Techmeme
October 23, 2019, 2:40 PM

Top News

Cade Metz / New York Times:
Google claims “quantum supremacy” breakthrough: its quantum computer performed a mathematical calculation at a speed inconceivable with today's technology  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Google said on Wednesday that it had achieved a long-sought breakthrough called “quantum supremacy,” …
IBM Research Blog:
IBM says Google's experiment is an excellent demo of quantum computing progress, but not proof that quantum computers are “supreme” over classical computers  —  Quantum computers are starting to approach the limit of classical simulation and it is important that we continue …
Financial Services Committee / YouTube:
Livestream of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on the Libra cryptocurrency  —  Wednesday, October 23, 2019 (10:00 AM) —Hearing: “ An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors” Connect with the House Financial …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
eMarketer:
Apple Pay overtook Starbucks as the top mobile payment app in US in 2018 with 27.7M users, will grow to 30.3M users in 2019 representing a 47.3% market share  —  Nearly 30% of US smartphone users will use a mobile payment app … For the first time, a generic mobile payment app is more popular …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Leaked presentation shows Comcast is lobbying US lawmakers against Google and Mozilla's plan to encrypt DNS data, making it harder for ISPs to track users  —  Motherboard has obtained a leaked presentation internet service providers are using to try and lobby lawmakers against a form of encrypted browsing data.
CNBC:
WeWork says SoftBank will provide $5B in new financing and buy up to $3B in shares from existing shareholders, which would give SoftBank an 80% stake in WeWork  —  - CNBC's David Faber previously reported that SoftBank was seeking to take control of WeWork through a financing package.
Wall Street Journal:
Investigation: Amazon sells cheap clothes made in dozens of Bangladeshi factories, most of which are deemed too dangerous for workers by other big retailers  —  After a deadly 2013 factory collapse, most big U.S. apparel companies agreed to steer clear of dangerous plants in Bangladesh.  Not Amazon.
Ferris Jabr / New York Times:
A deep dive into the debate surrounding video game addiction, as the scientific understanding of what it means to be addicted continues to evolve  —  The latest research suggests it's not far-fetched at all — especially when you consider all the societal and cultural factors that make today's games so attractive.
Sarah Emerson / VICE:
Documents show how Facebook uses Menlo Park's police department, which includes a Facebook-funded unit for campus patrol duties, amid racial profiling concerns  —  Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by Motherboard show how Facebook is using the Menlo Park Police Department to reshape the city.
Financial Times:
Interviews with 30+ former employees of UK cloud computing company UKFast surface allegations claiming its founder, Lawrence Jones, sexually assaulted employees  —  There are two sides to Lawrence Jones, MBE, one of Britain's wealthiest technology entrepreneurs with an estimated £700m fortune.
New York Times:
Researchers: China's state sponsored hackers have switched tactics over the last few years, focusing increasingly sophisticated attacks on its ethnic minorities  —  SAN FRANCISCO — China's state-sponsored hackers have drastically changed how they operate over the last three years …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
US lawmakers debut a bipartisan bill that would force tech giants to make user data portable and interoperable via an API-like interface for secure transfers  —  Mark Zuckerberg wants his own apps to be interoperable, but not like this  —  Over the past few months, lawmakers have taken aim at Big Tech …

Sponsor Posts

Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
F5:
Accelerate AI Adoption at F5's AI Virtual Summit  —  Learn how to architect, secure, and scale AI for production with real-world insights from industry leaders on June 23.  Register now to save your spot.
Zoho:
Website Traffic Analytics: How to Read Your Data and Take Action  —  Traffic is up.  Sessions look healthy.  The dashboard is full of green arrows and yet — conversions are flat, revenue targets are slipping, and the leads coming through aren't closing.
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:
Will Apple (Finally) Get AI Right At WWDC?, Anthropic's Worry, Microsoft vs. OpenAI
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:
Hot I.P.O Summer + What Is A.I. Doing to Math? + HatGPT
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.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Vanta's Christina Cacioppo: The Underdog Turning 'Nonsense' Compliance Into A $4.2B Security Standout
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.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Great Chat:
Who are the billboards for?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Access:
AI is turning sketches into real-world products
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
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 2:40 PM ET, October 23, 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

Nextgov:
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Conor Dougherty / New York Times: