Techmeme
May 13, 2020, 11:25 AM

Top News

Max Willens / Digiday:
Sources: Apple is asking the publishers participating in Apple News+ for permission to produce audio versions of stories, with Apple handling production costs  —  Apple News+ is pivoting to audio.  —  Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to return employees to offices sooner than rival tech companies, with staff coming back in phases  —  - Company to start letting more workers return to major offices  — Google, Facebook will allow remote work through end of 2020  —  Apple Inc. plans …
CNBC:
Sources: Uber has been in off and on talks for a year to acquire Grubhub, but the parties remain at odds about price  —  - Uber has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC Tuesday.  — Grubhub's stock spiked as much as 38% …
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Facebook will pay $52M in a settlement covering 11,250 content moderators as compensation for mental health issues developed on the job  —  Current and former moderators will all be paid a minimum of $1,000  —  In a landmark acknowledgment of the toll that content moderation takes on its workforce …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Dell's upgraded flagship Alienware Area-51m R2 shows the promise of upgradeable Area-51m has failed, as the original won't get any of the new CPU or GPU updates  —  Original owners won't get any of the new CPU or GPU upgrades  —  Alienware has announced the second generation of its flagship Area-51m gaming laptop, the Area-51m R2.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Spatial makes its VR meeting rooms free to use and adds support for the web, mobile, and Oculus Quest  —  Two years ago, we called Spatial's virtual collaboration platform “FaceTime in VR.”  Since then, the company has focused on corporate users who have access to pricey augmented reality headsets …
More: VentureBeat, CNET, and WiredThanks:@lucyagoss
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Alphabet's Loon signs deal with carrier Vodacom to bring its commercial internet service to Mozambique  —  Loon, the Alphabet -owned company that's using stratospheric balloons to provide high-speed bandwidth to hard-to-serve areas without strong ground infrastructure, has signed a new deal …
More: Loon and Engadget
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon updates the Fire HD 8 tablet with a faster processor, more RAM, more storage, and USB-C, with the base model getting a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Along with a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Amazon has announced a new update for its Fire HD 8 tablet, adding a faster processor, more RAM, and USB-C charging.
Robert Stevens / Decrypt:
Chat app Telegram says it's abandoning its TON blockchain project, after the SEC challenged the legality of its $1.7B ICO and delayed the network's launch  —  Telegram, the operator of the 400 million-strong messenger app, today announced that it has given up on its upcoming blockchain network …
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Security experts believe online voting systems do not have strong enough security guarantees for prime time despite seemingly successful trials in the US  —  Proponents of mobile and internet voting point to its uneventful track record.  That's not good enough.
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Instagram adds bulk comment deletion and control for who can mention or tag you on iOS, to help fight bullying; the ability to pin comments is being tested  —  Instagram is rolling out some changes today to keep the platform a more positive place for users.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Epic Games unveils the Unreal Engine 5, coming in 2021, with a PlayStation 5 demo and says the Epic Online Services set of tools are available today  —  Epic says its new engine is a ‘quantum leap,’ and it'll arrive in 2021  —  Epic Games today announced the next iteration of its game engine …
Annie Musgrove / Tech.eu:
Tel Aviv-based accessiBe, which uses AI to make website content more accessible to disabled users, raises $12M led by K1  —  Tel Aviv-based accessiBe, a startup using AI to make website content more accessible for users with disabilities, has raised $12 million from K1, an investment firm based in California.

Sponsor Posts

Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Your website, your brand: A website building guide for tech partners  —  In a competitive market, trust is what makes businesses choose you and stay with you.  As a tech partner, you can take steps to build …
IDrive:
Geometric Grand Unification — Solving the Hubble Tension & Proton Mass  —  Physics solved?  AI verifies model unifying gravity & particles by deriving constants from vacuum geometry.  Identifies void-driven topology.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
The Truth Behind Automation Claims in Customer Support | Cresta CEO Ping Wu
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Getting paid to vibe code: Inside the new AI-era job | Lazar Jovanovic (Professional Vibe Coder)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Software In Shambles, OpenAI vs. Anthropic Super Brawl, Amazon's Struggles
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:
Elon Musk's Mega-Merger + We Test Google's Project Genie + What's Next for Moltbook Creator
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Jeff Bezos Used To Be In Love with The Washington Post. What Happened?
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:25 AM ET, May 13, 2020.

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.

More News

Earlier Picks

JD Alois / Crowdfund Insider: