Techmeme
May 18, 2021, 2:45 PM

Top News

YouTube:
Livestream of Google I/O  —  Tune in to find out about how we're furthering our mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.To watch this ke...
The Verge:
Live blog of Google I/O, where Android 12 details, updates to Wear OS, and low-cost Pixel Buds may be announced  —  Google is actually doing it live  —  After taking a year off, Google is back with its I/O developer conference for 2021.  Like most tech events over the past year …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google details Android 12's new design, based on the flexible Material You system, with better widgets and buttons, more animation, privacy features, and more  —  There are new features, but it's the biggest design update in years  —  Google is announcing the latest beta for Android 12 today …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google unveils new features for Workspace, part of an initiative called “smart canvas”, including smart objects in Docs and deeper integration of Meet  —  Google is launching a slate of new features for its Workspace productivity suite today, starting with new “smart chips” that connect Google Docs to other products.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google debuts Material You design language, letting users personalize the look, with a “mode for every mood”, coming to Pixels in fall, then to Chrome OS, more  —  “Material You” is Google's “radical new way to think about design.”  It's a hyper-personalized approach …
James Vincent / The Verge:
Google announces LaMDA, a language model for dialogue applications that it says represents a “breakthrough” for having natural conversations with AI  —  Google wants to build AI that understands language better  —  Artificial intelligence is a huge part of Google's business …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google says Duplex will help Chrome users more easily fix compromised passwords, rolling out slowly to Chrome users with limited site compatibility at first  —  Google announced a new feature for its Chrome browser today that alerts you when one of your passwords has been compromised …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is planning MacBooks Pros, Airs, Mac Pros, Mac minis, and larger iMacs with faster CPUs, new IO, more; MacBook Pro could debut as soon as summer  —  - Company developing Mac Pro desktop with 40 cores, new Mac mini  — Apple plans to swap remaining Intel part with in-house design
Monica Chin / The Verge:
iMac 24-inch (M1 2021) review: great CPU, sleek design, and good webcam, but limited ports, not the best value for money, can't upgrade anything after purchase  —  A new design, new processor, and new screen make for a winning combination  —  This is an iMac unlike any other iMac we've seen before …
Apple:
Apple says new iMac, iPad Pro, and Apple TV 4K will be available around the world starting May 21  —  Customers around the globe will begin receiving deliveries on Friday, May 21  —  Beginning May 21, customers can get their hands on the all-new iMac, the M1-powered iPad Pro …
The Information:
Source: Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM for between $7B and $10B, in what would be its biggest move to expand into entertainment  —  Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant's biggest move yet to expand in entertainment.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Nvidia extends its crypto mining limits to newly manufactured GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070, and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards, which will be labeled “Lite Hash Rate”  —  New Nvidia cards will be branded as Lite Hash Rate  —  Nvidia is extending its cryptocurrency mining limits …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft confirms that Windows 10X won't launch in 2021 as planned, instead being integrated into parts of Windows and other products  —  Microsoft officials have admitted what leaked a week-plus ago: Its Chrome-OS competitor, Windows 10X, isn't coming.  Instead, some of the 10X technologies …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Many ransomware strains like DarkSide's will not install on Windows PCs with specific virtual keyboards enabled, like Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian  —  In a Twitter discussion last week on ransomware attacks, KrebsOnSecurity noted that virtually all ransomware strains have a built …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Court doc: Twitter fought a subpoena from DOJ under Trump to identify the person behind an account mocking Rep. Devin Nunes; source: DOJ under Biden withdrew  —  An unsealed court filing shows that the social media company fought the subpoena, which the Biden administration is said to have withdrawn.
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify will auto-transcribe certain original shows in the coming weeks as part of a beta rollout of the feature that it aims to eventually enable for all shows  —  With a goal of a wider rollout  —  Spotify announced multiple updates to make its app more accessible across iOS and Android today …
Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:
Oculus' latest update for its Quest headsets adds a Live Overlay casting feature that allows mixed reality capture with just an iPhone model XS or newer  —  v29 is packed with features  —  Oculus will soon roll out its v29 software for Quest and Quest 2 headsets, and this one adds more features and functionality to the lineup.
Packy McCormick / Not Boring:
Profile of fashion e-commerce app Shein, which ranks #1 in the App Store's Shopping category in 56 countries and is the most trafficked fashion site globally  —  The Quiet Chinese Quindecacorn America's Gen Z Shoppers Are #Addicted To … This week's Not Boring is brought to you by... It's Not Magic.
New York Times:
Sources detail how Apple relented to escalating demands from China, making changes to governance of its Chinese users' data and agreeing to censor its platforms  —  Apple built the world's most valuable business on top of China.  Now it has to answer to the Chinese government.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Robinhood plans to reveal its IPO filing as soon as next week, targeting a late June market debut  —  - Trading app is aiming to go public toward the end of June  — Potential investors to get look at financials, risks  —  Robinhood Markets Inc. plans to reveal filings …
More: CoinDesk
Zachery Eanes / Raleigh News & Observer:
Brad Stone's new book says Amazon's HQ2 search team had Raleigh, Chicago, and Philadelphia as their top three picks, but Amazon passed on those recommendations  —  Listen to our daily briefing:  —  How close was Raleigh to actually landing Amazon's hyped-up search for its second headquarters, or HQ2, just a few years ago?

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Is AI just hype?  —  Find out how top enterprises use Tribe to get real business results.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
All new Zoho Workerly 2024  —  Staffing businesses around the world face a unique set of challenges when it comes to managing their temporary workforce.  With a constantly shifting job market and changing staffing needs …
Comprehensive.io:
Browse salary data from 3,000 startups for free  —  Click for FREE, immediate access to real-time compensation benchmarking data.  Paid version helps HR automate comp reviews and communicate total compensation to employees.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Henry Shukman, Lessons from an Authentic Zen Master
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Thu. 03/28 - Claude 3 Opus Surpasses GPT-4 For The First Time
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:45 PM ET, May 18, 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

Earlier Picks

Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Brian Stelter / CNN: