Techmeme
April 23, 2021, 2:45 PM

Top News

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Spotify to announce an Apple Podcasts Subscriptions competitor next week that will let podcasters set prices without charging them or taking a cut  —  Podcasts exploded in popularity during the lockdown and are on track to bring in more than $1 billion in U.S. ad revenue this year
Andrew Griffin / The Independent:
Interview with Apple's marketing head Greg Joswiak and hardware chief John Ternus on why the company has no plans to merge iPad and Mac product lines  —  In an exclusive interview, the company's marketing and hardware chiefs explain the creation of the tablet - and why they don't want you to call it that
Joel Hruska / ExtremeTech:
BBC:
After decades of legal battles, 39 former UK postmasters who were convicted of fraud due to faulty accounting software from Fujitsu have their names cleared  —  Judges have quashed the convictions of 39 former postmasters after the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice.
Technical University of Darmstadt:
Researchers: an AirDrop user's phone number and email address can be learned via nearby Wi-Fi-capable devices when the user opens an iOS or macOS sharing pane  —  TU-Researchers discover significant privacy leak in Apple's file-sharing service  —  Apple users can share files with each other using AirDrop.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Sources: the new 12.9" iPad Pro, which is 0.5mm thicker than its predecessor, is incompatible with the original $349 Magic Keyboard folio case for older models  —  Looking to upgrade?  You'll have to shell out an extra $349 for a new keyboard  —  Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pro has a big catch …
Bloomberg:
Turkish crypto exchange Thodex halts operations amid local media reports that its CEO has fled the country and its losses may be as high as ~$2B  —  - Government blocks bank accounts of crypto exchange Thodex  — Whereabouts of 27-year-old CEO Faruk Fatih Ozer unknown
Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:
A digital coins sell-off, including bitcoin's plunge below $50K, wipes $200B+ in value from crypto markets, on reports Biden will seek a capital gains tax hike  —  - Bitcoin and other digital coins plunged on Friday wiping over $260 billion of the value of the cryptocurrency market.
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Federal judge rejects motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Apple that alleges the “Buy” option in iTunes is deceptive as Apple can still terminate access  —  Rejecting a motion to dismiss, a federal judge says it is plausible that consumers don't know that access to purchased content can be revoked.
Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
Sources: Mapbox is in talks to go public through merger with a SPAC backed by SoftBank, in a deal that could value the mapping company at between $1.5B and $2B  —  A New York-listed blank cheque company set up by SoftBank is in merger talks with Washington-based Mapbox, Sky News learns.
More: Reuters
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook launches a series of global News Feed ranking tests to solicit user feedback on posts they're seeing and what posts users find valuable  —  Facebook may be reconfiguring its News Feed algorithms.  After being grilled by lawmakers about the role that Facebook played in the attack …
Ed Zitron / Where's Your Ed At:
Clubhouse lacks opportunities for virality and monetization that Twitch, Snapchat, and Discord have, and its product is one feature that has been copied easily  —  Clubhouse, an app which allows you to join audio conversations with other people (a function unavailable in any other app or device), is now worth $4 billion.

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Niantic Spatial:
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IDrive:
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Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
Anthropic's Cybersecurity Shock Wave + Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Their Sam Altman Investigation + One Good Thing
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Decagon's Jesse Zhang: Closing Customer Service Doom Loops With AI Concierges
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.
Access:
OpenClaw for normies is here
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
When AI Kills
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI vs. Anthropic's Direct Faceoff + Future of Agents — 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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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.
 

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More News

Nic Fildes / Financial Times:
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:

Earlier Picks

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Andy Robinson / VGC:
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
BuzzFeed News:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge: