Techmeme: The iPad needs a “pro” mode when the device is connected to a keyboard and a trackpad, with Mac-like multitasking, a proper desktop, and more for advanced users (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg)

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April 18, 2022, 9:30 AM

Top News

Michael McSweeney / The Block:

Beanstalk, a credit-focused stablecoin protocol using Ethereum, was exploited for ~$182M in various crypto assets by someone who had amassed governance tokens — Beanstalk, a credit-focused stablecoin protocol built on Ethereum, was exploited Sunday morning.

The Citizen Lab:

Investigation finds 65+ people were targeted by Pegasus and Candiru, including Catalans, likely by Spanish authorities, and details a new iOS zero-click, HOMAGE — Key Findings — The Citizen Lab, in collaboration with Catalan civil society groups, has identified at least 65 individuals targeted …

Tweets: @jordiborras, @citizenlab, @citizenlab, @citizenlab, @peterwsinger, @citizenlab, @jsrailton, @saskiabricmont, @junqueras, @citizenlab, @citizenlab, and @citizenlab

Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:

An in-depth investigation into the global commercial spyware industry, led by Israel's NSO Group, as Citizen Lab finds Pegasus infected a device in UK's No. 10 — The inside story of the world's most notorious commercial spyware and the big tech companies waging war against it.

More: The Citizen Lab. Tweets: @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @rondeibert, @benhammersley, @nighatdad, @judithflanders, @jordisolef, @sheelahk, @jsrailton, @ronanfarrow, @anujsrivas, @rondeibert, and @jordiborras

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Report: Microsoft is working on a program to let select brands advertise within free-to-play Xbox games, such as on a billboard, and won't take a revenue cut — The ads supposedly wouldn't disrupt gameplay — Microsoft is reportedly working on a program that will let brands showcase …

Source: Insider. More: XDA Developers, BetaNews, Kotaku, TechCircle, AdExchanger, Video Games Chronicle, Tom's Guide, Mobile Dev Memo, Game Rant, and The Economic Times

Tweets: @patrickcoffee, @eric_seufert, and @rishialwani

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Musk's free speech definition is utter nonsense and his suggestions for Twitter completely ignore decades of content moderation iteration on social platforms — from the not-how-any-of-this-works dept — Lots of talk yesterday as Elon Musk made a hostile takeover bid for all of Twitter.

More: Livemint, Financial Times, The Overspill, Interconnected, Wccftech, TheStreet, The Economic Times, On my Om, VentureBeat, howardlindzon.com, afrotech.com, The Dig, iPhone in Canada Blog, Financial Times, Insider, New York Post, and Pixel Envy

Tweets: @chrisjbakke, @dswillner, @yishan, @yishan, @ericnewcomer, @pmarca, @seedsforbidden, @emileifrem, @pt, @44, @alecmuffett, @shoq, @mark_dow, @kfury, @vishwanathsarng, @mmasnick, @yishan, @kdbyproxy, @szhang_ds, @yishan, @willpapper, @bill_gross, @eaton, @yishan, @ekp, @waitbutwhy, @karaswisher, @infrahumano, @bretweinstein, @karaswisher, @andrewbostom, @caugustelliott, @asemota, @alison_claire, @mscott, @om, @davidsacks, @jkosseff, @anildash, @nateafischer, @mariosundar, @emptywheel, @mmasnick, @davidsacks, @brij, @techemails, @jimvandehei, @prairielaura, @ousfourita, @kudeki, @gullikyro, @akurjata, @bborrman, @katebevan, @eddie1perez, @verba_et_vertus, @marklittlenews, @eddie1perez, @ewankirk, @mehdirhasan, @rebeccaforwa, @tedcruz, @tbskyen, @mmasnick, @kateconger, @goldman, @samifathi_, @carlquintanilla, @ngrossman81, @dbfarber, @sarthakgh, @mmasnick, @arrington, @repdarrellissa, @susanlitv, @evacide, @hansmahncke, @frankluntz, @karlbode, @kevinbankston, @jayrosen_nyu, @yishan, and @rabble

Nathan Baschez / Every:

Twitter should not only open source its algorithm but also create a marketplace where anyone can build their own algorithms and use the algorithms others create

More: Washington Post, Social Media Today, Livemint, The Economic Times, and Associated Press

Tweets: @ericnewcomer, @jack, @carnage4life, @nbashaw, @ejang, @theaksheffect, @hkanji, @adhutchinson, @nash076, @carlquintanilla, @maxkennerly, and @decryptmedia

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

The iPad needs a “pro” mode when the device is connected to a keyboard and a trackpad, with Mac-like multitasking, a proper desktop, and more for advanced users — Ahead of Apple's developers conference, here's how I suggest fixing its iPad software conundrum: a “pro mode” …

More: MacDailyNews, ExtremeTech, 9to5Mac, Benzinga, 9to5Mac, AppleTrack, Forbes, and The Register

Tweets: @jeffnolan, @stevecla, @drravipateljr, @parkerortolani, @pxy, @yoda, @jamwil, and @markgurman

Kate Kaye / Protocol:

Virtual classroom startup Class is testing Intel's “emotion AI” tech that claims to detect bored, distracted, or confused students, raising privacy questions — When college instructor Angela Dancey wants to decipher whether her first-year English students comprehend what she's trying …

More: TechRadar, IF INTERESTED, and Fossbytes

Tweets: @katekayereports, @noopkat, @dinabass, @vickerysec, @frankcatalano, @polycrystalhd, @troy_s, @otdderamin, @katemfd, @grady_booch, @hypervisible, and @nickpopovich

Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:

Workers at Apple's flagship Grand Central Terminal store in Manhattan start formally collecting signatures to form a union — If successful, the effort would be the first time an Apple retail location has unionized — Workers at Apple's flagship Grand Central Terminal retail location …

Reuters:

Didi schedules a shareholder meeting for May 23 to vote on delisting its shares from the NYSE, and reports Q4 2021 revenue of $6.4B, down about 12.6% YoY — Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on May 23 to vote on its delisting plans in the United States …

More: Reuters, Winvesta Crisps, Wall Street Journal, Pandaily, Benzinga, South China Morning Post, Business Wire, and Business Wire

Rest of World:

A look at adult webcam “monitors” in Colombia who train models and provide tech support; Colombia has the world's second largest camming industry behind Romania — In Colombia, camming monitors train models, translate chats, and provide tech support.

Tweets: @helenliwrites, @alexgonzor, @restofworld, @cengizyar, and @fogginsophie

Ignacio Olivera Doll / Bloomberg:

Fan tokens issued by Manchester City and other soccer clubs have proven to be a disappointment for hopeful fans, with prices quickly losing steam within days — As soon as rumors started buzzing that soccer star Lionel Messi would transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August …

Tweets: @schuldensuehner, @stacyherbert, @flavionunespt, @carnage4life, and @gossithedog

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:

GitHub says an attacker used stolen OAuth user tokens issued to Heroku and Travis-CI to steal private repository data from dozens of organizations including npm — GitHub revealed today that an attacker is using stolen user tokens (issued to Heroku and Travis-CI OAuth) to download data from private repositories.

Source: The GitHub Blog and Heroku Status. More: Metacurity, KazukiLabs NewsBites, Security Affairs, Slashdot, HackRead, Bob's Newsletter, iTnews, and The Hacker News

Tweets: @githubsecurity, @malwarejake, @nikcharlebois, @campuscodi, @jot, @rstephens, @jacobian, @marypcbuk, and @quinnypig

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:30 AM ET, April 18, 2022.

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.

From Mediagazer

Michael Savage / The Guardian:

Tim Davie says the UK Foreign Office's deal with the BBC World Service ends in seven weeks; the office contributed £137M to the service's £400M funding in 2025

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

Paramount sweetens its WBD bid with a “ticking fee” worth ~$650M/quarter if the deal isn't closed by year-end and offers to fund WBD's $2.8B Netflix breakup fee

The Information:

Sources: Amazon is planning a marketplace where publishers can sell content to companies offering AI products; Microsoft has rolled out a similar service

More News

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Clipboard Health, an app-based marketplace that matches nurses with open shifts, announces a $50M Series B and $30M Series C at a $1.3B valuation

Financial Times:

A look at the impact of China's crackdown on Xiaomi, which once wanted to compete with Apple and Samsung, as its shares have fallen 50%+ over the past year

Tweets: @primroseriordan

Sarah McBride / Bloomberg:

SoftBank's Shu Nyatta and Paulo Passoni, two of three managing partners at its $2B Latin America Fund, said they are leaving to start their own VC business

More: Bloomberg Línea

Miles Kruppa / Financial Times:

Private securities marketplace Forge Global said the prices of startup shares on its platform fell 19.9% in February and March compared to Q4 2021

Tweets: @hkanji and @muradahmed

Bloomberg:

China's National Bureau of Statistics: quarterly chip production dropped 4.2% QoQ in March, the first time since early 2019, amid weaker demand and lockdowns

Matt Wirz / Wall Street Journal:

A profile of Eva Shang, whose investment firm Legalist uses AI to fund lawsuits with a stronger chance of winning and has raised $400M in the past six months

Tweets: @bourreelam and @newley

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India-based UrbanPiper, which helps restaurants manage multiple food delivery services, raises a $24M Series B from Swiggy, Zomato, and others

More: Moneycontrol, DealStreetAsia, The Economic Times, and Entrackr

Tweets: @sequoia_india and @alok_says

Earlier Picks

Alyssa Meyers / Morning Brew:

Spotify's recent Podsights and Chartable acquisitions are raising concerns over the availability of third-party podcast metrics for advertisers and publishers

Tweets: @tgwilson, @calistoker123, and @ryanbarwick

Wall Street Journal:

Data shows e-commerce as a percentage share of all US retail has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels; in March e-commerce dropped YoY as in-store sales rose

Tweets: @d_mccar, @stevenpdennis, @iiiitsandrea, @htsfhickey, @kjlabuz, @juokaz, @neilretail, @aparanjape, @sebasaherrera, and @gopalgautham

Jonathan Haidt / The Atlantic:

Social media weakened the social capital, strong institutions, and shared stories that bind democracies, especially after 2009 when virality began to intensify

Amy Feldman / Forbes:

A look at Cambridge-based Lumafield, which designs CT scanners for consumer product companies like L'Oréal, OXO, and Trek Bicycle, and has raised $32.5M

Tweets: @forbes_mena_, @jonbruner, @lux_capital, and @forbes

Rebecca Szkutak / Forbes:

A profile of Anna Fang, CEO of China-based ZhenFund, who has backed 30+ seed-stage startups that became unicorns and 90+ startups that had a successful exit

Tweets: @depappas, @cyantist, @edithyeung, @bgurley, @allraise, and @rebecca_szkutak. Thanks:@alexrkonrad

Tim Higgins / Wall Street Journal:

A look at Apple's yearslong effort to design its own silicon to replace Intel chips in Macs, including an interview with Hardware Technologies SVP Johny Srouji

More: MacRumors, AppleInsider, iThinkDifferent, iPhone in Canada Blog, 9to5Mac, and Philip Elmer‑DeWitt

Tweets: @aaronwall, @reneritchie, @ravi_711, @leokelion, @mattlynley, @hkanji, @fmbutt, @pocarles, @onelinders, and @brianmcc

Bloomberg:

At least seven crypto firms have suspended rupee deposits; CoinGecko: daily trading volumes on Indian crypto exchanges have fallen 88%-96% since peaking in 2021

More: The Economic Times, Tech in Asia, Micky, and Reuters

Tweets: @reutersworld, @economics, @adityakalra, and @reutersbiz