Note: Techmeme is hiring part-time editors. Apply here or tell a friend!
Techmeme
June 26, 2020, 2:35 PM

Top News

Todd Haselton / CNBC:
Microsoft says it will permanently close all Microsoft Store retail locations and focus on its online store instead  —  - Microsoft on Friday announced it will permanently close its Microsoft Store retail locations.  — In the past decade or so, Microsoft began to expand its retail presence …
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
Unilever says it will halt US advertising on Facebook and Twitter for at least the remainder of 2020, citing hate speech and divisive content on the platforms  —  The company cites hate speech and polarized politics as reasons for ad suspension  —  Consumer-goods giant Unilever UL -.32% PLC …
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Verizon joins the boycott of Facebook ads, pulling them until Facebook has “an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable”, the largest advertiser so far  —  - Verizon said on Thursday it is pulling advertising on Facebook and Instagram.  — On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation …
Suzanne Vranica / Wall Street Journal:
CNBC:
Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire self-driving car startup Zoox, reportedly for $1.2B+; Zoox was valued at over $3B in 2018  —  - Zoox was valued at over $3 billion in 2018, but has struggled with management turnover in its efforts to develop a self-driving car.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Leaked Microsoft document hints at a cheaper and less powerful Xbox console, designed to provide key improvements in Xbox Series X at a lower price point  —  The document mentions multiple Project Scarlett consoles  —  Microsoft has been planning a second, cheaper and less power next-gen Xbox console.
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Volvo to integrate Waymo's autonomous driving technology in its future fleet of electric robotaxis, the fourth automaker to commit to using Waymo's AV tech  —  Waymo says it is an ‘exclusive’ supplier of Level 4 technology to Volvo  —  Waymo is the “exclusive global L4 partner” …
Bloomberg:
Tencent is launching Trovo, a Twitch-like streaming service, in the US, and plans to entice creators with a $30M partnership program starting in July  —  - Trovo is a close analog to Twitch and already live online  — Preparing official launch with $30 million recruitment budget
Laurence Dodds / Telegraph:
TikTok says it will stop clipboard snooping after iOS 14 reveals when apps attempt to read the clipboard; TikTok claims it was used to identify spammy behavior  —  A security patch from Apple has suddenly exposed just how many smartphone apps are reading users' clipboards every time they are on screen
Julia Carrie Wong / The Guardian:
An aggregate 3M support QAnon as followers or members of Facebook pages, profiles, groups, and Instagram accounts, playing a key role in spreading Q's messages  —  Guardian investigation finds more than 3m aggregate followers and members support QAnon on Facebook, and their numbers are growing
More: The Verge
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Report: Alphabet said to be close to buying Canadian smart glasses maker North for ~$180M; sales of North's first generation Focals were said to be minuscule  —  While Glass lives on as an enterprise product, it never came close to reaching Google's wildly ambitious vision of replacing the smartphone.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Generate videos with Veo 3 in Google Gemini  —  Create high-quality, 8-second videos with Veo 3, our state-of-the-art AI video generator.  Try it with a Google AI Pro plan or get the highest access with the Ultra plan.
Warp:
The #1 Coding Agent  —  #1 on Terminal-Bench.  71% on SWE-bench Verified.  Trusted by 600K+ devs.  Try the top agentic dev tool for $1 for 1st month with code TECHMEME.
Zoho:
Boost technician productivity on the go with the Zoho FSM mobile app  —  Life on the move: Inside a technician's daily workflowIn field service, unpredictability is part of the job.  One moment, a technician is on schedule.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
F5:
F5's 2025 AI Strategy Report  —  Only 2% of Enterprises Are Fully AI-Ready.  Most face security gaps like weak data governance and lack of AI firewalls, stalling adoption and innovation.  What is your readiness to scale AI?

Featured Podcasts

Tech Brew Ride Home:
An Apple Pixar Lamp?
Tech news headlines every day. 15 minutes and you're up to date. From Tech Brew, Morning Brew's tech hub.
Subscribe to Tech Brew Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The head of ChatGPT on AI attachment, ads, and what's next
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
The one question that saves product careers | Matt LeMay
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.
Great Chat:
Warm intros and hot takes: It's time to get ready for fundraising season
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Big Technology Podcast:
Is The AI Going To Escape? -- With Anthony Aguire
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Brian Armstrong from Coinbase
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:35 PM ET, June 26, 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

Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Bloomberg:
Financial Times:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch: