Techmeme
February 18, 2020, 11:55 AM

Top News

Apple:
Apple does not expect to meet revenue guidance for March quarter due to constrained iPhone supply and low demand due to store closures amid coronavirus crisis  —  As the public health response to COVID-19 continues, our thoughts remain with the communities and individuals most deeply affected by the disease …
Bloomberg:
Sources: iPhone SE 2 is on track to launch in March despite coronavirus crisis and updated iPad Pro models with a new camera system are expected in H1 2020  —  - Coronavirus has hurt both supply and demand for iPhone maker  — Low-cost iPhone plans said to remain on track for March launch
Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
Interviews with current and former employees reveal how OpenAI has become more secretive as it tries to juggle its ideals with the need to finance its research  —  The AI moonshot was founded in the spirit of transparency.  This is the inside story of how competitive pressure eroded that idealism.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Elon Musk says all advanced AI development should be regulated, including at Tesla, and that OpenAI, which he cofounded, “should be more open”  —  Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is once again sounding a warning note regarding the development of artificial intelligence …
Steve Streza:
iOS users not subscribed to Apple's services are constantly forced to look at ads for those services, either in first-party apps or through push notifications  —  Over the years, Apple has built up a portfolio of services and add-ons that you pay for.  Starting with AppleCare extended warranties …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Kickstarter employees vote 46-37 to unionize with the Office and Professional Employees International Union, the first workers at a major tech company to do so  —  Kickstarter employees voted to form a union with the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which represents more than 100,000 white collar workers.
Amelia Lucas / CNBC:
Sources: US Commerce Department is proposing restrictions requiring foreign companies to obtain licenses in order to make chips for Huawei using US equipment  —  - The Commerce Department is considering requiring chip factories globally to obtain licenses if they want to use American equipment …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
An extortion scam is allegedly threatening website operators with junk ad clicks that trigger Google's fraud detection to limit or ban a site's AdSense account  —  A new email-based extortion scheme apparently is making the rounds, targeting Web site owners serving banner ads through Google's AdSense program.
Saeed Azhar / Reuters:
Sources: SoftBank has invested $2.5B of its own cash into investments since October, as it seeks to re-establish credibility ahead of a planned Vision Fund 2  —  (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) has pumped $2.5 billion of its own cash into new investments since October …
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Jeff Bezos says he is launching the Bezos Earth Fund to fight climate change and committing $10B “to start”, with first grants slated to be issued this summer  —  The Bezos Earth Fund will begin issuing grants this summer  —  Today, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced …
Reuters:
At the Munich Security Conference, Zuckerberg says harmful content should be regulated with a system somewhere between existing frameworks for telcos and media  —  MUNICH (Reuters) - Online content should be regulated with a system somewhere between the existing rules used for the telecoms …
Financial Times:

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Chris Welch / The Verge:
Corbin Davenport / Android Police:

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