Facebook will pay $52M in a settlement covering 11,250 content moderators as compensation for mental health issues developed on the job
Current and former moderators will all be paid a minimum of $1,000 — In a landmark acknowledgment of the toll that content moderation takes on its workforce …
Dell's upgraded flagship Alienware Area-51m R2 shows the promise of upgradeable Area-51m has failed, as the original won't get any of the new CPU or GPU updates
Original owners won't get any of the new CPU or GPU upgrades — Alienware has announced the second generation of its flagship Area-51m gaming laptop, the Area-51m R2.
Epic Games unveils the Unreal Engine 5, coming in 2021, with a PlayStation 5 demo and says the Epic Online Services set of tools are available today
Epic says its new engine is a ‘quantum leap,’ and it'll arrive in 2021 — Epic Games today announced the next iteration of its game engine …
Sources: Uber has been in off and on talks for a year to acquire Grubhub, but the parties remain at odds about price
- Uber has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC Tuesday. — Grubhub's stock spiked as much as 38% …
Dell announces a new XPS 17 and a redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays, only USB-C ports, and Intel 10th-gen CPUs, starting at $1,300 and $1,500
Dell goes all USB-C and 16:10 for its XPS lineup — Dell is making some big changes to its XPS lineup today, with a redesigned XPS 15 and a new XPS 17.
Sources: Apple plans to return employees to offices sooner than rival tech companies, with staff coming back in phases
- Company to start letting more workers return to major offices — Google, Facebook will allow remote work through end of 2020 — Apple Inc. plans …
Facebook says it took action on 9.6M pieces of hate speech content in Q1, up by 3.9M, and AI now proactively detects 88.8% of it, up from 80.2% last quarter
Nick Statt / The Verge :
Instagram adds bulk comment deletion and control for who can mention or tag you on iOS, to help fight bullying; the ability to pin comments is being tested
Instagram is rolling out some changes today to keep the platform a more positive place for users.
Chat app Telegram says it's abandoning its TON blockchain project, after the SEC challenged the legality of its $1.7B ICO and delayed the network's launch
Telegram, the operator of the 400 million-strong messenger app, today announced that it has given up on its upcoming blockchain network …
Report: Google's Pixel division has lost Marc Levoy, the engineer behind the camera, and GM Mario Queiroz in less than a year, as sales disappoint
The general manager for the Pixel division is also gone. — What you need to know — According to The Information, Marc Levoy and Mario Queiroz have both left Google. Source: The Information .
Amazon updates the Fire HD 8 tablet with a faster processor, more RAM, more storage, and USB-C, with the base model getting a slight price increase to $89.99
Along with a slight price increase to $89.99 — Amazon has announced a new update for its Fire HD 8 tablet, adding a faster processor, more RAM, and USB-C charging.
Sources: Apple is asking the publishers participating in Apple News+ for permission to produce audio versions of stories, with Apple handling production costs
Apple News+ is pivoting to audio. — Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating …
DHS and FBI jointly accuse hackers affiliated with Chinese government of attempting to steal US research into a COVID-19 vaccine, adding to a slew of charges
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on Wednesday blamed hackers linked with the Chinese government for attempting …
Security experts believe online voting systems do not have strong enough security guarantees for prime time despite seemingly successful trials in the US
Proponents of mobile and internet voting point to its uneventful track record. That's not good enough.
Lawyers involved in the settlement between Facebook and its content moderation contractors say around half of all moderators may develop mental health issues
Casey Newton / The Verge :
Spatial makes its VR meeting rooms free to use and adds support for the web, mobile, and Oculus Quest
Two years ago, we called Spatial's virtual collaboration platform “FaceTime in VR.” Since then, the company has focused on corporate users who have access to pricey augmented reality headsets …
Adobe data: US e-commerce sales rose 49% in April compared to early March, led by online grocery, up 110%; electronic sales rose 58% and book sales have doubled
Online retailers are seeing Black Friday-like sales due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business.
Alphabet's Loon signs deal with carrier Vodacom to bring its commercial internet service to Mozambique
Loon, the Alphabet -owned company that's using stratospheric balloons to provide high-speed bandwidth to hard-to-serve areas without strong ground infrastructure, has signed a new deal …
Sony reports Q4 operating profit of $330.7M, down 57% YoY, says PlayStation 5 console is still on track to be released for the 2020 holiday season
- Sony confirmed on Wednesday that the PlayStation 5 console is still on track for release in time for the 2020 holiday season, despite the …
Google removed 813 “creepware” apps from Play Store, found by academics using an algorithm called CreepRank on data from millions of devices via Norton's app
The applications were discovered with a new algorithm called CreepRank, developed by a team of academics.
Tencent beats estimates with Q1 revenue of $15.2B, up 26% YoY, profit of $4.07B, up 6% YoY, thanks to stellar performance by its gaming business during lockdown
- Tencent posted earnings that beat expectations thanks to its gaming business as well as better-than-expected performance in both advertising and fintech services.
Sources: Luminary Media raised $30M+ at a level below last year's $200M valuation, bringing its total raised to $160M, and is seeking more funding
- Startup raises more than $30 million in round, looks for more — Luminary Media, the money-losing podcasting startup … Tweets: @lucas_shaw , @lucas_shaw , and @thekendallbaker See also Mediagazer ...
Vote.org founder Debra Cleaver launches VoteAmerica with $5M initial funding from Ron Conway, aiming to use tech tools to help Americans vote by mail
With November looming, the scramble to protect the 2020 U.S. election from coronavirus chaos is on. — To that end, a small …
Despite gradual improvements and a solid foundation, Google Stadia is still lacking some key social features that would get more people to use the service
I really like the idea of Stadia. Google's cloud gaming service was unveiled just a year ago with the promise that the future … Tweets: @tomwarren , @nextgenplayer , and @jbu3 Tweets: Tom Warren / @t...
California-based software company Esri's ArcGIS software is powering coronavirus dashboards for more than 3,700 organizations worldwide
With roughly a zillion different sources out there for coronavirus information, experts and authorities are rapidly iterating on ways to best present useful information to the public. Tweets: @mountai...
Lilt, which develops AI-powered business translation software, raises $25M Series B led by Intel Capital with participation from Sequoia Capital and others
Lilt, which develops AI-powered business translation software, today announced it raised $25 million.
MemVerge, which develops memory machine software, raises $19M led by Intel Capital
Memory situated at the center of the computing universe, replacing processing, has long been envisioned as instrumental to radically improved datacenter systems performance.
Education startup Quizlet raises $30M Series C led by General Atlantic at a $1B valuation, up 5x from its last 2018 round, as usage surges during the pandemic
As millions of students and teachers shift to learn from home in response to the novel coronavirus disease …
Democrats introduce bills in House and Senate making it illegal for telcos to shut off internet service during pandemic, a step beyond FCC's voluntary pledge
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica :
India's contact tracing app, which is mandatory to travel on railways, surpasses 100M unique users 41 days after launch
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
CBInsights: global VC funding in fintech totaled $6.1B in Q1 across 404 deals vs. $7.1B in Q1 2019; US startups raised $3.3B, India topped China with $421M
JD Alois / Crowdfund Insider :
Semperis, a cybersecurity startup best known for its tools protecting Microsoft Active Directory customers, raises $40M Series B led by Insight Partners
Gené Teare / Crunchbase News :
Clyde, which helps small e-commerce businesses offer extended warranty and product protection plans, raises $14M Series A led by Spark Capital
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch :
Tel Aviv-based accessiBe, which uses AI to make website content more accessible to disabled users, raises $12M led by K1
Annie Musgrove / Tech.eu :
Twitter acquires interactive mobile ad company CrossInstall for an undisclosed sum as Twitter rebuilds its ad server
Allison Schiff / AdExchanger :
London-based Modulr, a digital alternative to commercial and wholesale transaction banking, raises €21.3M led by Highland Europe
Charlotte Tucker / EU-Startups :
Briq, a SaaS startup that uses predictive modeling and analytics to offer financial forecasting for construction companies, raises $10M Series A
Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News :
Robotic process automation startup FortressIQ raises $30M Series B led by Microsoft's venture fund M12 and Tiger Global, bringing its total raised to $42M
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Profile of Chris Kubecka, security expert who helped Saudi Aramco after the Shamoon cyberattacks and is now helping craft a joint EU-US response to cyberthreats
Nick Fouriezos / OZY : Tweets: @5urvivatrix and @ozy Tweets: @5urvivatrix : Excellent article @SecEvangelism ! So glad you're white hat and we (especially womxn) get to know achievement is always pos...
Expel, which offers security operations as a service and helps use automation to reduce security staff, raises $50M Series D led by CapitalG
Ron Miller / TechCrunch :
SirionLabs, which develops vendor contract management software for enterprises, raises $44M Series C at a ~$250M valuation, bringing its total raised to $66M
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
Startup Kite expands its AI-powered code-completion product beyond Python to JavaScript, says it has 250,000 MAUs, and launches its first paid product, Kite Pro
Liam Tung / ZDNet :
Arizona-based Paradox, whose conversational AI software enables HR teams to automate administrative tasks, raises $40M Series B led by Brighton Park Capital
Featurespace, which develops analytics software to let enterprises combat financial fraud, raises £30M led by Merian Chrysalis Investment Company
Annie Musgrove / Tech.eu :
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.