Techmeme: Microsoft announces the $30 Xbox Adaptive Joystick, a wired companion to other Xbox controllers, for players with limited mobility, launching in early 2025 (Tom Warren/The Verge)

Top News

Linux users say Microsoft's August 13 Windows patch leaves dual-boot devices unable to boot into Linux when Secure Boot is enforced; Microsoft hasn't commented — Microsoft said its update wouldn't install on Linux devices. It did anyway. — Last Tuesday, loads of Linux users …

More: The Verge, PCWorld, Computerworld, ZDNET, Metacurity, Liliputing, Gizchina.com, Windows Central, BleepingComputer, Neowin, Security Boulevard, and GamingOnLinux

Mastodon: @AAKL@infosec.exchange, @bittner@hachyderm.io, @epidiah@dice.camp, and @dangoodin@infosec.exchange

Forums: Hacker News, r/Windows11, r/technology, and Ars OpenForum

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft announces the $30 Xbox Adaptive Joystick, a wired companion to other Xbox controllers, for players with limited mobility, launching in early 2025 — Microsoft is launching a new $29.99 Xbox Adaptive Joystick early next year that's designed for players with limited mobility.

More: Xbox on YouTube, Xbox Wire, Game Developer, Thurrott, Neowin, IGN, Video Games Chronicle, Insider Gaming, Shacknews, TechRadar, Pure Xbox, Digital Trends, and Dot Esports. X: @xboxwire

Katharine Gemmell / Bloomberg:

The UK CMA closes its Google Play Store and Apple App Store investigation ahead of a new digital rules regime, set for fall 2024, that will give it more power — - CMA's digital market powers set to come into force this fall — Regulator expects early work of rules to focus on app stores

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Samsung unveils a new Odyssey gaming monitor lineup that uses eye-tracking tech to convert 2D visuals into glasses-free 3D, set for release “within this year” — Samsung has announced a new Odyssey gaming monitor lineup at gamescom that uses eye-tracking technology to convert 2D visuals into glasses-free 3D.

More: Samsung Newsroom, PCMag, Engadget, XDA Developers, Gizmodo, Dexerto, HotHardware, TechEBlog, Tom's Guide, TechSpot, Lifewire, XDA on YouTube, Neowin, Guru3D, BGR, OC3D, KnowTechie, PC Gamer, SamNews 24, and SamMobile

X: @kylebrussell and @tomwarren

Wes Davis / The Verge:

Google adds a Polish feature that edits existing drafts to Gemini in Gmail, on top of Formalize, Elaborate, and Shorten, for Google One AI Premium and Workspace — Google is upgrading its Gemini writing tools in Gmail to help you polish drafts that you've already written.

More: Google Workspace Updates, Tom's Guide, Notebookcheck, Android Authority, Mashable, Business Standard, WinBuzzer, Moneycontrol, The Indian Express, PhoneArena, Hindustan Times, Android Police, NewsBytes, Droid Life, and 9to5Google

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

PIP Labs, which is developing the Story blockchain to prove creators are the IP owners, raised an $80M Series B led by a16z, sources say at a $2.25B valuation — San-Francisco-based startup Story said Wednesday that it raised $80 million of funding for a blockchain designed …

More: SiliconANGLE, Bloomberg, PYMNTS.com, TechCrunch, Cointelegraph, Tech Startups, CoinGape, Unchained, a16z crypto, Crypto Briefing, CoinDesk, crypto.news, DL News, Decrypt, The Block, Fortune, and Forbes

X: @storyprotocol and @storyprotocol

See also Mediagazer

The Information:

Source: Meta's Llama struggles to gain traction on AWS, where Claude is most popular; Microsoft only pitches Llama to clients with data expertise, per a staffer — Meta Platforms knows how to get brands like Away and Temu to buy advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.

X: @theinformation

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft plans to launch a $450 white discless Xbox Series X, a $600 2TB Galaxy Black special-edition Series X, and a $350 1TB Series S on October 15 in the US — Microsoft is launching three new Xbox Series S / X console options in October. There's the $449.99 white discless Xbox Series X …

More: Dexerto, VideoCardz.com, Windows Central, Thurrott, Tom's Guide, Gameranx, London Evening Standard, TechRadar, IGN, GameSpot, BGR, Neowin, TheGamer, Stevivor, Press Start, MSPoweruser, 9to5Toys, Pure Xbox, and GamingBolt

Brendan Pedersen / Punchbowl News:

Public Citizen: crypto companies spent $119M+ in the 2024 election cycle through Q2, or 48% of all corporate money, an “unprecedented” election spending spree — The crypto industry's campaign spending in 2024 really is unlike anything we've seen in modern politics …

More: Common Dreams and Election Law Blog

X: @public_citizen, @maxasteele, and @brendanpedersen

Bloomberg:

Didi reports Q2 revenue up 4.1% YoY to ~$7.1B, a ~$196M net profit, and record ride-hailing transactions, as the company recovers from a $1.2B US fine in 2022 — - The business is recovering after years of instability — Didi is said to be preparing for an eventual Hong Kong listing

More: South China Morning Post, Reuters, and Didi Global

Amy Or / Bloomberg:

Sources: Walmart, JD.com's largest shareholder, raised ~$3.6B by selling its stake in the Chinese e-commerce firm, after an eight-year partnership; JD falls 5%+ — - Partnership that started in 2016 winds down with share sale — Walmart is focused on expanding its own operations in China

More: Capital Brief, Financial Times, Forbes, Sourcing Journal, PYMNTS.com, Benzinga, Proactive, The Information, New York Times, Barron's Online, Reuters, and Fargo | KFGO

X: @concotzias. Forums: r/China and r/wallstreetbets

Bloomberg:

Xiaomi reports Q2 revenue up 32% YoY to ~$12.5B, above ~$12.2B est., and a ~$715M net income, above ~$533M est., as its core smartphone business recovers — - Lei Jun's company beat projections for revenue and earnings — Xiaomi however is absorbing losses from its foray into EVs

More: Fortune, Benzinga, South China Morning Post, Reuters, and Xiaomi Corporation

Zofeen T Ebrahim / The Guardian:

WISPAP says Pakistan's internet speeds have dropped 30% to 40% over the past few weeks; many in tech believe the government is testing a nationwide firewall — Government denies new cybersecurity measures responsible for up to 40% drop in internet speeds across the country

More: Associated Press, BBC, New York Times, Associated Press, The Diplomat, DevX, and The Register

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:

Sources and docs: sales reps say Google's targeting of teen minors goes beyond Meta; Google lets advertisers target an “unknown” group that skews toward teens — This activity is broader than the agreement between Google and Meta that the FT reported this month

Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social

Sheera Frenkel / New York Times:

Interviews with US political campaigns and tech companies: despite 30+ companies offering their AI products, most campaigns are wary and largely not biting — More than 30 tech companies have pitched A.I. tools to political campaigns for November's election. The campaigns have been wary.

Joseph Cox / 404 Media:

US court records: US agencies are increasingly accessing parts of the 500M encrypted message haul retrieved from the hack of encrypted phone company Sky in 2021 — This article was produced in collaboration with Court Watch, an independent outlet that unearths overlooked court records.

Mastodon: @josephcox@infosec.exchange

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:

SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work — Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.

Zoho:

Introducing Zoho TouchPoint: Every handshake deserves a next step — Here's a scene you've probably experienced. You spend a day at an event, talk to dozens of people, and come home with a stack of business cards.

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

WebBrain:

WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser — Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox. Use local models or your preferred AI provider. Get started free.

Featured Podcasts

Machine Gods:

The 10 Biggest Losers from Jensen Huang's Fall + The METR Report That Scared Us

The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.

Subscribe to Machine Gods.

The Upstarts Podcast:

The $1.4B Startup Deciding What You See When You Shop Online | Sequen's Zoë Weil

Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.