Techmeme
February 1, 2024, 10:10 AM

Top News

Vanity Fair:
An interview with Tim Cook, Greg Joswiak, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, and others on the Apple Vision Pro, using the device, developing the headset, and more  —  Inside Apple Park, the tech giant's CEO talks about the genesis of a “mind-blowing” new device that could change the way we live and work.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Apple releases visionOS 1.0.2, fixing a WebKit vulnerability that, if exploited, allowed malicious code execution; Apple patched the bug in iOS 17.3 last week  —  A day after reporters published their first hands-on review of Apple's Vision Pro, the technology giant released its first security patch …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
UMG begins pulling its artists' music from TikTok after negotiations failed; videos featuring UMG-owned songs will be muted, and users can pick a new soundtrack  —  - Publisher behind Drake and Taylor Swift pushes for better pay  — Videos featuring Universal Music-owned songs will be muted
Dexter Thomas / Wired:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple says developers have optimized over 600 apps for the Vision Pro ahead of its February 2 launch, including Airmail, CARROT Weather, Sky Guide, and PCalc  —  Apple today announced that over 600 apps with native support for visionOS will be available on the Vision Pro when the headset launches in the U.S. this Friday.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
An interview with Unity Chief Product and Technology Officer Marc Whitten, as the company launches official support to build spatial apps for Apple's visionOS  —  Unity has unveiled its support for spatial experiences including support for the Apple Vision Pro that launches on February 2.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Jesse Hamilton / CoinDesk:
Celsius emerges from bankruptcy and plans to distribute $3B+ to its creditors, who will also get a stake in the company's new Ionic Digital mining operation  —  The distribution will be made through PayPal and Coinbase.  —  Register Now  —  Celsius will be shipping out more than $3 billion …
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Microsoft says Pocket Pair's Palworld, still technically in early access, is the biggest third-party Xbox Game Pass launch in history, reaching 7M players  —  Surprise viral gaming hit Palworld continues to reach new player milestones.  Today, developer Pocketpair announced that the game …
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
After Amazon ended its acquisition, iRobot, whose market share has been steadily eroding since 2014, could quickly become an also-ran in the robot vacuum market  —  By abandoning its deal to buy iRobot, Amazon has left the robot vacuum maker stuck under the couch.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Email to subscribers: Hulu changed its agreement to ban sharing accounts outside of the user's household “unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier”  —  The Disney-owned streaming service changed its subscriber agreement to ban sharing of accounts outside of individual households.
Jeffrey Gottfried / Pew Research Center:
US adults survey: 83% use YouTube, 68% use Facebook, 47% use Instagram; 27% to 35% use Snapchat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest; 22% use X and Reddit  —  YouTube and Facebook are by far the most used online platforms among U.S. adults; TikTok's user base has grown since 2021
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Memo: Okta CEO Todd McKinnon says the company plans to lay off 400 employees, or ~7% of its staff, as the “reality is that costs are still too high”  —  KEY POINTS  — Identity management company Okta said on Thursday in a message to employees that it would lay off 400 employees, about 7% of the company's headcount.
More: TechCrunch and Bloomberg
Bloomberg:
The US sentences Joseph Garrison, a 19-year-old involved in the 2022 DraftKings hack, to 18 months in jail; Garrison admitted to stealing $600K from 1,600 users  —  A 19-year-old Wisconsin man involved in the 2022 hack of the DraftKings fantasy sports website was sentenced to 18 months in jail by a federal judge.
Hideaki Ryugen / Nikkei Asia:
MediaTek reports Q4 revenue up 19.7% YoY to $4.1B and net profit up 38.9% YoY to $820M, posting its first YoY increases in revenue and profit in five quarters  —  CEO says generative AI is creating a bigger market for high-end phones  —  MediaTek designs chips for smartphone manufacturers such as China's Xiaomi and Oppo.
More: MediaTek
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Microsoft and X say they support the Kids Online Safety Act; Meta, Discord, and TikTok demur, citing criticism from groups or supporting only some parts of KOSA  —  On the eve of Wednesday's big tech hearing (both big tech and a big hearing — five CEOs are testifying as we speak) …
Washington Post:
More: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, The Verge, Tech Policy Press, Engadget, Engadget, The Verge, New York Times, The Record, The Verge, CNN, Music Ally, indy100, New York Times, Center for Democracy …, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, Android Headlines, CNBC, Tubefilter, TIME, New York Times, PetaPixel, New York Times, NBC News, 9to5Mac, The Hill, Business Post, The Hill, C-SPAN on YouTube, Axios, The Messenger, Fight for the Future, Associated Press on YouTube, Agence France-Presse, NetChoice, Livemint, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Axios, and Bloomberg
Angela Yang / NBC News:

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Featured Podcasts

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