Netflix hires ex-Facebook and EA exec Mike Verdu as VP of game development; source: Netflix plans to offer games as a new programming genre within the next year
Netflix Inc., marking its first big move beyond TV shows and films, is planning an expansion into video games and has hired …
Twitter says it will retire Fleets, its Stories-like service, on August 3 after low adoption
A fleeting moment for Fleets — Say goodbye to Fleets, the row of fullscreen tweets at the top of the Twitter timeline that expire after 24 hours. The ephemeral tweet format is shutting …
[Thread] Jackson Palmer, a Dogecoin co-creator, says crypto primarily amplifies the wealth of its proponents via tax avoidance, limited regulatory oversight
I am often asked if I will “return to cryptocurrency” or begin regularly sharing my thoughts on the topic again. My answer is a wholehearted “no”, but to avoid repeating myself I figure it might be wo...
Microsoft announces Windows 365, letting businesses stream a version of Windows 10 or 11 in a web browser or through its Remote Desktop app, launching August 2
Windows 365 is a new service that creates Cloud PCs — Microsoft is putting Windows in the cloud.
TSMC says it expects shortage of chips used in cars to start easing in the next few months but broader semiconductor shortage could persist until 2022
A dearth of semiconductors has stymied manufacturing activity in the auto industry — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. …
Android 12 Beta 3 introduces scrolling screenshots, a faster auto-rotate using face detection to determine the phone's orientation, and more new features
Plus, it will finally support scrolling screenshots — Google is releasing the latest beta for Android 12 right on schedule.
Google's Threat Analysis Group breaks down three recent malware campaigns, likely state-backed, and notes a large uptick of in-the-wild 0-day attacks this year
Zero-day vulnerabilities are unknown software flaws. Until they're identified and fixed, they can be exploited by attackers.
Revolut raises $800M Series E from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global at a valuation of $33B; Revolut was last valued at $5.5B in 2020
The fintech funding continues to roll in at a rapid pace, a result of the huge shift underway in how consumers spend and manage their money.
Facebook says it is ending a project to build a head-mounted brain-typing device and will instead focus on a wrist controller for VR that reads muscle signals
The company's research into a mind-reading device is over, for now. Some scientists said it was never possible anyway.
US Consumer Product Safety Commission has sued Amazon to force it to recall hazardous products sold on its site, including 24K faulty carbon monoxide detectors
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Wednesday it has sued Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) to force the retailer …
Facebook Messenger adds Soundmojis, which add audible expressions to emoji, accessible through a loudspeaker icon
Messenger chats are about to get louder. … Facebook on Thursday launched “Soundmojis” for its Messenger app. The new feature adds the audible expressions to emoji …
WhatsApp begins a limited beta for multi-device support, letting users access WhatsApp on up to four non-phone devices without an active smartphone connection
WhatsApp is finally pushing an improvement to a key feature that even the Facebook-owned instant messaging service acknowledges has been a top request from users for years.
China's output of semiconductors reached an all-time, single-month high of 30.8B units in June, up 43.9% YoY; China's chip production for H1 is up 48.1% YoY
but geopolitics aren't going away
iOS 15 and watchOS 8 beta 3 allow users to install system updates even when less than 500 MB of storage is available
As Apple continues to work on iOS 15 and other updates ahead of the fall release, the company rolled out today the third beta versions of its latest software for developers.
European Central Bank says it will begin a 24-month “investigation phase” that could lead to the creation of a digital euro by around 2025
- Process will take 24 months before decision on adoption taken — ECB says infrastructure would use far less energy than Bitcoin
Some tech workers who quit the Bay Area during the pandemic are trickling back, as Twitter reopens its SF HQ and, along with Google, plans to expand in the area
Critics said the pandemic would make the industry flee San Francisco and its southern neighbor, Silicon Valley. Tweets: @jaycueanimal , @nytimes , @eliotwb , @coryweinberg , @nytimes , @kateconger , @...
Facebook says it will expand its Facebook Pay service beyond its own platforms, starting in August with Shopify vendors in the US
The cozy and consolidated universe of payment and digital wallet providers got a little less comfortable on Wednesday (July 14) after social media giant Facebook announced …
Microsoft and Citizen Lab say government hackers from several countries have used spyware from Israeli vendor Candiru that uses two 0-day exploits in Windows
Microsoft and Citizen Lab found a new kind of spyware made by the mysterious Israeli vendor Candiru, and targeting someone in Europe based on their political beliefs.
In macOS Monterey's new developer beta, Apple appears to walk back on its revamp of Safari's tabs, which were set to become more efficient with vertical space
just surprised they are doing so. They didn't care what anyone thought about iOS 7. Collin Donnell / @collindonnell : @lapcatsoftware These things are all demoed for executives and directors a bunch d...
Aurora Innovation, the autonomous vehicle startup that acquired Uber's self-driving unit in December, to go public via a SPAC merger at a $13B valuation
Aurora Innovation, the autonomous vehicle startup that acquired Uber's self-driving unit in December, is going public via a merger …
South Korea's largest travel booking app Yanolja raises about $1.7B from SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, sources say at a valuation of $9B+
- Yanolja is said to be considering an IPO at home and overseas — Coupang's hot debut spurs a wave of Korean tech startup IPOs
India-based news aggregator app Inshorts raises $60M, sources say at a $550M valuation, as its social network app Public gains popularity in the country
Indian startup Inshorts, which operates an eponymous news aggregator service, has raised $60 million in a new financing round as its two-year-old bet …
Avast says it is in advanced talks to merge with NortonLifeLock in a cash and stock deal; Avast has a market value of ~$7.2B
Cybersecurity firm Avast has market value of $7.2 billion — NortonLifeLock Inc. is in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Avast Plc in a deal that would expand the U.S. company's focus on consumer softw...
Sources: Miami-based OpenStore, which acquires Shopify merchants, raises $30M Series A led by Khosla Ventures at a post-money valuation of around $250M
OpenStore, a Miami-based rollup of Shopify merchants, raised $30 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures at around a $250 million post-money valuation, Axios has learned. Tweets: @danprimac...
Facebook says it is seeking the recusal of FTC chair Lina Khan in the agency's deliberations over a new antitrust case, following a similar move by Amazon
Brent Kendall / Wall Street Journal :
Netradyne, which uses cameras and edge computing to give commercial vehicle drivers real-time feedback, raises $150M Series C, bringing total funding to $197M+
Netradyne, a startup that uses cameras and edge computing to improve commercial driver safety, has scored $150 million in Series C funding.
Facebook staff detail the fight over CrowdTangle, which notes top-engaging posts, often showing right-wing sources dominating; in April, its team was reassigned
literally 9 or 10 of 10—by conservative media posts. Facebook is unhappy that this makes them look like a right wing echo chamber and are contemplating if and how to reduce transparency https://twitte...
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will pay $1B to creators by the end of 2022; creators can earn money using Instagram or Facebook tools or by hitting milestones
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times :
A look at efforts to scrutinize TrueAllele's secret algorithm, which US prosecutors are using to assess the likelihood of a suspect's DNA in a mixed sample
Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post : Tweets: @docedge85 , @maxcembalest , and @brookingsgov Tweets: Doc Edge / @docedge85 : As for TrueAllele, 3 judges have granted review permission recently under he...
Twitter says governments made 361 demands to remove content from 199 verified accounts of journalists and news outlets in H2 2020, up 26% from H1
OnePlus says it no longer plans to sell the $969 OnePlus 9 Pro model in the US due to supply constraints, says it will prioritize the higher-end $1,069 model
here's why Tweets: Quench / @lwa_quench : Nooooo can't get the $1000 phone that is like 5 percent faster at opening Twitter and will be obsolete in 2 years https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Clubhouse debuts Backchannel, a DM feature supporting group messages and audio chat, on iOS and Android; the ability to send images or video will be added later
Ashley Carman / The Verge :
Amplitude, an analytics startup helping companies optimize products, confidentially files for a US direct listing, a month after raising $150M at $4B valuation
Tencent Holdings Ltd-backed Amplitude said on Wednesday it had confidentially filed paperwork for a direct listing in the United States …
An Amazon Canada search page details the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series, available in 40mm, 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm with Wear OS, shipping August 27 from CAD $309
price, release date and key specs revealed Sumit Adhikari / Android Headlines : Exynos W920 Will Power Galaxy Watch 4, Brings Major Improvements Britta O'Boyle / Pocket-lint : Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 a...
UK's BT, which runs the EE carrier, will phase out 3G by 2023 and plans 5G coverage for all of the UK by 2028; iPhone 12 quadrupled 5G traffic since October
An Ugly Truth attributes many of Facebook's scandals to its capitalist origins, while arguably the biggest scandals extend from it impacting human psychology
mostly anger, but also sadness—and dredged up a lot of memories of my time working there that I'd long left behind https://twitter.com/... Yael Eisenstat / @yaeleisenstat : @MarietjeSchaake @Nieuwsuur...
Internal documents: Amazon considered building an Alexa-powered, GPS-enabled wearable device for kids aged 4-12 as part of its 2020 product roadmap
Miami-based Unybrands, which acquires small e-commerce brands looking to scale their operations on and off Amazon, raises $300M from Crayhill Capital Management
Christine Hall / TechCrunch : Source: PR Newswire .
Woven Planet Holdings, a Toyota subsidiary that develops and invests in automated driving, has acquired 3D mapping startup Carmera for an undisclosed amount
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch :
Teikametrics, a Boston-based startup that helps third-party sellers optimize advertising campaigns on Amazon and other ecommerce platforms, raises $40M Series B
Join executive leaders at the Conversational AI & Intelligent AI Assistants Summit, presented by Five9. Watch now!
A coalition of 35 organizations demands that top US retailers, including Macy's and Lowe's, stop using facial recognition to identify customers
Jerome Powell tells Congress a Fed report, due in Sept., will address cryptocurrencies, CBDCs, and stablecoins, “which need an appropriate regulatory framework”
Nate DiCamillo / CoinDesk :
TikTok has passed 3B installs globally across iOS and Android, the first non-Facebook app to do so
Amazon launches its Kindle Vella serialized story service on iOS and web, which lets users unlock episodic, self-published stories via in-app purchases
Lambda, which offers AI-optimized hardware and develops a machine learning development framework, raises $24.5M from 1517, Gradient Ventures, and others
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat : Tweets: @quinnypig Tweets: Corey Quinn / @quinnypig : “The $24.5 Lambda Bill” was right there to scare AWS people. https://twitter.com/...
FlyMachine, which is building a virtual concerts service that lets users chat with friends during the show, raises $21M led by Greycroft Partners and SignalFire
SecurEnds, which uses AI to help companies manage risk and compliance, raises $21M Series A led by Elephant
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Square acquires Crew, maker of a messaging service for retail and other in-person workers, for an undisclosed amount; Crew had raised ~$58M previously
Tomio Geron / Protocol :
Profile of Spotify's chief legal officer Horacio Gutierrez, who leads its campaign against Apple in the US and EU, painting Apple as an abusive monopolist
Aidoc, which develops AI-based tools to analyze scans and help radiologists, raises $66M led by General Catalyst
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.