Techmeme
April 23, 2023, 1:30 PM

Top News

Victor Swezey / The Daily Beast:
Twitter appears to have restored verification checkmarks to many accounts with 1M+ followers, saying they are subscribed to Blue; some deny they paid for Blue  —  Across Twitter on Saturday, some of the platform's biggest names expressed surprise when their fickle checkmarks suddenly reappeared.
Mike Pearl / Mashable:
Some critics of Twitter Blue, such as @dril, Kara Swisher, and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, say they have been given unwanted Blue checkmarks  —  If you can't beat 'em verify 'em. … The latest speed bump in the rollout of Twitter's revamped verification policy under new owner Elon Musk is here: Spite checkmarks.
Matt Binder / Mashable:
In a campaign called #BlockTheBlue, some Twitter users, including popular ones like @dril, are asking people to block anyone who subscribes to Twitter Blue  —  After Elon Musk removed legacy verified users' checkmarks, Twitter's biggest users are blocking everyone who pays.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: details on Apple XR headset's external battery pack and charging cable, and a look at its app strategy - throw everything but the kitchen sink at users  —  Apple is taking a scattershot approach to the upcoming Reality headset's features, hoping that a wide variety of options will get consumers to try the product.
Jaron Lanier / New Yorker:
Rishabh Jaiswal / Reuters:
Filing: Sundar Pichai received compensation of ~$226M in 2022, including stock awards of ~$218M; Alphabet announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs in January 2023  —  Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) Chief Executive Sundar Pichai received total compensation of about $226 million in 2022 …
Sam Reynolds / CoinDesk:
A California judge rules that the RR/BAYC NFTs, which featured primates in similar poses to the BAYC under the pretense of satire, violated Yuga Labs' copyright  —  Use of BAYC trademarks by Ripps' RR/BAYC was intended to confuse consumers, a U.S. judge in California has ruled
Monica Chin / The Verge:
US PIRG Education Fund: Chromebooks are less sustainable and more costly for schools than other devices due to their short lifespans and lack of repairability  —  Back in early 2020, as the covid pandemic drove classrooms online, school districts found themselves needing to bulk purchase affordable laptops …
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Hacker group naming schemes, such as Microsoft's new system, are counterproductive for cybersecurity analysis; a government body should set a naming convention  —  Pumpkin Sandstorm.  Spandex Tempest.  Charming Kitten.  Is this really how we want to name the hackers wreaking havoc worldwide?

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More News

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Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

Rashi Shrivastava / Forbes:
Financial Times: