Microsoft says it will acquire ZeniMax Media and its game publisher Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B in cash; Bethesda develops Fallout, DOOM, Quake, and others
Iconic games portfolio, publishing expertise, and world-class talent accelerates growth in Microsoft's Gaming business
Trump says he would not approve a TikTok deal unless ByteDance ceded its control, after ByteDance said it would retain an 80% stake
President Trump on Monday said that he would not approve a deal for TikTok if its Chinese owner did not fully sell its interest in the product …
Some customers who chose Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop bands for Apple Watch 6 or SE had to return the entire Watch for a new size if the band fit poorly
With the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple introduced two new band options, the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop.
Microsoft says it will honor Bethesda's currently announced PS5 exclusives but will assess bringing future games to “other consoles on a case by case basis”
If the famous Jim Barksdale quote is to be believed — the one about there … Kyle Orland / Ars Technica : What happens to Bethesda's multi-platform games under Microsoft? Adi Robertson / The Verge : Mi...
Microsoft releases an overhauled Xbox app for Android in beta that includes the ability to remotely play Xbox games streamed directly from an Xbox One
Microsoft opens up Xbox remote play streaming to everyone with new Android app beta — Microsoft is releasing a new Xbox app …
Mixpanel says that iOS 14 adoption has hit ~26% five days after its release, seemingly outpacing iOS 13, which hit ~20% adoption one week after release
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors :
Sources: DOJ to brief state AGs on Wednesday about its plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google; a case could be filed as early as next week
The Justice Department is expected to brief state attorneys general this week about its imminent plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google …
iPhone users are customizing their home screen with new icons, photos, and entire color schemes using iOS 14 widgets, with some designs going viral
- iPhone users are using the latest iOS update to customize their home screen with new icons, photos, and even entire color schemes.
ByteDance asserts it will maintain majority ownership and control over TikTok Global and will not transfer source code or technology to Oracle and Walmart
Financial Times :
Microsoft launches Azure Communication Services, letting developers add voice and video calling, chat, text messages, and more to apps, challenging Twilio
Microsoft today announced the launch of Azure Communication Services, a new set of features in its cloud that enable developers …
Sources: Quibi is exploring several strategic options including a possible sale, raising more money, or going public through a merger with a SPAC
Streaming-video service founded by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has struggled to attract subscribers since launching in April
Microsoft unveils Azure Orbital, a cloud-based “ground station as a service” for satellite data processing, competing with AWS' Ground Station
Call it the Clash of the Cloud Titans: Today Microsoft is taking the wraps off Azure Orbital, a cloud-based satellite data processing platform …
Fitbit Sense review: sleek design, intuitive UI, many granular metrics, but lots of bugs, fiddly solid-state button, and poor battery life in always-on mode
Fitbit's latest smartwatch has sensors, and bugs, galore — When Fitbit announced the $329.95 Sense last month …
Microsoft debuts new Teams features, including virtual commute, Headspace integration, breakout rooms, and virtual coffee shops for meetings
Microsoft today announced a slew of Teams features available now, coming later this year, and even arriving in 2021.
Nick Clegg says Facebook will take aggressive measures to “restrict the circulation of content” if the presidential election descends into chaos or civil unrest
Social media platform's head of global affairs Nick Clegg says it could take exceptional measures to restrict content circulation
SEC and OCC issue first detailed guidance on cryptocurrencies backed by fiat currencies, saying national banks can provide services to stablecoin issuers in US
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published fresh guidance, officially clarifying national banks …
Microsoft unveils updates across Azure Machine Learning and Azure Cognitive Services, launches Metrics Advisor, Bot Framework Composer, Automated ML UI, more
During its Ignite 2020 conference, which kicked off virtually this morning, Microsoft announced updates to Azure Cognitive Services …
Google launches Tables, a work-tracking tool that can set task-based email reminders, send messages when forms are submitted, manage task queues, and more
Google's in-house incubator Area 120 is today introducing a new work-tracking tool, Tables, which aims to make tracking projects more efficient by investing in automation.
Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax, which employs 2,300 people, will expand its game studios from 15 to 23 and add hit Bethesda franchises to Xbox Game Pass
Todd Bishop / GeekWire :
TikTok says it removed 104.5M videos in H1 2020 for violating community guidelines and proposes coalition of social apps to protect against harmful content
As the future of ByteDance's TikTok ownership continues to get hammered out between tech leviathans, investors and government officials …
Microsoft says its 85-inch Surface Hub 2S, originally unveiled in April 2019, will be available in January 2021 for $21,999.99
There's also a new software update for the Surface Hub 2S — Microsoft is starting to take preorders for its 85-inch Surface Hub 2S today.
As the TikTok deal and Huawei imbroglio show, US is no longer on the leading edge of technology in many key strategic markets, and is falling further behind
EasySend, a no-code platform to automate repetitive business processes for the insurance and finance industries, raises $16M led by Hanaco Ventures
EasySend, a no-code automation platform provider focused on the financial industry, today announced it has raised $16 million.
Microsoft says the first preview of its Edge browser for Linux will be available in October
Microsoft's Edge browser is coming to Linux, starting with the Dev channel. The first of these previews will go live in October. — When Microsoft announced that it would switch its Edge browser …
Teardown of the Apple Watch Series 6 shows the 40mm model has an 8.5% bigger battery than the Series 5 and the 44mm model has a 3.5% larger battery
Filing: Facebook says it may be pushed to exit the EU market due to last month's preliminary order from Ireland's DPC that prohibits sending EU user data to US
David Gilbert / VICE :
Proposition 24, which was designed to make the California Consumer Privacy Act stronger, has divided privacy advocates who previously fought on the same side
Prop. 24 is designed to make the California Consumer Privacy Act stronger. Why do so many privacy advocates oppose it? Tweets: @justinbrookman , @nxthompson , @jason_kint , and @wbm312 Tweets: Justin...
Twitter says it will investigate after users find its preview of a photo, with a Black person and a white person, more frequently displayed the white person
Q&A with NYT's SVP of ad innovation Allison Murphy about the paper's plans to stop using third-party cookies, its contextual ad targeting strategy, and more
When The New York Times pivoted to prioritizing its subscriptions a few years ago, eventually growing to 6.5 million paid subscribers …
Amazon says Echo and Tile devices will become Bluetooth bridges for Sidewalk, its low-bandwidth, long-range wireless protocol, later this year
If You'll Let It David Challis / Android Headlines : Echo & Tile Devices Are Compatible With Amazon Sidewalk Cohen Coberly / TechSpot : Your Echo smart speakers may help Amazon build its Bluetooth-bas...
Microsoft debuts Premonition, a robotics and sensor platform for monitoring disease carriers like mosquitos and cloud-based software for analyzing samples
At its Ignite conference, Microsoft today announced that Premonition, a robotics and sensor platform for monitoring and sampling disease carriers …
CIA announces CIA Labs, a skunkworks operation that will let its officers profit from their inventions in fields like AI, data analytics, and quantum computing
Who We Are — CIA Labs is a chartered member of the Federal Laboratory Consortium … Andrew Hayward / Decrypt : CIA Increases Blockchain Focus with Profit-Sharing R&D Lab Danny Nelson / CoinDesk : CIA...
Records show the Los Angeles Police Department has used facial recognition software ~30,000 times since 2009, and 300+ personnel have access to the tools
Los Angeles Times :
Facebook says it will let people claim ownership of images and issue takedown requests across Facebook and Instagram, starting with select partners
Ashley Carman / The Verge :
Osso VR, which uses Oculus Quest headsets to provide VR tools and content for surgical and medical device training, raises $14M Series A
Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch :
Profile of Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, as she leads the company's $800M small business relief and COVID-19 crisis response
Ruth Porat, Alphabet CFO, in a great interview with @WallStManeet. Read the whole thing: https://www.forbes.com/... @forbes : Ruth Porat, the stalwart chief financial officer of Alphabet and Google, o...
Twitter launches its biggest push to encourage US citizens to vote, with a prompt in the timeline, push alert in notifications, promoted trends, and more
Jessica Guynn / USA Today :
Sources: Beijing has sped up development of a blacklist that could punish US tech firms; some leaders say a decision on the list should come after US election
China's answer to the U.S. list of Chinese entities it is targeting for sanctions. https://www.wsj.com/... Josh Chin / @joshchin : Chinese leaders are eager to punch back in fight over tech with the T...
Aurora Labs, a startup with tech to detect and remediate bugs in car codebases, raises $23M Series B from Porsche SE, Toyota Tsusho, and others
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Indian IT services company HCL Technologies acquires Australian IT firm DWS for $115.8M to expand its offerings in Australia and New Zealand
Surabhi Agarwal / The Economic Times :
Q&A: Android engineers Dave Burke and Iliyan Malchev on “Generic Kernel Image” for Android, hidden developer options like “Gabeldorsche” in Android 11, and more
Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica : Tweets: @mishaalrahman and @somospostpc Tweets: Mishaal Rahman / @mishaalrahman : Relevant quote from Iliyan Malchev (@imalchev) from @RonAmadeo's interview for @arstechni...
Google says its data portability tool Google Takeout averages more than 2M exports per month and 200B files were exported in 2019
Abner Li / 9to5Google :
Sources: Reliance is in talks with Indian manufacturers to develop a ~$54 Jio phone that runs on Android, aiming for sales of ~200M over the next two years
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg : Tweets: @christopherkay Tweets: Chris Kay / @christopherkay : Ambani to ramp up production of 200m low-cost smartphones in #India over next two years, @SarithaRai reports. “...
Immigrant rights group Mijente is organizing week long protests against Palantir for its work with ICE, corrupt governments, and support for drone programs
Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE : Tweets: @motherboard and @charlieangusndp Tweets: @motherboard : Activists in Palo Alto will hold a “good riddance” protest followed by an “unwelcome” party at Palantir's n...
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.