tracking-supported sea...
Cathay Pacific says data of 9.4M passengers was stolen in data breach, including dates of birth, phone numbers, email and postal addresses, and passport numbers
Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker / 22 hours — Cathay Pacific, one of the main airlines in Hong Kong, says records …
Google Maps adds a “follow” button for businesses, which lets users get updates on events and offers, rolling out over the next few weeks, initially on Android
Sarah Perez @sarahintampa / 7 hours — Google Maps has been steadily rolling out new features to make its app …
Responding to Tim Cook's privacy speech, ex-Facebook CSO Alex Stamos calls out Apple's anti-privacy moves in China and tech media for ignoring them in coverage
- Former Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos said on Twitter Apple needs to “come clean” about how it blocks ways …
Microsoft's Q1 revenue beats estimates as Productivity revenue up 19% YoY to $9.8B, Intelligent Cloud up 24% to $8.6B, and Personal Computing up 15% to $10.7B
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat :
Amazon says Alexa for Business now works with any device with Alexa built in, including third-party devices, after previously restricting it to Echo devices
Device makers building with the Alexa Voice Service have an opportunity to reach new enterprise customers.
VR is a deliberate and all-consuming activity, making Facebook's Oculus acquisition puzzling, as Facebook's strength is mindless and casual usage
Facebook, believe it or not, has actually made virtual reality better, at least from one perspective. — My first VR device was PlayStation VR … Tweets: @stratechery and @nigelbarron Tweets: @stratec...
Sources: GrayKey, which some law enforcement agencies bought to break the passcodes of iOS devices, can no longer do so for any iPhone running iOS 12 or above
Apple has managed to prevent the hottest iPhone hacking company in the world from doing its thing.
German smart thermostat and AC control maker Tado raises $50M from Amazon, E.ON, and others, bringing its total raised to $102M
Tado, the smart thermostat and AC control maker, has raised a further $50 million in funding from an array of noteworthy and strategic investors.
Researcher: consulting firm for Democratic campaigns left thousands of fundraiser details including names and contact info exposed on an unprotected NAS device
A consulting firm that works with Democratic campaigns unknowingly left sensitive fundraiser information and credentials …
Shortcuts in iOS 12 help make iOS devices more accessible for disabled users by reducing common points of friction, like excessive tapping and swiping
Since it was announced at WWDC over the summer, the lion's share of conversation around shortcuts has been about getting things done quickly and efficiently.
Mastercard is teaming up with ride-hailing company Grab to issue prepaid cards in the first half of 2019, starting in Singapore and the Philippines
Melissa Cheok / Bloomberg :
Ireland says it will restrict short-term rentals like Airbnb starting June in an effort to tackle a severe housing shortage
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will tackle a severe housing shortage in booming cities such as Dublin by regulating short-term lettings and home-sharing sites such as Airbnb …
Profile of Jane Wong, an engineering student from Hong Kong who regularly uncovers scoops about Instagram, Google, and others, like Facebook's dating feature
You see it all the time — Facebook's latest feature leaks to the public, and everyone knows about it before Zuckerberg has said a word.
Daimler partners with Chinese electric vehicle company Geely to provide a premium ride-hailing service in China starting in 2019
Premium ride-hailing company will use Daimler's Mercedes-Benz cars and electric vehicles made by Geely — SHANGHAI— Daimler AG DMLRY -4.43% … Tweets: @evisioneer Tweets: Bill Moore / @evisioneer : Da...
Kinsa, a smart thermometer startup that raised ~$29M via VCs like Kleiner Perkins, has products in 500K+ US homes and sells “illness data” to Clorox and others
Most of what we do — the websites we visit, the places we go, the TV shows we watch, the products we buy — has become fair game for advertisers. Tweets: @fmanjoo , @nytimestech , @rebeccadrobbins , @z...
Leaked Google contract stipulates that Android device makers provide at least two years of security updates for phones and tablets that have 100K+ activations
requires phones w/ >100k units stay updated w/in 90 days. but it's on google to enforce it https://www.theverge.com/... @verge : Google mandates two years of security updates for popular phones in new...
How tech giants are increasingly using contract workers instead of direct staff, as Google's contract workers outnumbered direct employees for the first time
- This year at Google, contract workers outnumbered direct employees for the first time in the company's 20-year history. Tweets: @counternotions and @cnbc Tweets: Kontra / @counternotions : “contract...
AMD reports Q3 revenue of $1.65B, vs. $1.7B est., up 4% YoY, net income of $102M, up from $61M YoY, but low Q4 guidance; stock down 20%+ after hours
Chips used in everything from automobiles to datacenters to smartphones. https://cnb.cx/2yZyp9G Caroline Hyde / @carolinehydetv : #Blockchain no driver for #AMD chip maker..."Blockchain-related GPU sa...
SF-based Innovusion, which develops lidar tech for autonomous vehicles, raises $30M Series A, launches Innovusion Cheetah, its first image-grade lidar system
Innovusion, a U.S.-based autonomous vehicle LiDAR technology developer, has completed a US$30 million series A funding round.
Cybersecurity giant Check Point buys Tel Aviv-based cloud security startup Dome9; initial cash considerations priced deal at $175M
The Times of Israel :
Bessemer Venture Partners, one of Silicon Valley's oldest VC firms, raises $1.85B for its 10th fund, its largest to date
Katie Roof / Wall Street Journal :
Waymo updates guide detailing how its self-driving cars will react when it is being pulled over by police and what first responders should do in case of a crash
Jake Holmes / CNET :
Italian anti-trust watchdog fines Apple and Samsung €5M for phone performance throttling and Apple an additional €5M over lack of info on battery replacement
Angelo Amante / Reuters :
Facebook says its AI tools helped moderators remove 8.7M user-posted images of child nudity during the last quarter
Paresh Dave / Reuters :
Two years after acquiring Drip, Kickstarter hands control of the platform to Andy Baio and XOXO co-founder Andy McMillan and provides new seed funding for it
*****but it is still a challenging model for artists and other creators whose output is less episodic*****"(emphasis added) http://twitter.com/... Andy Baio / @waxpancake : WE'RE DOING A NEW THING htt...
Boston-based DataRobot, which makes tools for enterprises to automate building machine learning models, raises $100M Series D, bringing total raised to $225M
Brian Dowling / Xconomy :
Facebook launches Candidate Info, direct-to-camera intro videos by political candidates appearing in potential constituents' News Feeds starting next week
Josh Constine / TechCrunch :
Oculus begins rolling out new features, including a system-wide option for reporting abuse and the ability to cast the screen to a phone, currently in beta
Adi Robertson / The Verge :
Sources: Udi Manber, who ran engineering for Google's core search products before leaving in 2015, is joining health insurance giant Anthem as its head of AI
Christina Farr / CNBC : Tweets: @chrissyfarr and @eugenekim222 . Thanks: @mattrosoff Tweets: Christina Farr / @chrissyfarr : SCOOP: Google's former search lead Udi Manber is joining Anthem to run a n...
The marked contrast between Amazon's and Sears' compensation plans shows the shift in recent years away from employees to shareholders
New York Times : Tweets: @mims , @nytnational , @byrosenberg , @kyweise , @byrosenberg , @nytimesbusiness , @sapna , @tiffkhsu , and @tomgara Tweets: Christopher Mims / @mims : Workers build companie...
Sources describe problems at GM's Cruise self-driving car unit, which has had delays, issues with software, and more, after landing $5B in investments
including the difficulty that Cruise cars have identifying whether objects are in motion—mean putting GM's driverless cars on the road in a large scale way in 2019 is looking highly unlikely.” https:/...
Leap Motion loses VP of design and global creative director Keiichi Matsuda; sources say the company has moved out of its SF office to cut costs
Business Insider : Tweets: @businessinsider . Thanks: @stevetweedie Tweets: @businessinsider : Leap Motion, a $94 million startup, has lost its VP of design as the company moves offices to cut costs ...
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