|
December 4, 2019, 9:15 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Paresh Dave / Reuters: |
Instagram says it will now require birthdates from new users, in order to improve safety features for minors and better target ads for age-restricted products — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's Instagram said it will require birthdates from all new users starting on Wednesday …
More:
Instagram, Digital Trends, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, The Daily Dot, SlashGear, The Hill, KnowTechie, MSPoweruser, Neowin, CNET, Engadget, The Verge, BBC, and CNET
Tweets: @tamaleaver, @nicebigdog, @shayan86, @sinnamonlove, @mattnavarra, @chrismessina, @timmarchman, @tomgara, @wongmjane, @sarahfrier, @wongmjane, and @karissabe
| Jason Schreier / Kotaku: |
Sources: Microsoft is planning a cheaper, disc-free Xbox, codenamed Lockhart, to go alongside its high-end Project Scarlett console — In June, Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, a new iteration of the Xbox that the company said would “set a new bar for console power, speed and performance.”
More:
The Verge, The Next Web, Ars Technica, Windows Central, Thurrott, CNET, GeekWire, Wccftech, Business Insider, Engadget, GameSpot, Destructoid, Pocket-lint, IGN, Tom's Guide, Gamasutra, VG247, USgamer.net, Neowin, BGR, TechSpot, OnMSFT.com, Gematsu, Digital Trends, GamesIndustry.biz, TweakTown News, Geek.com, SlashGear, and MSPoweruser
Tweets: @sweetnessgaming, @tomwarren, @getfandom, @balroggameroom, @tomwarren, @jasonschreier, @benjisales, and @smetaldave64
| Juli Clover / MacRumors: |
BMW reverses its decision to charge $80/year for Apple's CarPlay, saying it will offer it free in some models and for a one-off $300 fee in others — BMW in early 2018 decided to begin offering BMW customers CarPlay access for a subscription fee rather than a one-time fee …
More:
Autocar, 9to5Mac, The Verge, Ars Technica, autoblog.com, Cult of Mac, MacDailyNews, and iPhone Hacks. Tweets: @ianstechyt
| Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech: |
An in-depth look at Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 865 and 765 chips, and why Snapdragon 865 does not come with an integrated 5G modem — We're here in Maui for the second day of Qualcomm's fourth annual Snapdragon summit, for what is probably the most exciting part of the event …
More:
PCMag, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, MacRumors, Ars Technica, Android Police, Engadget, Android Police, AppleInsider, iMore, Patently Apple, 9to5Mac, SiliconANGLE, Gizmodo, VentureBeat, The Verge, Wired, and ZDNet
| Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: |
Language learning app Duolingo raises $30M Series F from Alphabet's CapitalG at a $1.5B valuation, more than double the valuation from its 2017 Series E — Popular language learning app Duolingo has raised $30 million in a series F round of funding from Alphabet's investment arm CapitalG.
More:
CNBC, Pittsburgh Business Journal, EdSurge, and Axios
Tweets: @hunckler, @stevecase, and @chrisbriem
| Caroline Haskins / VICE: |
Internal and public documents portray efforts by Amazon's Ring to entice police with parties and batches of 40+ free Ring doorbells for promoting the service — This is the second of a three-part series exploring how Ring transformed from start-up pitch to the technology powering Amazon's …
More:
New York Post and The Verge
Tweets: @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @carolineha_, @katiedrumm, @josephfcox, @jason_koebler, and @acluofil
| Neha Malara / Reuters: |
Slack reports Q3 revenue of $168.7M up 60% YoY, beating analyst estimates, and a net loss of $87.8M, says its paying customers grew to 105K, up 30% YoY — (Reuters) - Slack Technologies Inc (WORK.N) forecast disappointing current-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday as its messaging platform wrestles with stiff competition.
More:
SiliconANGLE, Business Wire, ZDNet, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, MarketWatch, and Benzinga
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Reddit publishes its 2019 retrospective: 430M MAUs, up 30% YoY, with 199M posts, 1.7B comments, and 32B upvotes; Bill Gates AMA had the most upvotes with 110K — In a year-end retrospective released this morning, Reddit says its user base grew 30% this year to reach 430 million monthly active users, as of the end of October.
More:
Upvoted, The Daily Dot, Mashable, Digital Trends, CNET, and Business Insider
Tweets: @reddit, @sachinrekhi, @brianmanzullo, and @davidspinks
| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google says Focus mode, a Digital Wellbeing feature for Android that mutes notifications, is rolling out to Android 9 and 10 users — At I/O 2019 in May, Google announced the latest Digital Wellbeing features to build on last year's initial launch. In testing for the past several months …
More:
The Keyword, TechCrunch, Engadget, Android Police, Business Insider, The Verge, Thurrott, MSPoweruser, CNET, Digital Trends, and XDA Developers
| Victoria Song / Gizmodo: |
Craigslist, which launched in 1995, finally gets an official app, available now on iOS and in beta on Android — Craigslist has long been a staple of the internet since it first launched in 1995—but surprisingly, it hasn't had an official app in the decade or so since the smartphone era began.
More:
Engadget, TechSpot, Cult of Mac, Droid Life, Android Central, TechCrunch, KnowTechie, GeekWire, and Mashable
Tweets: @stevesi, @caseynewton, @nathanblawrence, and @jowens510
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Plex launches a free, ad-supported streaming service featuring thousands of movies and shows from studios like MGM, available in ~220 countries — Plex today is launching its own ad-supported streaming service, a rival to The Roku Channel, Tubi, Crackle, Vudu's Movies on Us …
More:
Plex, 9to5Mac, The Streamable, Gizmodo, TechSpot, The Verge, Digital Trends, Android Authority, Android Police, and Windows Central. Tweets: @film_girl
| Annie Palmer / CNBC: |
Expedia CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill are stepping down, with day-to-day work taken up by Chairman Barry Diller, after a disagreement over strategy — KEY POINTS — Expedia announced Wednesday that CEO Mark Okerstrom and CFO Alan Pickerill are stepping down from their roles at the company.
More:
Expedia Inc. MediaRoom, Bloomberg, ZDNet, Reuters, PYMNTS.com, GeekWire, and Business Insider
| Fair Tax Mark: |
Fair Tax Mark report on Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Netflix over the past decade finds they have collectively avoided $100B+ in taxes — The Fair Tax Mark will later this week release a new report, The Silicon Six and their $100 billion global tax gap … | Li Yuan / New York Times: |
Huawei's reputation in China, once unimpeachable, has been dented by a labor dispute over severance pay with an employee, who was recently freed from jail — When an executive wrote about her house arrest in Canada, an outcry about a former employee's treatment arose on social media.
More:
Foreign Policy. Tweets: @liyuan6, @scs_disputes, @david_mulroney, @kenroth, @liyuan6, @maryhui, and @nytimes
| TechCrunch: |
SEC filing: Sequoia Capital has raised nearly $1B for later-stage US investments and ~$2.4B for venture and growth deals in China — Noted Silicon Valley venture capital fund Sequoia Capital has raised nearly $1 billion for later-stage U.S. investments and roughly $2.4 billion for venture … | Bloomberg: |
More Google employees accuse the company of retaliation in NLRB complaint filed Tuesday in Chicago, alleging Google fired one or more employees for organizing — A complaint filed Tuesday accused Google of terminating staff in retaliation for activism about working conditions …
Tweets: @josheidelson, @josheidelson, and @mer__edith
| Newley Purnell / Wall Street Journal: |
India, which is increasingly trying to shelter local companies, has erected regulatory hurdles over the past year for how US tech firms operate in the country — New barriers make world's biggest untapped digital market a slog for Walmart, Facebook; taking cues from China's protectionism
More:
Politico. Tweets: @ericbellmanwsj, @wsj, @viditb, @arifcrafiq, @dericsayers, @matthausk, @hoofnagle, and @parmy. Thanks:@newley
| Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post: |
A further 21 women are suing Lyft, alleging they were raped or sexually assaulted by drivers, following 14 women who filed a similar complaint in September — The lawsuit filed in California says Lyft failed to protect passengers and didn't take its duty to screen drivers seriously enough.| Todd Feathers / VICE: |
A look at the problems caused by spyware on student devices, marketed as a way to prevent shootings, without any independent research to support the claims — It was another sleepy board of education meeting in Woodbridge, N.J. The board gave out student commendations and presented budget requests.
Tweets: @josephfcox, @inhabitglobal, @vice, and @zenalbatross
| Mike Isaac / New York Times: |
Sources: Facebook's NPE team is exploring the creation of apps for podcasts, travel, workplace services, and newsletters, although these may never be released — The social network is exploring new product areas through a team dedicated to building the company's future.
Tweets: @mikeisaac, @ceciliakang, @puiwingtam, and @caseynewton
Sponsor Posts
Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26 — Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26 — Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
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.
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.
IDrive:
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.
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.Featured Podcasts
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:15 PM ET, December 4, 2019.
The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.
From Mediagazer
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
Upcoming Tech Events
Earlier Picks
| Manish Singh / TechCrunch: |
More:
GeekWire, Engadget, The Verge, Gizchina, Android Central, Tom's Guide, iPhone Hacks, TechHive, Mashable, International Business Times, Android Police, TechSpot, Cult of Mac, XDA Developers, Thurrott, BetaNews, Pocket-lint, PhoneArena, and Digital Trends
Tweets: @davezatz and @tech2eets
| Greg Bensinger / Washington Post: |
| Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: |
More:
Gizmodo, Extensions, security …, Engadget, Lifehacker, KnowTechie, Inquirer, Boing Boing, and Security Affairs
Tweets: @wolfiechristl, @paul__walsh, @campuscodi, and @campuscodi
| The Keyword: |
More:
Business Insider, Bloomberg, Alphabet, New York Times, The Guardian, CNBC, CNET, The Verge, The Verge, Firstpost Tech, Bloomberg, New York Times, Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Next Web, The Information, Yahoo Finance, Silicon Valley Business …, TechCrunch, Daring Fireball, PYMNTS.com, CCN.com, NBC News, Chrome Unboxed, CNN, Patently Apple, bit-tech.net, Redmond Pie, Forbes, South China Morning Post, The Information, Coinspeaker, Geek.com, Inc42 Media, cloudpro.co.uk, TechSpot, Axios, Gizchina, New York Post, Inquirer, Nikkei Asian Review, Android Central, MediaNama, Variety, XDA Developers, Techaeris, Search Engine Journal, MSPoweruser, CBS News, and BBC
Tweets: @sundarpichai, @ewarren, @benioff, @googlewalkout, @lutherlowe, @ericschmidt, @laurenceb, @manukumarjain, @jason_kint, @jasongay, @alliekmiller, @mulligan, @jonerlichman, @dhh, @slpng_giants, @lutherlowe, @ow, @teddyschleifer, @tomwarren, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @johnbattelle, @nongaap, @rdrv3, @edmundlee, @delrey, @backlon, @stshank, @shiraovide, and @mcwm
| Shara Tibken / CNET: |
| Larry Dignan / ZDNet: |
More:
Amazon Web Services, AWS News Blog, The Next Platform, Tom's Hardware, and CNX Software
Tweets: @arungupta, @ldignan, and @justincormack