Techmeme
May 1, 2019, 1:35 PM

Top News

Nicole Lee / Engadget:
Facebook says users will be able to send chat messages across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp in the future  —  There were rumors that Facebook was going to make its messaging products interoperable, but now it appears they're about to be a reality.  At F8, Messenger's head …
More: The Verge and Pocketnow
Richard Nieva / CNET:
Zuckerberg opens F8 reiterating Facebook's new focus on a “privacy-focused communications platform” prioritizing end-to-end encryption and interoperability  —  Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook is doubling down on privacy.  —  At F8, the social network's annual developer conference …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Google says it is adding Tiles, swipeable widgets with useful information, to Wear OS over the next month  —  The new feature is rolling out over the next month  —  Google has spent the last year refining its Wear OS smartwatch software to make everything feel simpler, more intuitive, and easier to use.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
IDC: 310.8M smartphones were shipped in Q1, down 6.6% YoY; Samsung was the top vendor with 23.1% marketshare, followed by Huawei with 19% and Apple with 11.7%  —  The battle for second rages on.  —  While Samsung held the top smartphone spot all four quarters last year …
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Around 20 security experts have united with Securepairs.org to support right-to-repair legislation with expert witnesses at hearings across the US  —  TWO YEARS AGO, as Nebraska was considering a “right to repair” bill designed to make it easier for consumers to fix their own gadgets, an Apple lobbyist made a frightening prediction.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Hackers are actively exploiting a recently-patched zero-day vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic server to install ransomware, with no end-user interaction required  —  High-severity hole in Oracle WebLogic under active exploit for 9 days.  Patch now.  —  Attackers have been actively exploiting …
Hugh Handeyside / ACLU:
Testimonies of US border officials confirm that CBP and ICE have “near-unfettered” authority to search and seize travelers' electronic devices at the border  —  In September 2017, we, along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sued the federal government for its warrantless …
Rani Molla / Vox:
Slack and other workplace messaging services undermine their goal of increased productivity by becoming distractions, where users are constantly chatting  —  Job software like Teams, Slack, and Workplace were supposed to make us more productive.  They haven't.  —  Several people are typing.
Stuart A. Thompson / New York Times:
In an experiment, the NYT bought and displayed ads targeting 16 profile attributes to reveal what advertisers think they know about users seeing targeted ads  —  Nearly every ad you see online is tailored just for you.  These digital ads are powered by vast, hidden datasets that allow advertisers …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google launches CallJoy, a virtual customer service agent aimed at small US businesses, available now on an invite-only basis  —  Google is combining several technologies including virtual phone numbers, audio transcriptions, automated reporting and analytics, in a new effort …
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:
Facebook relaunches Oculus for Business, coming this fall, with a new software suite and UX customized for business use cases, adds support for the Oculus Quest  —  At F8, Facebook announced a launch date for the Oculus Quest and Rift S, as well as completely new enterprise-grade Oculus for Business software.
Apple:
Apple reports Q2 revenue of $58B, down 5% YoY, with international sales accounting for 61% of Q2 revenue, record services revenue of $11.5B  —  Services Revenue Reaches New All-Time High of $11.5 Billion  —  Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2019 second quarter ended March 30, 2019.
Matthew Cantor / The Guardian:
Study: if Facebook continues to grow at its current rate, it could have 4.9B deceased members by 2100, raising questions about what happens to their data  —  Deceased may outnumber the living if current growth rates continue, raising questions about what happens to our data
Alphabet Investor Relations:
Alphabet says Eric Schmidt and Diane Greene will not seek re-election to Alphabet's board; Schmidt will continue his role as a technical adviser to Alphabet  —  Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced it has appointed Robin L. Washington to its Board of Directors.
Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:
In a letter to creators, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says YouTube wants to have half of the videos in its trending tab come from YouTube creators  —  YouTube wants to have half of the featured videos in its trending tab come from streams originating on the company's own site going forward …
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Hulu says it has 26.8M paying subscribers in the US, up from 23M at the end of 2018, not including the 1.3M users signed up through promotions like free trials  —  Of those members, 1.3 million people are signed up for Hulu through promotions like free trials.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon says it will make Alexa's in-skill purchases available to developers in the UK, Germany, and Japan, expanding beyond the US  —  A year after Amazon opened up in-skill purchasing to all Alexa developers in the U.S., the company is launching the service internationally.
Seth Colaner / VentureBeat:
Amazon says Amazon Managed Blockchain, its AWS service that helps companies quickly create their own scalable blockchain networks, is now generally available  —  Amazon is in the blockchain business in a big way.  Its Amazon Managed Blockchain is a fully managed service designed …
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
As Saudi Arabia keeps spending, a history of IP theft, Trump's aggressive stance, and newly empowered CFIUS are decimating China's US tech startup investments  —  A tough, new enforcement regime is becoming a geopolitical minefield for venture capitalists and startups.

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