Techmeme
June 26, 2020, 11:40 AM

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 …
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.
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:
Sources: facing growing ad boycott, Facebook told advertisers it will “not make policy changes tied to revenue pressure” but will invest more in tackling hate  —  Social network tells advertisers it takes civil-rights groups' concerns seriously, but won't ‘make policy changes tied to revenue pressure’
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.
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
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” …
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.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Google launches group calling support for Assistant-powered smart displays, like Nest Hub Max, in Google Meet for up to 100 users and in Duo for up to 32 people  —  Chat with up to either 32 or 100 right from your Nest Hub Max  —  Google is expanding the ways you can make video calls …
Jack Koloskus / Input:
Apple's new visual language in macOS 11 highlights a trend towards neumorphism, an iteration of skeuomorphic design that focuses on light moving within 3D space  —  If you watched Apple's annual WWDC event this week, or have been even casually observing some of the announcements the company made …
Bloomberg:
In email to staff, Uber CEO says it will “deprioritize” its finance-related projects, including Uber Money, as the head of its financial products quits  —  Uber Technologies Inc.'s financial services leader Peter Hazlehurst is calling it quits as the ride-hailing giant focuses …
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

Sponsor Posts

Command Line:
We can build it.  Can we judge it?  —  As agentic AI shortens the path from idea to shipped code, journey evaluation becomes a critical design skill.
Will Reed:
The best sales leaders aren't job hunting.  Here's how to reach them without months of cold outreach.  —  Our team came from Box, Square, and Brex, so we already know the GTM leaders worth meeting.
Zoho:
Zoho Backstage 4.0: Introducing the most powerful event experience platform from Zoho, ever  —  Every year, we observe Event Organizers Day on October 23 to celebrate the hard work and creativity event planners bring to every event.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Google's Potential, AI Money Spigot Shutting?, PHP Bug & Cybersecurity's "Black October"
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.
Machine Gods:
Fired OpenAI Safety Researchers Speak Out + We Look Inside Pandora's Box
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
The Upstarts Podcast:
The Parking Startup That Swallowed A 100-Year-Old Giant | Metropolis CEO Alex Israel
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Great Chat:
AI's Spooky 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.
Sources:
Sundar Pichai on Gemini 4 and the AI compute crunch
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Netflix in Turmoil + Derek Thompson on AI & The Antisocial Century
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:40 AM 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

Financial Times:

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge: