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August 4, 2020, 5:00 PM
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Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Apple: |
Greg Joswiak will replace Phil Schiller as SVP of Worldwide Marketing; Schiller becomes an Apple Fellow and will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events — Greg Joswiak joins Apple executive team as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing — Cupertino, California … | Wall Street Journal: |
With a TikTok sale, China would lose control of its first global internet sensation, hardening suspicions that the US is sabotaging its tech growth — Washington's push for Chinese company to sell American operations hardens suspicions in China that the U.S. aims to sabotage its technology
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Electronic Frontier Foundation, CHINAdaily, globaltimes.cn, Variety, iPhone in Canada Blog, 9to5Mac, Wired, iPhone Hacks, The Hill, OnMSFT.com, Android Headlines, and MacDailyNews
Tweets: @alexstamos, @alexstamos, @reckless, @nickwingfield, @firstadopter, @alexstamos, @mims, @jchengwsj, @bhadrapunchline, @jorge_guajardo, and @nspector4
| Zheping Huang / Bloomberg: |
In a letter to staff, ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming says a forced sale of TikTok to a US buyer is “unreasonable” and the real goal of the US is a ban — - U.S. doesn't really want to see a sale to American buyers — Founder Zhang Yiming issues second letter in two days| Dan Primack / Axios: |
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The Verge, International Business Times, Daring Fireball, Reuters, TheStreet, Windows Central, MacRumors, AppleInsider, and iDownloadBlog.com
Tweets: @danprimack, @danprimack, @backlon, @johnolilly, @lisaabramowicz1, @pranavdixit, @mgsiegler, @rotopat, @axios, @danprimack, @carlquintanilla, @theromit, @karlbode, and @mkbhd
| Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch: |
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Associated Press, CNBC, VICE, Slate, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, Digital Trends, Memeburn, International Business Times, and Gizmodo
Tweets: @thehill, @axios, @mikeisaac, @thedextriarchy, @danprimack, @atrupar, @stevesi, @goingparabolic, @halsparks, @scottlincicome, and @madammiaow
| The Official Microsoft Blog: |
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OneZero , Axios, Washington Post, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Engadget, BBC, The Verge, New York Times, Fast Company, Digiday, Digital Trends, ABC News, MSPoweruser, Gizchina, MacDailyNews, Wall Street Journal, International Business Times, GeekWire, Android Headlines, The Guardian, South China Morning Post, The Mac Observer, Coinspeaker, iPhone Hacks, Silicon Republic, and CCN.com. Thanks:@stevecla
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Microsoft's xCloud game streaming service will launch on September 15 on Android in 22 countries, bundled with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription — Available in 22 countries, but no iOS support at launch — Microsoft will launch its game streaming service, known as Project xCloud …
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Xbox Wire, TechCrunch, CNET, CNET, CNBC, Android Police, Polygon, KnowTechie, Liliputing, Input, Digital Trends, iPhone in Canada Blog, TheStreet, Android Headlines, TechSpot, XDA Developers, 9to5Google, PC Gamer, Wccftech, Protocol, Windows Central, SlashGear, GameSpot, VentureBeat, TalkAndroid.com, Mashable, Gizmodo, Engadget, OnMSFT.com, Thurrott, MSPoweruser, GamingBolt, USgamer.net, Neowin, and VG247
Tweets: @martinsfp, @godfree, @backlon, and @xboxcanada
| European Commission: |
The European Commission opens an in-depth investigation into Google's proposed acquisition of Fitbit over concerns about vast amounts of data Google could use — The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation.
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The Keyword, Reuters, Ars Technica, XDA Developers, 9to5Google, New York Times, BBC, Reuters, Android Authority, PYMNTS.com, Financial Times, Android Police, TechCrunch, Computer Business Review, Engadget, Android Central, The Verge, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, Neowin, Bloomberg, CNBC, Associated Press, and Thurrott
Tweets: @markdistef, @tomvalletti, @montezumachavez, and @arianna_podesta
| Dieter Bohn / The Verge: |
Apple announces a refresh for its 21.5" and 27" iMacs, including 10th-generation Intel CPUs, a 1080p webcam, and SSDs as standard, shipping from next week — But the design remains the same — Apple is announcing updates for both the 27-inch and 21.5-inch iMacs.
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Six Colors, 9to5Mac, Appleosophy, Financial Times, BetaNews, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Macworld, The Next Web, iMore, Business Wire, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Digital Photography Review, Daring Fireball, MacStories, iPhone Hacks, TechSpot, MSPoweruser, Wccftech, iDownloadBlog.com, CNET, Ars Technica, Engadget, and VentureBeat
Tweets: @backlon, @samsheffer, and @stroughtonsmith
| Caleb Potts / Android Police: |
Facebook adds a search tool in WhatsApp to help check viral messages for misinformation, rolling out today in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US — WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, but that also means a lot of misinformation and rumors are shared on the platform.
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WhatsApp, The Verge, The Next Web, Gizmodo, Reclaim The Net, Android Central, MediaNama, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada Blog, Android Headlines, HackRead, WinBuzzer, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Techpoint Africa, Silicon Republic, SlashGear, Firstpost Tech, MSPoweruser, 9to5Google, and TechSpot
Tweets: @kaysha, @glenngabe, @jencyjac, @kantrowitz, @mariannaspring, @psythor, @sub8u, and @craigsilverman
| Dieter Bohn / The Verge: |
Google launches Nearby Share on Android, an AirDrop-style tool, rolling out to Pixel and Samsung devices; support for Chromebooks will arrive in coming months — It only took Google nine years to catch up to AirDrop — It will finally be slightly easier to share files, images, links, and other content between Android devices.
More:
The Keyword, Android Police, Thurrott, Pocketnow, 9to5Google, ZDNet, Gizmodo, CNBC, MSPoweruser, Engadget, Droid Life, and Neowin. Tweets: @andrewmartonik
| Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg: |
Sony beats estimates with quarterly profit of $2.15B and says its PlayStation Plus subscription service added 3.4M users, for a total of 44.9M — - Company had delayed issuing firm full-year forecast on virus — The Last of Us 2 was a record-breaking PS4 exclusive debut| Katie Roof / Bloomberg: |
Rippling, an employee data management company led by Parker Conrad, raises $145M led by Founders Fund, valuing it at $1.35B, up 5x from its last valuation — - Former Zenefits founder's new company valued at $1.35 billion — Investors include Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins and Coatue| Kashmir Hill / New York Times: |
Fawkes, a tool developed by researchers at the University of Chicago, disguises photos with pixel-level changes that confuse facial recognition systems — Researchers at the University of Chicago want you to be able to post selfies without worrying that the next Clearview AI will use them to identify you.| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google Assistant can now Broadcast to specific rooms or devices and create a “Family Bell” schedule, reminding users about daily routines and class times — With distance learning in effect for the upcoming school season, at least in the US, Google Assistant is adding a handful of features to ease the transition.
More:
The Keyword, XDA Developers, Droid Life, Neowin, Pocket-lint, and Engadget
| Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: |
Activision Blizzard reports Q2 revenue of $1.93B, up 38% YoY, vs. est. $1.69B, and each of its titles had better-than-expected results amid the pandemic — Activision Blizzard reported earnings today that beat expectations as the company saw a surge for its Call of Duty games because people are staying inside due to the pandemic.| Ben Thompson / Stratechery: |
Analysis of the questions asked by Democrats and Republicans during the House antitrust hearing and what it reveals about their partisan priorities — Manage your Stratechery subscription. — The only thing more predictable than members of Congress using hearings to make statements instead …
Tweets: @pkafka
| Matthew Haag / New York Times: |
Facebook agrees to lease all the office space in NYC's 730,000 sq. ft. James A. Farley Building; it's added 2.2M sq. ft. in NYC office space over the past year — Despite the pandemic, the social media giant leased all the office space in the former main post office at Penn Station in Midtown.
Tweets: @peteharrisonnyc, @nycgreenfield, @jeffjarvis, @mims, @henrygrabar, and @cliffordlevy
| Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: |
Microsoft has awarded $13.7M to security researchers who reported vulnerabilities in the last 12 months through 15 bug bounty programs, up from $4.4M last year — Microsoft has awarded $13.7 million to security researchers who have reported vulnerabilities over the last 12 months through … | Jason Parham / Wired: |
Interviews with 29 Black TikTok creators highlight issues of muted posts, in-app harassment, and incidents of racism, even as users lionize Black culture — On the app, users drape themselves in the trappings of Black culture—and steal the viral spotlight. It's exploitation at its most refined and disturbing.
Tweets: @nonlinearnotes, @a_greenberg, and @kerrymflynn
| Bloomberg: |
As tech giants renew vows to diversify their workforces, a look at why their efforts have fallen short, especially in retaining new Black and Latinx employees — Quora Inc., which runs the eponymous questions and answers website, couldn't figure this one out: Why were so many Black …
Tweets: @rebeccamkern, @dinabass, @adblanche, @kathytpham, @caitlin__kelly, @sbanjo, @triketora, and @dinabass
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