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July 28, 2021, 2:45 PM
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| Patrick Klepek / VICE: |
Activision Blizzard staff are staging a walk out today, demanding fairer treatment for underrepresented staff and ending arbitration clauses in staff contracts — “This is the beginning of an enduring movement in favor of better labor conditions for all employees.” — Patrick Klepek
More:
Kotaku, Polygon, Activision Blizzard, Axios, Axios, Blizzard Watch, World of Warcraft, The Verge, Kotaku, Engadget, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, USA Today, New York Post, GamesIndustry.biz, PC Gamer, PC Gamer, Game Rant, Washington Post, Game Informer, Digital Trends, Washington Post, Kotaku, CNBC, Forbes, The Verge, Silicon Republic, ExtremeTech, Micky, CNET, Eurogamer.net, Game Informer, MCV/DEVELOP, VentureBeat, Destructoid, thegamer.com, Insider, and GameRevolution
Tweets: @stephentotilo, @megan_nicolett, @leslee_annsh, @bmkibler, @jasonschreier, @megan_nicolett, @davidgaider, @stephentotilo, @laurenkgurley, @stevesaylor, @teamcoworker, @cydereal, @atvi_ab, @megan_nicolett, @shannon_liao, @megan_nicolett, @normality, @feliciaday, @starfire2258, @karinewindy, @notpatrick, @megturney, @boogie2988, @shannon_liao, @zoeschiffer, @chrissyxchi, @kellen_browning, @notdollie, @megan_nicolett, and @genepark
| Tripp Mickle / Wall Street Journal: |
Google says anyone coming to work at its campuses must be vaccinated, starting in the US, and will delay the return to offices from September until mid-October — Tech giant postpones planned return to offices until mid-October after earlier targeting late September
More:
The Keyword, Axios, The Hill, Engadget, CNET, MacRumors, New York Post, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Bloomberg, 9to5Google, CNBC, The Verge, Insider, Thurrott, New York Times, and Financial Times
Tweets: @cnbcjosh, @carnage4life, @danielhowley, @dealbook, @joshsternberg, @mauramaura, and @kellen_browning
| Jon Porter / The Verge: |
Twitter says it is testing Shop Module, a new shopping section that brands can add to the top of their profiles, launching in the US today on iOS — Starting with a pilot of around a dozen brands — Twitter is piloting a new feature that allows businesses to add a shopping section …
More:
Twitter, Search Engine Land, 9to5Mac, CNET, TechCrunch, Engadget, TechRadar, Bloomberg, Neowin, iPhone Hacks, and Mashable
Tweets: @twittersupport, @modestproposal1, @kayvz, @carnage4life, and @martinsfp
| Omkar Godbole / CoinDesk: |
Coinbase report: in H1 2021, the market for ether was 3x busier than bitcoin, as ETH trading grew 1,461% to $1.4T, compared to BTC's 489% rise to $2.1T — Ether outperformed bitcoin in terms of volume growth and price performance. — The ether market was almost three times busier …
More:
Coinbase, Bloomberg, BitcoinExchangeGuide, and Coinspeaker
| The Guardian: |
Facebook will restrict how advertisers can target users under 18 across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, only allowing age, gender, and location targeting — Advertisers on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger will no longer be able to market to under 18s based on their interests| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Spotify Q2: revenue of €2.3B, up 23% YoY, ad revenue up 110% YoY to €275M; paying subscribers reached 165M, up 20% YoY, total MAUs reached 365M; stock down 6%+ — Spotify, citing ongoing headwinds from the COVID pandemic, fell short of its total monthly user growth goal in the second quarter of 2021.
More:
Spotify, The Verge, TechCrunch, TheStreet, Digital Music News, Engadget, CNBC, TechRadar, 9to5Mac, TechSpot, Fast Company, and iMore
Tweets: @kerrymflynn, @xpangler, @xpangler, @spotifynews, @eldsjal, @kerrymflynn, @kerrymflynn, @lucas_shaw, @mark_mulligan, @kerrymflynn, and @gerritd
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Sony says it has now sold over 10M PS5 consoles, up from the 7.8M announced in April, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation ever — PS5 is the fastest-selling PlayStation — Sony has now sold more than 10 million PS5 consoles. That's up more than 2 million sales …
Source:
SIE Blog - English. More:
GamesIndustry.biz, Business Wire, XDA Developers, Thurrott, Engadget, Tom's Hardware, mobilesyrup.com, UploadVR, CNET, Reuters, Android Headlines, Forbes, IGN, Video Games Chronicle, GameSpot, Android Central, and Wccftech
Tweets: @playstation, @chris_dring, @zhugeex, @genepark, and @tomwarren
| Juli Clover / MacRumors: |
Apple's Q3 revenue for Wearables, Home, and Accessories category, which includes Watch and AirPods, was $8.8B, up 36% YoY; nearly 75% of Watch buyers were new — Apple's Wearables, Home, and Accessories category saw strong growth during the third fiscal quarter of 2021, Apple CEO Tim Cook said during today's earnings call.
More:
Barron's Online, Softpedia News, iThinkDifferent, and Livemint
| Apple: |
More:
Computerworld, iThinkDifferent, New York Post, Barron's Online, Livemint, AppleInsider, Insider, Six Colors, iMore, Softpedia News, CNBC, MacDailyNews, CNBC, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, The Register, Macworld, TechRadar, BGR, ZDNet, Coinspeaker, 9to5Mac, WRAL TechWire, Digital Trends, Neowin, and Mashable
Tweets: @tim, @neilcybart, @asymco, @cnbcnow, @joannastern, @backlon, @munster_gene, @neilcybart, @munster_gene, @kirkburgess, @counternotions, @rex_woodbury, @slightlylate, @neilcybart, @neilcybart, @neilcybart, @munster_gene, @asymco, @neilcybart, @benbajarin, @munster_gene, @neilcybart, @srussolillo, @basicappleguy, @anandtech, @macrumors, @davedelong, @kennwhite, @mattrosoff, and @glennf
| Mariella Moon / Engadget: |
Google says its upcoming Play Store safety listings, similar to Apple's app nutrition labels, will feature info on app data collection, encryption, and more — There's still half a year to go before you start seeing Google Play's new safety section, which will show you an Android app's privacy information … | Upmanyu Trivedi / Bloomberg: |
Delhi's high court says statements by Twitter “clearly show total non-compliance” with IT rules, which include appointing a liaison, giving it a week to comply — - Twitter says it is setting up a new liaison office in India — Court gives Twitter a week to show clear steps for compliance
More:
Times of India and India Today
| Nikkei Asia: |
TSMC receives final approval for a 2nm chip plant in Taiwan; sources say construction will begin in 2022 and equipment will be installed in 2023 — Environmental approval could help chip giant stay ahead of Intel — TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has received final approval …
More:
MacRumors, 9to5Mac, HotHardware.com News, MacDailyNews, Patently Apple, iMore, and Tom's Hardware. Tweets: @nikkeiasia
| Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac: |
Code and animation files in iOS 15 beta 4 show the process for validating ID cards in the Wallet app will likely include a verification system with selfies — Apple announced at WWDC 2021 that iOS 15 will add support for ID cards in the Wallet app, but details are unknown as this feature is not available in the beta version of iOS 15.| Danielle Bochove / Bloomberg: |
Shopify beats Q2 expectations with $1.12B revenue, up 57% YoY and surpassing $1B for the first time; gross merchandise volume was up 40% YoY to $42.2B — - Company expects 2021 adjusted earnings to top 2020 results — Revenue surpasses $1 billion for first time in company history
More:
TechCrunch, Shopify, Financial Times, BetaKit, and ZDNet
Tweets: @wolfofharcourt and @matematikern3
| Cody Toombs / Android Police: |
Google releases the first stable build of Jetpack Compose, a UI framework for Android, after two years in public development — Since its introduction during I/O 2019, Jetpack Compose was obviously destined to become the prescribed method of Android UI development.| Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: |
Algolia, which provides APIs for developers to integrate real-time search into websites and apps, raises $150M Series D at a $2.25B valuation — Algolia has raised a $150 million Series D funding round at a post-money valuation of $2.25 billion. Compared to the Series C round from October 2019 … | Jonathan Greig / ZDNet: |
Google announces a new bug bounty program, called Bug Hunter University, and says the existing program found 11,055 bugs from 2,022 researchers, paying ~$30M — The platform includes a new “Bug Hunter University.” — Google announced a new bug bounty platform as it celebrated …
More:
Google Online Security Blog, TNW, PCMag, fossbytes.com, and The Register
Tweets: @googlevrp, @googlevrp, @stshank, and @royalhansen
| Leah Nylen / Politico: |
In a court filing, AGs from 45 states, DC, and Guam say they will appeal the dismissal of their Facebook antitrust case — Attorneys general from 45 states, D.C. and Guam said they would appeal a June decision that threw out their suit. — A federal judge ruled that the states had waited …
More:
New York Times, Engadget, Reuters, The Hill, and CNBC
Tweets: @ceciliakang and @khushitavasant
| Alex Heath / The Verge: |
Snap says Snap Map will now include recommendations for places to visit based on location, friend activity, and previous favorites — The new feature is designed to make Snap Map more of a utility — More than 250 million people use Snapchat's built-in map to see where their friends are in the world.
More:
Mashable, 9to5Mac, Snap Newsroom, Morning Brew, Engadget, Neowin, and iMore
Tweets: @alexeheath and @martinsfp
| Roland Kelts / Rest of World: |
A look at VTubers, virtual anime-like avatar YouTube channels driven by anonymous Japanese users that are now mainstream, surpassing 1.5B+ views/month in Q4'20 — How the pandemic mainstreamed VTubers, Japan's fictional YouTube celebrities. — Virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI is the featured guest …
Tweets: @restofworld, @restofworld, and @mikafilm
| Taylor Soper / GeekWire: |
Microsoft says it has acquired Seattle-based Suplari, which uses AI to identify cost savings in the software procurement process; Suplari has raised $18M — Microsoft has acquired Suplari, a Seattle startup that uses artificial intelligence to help companies understand and get a handle on their spending.
More:
cloudblogs.microsoft.com, Madrona Venture Group, and MSPoweruser
| Catalin Cimpanu / The Record: |
CISA and FBI, UK's NCSC, and Australia's ACSC issue a joint advisory detailing the most exploited vulnerabilities in 2020 and 2021 — Cyber-security agencies from Australia, the UK, and the US have published a joint advisory today listing the most exploited security flaws throughout 2020 and 2021.
More:
us-cert.cisa.gov, ZDNet, ComputerWeekly.com, and BleepingComputer
Tweets: @uscert_gov and @fbi
| Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch: |
Contentful, which offers APIs to let companies manage content, raises $175M Series F led by Tiger Global at a ~$3B valuation, after a $80M Series E in June 2020 — Contentful this morning announced a $175 million Series F round of capital, led by Tiger Global, valuing the unicorn at around $3 billion.| Bloomberg: |
PowerSchool, which develops software used by 70% of K-12 students in the US and Canada, raises $711M in its IPO, selling shares at $18, valuing it at $3.5B — Education software provider PowerSchool Holdings Inc. raised $711 million in an initial public offering priced at the bottom of a marketed range.
More:
Barron's Online, Business Wire, and EdSurge
| Gillian Tan / Bloomberg: |
Lithic, previously Privacy.com, which offers APIs to help businesses issue virtual credit cards, raises $60M, sources say at an $800M valuation — - Bessemer, Index Ventures, Exor also part of fundraising round — Firm's goal is to make issuing cards faster and easier
More:
PYMNTS.com
| Bloomberg: |
Insiders suggest China's internet companies, which have long emulated SV's founder-driven model, will align more with China's leadership after tech crackdown — On the fourth floor of a harborside mall on Grand Cayman, not far from touristy scuba-diving outlets and a jerk-chicken shack … | Mike Butcher / TechCrunch: |
Danish startup Dixa, which helps companies manage customer relations via messaging, email, and voice, raises $105M Series C led by General Atlantic — European customer engagement platform Dixa has raised a Series C funding round of $105 million, led by growth equity investor General Atlantic.
More:
Forbes, Tech.eu, EU-Startups, Insider, Business Wire, and VentureBeat
| Charlie Osborne / ZDNet: |
Report: malware developers are increasingly writing malicious code in “exotic” programming languages like Golang to hamper analysis efforts and evade detection — They are focused on exploiting pain points in code analysis and reverse-engineering.| Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: |
QuotaPath, which offers tools to track commissions for sales and revenue teams, raises $21.3M Series A led by Insight Partners — QuotaPath, which has developed a commission-tracking solution for sales and revenue teams, has raised $21.3 million in a Series A funding round led by Insight Partners.
More:
PR Newswire
| Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch: |
Class, a virtual classroom that integrates exclusively with Zoom, raises $105M led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 at a $804M post-money valuation — Class, a virtual classroom that integrates exclusively with Zoom, announced today that it has raised $105 million in a financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund II.
More:
Reuters
| Andy Greenberg / Wired: |
Creators of PunkSpider say they're relaunching their search engine for hackable sites at Defcon next week to spur web admins to fix thousands of unpatched bugs — PunkSpider is back, and crawling hundreds of millions of sites for vulnerabilities. — THE WEB HAS long been a playground for hackers …
More:
Threatpost and Gizmodo
Tweets: @a_greenberg, @iblametom, @dangillmor, @k8em0, and @martijn_grooten
| Sarah McBride / Bloomberg: |
New York-based Synchron says it received FDA approval to test its brain-computer interface, beating Elon Musk's Neuralink and others — A brain-computer interface company is entering clinical trials for its implants in the U.S., a big step toward getting the futuristic devices into more skulls to help treat conditions like paralysis.
Tweets: @tomoxl
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