Techmeme
March 20, 2019, 4:55 PM

Top News

EU Press Room:
The European Commission has fined Google €1.49B for “abusive practices in online advertising” and breaching EU antitrust rules  —  The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules.  Google has abused its market dominance by imposing …
Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says it will start asking Android users in Europe to choose their preferred web browser and search apps in response to EU Commission antitrust concerns  —  For nearly a decade, we've been in discussions with the European Commission about the way some of our products work.
Apple:
Apple launches new AirPods with hands-free “Hey Siri” and more talk time for $159, with wireless charging case for $199, available to order today  —  New AirPods Are Powered by the New H1 Chip and Feature 50 Percent More Talk Time, Hands-Free “Hey Siri” and the Option of a Wireless Charging Case
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Report: Apple approved production of its wireless charging AirPower mat earlier this year, after announcing it in 2017 with a 2018 launch date  —  The Wall Street Journal today reports that Apple approved production of its long-awaited wireless charging mat AirPower earlier this year …
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Oculus announces $399 Rift S, developed alongside Lenovo, with higher-res 1280x1440 displays and improved optics, available in spring  —  After years of high-profile onstage announcements, Oculus has decided to quietly deliver the successor to its flagship Rift virtual reality headset …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Google's Stadia could be the future of gaming but the announcement left questions unanswered, like cost and subscription, launch date, or available games  —  A lot of questions remain unanswered  —  “The future of gaming is not a box,” according to Google.  “It's a place.”
New York Times:
Facebook announces that it will stop allowing ad targeting of race, gender, and age groups in the housing, jobs, or credit categories by the end of the year  —  After years of criticism, Facebook announced on Tuesday that it would stop allowing advertisers in key categories to show their messages …
Paris Martineau / Wired:
Inside Airbnb's “guerrilla war” against US local governments, which often face a slew of lawsuits from the company when they try to collect occupancy taxes  —  “READ MY LIPS: We want to pay taxes," Chris Lehane, Airbnb's global head of public policy, told the nation's mayors in 2016.
Michelle Toh / CNN:
Profile of Connie Chan, a16z's first partner promoted from within, who has built a reputation for sourcing deals with startups like Pinterest and Lime  —  Hong Kong (CNN Business)For years, venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz stood by a steadfast rule: to become a general partner at the firm …
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon adds a built-in light to its entry-level Kindle, now available to preorder for $89.99, shipping April 10  —  You should probably just invest in a Paperwhite, though  —  Amazon is announcing an update to its entry-level Kindle (you know, the one that's just called “Kindle” …
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Uber says Freight, which connects truck drivers to shipping companies, is expanding to Europe, starting in the Netherlands  —  Uber Freight, the newly spun out Uber business unit that helps truck drivers connect with shipping companies, is kicking off its global expansion plans.
Jason Del Rey / Recode:
Instagram's new in-app shopping feature could help customers make serendipitous impulse buys, something Amazon is not especially strong at  —  Amazon's failure in “discovery shopping” is Instagram's opportunity, as its users can now shop inside the app.  —  Instagram took a big step …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Epic Games will give away $100M in grants, varying between $5,000 and $500,000, to fund creative projects that use its Unreal Engine 4 toolset  —  'This is our way of sharing Fortnite's unbelievable success.'  —  Epic Games today announced a new grant initiative that will dole out $100 million …
Caroline Haskins / Motherboard:
Interviews detail the ongoing battle on YouTube between children-focused channels making animated videos and those featuring humans  —  Animated videos dominate the kids YouTube space.  Humans are fighting against YouTube's algorithm to try and compete.  —  Last month, news feeds were saturated with distressing headlines about Momo.
Tweets: @sesmith

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning  —  SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds.  Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Cape:
Most carriers track everything.  Cape doesn't.  —  Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more.  Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Zoho:
Celebrating 10 years of Zoho Marketplace  —  30 Zoho products,2,900+ extensions and integrations,1 million+ users, and2 million installations.Zoho Marketplace celebrates a decade-long journey of adding timeless value …
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.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Best of Big Technology: How Ozempic Changes Our Bodies, Minds, and Economy — With Johann Hari
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Zuckerberg's Anti-Doom Fantasy + Finally an A.I. Detector That Works + A.I. Math
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Joanna Stern on the New Siri, OpenAI's Weird Gadget, and Life After the Wall Street Journal
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.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Eric Vishria - A Decade of Lessons Investing in Software & Hardware
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'Getting the Snack Right', With Chance Miller
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:55 PM ET, March 20, 2019.

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

ABC:
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac: