Techmeme
September 16, 2020, 2:40 PM

Top News

Facebook Reality Labs:
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Facebook announces Oculus Quest 2, starting at $299, with a lighter design, 50% better resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, up to 256GB storage, coming October 13  —  The Oculus Quest 2 is here, and it sounds like a tremendous upgrade over the original in every way.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Facebook says it has partnered with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica to develop consumer “smart glasses”, coming next year, but shared few details  —  The company partnered with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica  —  Facebook says its first pair of consumer “smart glasses” will be releasing next year …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Oculus Quest 2 review: sharp screen, great price, and strong ecosystem, but requires a Facebook sign-in, Link cable and better strap cost extra, and it's bulky  —  At a passing glance, the Quest 2 looks like a dramatically new headset.  Facebook-owned Oculus has become known …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Facebook says it will stop selling the Rift S next spring after announcing the standalone $299 Quest 2, which can also connect to a PC via Oculus Link  —  The new Quest 2 can connect to a PC  —  Facebook-owned virtual reality company Oculus is ending sales of the Rift S headset next spring.
Scott Stein / CNET:
Interview with Facebook's Andrew Bosworth on Project Aria, its AR glasses project that is using ~100 testers in Seattle and SF to refine the experience  —  Facebook's full AR glasses are years away, but the road-testing has begun.  Its VR and AR VP Andrew Bosworth talks with CNET about AR's future and VR's present.
Dan Primack / Axios:
Cloud data warehousing company Snowflake raised $3.4B in its IPO, making it the largest software IPO ever, valuing the company at over $44B  —  Snowflake, a Silicon Valley cloud data warehousing company, on Tuesday night raised $3.4 billion in what is the largest software IPO ever.
James Vincent / The Verge:
In a new filing, Apple says “Epic started a fire, and poured gasoline on it”, arguing that the game developer's injuries are “entirely self-inflicted”  —  Apple lays out its case for keeping Fortnite off the App Store  —  Apple has responded to Epic's demands …
Matt Binder / Mashable:
Developers are frustrated at Apple for launching iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and watchOS 7 with just one day's notice  —  Apple fans who were waiting for an iPhone 12 unveiling at the Apple Event today may be a little disappointed.  But, Apple gave them a treat to hold them over instead: an announcement that iOS 14 is being released tomorrow.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NYT and Facebook announce a multi-year partnership to co-develop AR filters and effects on Instagram that help users access and contextualize NYT stories  —  The New York Times and Facebook have struck a multi-year partnership to co-develop augmented reality (AR) filters and effects on Instagram …
Kate Conger / New York Times:
A safety driver who was riding in an autonomous Uber vehicle in Tempe, AZ, during its fatal 2018 crash has been charged with negligent homicide  —  Investigators said the woman had been watching a video on her phone when the vehicle killed a pedestrian in Arizona.
Ben Geman / Axios:
Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, and others join a 24-hour freeze of Facebook and Instagram accounts for #StopHateForProfit  —  Kim Kardashian West announced that she will freeze her Instagram and Facebook accounts on Wednesday because the platforms …
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Apple One bundles launch with discounts on services including Music, TV+, Arcade, iCloud storage, Fitness+, and News+ and tiers between $15 and $30/month  —  The hardware giant leans into its software offerings  —  The long-rumored bundle bringing together Apple Music, Apple TV Plus …
Wesley Hilliard / AppleInsider:
David Pierce / Protocol:
As Evernote rolls out a redesigned iOS app, CEO Ian Small discusses the challenges facing the company, which rebuilt all of its apps over 18 months  —  “Silicon Valley is addicted to momentum,” Evernote CEO Ian Small said, by way of explaining how his company had come to be, as he put it, stuck.
More: Evernote Blog and EngadgetTweets: @pierce
Reuters:
AT&T says it is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now  —  (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now, Chief Executive John Stankey said in an interview on Tuesday.
Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
DOJ charges five Chinese citizens with hacks targeting 100 companies and institutions in the US and elsewhere; two Malaysian businessmen were arrested  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has charged five Chinese citizens with hacks targeting more than 100 companies and institutions …

Sponsor Posts

Okara:
Meet Okara, the AI platform that doesn't train on your data  —  Chat with 30+ open-source models (Llama, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek) through encrypted infrastructure.  Used by teams handling proprietary code and strategy.
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:
Pro tips: 5 ways to simplify invoicing and payments in Zoho Books  —  Many businesses still rely on manual processes to collect payments and reconcile invoices.  This often results in delayed payments …
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

Access:
Where we'll go when the bots take over, with Sublime's Sari Azout
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Hard Fork:
Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Gokul Rajaram - Lessons from Investing in 700 Companies
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Lenny's Podcast:
Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet
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.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Wellness Industry Pt. 1
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
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 2:40 PM ET, September 16, 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

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
David Meyer / Fortune:
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post: