Techmeme
October 21, 2021, 5:45 PM

Top News

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Anna Kramer / Protocol:
Twitter says its research shows its algorithms amplify right-leaning content more than left-leaning content, but doesn't know what causes the amplification  —  Twitter is publicly sharing research findings today that show that the platform's algorithms amplify tweets from right-wing politicians …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
ABC News:
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Sam Altman's Worldcoin launches its cryptocurrency that it gives in exchange for users' eye scans, says it has 100K users globally and is valued at $1B  —  - Tech millionaire Sam Altman's new start-up Worldcoin uses orb-shaped devices to scan people's eyes in exchange for free cryptocurrency.
Oversight Board:
Facebook's Oversight Board releases a report demanding more transparency, including for the company's “cross-check” system, and says 524K appeals were submitted  —  Over the last several weeks, media reporting has drawn renewed attention to the seemingly inconsistent …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple product orders, including iPad mini, MacBook Pro, and $19 cleaning cloth, are delayed into November and December due to supply chain issues  —  - Store employees say supply situation is the bleakest in years  — Latest iPhones, iPads, Macs and watches all see long delays
Wall Street Journal:
US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announces a broad investigation into consumer data practices at Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google, and others  —  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to seek information on how those firms and others use consumers' financial information
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap Q3: $1.07B revenue, up 57% YoY, vs. $1.10B est., DAUs up 23% to 306M, net loss down 64% to $72M, blames iOS ATT changes for revenue miss; stock down 25%+  —  - Snap reported its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, missing revenue expectations after Apple's iPhone privacy changes disrupted its advertising business.
Sam Rutherford / Gizmodo:
Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming service adds a $100/month tier with RTX 3080 GPUs, hosted inside a bespoke SuperPod server, offering 1440p games at 120fps  —  Thanks to new custom servers equipped with RTX 3080 GPUs, GeForce Now will support game streaming at up to 1440p at 120fps—but it'll cost you.
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Rippling, an employee data management company led by Parker Conrad, raises $250M at a $6.5B valuation, bringing its total raised to $450M  —  Founded by entrepreneur Parker Conrad in 2013, the HR company Zenefits was quickly anointed one of the fast-growing companies in Silicon Valley …
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Apple says the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max will feature a High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads  —  The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max Apple Silicon chip will feature a new High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads, according to Apple.
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX raises a $420.69M Series B-1 at a $25B valuation from 69 investors, including BlackRock and Tiger Global  —  FTX has memed itself into another massive funding round.  —  Sam Bankman-Fried's Bahamas-based crypto exchange said Wednesday it had raised $420,690,000 in a Series B-1 funding round.
Wall Street Journal:
Over 2,000 hourly workers at Amazon's Staten Island facilities sign union cards and plan to file with the NLRB by October 25; Amazon opposes the move  —  An effort said to involve more than 2,000 workers across four Amazon facilities in Staten Island faces obstacles
Tom Warren / The Verge:
A first look at Android app support on Windows 11: the apps are nicely integrated, run well, and installing them is simple, only requiring Amazon's Appstore app  —  Android apps can now run on Windows 11  —  Microsoft has released the first preview version of its Android apps support in Windows 11.
Ben Sisario / New York Times:
PleasrDAO, a group of digital asset collectors, says it created an NFT that will stand as an ownership deed for Wu-Tang Clan's one-of-a-kind physical album  —  The government sold “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” to satisfy a judgment against its first owner, Martin Shkreli.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Sources: Mark Zuckerberg has not settled on a new name for Facebook, which could be announced as early as Monday  —  See you Monday!  —  Facebook is changing its name.  Perhaps you heard.  The news was broken by Alex Heath of The Verge on Tuesday night, and I've since confirmed it with sources of my own.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter rolls out the ability for all Android and iOS users to host a Space, after previously limiting access to accounts with at least 600 followers  —  After steadily expanding access over the course of the year, Twitter announced today its audio chatroom feature known as Twitter Spaces …
More: 9to5Mac

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Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Dan Seifert / The Verge:

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