Techmeme
April 9, 2020, 7:45 PM

Top News

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
iOS 14 code shows that Apple is working on a “Clips” feature letting users experience parts of an app's functionality in Safari via a link or scanning a QR code  —  Apple is working on a new way to offer specific parts of third-party apps across the system without needing to have them installed …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Google rebrands its business-focused teleconferencing app Hangouts Meet to Google Meet and Hangouts Chat to Google Chat, leaving Hangouts brand for consumers  —  Following the official change from Hangouts Meet to Google Meet  —  Google has officially removed the Hangouts brand …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google launches a braille keyboard for Android that requires no extra hardware, letting users tap a standard 6-key layout to type letters and words  —  Google today announced the launch of a virtual braille keyboard for Android that's designed to enable those with low vision or blindness …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft has seen a new daily record of 2.7B meeting minutes in Teams, up 200% from 900M minutes in mid-March, and video call usage grew by 1,000%+ in March  —  Microsoft is revealing more about how people are using its Teams app, and it predicts the novel coronavirus pandemic will be a turning point …
David Canellis / The Next Web:
Report: Travelex paid hackers 285 BTC, worth around $2.3M, to regain access to its systems after a ransomware attack on New Year's Eve  —  Travelex paid hackers $2.3 million worth of Bitcoin to regain access to its computer systems after a devastating ransomware attack on New Year's Eve, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Yelp says it is cutting 1,000 jobs and furloughing another 1,100 workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic  —  Yelp told employees Thursday that it is cutting 1,000 jobs and furloughing another 1,100 workers amid a massive  —  Why it matters: It's just the latest company that caters to small businesses …
Bani Sapra / Business Insider:
Facebook files lawsuit against Basant Gajjar, founder of LeadCloak, alleging its software helped scammers run deceptive ads on Facebook and Instagram  —  - Facebook announced that it filed a lawsuit against the founder of a company called LeadCloak on Thursday, alleging that it was helping …
Mariella Moon / Engadget:
Researcher Jane Manchun Wong: Facebook may be working on a new “Campus” feature, with Groups and Events for college students with .edu addresses  —  Facebook is apparently hoping to go back to its roots as a service that connects college students with each other.
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
The Unicode Consortium says it's delaying emoji planned for 2021 but the emoji announced earlier this year will still be available in the fall  —  An emoji delay  —  The pandemic is even affecting emoji.  The Unicode Consortium, the group behind emoji releases, announced today that it's delaying …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Facebook begins rolling out “Quiet Mode” app feature that mutes most notifications and helps schedule breaks; coming to iOS in April and Android in May  —  Facebook is rolling out a new feature today that allows users to mute all notifications from the social network.
Dave Gershgorn / OneZero :
Analysis of efforts by 25 governments to track the COVID-19 pandemic using new surveillance programs, such as using location data or releasing an app  —  At least 28 countries are ramping up surveillance to combat the coronavirus  —  an attempt to stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic …
Cecilia Kang / New York Times:
Verizon says it is now handling ~800M wireless calls on weekdays, more than double Mother's Day, while AT&T says calls are up 35%; internet usage is up 20-25%  —  The volume of phone calls has surged more than internet use as people want to hear each other's voices in the pandemic.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google confirms it expanded Duplex, its AI chat agent, to the UK, Australia, and Canada, but only to contact businesses about updated hours for Search and Maps  —  Google today quietly updated a support page to indicate that Google Duplex, its AI chat agent that can arrange appointments over the phone …
Will Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
The pandemic has companies like Netflix and Equinix expediting network and server upgrades, driving the biggest expansion of internet infrastructure in years  —  Just like that, our internet connection has become an umbilical to the outside world.  We now depend on it to do our jobs, to go to school, and to see other people.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Index Ventures announces it has closed $2B in new funds, with plans to use $1.2B for growth rounds and $800M for emerging startups  —  It's not quite business as usual in the world of business, but in tech, there is still a significant amount of money being raised and invested …
Reuters:
FCC grants Google permission to operate a portion of the 8,000-mile Pacific Light Cable Network System between the US and Taiwan, but blocks access to Hong Kong  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday approved Alphabet Inc unit Google's (GOOGL.O) …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Sources: Microsoft won't be delivering its Windows 10X-powered Surface Neo dual-screen devices this year, nor will it ship Windows 10X to third-party OEMs  —  Microsoft is shifting its Windows focus to reflect the new world where virtualization and single-screen devices are more of a priority than brand-new form factors.
Robin Klein / Sifted:
UK startups have received ample government support already and while COVID-19-related relief might be tempting, the money could be better spent elsewhere  —  The UK government shouldn't set up a bailout fund for startups.  That's their investors' job.  —  NEWS |  COMMUNITIES |  9 Apr

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