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Techmeme
May 6, 2015, 4:15 PM
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Stuart Dredge / Guardian:
First consumer version of Facebook's Oculus Rift VR headset to ship Q1 2016, pre-orders to start later in 2015  —  Facebook's Oculus Rift virtual reality headset will ship in early 2016  —  After months of rumours that the first commercial model of VR headset would slip beyond 2015, company confirms the news
Ben Popper / The Verge:
Reddit launches a video division to create original content  —  The social news service Reddit has grown to a truly massive size, garnering 170 million monthly visitors and 6.7 billion pages view this January, while maintaining a fairly bare-bones service.  It helps elevate obscure material …
Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:
Zenefits raises $500M round led by Fidelity Management and TPG, attains $4.5B valuation after just two years  —  Zenefits Tagged With $4.5 Billion Valuation After Just Two Years  —  The latest software company valued at over $1 billion doesn't make a dime selling software.
Ryan Mac / Forbes:
A profile of Frank Wang Tao, founder of the world's biggest drone company DJI, who is worth $4.5B  —  Bow To Your Billionaire Drone Overlord: Frank Wang's Quest To Put DJI Robots Into The Sky  —  Frank Wang Tao has never been arrested.  He pays his taxes on time.  And he rarely drinks.
Thanks:@bupbin
Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:
Ex-Apple retail boss Ron Johnson launches Enjoy e-commerce site, with personal delivery and in-home setup service at no cost  —  Former Apple Retail Boss Ron Johnson Unwraps New Web Startup ‘Enjoy’  —  Ron Johnson, the former Apple retail chief who was ousted as J.C. Penney's boss two years ago …
Tom Fairless / Wall Street Journal:
EU unveils plan to unite fragmented online markets, crack down on possible abuses by US Internet firms  —  EU Announces Plans to Create a Single Digital Market  —  Plans include inquiries into the role of online platforms and possible abuses by U.S.-based companies
POLITICO:
EU's digital single market initiative doesn't take a strong stand on some essential issues, such as the need for a single telecom and digital regulator
Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:
Sources: Apple working with US researchers to offer DNA testing via ResearchKit  —  Apple Has Plans for Your DNA  —  The iPhone could become a new tool in genetic studies.  —  Of all the rumors ever to swirl around the world's most valuable company, this may be the first that could involve spitting in a plastic cup.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Baidu preparing formal bid for HERE mapping service at “considerably more than €2B”  —  German Car Makers Preparing Formal Bid for Nokia's Here Map Service With China's Baidu  —  BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz eager to acquire technology needed to run self-driving cars
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
Automated Savings Startup Digit Raises $11.3M From General Catalyst  —  It's only been a few short months since automated savings startup Digit opened to the public, but it's already garnered serious interest from consumers who want more money in their bank accounts, as well as investors …
More: iamWire and Fortune.  Tweets: @adamnash and @bonatsos
Eric Johnson / Re/code:
Zynga Narrows Focus, Will Cut 18 Percent of Staff  —  With Don Mattrick out and founder Mark Pincus reinstalled as CEO, what will Zynga's future look like?  —  For one, think a bit smaller: The company said today that as part of a $100 million cost reduction program, it would lay off 364 people …
More: USA Today and Business Insider.  Tweets: @stevestreza
Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:
As part of a $300M multi-year plan, Comcast will hire 5,500 new customer service employees, credit customers $20 if technicians are late for appointments  —  Comcast to Pay Customers $20 If Technicians Are Late as Part of Customer Service Revamp  —  Comcast is going to pay you $20 …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google Launches Cloud Bigtable, A Very Fast NoSQL Database For The Enterprise  —  With Cloud Bigtable, Google is launching a new NoSQL database service today that, as the name implies, is powered by the company's Bigtable data storage system.  —  The added twist here is that the new service …
Tim Ring / SC Magazine UK:
Privilege escalation flaws and a signature validation vulnerability found in Lenovo's System Update service; Lenovo issues patch  —  Updated: PC maker Lenovo exposes users to “massive security risk”  —  World number one PC maker Lenovo has been accused of running a “massive security risk” …
New York Times:
Google Ventures' Bill Maris likens the $6M cash-out by founders of portfolio company Secret to a “bank heist” in interview  —  The Lessons Google Ventures Learned From Secret  —  For many in Silicon Valley, the rapid rise and precipitous fall of Secret, the prominent start …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:15 PM ET, May 6, 2015.

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From Mediagazer

JD Knapp / The Wrap:
Former 60 Minutes managing editor Guy Campanile says he and his fired colleagues “refused to be accomplices in the destruction” of the news program

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NOTUS rebrands as The Washington Sun on Wednesday, after settling a lawsuit over its planned rebrand as The Washington Star, and partners with Capital Weather

New York Times:
North America's 2026 summer box office revenue of $4.76B is 17% below 2019, adjusted for inflation; est. Jan. 1-Aug. 16 tickets fell 30% vs. same period in 2019

More News

AppleInsider:
Apple details new ‘AppleBot’ web crawler used by Siri and Spotlight
Ina Fried / Re/code:
App Annie buys app data provider Mobidia to combine app download and usage analytics in 60 countries

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