Techmeme
February 4, 2021, 8:45 PM

Top News

The Information:
Source: Apple is planning a $3,000+ mixed-reality headset with 8K displays, eye-tracking tech, and 12+ cameras to track hand movements and show the real world  —  A mixed-reality headset Apple is developing will be equipped with more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Amazon is quietly transitioning its US warehouse workers to 10-hour graveyard shifts; labor experts say the move is to cut costs and pay for fewer benefits  —  The company has been quietly transitioning warehouse workers at Amazon warehouses nationwide to a 10-hour graveyard shift, known as the “megacycle.”
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Microsoft launches Viva, an employee intranet with LinkedIn integration, access to communication tools like SharePoint and Yammer, training content, and more  —  Microsoft today launched Viva, a new “employee experience platform,” or, in non-marketing terms, its new take on the intranet sites …
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Google says Pixel users will be able to use their phone cameras to measure pulse and breath rates through the Google Fit app, starting next month  —  Like many of us, Google is getting more interested in our health.  The company is announcing today new features that will allow …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Google is exploring a less-stringent Android alternative to Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature, resembling planned Chrome changes  —  - Internet giant mulls bringing web privacy approach to Android  — Google balancing user privacy with developer, advertiser needs
Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal:
Incoming head of Senate antitrust subcommittee Amy Klobuchar introduces an antitrust bill that would raise the bar for tech acquisitions  —  Incoming head of Senate panel proposes broad changes as Democrats press issue of perceived monopoly power  —  WASHINGTON—Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D. …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter took coordinated action to take down top members of account hijacking forum OGUsers and seized hundreds of accounts  —  Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter this week all took steps to crack down on users involved in trafficking hijacked user accounts across their platforms.
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
In a NLRB filing, the Alphabet Workers Union accuses Google vendor Adecco of violating US labor law by forbidding contract workers from discussing their pay  —  - New labor group accuses Google vendor of violating labor law  — Worker says Facebook post got her suspended by contractor
Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:
Google delists the popular Chrome extension The Great Suspender for containing malware and is disabling the extension for those who installed it  —  This afternoon, Google has delisted the popular extension The Great Suspender for containing malware and is proactively disabling the extension for those who have it.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast  —  Snap's stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings despite beating Wall Street's expectations …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google starts rolling out Google News Showcase in Australia, paying local and regional publishers, amid an ongoing dispute over Australia's proposed media rules  —  Google has a $1 billion plan to pay publishers for content that appears in a cross-service “News Showcase” product.
Kristen V Brown / Bloomberg:
23andMe to go public through a merger with VG Acquisition Corp., a SPAC founded by Richard Branson, at a valuation of $3.5B  —  - CEO Wojcicki and SPAC leader Branson each invest $25 million  — DNA-testing company has been expanding its health-care profile
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Q&A with mobile marketing analyst Eric Seufert on the Facebook-Apple conflict, Apple's real motives for iOS privacy changes, and potential harm to businesses  —  In yesterday's Article The Relentless Jeff Bezos, I called the Amazon founder “arguably the greatest CEO in tech history.”
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Activision Blizzard reports Q4 net revenue of $2.41B, up 21% YoY, driven by a record year for Call of Duty, which had full year premium unit sales up 40% YoY  —  Activision Blizzard reported earnings today that beat Wall Street's expectations with 21% revenue growth to $2.41 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31.
Hamish McKenzie / Substack Blog:
Substack co-founder says Facebook and Twitter getting into paid newsletters is a positive thing for writers and the media ecosystem, implores them to go all in  —  When Twitter announced that it had acquired the email newsletter provider Revue to create a Substack competitor, I tweeted a smartass response:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Infinitus, which provides a machine-generated voice calling service for healthcare companies contacting customers, has come out of stealth with $21.4M Series A  —  Robotic process automation (RPA) has found a strong foothold in the world of enterprise IT through its effective use of AI …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Connecting, collaborating, and growing: Zoho Mail 2025 wrap-up  —  Your inbox has been home to a lot this year—quick updates, long threads, approvals, reminders, and the occasional late-night draft you weren't sure about.
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.

Featured Podcasts

BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
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.
Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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 8:45 PM ET, February 4, 2021.

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

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Earlier Picks

Maya Averbuch / OneZero :
The Information:
Kashmir Hill / New York Times:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch: