Techmeme
March 14, 2020, 8:30 AM

Top News

Peter Kafka / Vox:
Google confirms Verily is building a tool to expedite COVID-19 testing in the Bay Area initially; Trump says Google has 1,700 engineers working on the project  —  Dr. Debbie Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks at a White House press conference on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says it is closing all of its retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27 due to the continuing spread of COVID-19  —  Apple today announced that it is closing all of its retail locations outside of Greater China until March 27 due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus …
Apple:
Apple announces it will hold WWDC in June in “an entirely new online format”  —  WWDC 2020 to Feature an Online Format with a Keynote and Sessions Connecting Millions of Developers Around the World  —  Cupertino, California — Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Microsoft:
Bill Gates has stepped down from the Microsoft's Board of Directors, will continue to serve as Technology Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella  —  REDMOND, Wash. — March 13, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Co-Founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates stepped down from the company's Board …
Patricia Hernandez / Polygon:
Niantic has temporarily updated various Pokémon Go mechanics to limit the need for extended travel during gameplay due to “the current global health situation”  —  Monster collecting will be slightly easier now  —  As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, more ISPs join FCC-orchestrated “Keep Americans Connected Pledge”, will open Wi-Fi hotspots, not terminate service for late fees, more  —  AT&T, Comcast and Verizon joined dozens of telecom providers in agreeing to aid Americans who are out of work …
Karl Bode / VICE:
Adele Peters / Fast Company:
Uncensored Library, a Reporters Without Borders project in Minecraft, lets people anywhere read articles from censored journalists and get info on press freedom  —  In countries where censorship is standard practice—such as China, where articles and social media posts about COVID-19 …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Kenneth Chenault will be leaving Facebook's board following disagreements with Zuckerberg over the company's governance and political policies  —  Board member disagreed with founder over governance and political policies  —  Kenneth Chenault will be leaving Facebook Inc.'s board …
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Source: Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models next week  —  Last March, MacRumors received an anonymous tip claiming that Apple would announce new iPad, iMac, and iPod models with three consecutive days of press releases the following week, and that information proved to be two-thirds accurate …
Song Jingli / KrASIA:
An interview with Lu Zhihui, founder of MMC whose drones have been used during COVID-19 outbreak in China to disinfect public areas, control traffic, and more  —  If you Google for the keywords “talking drones,” a lot of news and videos will show up about how China started to deploy flying drones …

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More News

Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:

Earlier Picks

CNN: