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February 19, 2021, 9:05 AM
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| Mike Masnick / Techdirt: |
Facebook's refusal to pay a misguided media tax, pushed by Rupert Murdoch, is a defense of the open web and criticizing it for rejecting a link tax is bizarre — None of this should have been a surprise. Back in September we wrote about Facebook publicly saying that if Australia went forward …
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South China Morning Post, The Guardian, The Independent, New York Times, Bloomberg, BuzzMachine, SiliconANGLE, CNBC, WIRED UK, The Information, and TechCrunch
Facebook: Michael West. Tweets: @mmasnick, @sunriseon7, @tostevinm, @bobbyallyn, @ohmdee, @daphnehk, @jayrosen_nyu, @slpng_giants_oz, @brantcooper, @djamesarmstrong, @grogsgamut, @lachlan, @clairlemon, @mmasnick, @djinni43142058, @andrewbartlett, @channel4news, @hkanji, @benthompson, @markscott82, @bradchacos, @chriskeall, @evan_greer, @randyebarnett, @wexler, @mathewi, @mmasnick, @julianknight15, @marietjeschaake, and @jayrosen_nyu
| Damien Cave / New York Times: |
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VCCircle and Associated Press
| William Easton / About Facebook: |
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CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Financial Times, HotHardware.com News, Observer, Nieman Lab, New Republic, The Australian, ABC, The Conversation, 9News, CNBC, Firstpost Tech, Forbes, Pocket-lint, CNET, ZDNet, Beyond Search, Fast Company, Washington Post, Associated Press, news.com.au, Reclaim The Net, and New York Post
| Nicholas McElroy / ABC: |
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Gizmodo and Reuters
Tweets: @joshgnosis, @sarah_collard_, @juliacarriew, @picardonhealth, @zaidjilani, @albomp, @natsils_, @iancarterim, and @jeremyrlent
| Benedict Evans: |
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Daring Fireball and The Overspill
Tweets: @carnage4life, @mrdenmore, @noam, @sub8u, @sarthakgh, @jackshafer, @daphnehk, @mcannonbrookes, and @benedictevans
| Dieter Bohn / The Verge: |
Google releases Android 12 developer preview, available for Pixel devices, with under-the-hood changes adding security, support for more media formats, and more — The big, consumer-facing changes will come later this year — Google is releasing a developer preview for the next version of Android … | Ryan Browne / CNBC: |
UK Supreme Court rules that Uber drivers should be classified as workers not independent contractors, concluding an almost five-year legal battle — - The U.K.'s Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Uber's drivers should be classified as workers rather than independent contractors.
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Bloomberg, The Guardian, BBC, TechCrunch, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, The Next Web, ZDNet, Silicon Republic, Gizmodo, adcu.org.uk, Uber Blog, Insider, CNET, Protocol, Engadget, Associated Press, CNN, coinspeaker.com, Forbes, Reuters, Telecoms.com, ComputerWeekly.com, Intelligent Transport, Mashable, and Tech Xplore
Tweets: @cstross, @garius, @shonaghosh, @peterkyle, @chukaumunna, @benedictevans, @martinsfp, and @bytebot
| Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge: |
WhatsApp says it will offer users the ability to review its new privacy policy through a banner inside its app, ahead of the update's May 15 launch — The company is trying to set the record straight on private messages and what's changing — WhatsApp has a new plan to explain …
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WhatsApp.com, Reuters, ZDNet, Forbes, Insider, The Economic Times, XDA Developers, Fossbytes, BGR, iPhone Hacks, TechCrunch, SlashGear, phonearena.com, and PCMag
Tweets: @wcathcart, @chartier, @ylecun, and @martinsfp
| Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: |
Sources: Apple is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for iPhone 12 that would wirelessly charge the handset — - Accessory has faced development issues related to software — Wireless charging unit may be popular with frequent users — Apple Inc. is working …
More:
The Verge, MacRumors, CNET, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, New York Post, Patently Apple, iPhone in Canada Blog, and iPhone Hacks. Tweets: @shiraovide
| Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: |
Microsoft completes its probe into its SolarWinds-related breach, finds hackers stole some source code but no evidence that they abused its internal systems — Microsoft says it has completed its investigation into its SolarWinds-related breach. — Microsoft's security team said today …
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Microsoft Security …, Ars Technica, Windows Central, CRN, Reuters, BleepingComputer, SecurityWeek, infosecurity-magazine.com, The Hacker News, Engadget, iTnews, and SiliconANGLE
Tweets: @josephmenn, @kimzetter, @gazthejourno, @vpkivimaki, and @campuscodi
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Microsoft announces new standalone versions of Office: Office 2021, available for Windows and macOS later this year, and Office LTSC for commercial customers — Microsoft Office LTSC is also arriving for businesses — Microsoft is announcing two new versions of Office today … | Tony Romm / Washington Post: |
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey are scheduled to testify at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on platform misinformation on March 25 — The hostility toward Big Tech that had taken hold in Washington has intensified after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol
More:
Democrats …, The Verge, Insider, Pocketnow, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @shannonpareil, @starfire2258, @hypervisible, @tonyromm, and @housecommerce
| Nikkei Asia: |
Sources: Huawei notifies suppliers that it plans to order components for 70M to 80M smartphones this year, down over 60% from the 189M it shipped last year — China's largest handset maker suffers from US sanctions Biden appears to back — TOKYO — Huawei Technologies has notified … | Usman Pirzada / Wccftech: |
Nvidia announces dedicated crypto mining GPUs and says RTX 3060 GPU will detect the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm and limit the hash rate by 50% — NVIDIA has finally conceded to the overwhelming mining demand facing the GPU market right now and launched a lineup …
More:
The Verge, The Official NVIDIA Blog, XDA Developers, bit-tech.net, ZDNet, TechEBlog, Pocketnow, and MUO
Tweets: @id_aa_carmack, @wholemarsblog, @film_girl, @nathanblawrence, @film_girl, @ryansmithat, @joonian, @officialpcmr, @patrickmoorhead, and @tomwarren. Thanks:@usmanpirzada
| Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica: |
House Republicans introduce the CONNECT Act, which aims to expand broadband connectivity and competition, but would limit government-run municipal networks — GOP claims ban would “promote competition by limiting government-run networks.” — House Republicans have unveiled their plan for …
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Gizmodo. Tweets: @jbrodkin, @theoverheadwire, @armanddoma, @communitynets, @apantazi, @turnedinthefire, @turnip_tops, and @karlbode
| Makena Kelly / The Verge: |
Thursday's House Committee hearing focused very little on social media's role in the GameStop squeeze and instead focused on Robinhood's influence — A Redditor, a FinTech bro, and two hedge fund managers walk into a hearing room — This story is part of a group of stories called
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Medium, Detroit News, The Guardian, Financial Times, coinspeaker.com, InsideBitcoins.com, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, New York Times, MarketWatch, Associated Press, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR, and Insider. Tweets: @theroaringkitty
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Google adds the Apple TV app to its newest Chromecast device with Google TV and has made it available on Sony and TCL smart TVs that have Google TV — Plugging a notable gap in its streaming lineup, Google has added the Apple TV app — the only way to get the Apple TV Plus service — to its newest Chromecast device.
More:
Silicon Republic, PCMag, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Android Headlines, Reuters, MSPoweruser, ZDNet, and BetaNews
Tweets: @madebygoogle, @teamoplive, and @richlightshed
| Ashley Carman / The Verge: |
Sweden-based podcast host and ad network Acast says it is acquiring RadioPublic; RadioPublic's podcast app will remain live and its team will stay in the US — It already claims to be the biggest everywhere else — Acast, a podcast host and ad network, is looking to improve its tech and broaden its reach.| Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch: |
Anthony Levandowski closed his AI-focused church, Way of The Future, in 2020 and donated the church's ~$175K funds to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund — Way of the Future's funds donated to NAACP — The first church of artificial intelligence has shut its conceptual doors.
Tweets: @alex and @tweetermeyer
| Alex Mahadevan / Poynter: |
An early analysis of Birdwatch, Twitter's crowdsourced fact-checking pilot with about 1,000 users, shows partisan rhetoric and a lack of source citations — A Poynter analysis found that less than half of Birdwatch users include sources and many fact-checking notes contain partisan rhetoric.Sponsor Posts
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Zoho:
Enhancements to Zoho Writer's automation flow designer: New PDF operations, password protection, and more — Once we rolled out the automation flow designer in Zoho Writer's merge templates …
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| Tony Romm / Washington Post: |
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Washington Examiner and CNN
Tweets: @tiffkhsu, @tonyromm, @thetweetofjohn, @drewharwell, @shiraovide, @mikemillerdc, @profcarroll, and @tonyromm
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The Verge. Tweets: @mshannahmurphy, @matthewstoller, @joshsternberg, @jeremarketer, @jason_kint, @mathewi, @id4ro, @lauraolin, @ethanbearman, @sivavaid, @samuelbrealey, @thesuniljain, @jason_kint, @slpng_giants, @blackamazon, @theclaudiablack, @jason_kint, @jm_mcgrath, @vickerysec, and @carolecadwalla
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