Techmeme
October 13, 2020, 1:29 PM

Top News

Apple:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Apple debuts HomePod mini with spherical design, S5 chip, fabric mesh exterior, black and white options, a small screen on top; pre-orders start Nov. 6 from $99  —  Apple finally offers an entry-level HomePod  —  Apple has announced a new version of its HomePod smart speaker …
The Verge:
Live blog of Apple's event, where four new models of the iPhone and a new mini Homepod will likely be announced  —  Hi, speed: here come four new iPhones  —  Although it's happening just a little later than usual, Apple is ready to announce its next iPhones.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Facebook says its new policy that bans the denial or distortion of the Holocaust does not apply to other genocides, such as the Armenian or Rwandan genocides  —  Facebook Inc. will ban posts that deny the Holocaust in a reversal of a long-held and controversial policy.
Associated Press:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook Messenger gets a visual update, custom reactions, chat themes, and more, as cross-app communication between Instagram and FB rolls out to North America  —  Facebook Messenger is getting a visual update and a number of new features, including support for chat themes, custom reactions, and soon, selfie stickers and vanish mode.
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Q3 2020: Gartner says PC shipments in the US totaled 16.57M, up 11.4% YoY, while IDC finds PC shipments to be 81.3M units worldwide, up 14.6% YoY  —  According to Gartner​, PC shipments in the US increased 11.4% in the third quarter of 2020 — the strongest growth in the US in a decade.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Surface Laptop Go review: solid design, fast, excellent keyboard and trackpad, but very low screen resolution, 8GB RAM limit, and max 256GB storage  —  It's hard not to love the Surface Laptop Go at first sight.  Microsoft took the basic style of its Laptop line, shrunk it down, and created an adorable sibling with a 12.4-inch screen.
CNBC:
Facebook announces a global policy banning anti-vaccination ads but will allow ads that advocate for legislation around vaccination policies  —  - Facebook said Tuesday it is launching a new global policy that bans ads that discourage people from getting vaccines.
Ben Lovejoy / 9to5Mac:
Researchers demo plugging a modified USB-C cable into a Mac to hack T2 chip; Apple has debuted six Mac models with T2 chips since the checkm8 flaw became public  —  The T2 exploit team who found a way to take over the security chip in modern Macs has demonstrated a way to do so without user intervention …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Microsoft, Symantec, ESET, and other tech companies orchestrated an attempt to take down the TrickBot malware botnet, which had infected 1M+ computers  —  FS-ISAC, ESET, Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, NTT, Symantec, and the Microsoft Defender team participated in the takedown.
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan donate $100M to election administrators, despite pushback from a conservative legal group, following a previous gift of $300M  —  Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced Tuesday an additional $100 million in donations …
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Microsoft announces that it is working with several nonprofits and advocacy organizations to make AI systems more inclusive of people with disabilities  —  AI-based tools like computer vision and voice interfaces have the potential to be life-changing for people with disabilities …
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Interview with Cory Doctorow about his new sci-fi book Attack Surface, the third work in his Little Brother series that influenced hacktivists like Aaron Swartz  —  Cory Doctorow's Little Brother series has been a young-adult sci-fi bible for teen hacktivists.  But with the latest and darkest book in the trilogy, it's all grown up.
Jeremy Horwitz / VentureBeat:
Verizon launches its 5G Nationwide network, though users might not experience better performance than 4G, as Apple brings 5G to its new iPhones  —  After rushing to become the first carrier to launch commercial 5G services anywhere in the world, top U.S. cellular company Verizon has spent …
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Disney announces a reorg, says its “primary focus” for entertainment will be streaming, as the pandemic has dramatically impacted its theatrical business  —  - Disney is restructuring its media and entertainment divisions.  — In order to further accelerate its direct-to-consumer strategy …

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