Microsoft announces $249 Surface Headphones 2 with better sound and battery, arriving on May 12, and says its Surface Buds will ship on the same day for $199
Available for preorder today, new Surface devices and accessories are designed to help you work, learn, connect and play from anywhere
Letter from Brian Chesky to Airbnb employees says the company is laying off 1,900, or ~25% of its workforce, and expects a 2020 revenue decline of 50% YoY
Airbnb is laying off a quarter of its staff. — Airbnb, seen until recently as one of Silicon Valley's most financially secure unicorns, is laying off a quarter of its staff.
Microsoft unveils Surface Go 2 with a bigger 10.5-inch display and more powerful Intel processors, available on May 12, starting at $399
The smaller Surface gets a big hardware bump — Microsoft's smallest Surface tablet is getting some important hardware upgrades today in the form of the Surface Go 2.
Study: half of the money that brands invest in programmatic advertising never reaches online publishers; 15% of the money cannot be attributed at all
A new study by ISBA has found that half the money advertisers invest in programmatic advertising never reaches online publishers …
Microsoft debuts 13.5-inch and 15-inch Surface Book 3 laptops with 10th-gen quad-core Intel CPUs, new NVIDIA GPUs, available May 21 from $1,600 and $2,300
With the Surface Book 2, Microsoft proved it could take on the MacBook Pro directly with a powerful and genuinely innovative PC notebook.
Uber says it will lay off 3,700 employees, or about 14% of its workforce, as it has been hit hard by the pandemic
Uber announced Wednesday that it will lay off 3,700 employees. The cuts to its customer support and recruiting teams represent about 14% of its 26,900 employees, based on Uber's most recent headcount...
Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee makes a rare apology, saying he will not hand over management of the company to his children, and vows to protect labor rights
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee, embroiled in a bribery scandal, on Wednesday made a rare apology …
Spotify CEO expects Apple to “open up” its platform more to 3rd-party apps, after Spotify's antitrust complaint with the EU, but sees it as a long-term process
- Apple plans to let other music services integrate with HomePod — Ek says ‘steps to go before’ Apple is open and fair platform
Interview with Apple SVP Craig Federighi about the iPadOS cursor, a significant change to the pointer paradigm, and the decisions Apple made to get there
Apple SVP Craig Federighi talks about the iPad's new cursor and Magic Keyboard — Even though Apple did not invent the mouse pointer …
Q&A with Steven Sinofsky on his upcoming memoir that chronicles his time at Microsoft, as he reflects on how the company fought the ILOVEYOU virus 20 years ago
On the 20th anniversary of the unleashing of the ILOVEYOU virus—which infected millions of PCs worldwide …
Facebook takes another stab at enabling “free” mobile web access, testing a Discover app in Peru that lets users visit any website with daily data limits
Remember Free Basics? Facebook's ambitious program to bring people to the internet for the first time.
NFC Forum unveils its Wireless Charging Specification, allowing 1 watt charging for smaller devices
It might soon be much easier to buy a smartphone that can charge small devices like earbuds or smartwatches. The NFC Forum, responsible for near-field communications tech, has unveiled the Wireless C...
Alphabet's Loon partners with AT&T to extend the cellular network coverage using its balloons globally in case of disasters
Alphabet-owned Loon, the company focused on providing connectivity via high-altitude, stratosphere skimming balloons that can act as on-demand, deployable cell towers …
Activision Blizzard CEO says people may turn to free mobile games during the pandemic, after the company beat Q1 expectations with sales of $1.52B, up 21% YoY
New York (CNN Business)While much of the economy is hurting during the pandemic, video games are thriving.
With gyms closed, sales of the $2,245 Peloton connected smart bike have surged; Peloton's stock has risen 86% since mid-March, valuing the company at $10B
With gyms closed and nowhere to go, more people are shelling out $2,245 for the workout bike. — Lauren Allbright, a teacher … Tweets: @aaronwall and @kerrymflynn Tweets: Aaron Wall / @aaronwall : ha...
Shopify tops estimates with Q1 revenue of $470M, up 47% YoY, and gross merchandise volume of $17.4B, up 46% YoY
- First-quarter revenue jumped 47% to $470 million from 2019 — Gross merchandise volume soared 46% to $17.4 billion — Shopify Inc. reported first-quarter revenue …
Sources: Google to release a Fire TV-like Android TV dongle with a new content-centric UI in the coming months, likely extending its Nest brand to the product
Google is set to introduce an Android TV streaming device in the coming months, a reimagined dongle with a new user interface …
Sources: Magic Leap is in talks to raise $100M in funding from a major health company after laying off around half of its workforce
- Magic Leap is turning to a “major” health care company to raise money, according to an internal memo obtained by The Information. Source: The Information .
Volvo says it will sell Lidar-equipped self-driving cars to consumers starting in 2022 using Lidar startup Luminar's cheaper sensors
Volvo's new platform will include high-powered laser sensors — an industry rarity — Most new cars sold today include a bevy of sensors such as cameras …
UK's NHS contact tracing app won't work unless it's running in the foreground and the phone is kept awake and unlocked, and will also ask for users' location
Kieren McCarthy / The Register :
Adult livestreaming website CAM4 exposes 10B+ records, including names, sexual orientations, payment logs, and email transcripts, on an unsecure database
CAM4 has taken the server offline, but not before it leaked 7TB of user data. — It's all too common for companies to leave databases chock full … Tweets: @lanceulanoff and @wired Tweets: Lance Ulano...
Profile of Ford-backed Argo AI and its CEO Bryan Salesky, who previously worked at CMU's Robotics Institute and as a Google hardware lead for self-driving cars
Meet Brian Salesky and the team of resourceful engineers at Argo, the little company trying to crack a big problem: safe autonomous driving. Tweets: @wired Tweets: @wired : Meet Bryan Salesky and the ...
After tests on twttr prototype app, Twitter is rolling out a new layout for replies that will use lines and indentations to make conversations easier to follow
don't you? Especially one that constantly plays with your follows, does shadow bans, etc. Liz Kelley / @lizkelley : If you can't say something nice, we may ask you to rethink your tweet. https://twitt...
Ring debuts an improved $99.99 entry-level doorbell with a $49 solar charger accessory, available June 3 and open for preorders now
Thomas Ricker / The Verge :
Covariant, which builds AI-powered industrial robots, raises $40M Series B led by Index Ventures, bringing its total raised to $67M
Within all industries, companies are under pressure to deliver goods efficiently, fast and reliably, and especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in a way that keeps workers safe.
European Data Protection Board publishes updated guidelines arguing that scrolling and “cookie walls”, which block users from content, don't constitute consent
You can't make access to your website's content dependant on a visitor agreeing that you can process their data — aka a ‘consent cookie wall’.
Pinterest reports Q1 revenue of $272M, vs. $270M est., up 35% YoY, and user base grew to 367M MAUs, up 26% YoY
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC :
Survey: Americans are split on the acceptability of tracing people's movements with phone data, and 60% believe contact tracing tech won't make much difference
@pewresearch https://www.pewresearch.org/ ... https://twitter.com/... @pewresearch : Americans widely support the “right to be forgotten,” allowing people to remove personal information about themselv...
Profile of Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, who fought activist investor pressure to spin off image sensors business, as the pandemic clouds new PlayStation launch
Nikkei Asian Review :
Swiss startup Alpian, which aims to provide digital private banking services to affluent clients, raises €11.5M Series A at a €53M valuation
Annie Musgrove / Tech.eu :
Uber Eats introduces a new sharing feature that lets users send food to friends, who can now track the deliveries
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch :
In a hedge against US sanctions, Chinese semiconductor manufacturer SMIC says it will list 1.69B new shares on a Shanghai exchange, seeking to raise $3B
Bloomberg :
Peanut, a social network originally for moms but now for all women, raises $12M Series A led by EQT Ventures, bringing the total raised to $21.8M
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch :
Instacart tried to adapt to the pandemic by adding 300K shoppers in eight weeks and says it has had its first-ever monthly profit in April of $10M
Bloomberg : Tweets: @josheidelson , @josheidelson , @bw , @bw , and @laura_nelson Tweets: Josh Eidelson / @josheidelson : “the company said its procurement team had secured a supply of hand sanitizer...
EA reports Q4 revenues of $1.39B, beating expectations of $1.19B, up 12% YoY, with strong digital sales and franchise growth
Jeff Grubb / VentureBeat :
A look at Libro.fm, an indie audiobook company, and Bookshop.org, whose 10% affiliate share extends to its 3K+ partners, including NYT, Vox, and 560 bookstores
without forgetting the crucial role indie bookstores and their brilliant booksellers serve as members of local communities. http://read.medium.com/Yp4eKWN Angela Lashbrook / @lemonsand : I wrote about...
With one in four Americans lacking high-speed internet at home, some resort to sitting outside closed cafes and libraries to access free Wi-Fi
Cecilia Kang / New York Times : Tweets: @tomwarren , @webfoundation , @facttank , @reprokhanna , @drewharwell , @chrisensingcbc , @shiraovide , and @mayawiley Tweets: Tom Warren / @tomwarren : rural ...
Disney+ has seen paid subscribers grow from 33.5M in March to 54M in May, nearly meeting its launch date projection of 60M-90M users by the end of 2024
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC :
India-based Glance, which serves media content, news, and games onto the lock screens of Android smartphones, says it has 100M DAUs 21 months after launching
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
Shopify's new AI commerce stack
Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control
Picture this: It's Monday morning. You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
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.