Techmeme
April 9, 2020, 9:10 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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
Bijan Stephen / The Verge:
Twitch expands Watch Parties beta to all US creators, allowing streamers to broadcast Prime Video content with their viewers; global rollout in following months  —  Now, you can watch stuff on Amazon Prime with your favorite streamers  —  Twitch announced today that it's bringing …
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Starship Technologies expands its autonomous food delivery robot service to Tempe, AZ, following launches in Washington, D.C., and Irvine, citing rising demand  —  Starship Technologies has launched a robot food delivery service in Tempe, Arizona, as part of the autonomous delivery startup's …
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 …
Bloomberg:
In a filing, DOJ and other federal agencies urge the FCC to revoke China Telecom's permission to operate in the United States, which it has held since 2007  —  - Defense and Justice departments cite national security threat  — Security agencies file at Federal Communications Commission
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) …
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 …
Michael McWhertor / Polygon:
Google makes Stadia free to use for anyone with a Gmail address and will give new users two months of Stadia Pro for free  —  Stadia Pro is also free for two months  —  Google's video game streaming platform, Stadia, is now free to anyone with a Gmail address, the company announced on Wednesday.
Robin Klein / Sifted:

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Gaspard Sebag / Bloomberg:
Will Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
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