Techmeme
September 19, 2023, 12:30 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
FTC v. Microsoft: new documents detail an Xbox Series X refresh in 2024, codenamed Brooklin, including a new controller and cylindrical, disc-less design  —  Microsoft is planning to refresh its Xbox Series X console in 2024 with an all-new design and features.
Push Square:
FTC v. Microsoft: in mid-2020, Phil Spencer discussed acquiring Warner Bros Interactive alongside Bethesda and said buying Nintendo would be a “career moment”  —  “It'd be a good move for both companies”  —  A genuinely dystopian email sent by Xbox chief Phil Spencer …
Kevin Collier / NBC News:
After over 100 internal Microsoft documents leaked, the FTC says that “Microsoft was responsible for the error in uploading these documents to the court”  —  The files include emails from corporate executives like Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and timetables for gaming releases.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
FTC v. Microsoft: docs show Microsoft's gaming plans for 2028, aiming for “full convergence” of its cloud platform and hardware to deliver “cloud hybrid games”  —  The documents may also reveal Microsoft's far future plans for 2028 — by which the company believed it could achieve …
Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max review: USB-C, lighter, nicer to hold, useful Action Button, and camera improvements, but no 5x telephoto on the smaller Pro  —  Apple didn't choose the USB-C life, but boy are we glad it got here anyway. … There are very few surprises from new smartphones these days.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Apple iPhone 15 and 15 Plus review: comfortable to hold, Dynamic Island, great performance, and helpful camera features, but no always-on display or ProMotion  —  Apple's standard iPhone gets a lot of nice upgrades this year, but it's not anything we haven't seen before.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google updates Bard to use data from Gmail, Docs, and Drive, not just the web, to help find and summarize emails, highlight points in a document, and more  —  Google's Bard AI chatbot is no longer limited to pulling answers from just the web — it can now scan your Gmail, Docs …
Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
Filing: FTX sues SBF's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, to “recover millions of dollars in fraudulently transferred and misappropriated funds”  —  The filing, redacted in parts, asks the court to award the FTX estate damages, the return of any property given or payment made to the parents.
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
On a livestream, Elon Musk says X is “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system”, as it's “the only way to combat vast armies of bots”  —  - Tesla, SpaceX and X Corp. leader Elon Musk and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in a livestream …
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Trend Micro: Chinese cyberespionage group Earth Lusca used new Linux backdoor malware SprySOCKS to target government agencies in multiple countries in H1 2023  —  A Chinese espionage-focused hacker tracked as ‘Earth Lusca’ was observed targeting government agencies in multiple countries, using a new Linux backdoor dubbed ‘SprySOCKS.’
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
A look at ShadowDragon, which offers social media surveillance tools that gather data from games and more, used by ICE, the State Department, the DEA, and more  —  Daniel Clemens sits in a darkened room and speaks about why he thinks people should not protest.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Intel announces Meteor Lake, its first chips to use its new chiplet architecture, offering CPUs using the Intel 4 process node, ahead of a December 14 “launch”  —  For many months, Intel has spared no opportunity to remind us that its Meteor Lake chips would be the ones to watch …
Greg Bensinger / Reuters:
Interviews with 15 current and former employees at Amazon's Lab126 hardware unit describe low morale due to layoffs and fears of a weak development pipeline  —  Some workers within Amazon's (AMZN.O) once-storied hardware division - responsible for popular devices like the Kindle reader …
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
At an all-hands, Unity discussed potential changes to its controversial new fees, like capping fees to 4% of a game's revenue for customers with $1M+ in revenue  —  Maker of video-game development tools backtracks after customers threaten boycott  —  Video-game tool maker Unity Software Inc …
Leo Lewis / Financial Times:
Location and mapping startup Mapbox raised $280M led by SoftBank, sources say at a ~$1.3B pre-money valuation; PitchBook says Mapbox had raised $360M to date  —  Son's decision to back US mapping company in $280mn investment round comes in wake of Arm listing
Jacquelyn Melinek / TechCrunch:
Blockchain Capital raised a total of $580M for two VC funds and says their focus will be on six sectors, including DeFi, blockchain gaming, and consumer/social  —  The crypto bear market may be ongoing, but Blockchain Capital is still going big.  It closed two new funds for a total of $580 million …
Federico Viticci / MacStories:
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 review: a bigger bet on widgets and the modularization of apps, and needed Stage Manager fixes, but visionOS stole the spotlight this year  —  Well, last year was weird.  —  For the first time since I started writing annual reviews of Apple's two mobile operating systems …

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Featured Podcasts

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Me, Me, Me Generation w/ Joel Stein
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
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Invest Like the Best:
Dylan Patel - The Infinite Demand for Tokens, Claude Mythos, and Supply Constraints
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Big Technology Podcast:
Are We Too Obsessed With AI Predictions? — With Carissa Véliz
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Great Chat:
The hills we'll die on
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
Jason Blum Built a Hit-Making Movie Machine. Does It Still Work?
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

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More News

Financial Times:
More: RTÉX: @julianklymochko, @cer_eu, @s8mb, and @zach_cerLinkedIn: Ronan Scanlan

Earlier Picks

Sabrina Willmer / Bloomberg:
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: