Techmeme
February 16, 2021, 9:40 PM

Top News

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
LastPass Free users must choose between mobile or computers for unlimited device access starting March 16; email support limited to paid plans starting May 17  —  One of the most attractive features of the popular password manager LastPass is that, if you choose to, you can use it pretty effectively without paying a dime.
Sean Endicott / Windows Central:
Microsoft begins testing a Kids Mode for Edge, with Bing SafeSearch on and tracking prevention set to strict by default, plus other safety features  —  Kids Mode helps parents provide a more child-friendly browsing experience on Edge.  —  What you need to know
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
North Dakota state Senate blocks bill that would have required app stores to allow devs to use their own payment systems; Epic lobbied in favor of the bill  —  - The North Dakota state senate voted 36-11 on Tuesday not to pass a bill that would have required app stores to enable software developers …
Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Microsoft has created a game accessibility testing program, letting studios send in their games for in-person validation based on Microsoft's updated guidelines  —  Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018, Microsoft has placed a greater emphasis on making its games more accessible to those with disabilities and impairments.
David Meyer / Fortune:
TikTok has been hit with a volley of complaints from Europe's consumer protection watchdogs over “misleading” privacy practices and “ambiguous” terms  —  TikTok has been hit with a volley of complaints from Europe's consumer-protection watchdogs, over practices they say are unfair on users—particularly kids.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Atlassian updates Trello with a visual overhaul, new card customization, and new board views; Trello says it has 50M+ users  —  The app is getting a visual overhaul and new features  —  Productivity app Trello, a virtual whiteboard-style platform for organizing and managing projects …
Wall Street Journal:
A hacker claims to have stolen and posted files from global law firm Jones Day on the dark web; Jones Day says a file-sharing company it used was compromised  —  Firm disputes network breach, says its file-transfer company was compromised  —  A hacker claims to have stolen files belonging …
Kotaku:
Sources: Google's Stadia VP Phil Harrison sent an email to Stadia's game studios lauding their “great progress”, despite knowledge of its impending shutdown  —  Developers at Google's recently formed game studios were shocked February 1 when they were notified that the studios would be shut down …
Olivia Raimonde / Bloomberg:
Bitcoin briefly crossed the $50K mark today, up ~73% YTD, while Ethereum hit a record $1,785, up ~140% YTD  —  - Rival cryptocurrency Ether hit a record of its own on Friday  — Morgan Stanley is considering Bitcoin for investment fund  —  Bitcoin blew through another milestone …
Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Triller didn't deny the claim from a source that it inflates MAUs to the public and says there's “no legal definition of MAU/DAU”, ahead of expected SPAC merger  —  “There is no legal definition of MAU/DAU,” says Mike Lu, Triller CEO.  “We are an open ecosystem ... Triller's value is in monetizing users, not MAU or DAU.”
BBC:
Investigation finds ten websites offering fake Amazon reviews from £5 each; five of the websites claimed to have 702K+ “product reviewers” on their books  —  Fake reviews for products sold on Amazon's Marketplace are being sold online “in bulk”, according to Which?
The Economic Times:
Amazon partners with Foxconn to establish its first device manufacturing line in India, operational later this year, to make Fire TV sticks locally  —  Bengaluru: Amazon.com Inc. is setting up its first device manufacturing line in India to make Fire TV sticks locally.  The facility will become operational later this year.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft's unified Office mobile app, which combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single application, is now available on iPad  —  A tablet-friendly version is finally here  —  Microsoft has updated its unified Office mobile app to work on Apple's iPad devices.
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Amazon confirms it has acquired Australian e-commerce startup Selz, a Shopify competitor that employs less than 50 people and has raised $11M  —  Amazon has acquired Selz, a 7-year-old startup that helps entrepreneurs sell products online.  The deal signals Amazon's continued focus …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable 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!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Dear future presenter: A letter from 20 years of Zoho Show  —  Dear future presenter,There is a good chance you are reading this with a deadline approaching.Maybe you are preparing for a pitch, refining a quarterly review …
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:
The Fable Ban's Unintended Consequences + AI's New Economics — With Aaron Levie
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.
Acquired:
The Walt Disney Company
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
Building the most AI-pilled engineering team in the world | Fiona Fung (Manager of the Claude Code and Cowork Teams)
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 Upstarts Podcast:
Mutiny's Jaleh Rezaei: Walking Away From Millions In Software To Grow Even Faster With Sales AI
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.
Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 3: Differing Visions of an A.I. Future
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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 9:40 PM ET, February 16, 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

Times Now:
The Markup:
David McCabe / New York Times:

Earlier Picks

Meir Orbach / CTech:
Matthew Hutson / New Yorker:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
@pwnallthethings: