Techmeme
February 21, 2024, 12:35 PM

Top News

Emilia David / The Verge:
Google releases Gemma 2B and 7B, open-source AI models that let developers more freely use the research that went into Gemini, its flagship closed-source model  —  Google has released Gemma 2B and 7B, a pair of open-source AI models that let developers use the research that went into its flagship Gemini more freely.
Ryan Smith / AnandTech:
Intel's Direct Connect announcements: IFS rebranded to Intel Foundry, “systems foundry” era, 18A-P, 14A, and Hybrid Bonding, five nodes in four years, and more  —  5 nodes in 4 years.  This is what Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger promised Intel's customers, investors …
Ian King / Bloomberg:
Microsoft plans to use Intel's 18A tech to make a forthcoming chip that Microsoft designed in-house; Microsoft recently announced two computer and AI chips  —  - Move marks a win for Intel's push into made-to-order chips  — Microsoft is looking to design more semiconductors in-house
Matt Burgess / Wired:
Apple unveils PQ3, a post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage built on the Kyber algorithm, launching in iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and macOS 14.4 in March  —  Useful quantum computers aren't a reality—yet.  But in one of the biggest deployments of post-quantum encryption so far, Apple is bringing the technology to iMessage.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple debuts Apple Sports, a free app offering scores and stats for the NBA, NHL, Premier League, and more, in the US, Canada, and the UK, on iOS 17.2 or later  —  Game on!  Apple launched a free standalone app for sports fans, Apple Sports, which is engineered to fire scores and stats to your iPhone as quickly as possible.
Stephen Totilo / Game File:
An interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer on Xbox growth, job cuts, and why getting rid of physical Xbox discs is “not a strategic thing for us”  —  Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer is upbeat about his vast Xbox team's future.  But he also tells Game File …
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
Source: Meta and Microsoft lobby EU regulators to reject Apple's iOS and App Store changes to comply with the DMA, saying Apple's plans fail to go far enough  —  Meta and Microsoft want Brussels regulators to extract more concessions that unpick iOS mobile software
Counterpoint Research:
In a first, Apple had the seven best-selling smartphones globally in 2023, and Samsung had the next three; iPhone 14, 14 Pro Max, 14 Pro, and 13 were top four  —  - The combined market share of the top 10 smartphones in 2023 reached the highest ever at 20%, up from 19% in 2022.
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple says the iPhone 15 lineup can retain up to 80% of its original battery capacity at 1,000 charge cycles, up from its original estimate of 500 charge cycles  —  In addition to changes to the Battery Health settings in iOS 17.4, Apple has more iPhone battery news to share today.
Christian Vasquez / CyberScoop:
Biden signs an EO to increase the cyber defenses of maritime ports via additional Coast Guard powers, invest $20B in infrastructure over five years, and more  —  President Joe Biden issued an executive order Wednesday morning aimed at increasing the defenses of maritime ports through additional authorities …
Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE:
IBM: hackers are finding more opportunities to log in via legitimate credentials, rather than hacking into networks; info-stealing malware grew 266% YoY in 2023  —  IBM's annual X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report released today highlights an emerging global crisis in identity …
Bloomberg:
Cybersecurity experts say that global law enforcement agencies dealt Russia-linked LockBit a major blow, but history shows that ransomware gangs regroup quickly  —  - Disruption of LockBit praised as major blow against gang  — History has shown that hackers regroup quickly, experts say
Yoshiaki Nohara / Bloomberg:
How Japan plans to spend $67B to revive its domestic chip production, hoping to leverage US supply chain concerns, including Rapidus building 2nm chips by 2027  —  US-China tech battle makes semiconductors a key economic security concern for policymakers  —  Deep in the snowy northern island …
Tom Wilson / Reuters:
Circle no longer plans to mint USDC tokens on the Tron blockchain, effective immediately, to “ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent, and safe”  —  Major U.S. crypto firm Circle will end support for its USDC token on the Tron blockchain network, a decision the company said on Wednesday …
New York Times:
Tech insiders and engineers say China lags behind the US in generative AI by at least one year, leading Chinese companies to rely on US models like Meta's LLaMA  —  China's tech firms were caught off guard by breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence.  Beijing's regulations and a sagging economy aren't helping.
Margi Murphy / Bloomberg:
A profile of ElevenLabs, whose AI voice cloning tech is being used to spoof politicians; five of ElevenLabs' 40 employees are dedicated to trust and safety  —  ElevenLabs' technology is already being used to spoof political candidates and promote scammy products.
Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo:
Demos from AI chipmaker Groq go viral after the startup's inference engine shows lightning-fast speeds when running LLMs, including for real-time conversations  —  Two AI companies are claiming the science fiction term, “Grok,” as their own, but only one is turbocharging the AI industry.

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Prospect:
A running list of the best startups to join  —  We've analyzed thousands of startups using the same data VCs use and distilled our list down to the top 2%.  Discover and join the next Stripe, Airbnb, or Coinbase today.
Zoho:
From orders to alerts with Zoho Inventory and Zoho Cliq integration  —  Running a business is challenging, especially when it comes to managing incoming orders from online sales channels.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Carolina Reis Oliveira & Alessandra Zonari | OneSkin: Aging Myths, Senescent Cells, and How to Age Slower (#56)
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Wed. 05/08 - Bethesda Bloodbath
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:35 PM ET, February 21, 2024.

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.

More News

Earlier Picks

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Daphné Leprince-Ringuet / Sifted: