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April 18, 2020, 3:45 AM
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| Josh Constine / TechCrunch: |
Sources: Google is working on a “Google card”, a debit card co-branded with banks including Citi, to set itself apart from rival payment services — Would you pay with a “Google Card?” TechCrunch has attained imagery that shows Google is developing its own physical and virtual debit cards.
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Input, The Verge, iMore, Droid Life, Digital Trends, Pocketnow, Neowin, Android Headlines, 9to5Google, Phandroid, Fintech Today, Thurrott, TechSpot, Gizmodo, Android Police, SlashGear, PYMNTS.com, XDA Developers, iPhone Hacks, MacDailyNews, CNET, Forbes, Business Insider, AppleInsider, iDownloadBlog.com, MacRumors, Android Authority, MSPoweruser, iPhone in Canada Blog, Yahoo Finance, and Finextra
| Eric Slivka / MacRumors: |
Apple Music on the web exits beta and is available to all subscribers worldwide — Last September, Apple launched a web-based Apple Music experience, offering users a similar experience to the Mac version of the Music app with “For You,” “Browse,” and “Radio” sections, along with playlists, recommendations and more.
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Apple Music, TechCrunch, International Business Times, Engadget, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Ubergizmo, BetaNews, MacDailyNews, CNBC, Ars Technica, Thurrott, Input, AppleInsider, CNET, Neowin, LaptopMag, iPhone in Canada Blog, iMore, The Verge, Slashdot, Cult of Mac, and MSPoweruser
Tweets: @kevinlozandier and @aplusplus
| David Carnoy / CNET: |
Apple Music head Oliver Schusser will take over Beats, replacing its president, Luke Wood, who's leaving the company on April 30 — Apple Music head Oliver Schusser will be taking the top post at Beats, replacing Luke Wood, who's leaving the company on April 30. — Enlarge Image| David Shepardson / Reuters: |
In a setback to Amazon, a federal judge put its JEDI cloud contract lawsuit on hold, following a DOD report failing to establish White House interference — A U.S. judge on Friday put on hold a suit by Amazon.com Inc challenging the Pentagon's decision to award a $10 billion contract to Microsoft Corp.
More:
Wall Street Journal and Seeking Alpha
| Maggie Miller / The Hill: |
FBI says it is receiving ~3,000-4,000 cybersecurity complaints per day during the pandemic, up from ~1,000 complaints it was receiving daily before the outbreak — The FBI has seen a spike in cyber crimes reported to its Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic …
More:
Forbes, CyberScoop, Reuters, Washington Times, Politico, and BankInfoSecurity
Tweets: @shanvav, @velvetblade, and @aspeninstitute
| Jessica Guynn / USA Today: |
Facebook to add two new “Care Reactions”: an emoji hugging a heart on the main Facebook app and a pulsating heart on Messenger — Need a reassuring hug during the COVID-19 pandemic? Facebook has a new feel-good reaction for that. — When even the smallest physical gesture …
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The Verge, Mashable, SlashGear, Pocket-lint, Input, The Next Web, Digital Trends, Forbes, About Facebook, Android Central, CNET, The Independent, Social Media Today, The National, The Hill, 9to5Mac, iDownloadBlog.com, Variety, Engadget, Neowin, Social Media Today, Yahoo Finance, and iPhone in Canada Blog
Tweets: @alexvoica, @alexvoica, @thepeterha, @brianmanzullo, @cschweitz, @dmregister, @chrisdancy, @sushubh, and @wongmjane
| The Atlantic: |
Trump's campaign is poised to replicate its 2016 success on Facebook, exploiting how FB's AI ad tools automatically distribute ad spend and target audiences — Look at a thousand of the millions of Facebook ads Donald Trump has run, and it's hard to believe that they represent a winning strategy.
Tweets: @zagrrl, @whotargetsme, @therealquags, @kevinroose, @brianweeden, @justinhendrix, @antoniogm, @larryrosenthal, @signaljams, @ibogost, @moonalice, and @robhorning
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Netflix is releasing ten documentary films and series on YouTube for free for use by teachers, accompanied by study guides and Q&As with creators — Netflix has unlocked a selection of educational documentary films and series — available now for free on YouTube — saying it's a way to help teachers during the COVID-19 quarantine.| Alex Konrad / Forbes: |
Sources: design software company Figma is in talks to raise at least $50M from a16z at a valuation of $2B — Design software company Figma is set to join the billion-dollar startup ranks even amid the uncertainty of COVID-19. — Figma is in talks to raise a new funding round … | Jeran Wittenstein / Bloomberg: |
Shopify CTO says the platform is “now handling Black Friday level traffic every day”; Shopify stock gained 50% in the last 7 days, adding $23B in market value — Shopify Inc. shares are on track for a record high after an executive said the e-commerce company was experiencing traffic similar …
Tweets: @jmwind, @nateberkopec, @carnage4life, @scottkessler, @firstadopter, and @benjsto
| Bloomberg: |
Source: AWS is restructuring large contracts but is not flexible with small startups; report: Microsoft, Google gave some customers more time to pay cloud bills — - Startup requests Google pass along cloud ‘pandemic credits’ — Big customers may get a break from Big 3 utilities of the web
More:
The Information and Seeking Alpha
Tweets: @jessicalessin, @bloombergasia, @saroff_nyc, @nickwingfield, @thekenyeung, @joshconstine, and @amir
| Shelly Banjo / Bloomberg: |
The tech industry, with an eye towards improving its reputation, is quickly pivoting to offer remedies to the pandemic crisis — Before the pandemic, Yiying Lu was known for her work designing the Twitter Fail Whale and the dumpling and boba tea emojis. In the past few weeks, Lu said she was called to a higher purpose.
Tweets: @neweconforum, @sbanjo, @jessefelder, and @sbanjo
| Yogita Khatri / The Block: |
Binance launches a white paper for Binance Smart Chain, an Ethereum-compatible proof-of-stake blockchain for smart contracts with BNB as a native token — Crypto exchange Binance is launching a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain, with BNB as a native token.
More:
CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Decrypt, Crypto Briefing, BitcoinExchangeGuide, CryptoGlobe, The Capital, and InsideBitcoins.com
Tweets: @fiskantes and @shaughnessy119
| Jay Peters / The Verge: |
Google says it is now displaying information for over 2,000 COVID-19 testing centers across 43 US states in search results for terms related to the disease — It will list more than 2,000 COVID-19 testing centers across 43 states — Google searches for terms related to COVID-19 … | Owen Hughes / TechRepublic: |
Sales of Raspberry Pi's single-board computers hit 640K in March, its second biggest month ever, as Pi evolves from hobbyist toy to general purpose computer — From ending battles over the only PC in the house to supporting 3D printing and ventilator projects, the tiny single-board computer is suddenly in great demand.| FinSMEs: |
UK-based Perspectum closes $36M round as it looks to commercialize its software that helps detect chronic liver disorders by analyzing data from MRI scans — Perspectum, an Oxford, UK-based medical software company that provides non-invasive technology for identifying and monitoring multiple diseases, completed a $36M financing.
More:
VatorNews, PitchBook, Business Wire, unquote.com, and BusinessCloud.co.uk
| Financial Times: |
UK's competition watchdog provisionally approves Amazon's investment in Deliveroo, after concluding the startup risked collapse absent new funds — CMA says delivery group was at risk of failing without fresh funding — The UK's competition regulator has granted provisional approval …
More:
GOV.UK, Fortune, SiliconANGLE, The Verge, PYMNTS.com, Engadget, Crowdfund Insider, and Forbes
Tweets: @javierespft, @shonaghosh, @geoplace, @carsjung, @tim, @nisummers, @hadas_gold, @lexanderjbaker, @jimwaterson, @rowlsmanthorpe, @cmagovuk, @chrisnuttall, @benchu_, and @shiraovide
| Tom Simonite / Wired: |
London-based BenevolentAI, which uses drug industry data and research to discover new drug applications, highlights the promise of AI in fight against COVID-19 — Software suggested an arthritis drug might quell an out-of-control immune response that damages the lungs. Now it's being tested in a clinical trial.
Tweets: @robcrilly, @wired, and @nxthompson
| Sam Mehmet / Intelligent Transport: |
Lime to reactivate small fleets of scooters in some US and European cities and offer free 30-minute rides for health workers and law enforcement officers — The pandemic has had a notable impact on transportation, and Lime aims to offer its scooters in select cities as an easy way for people to travel while social distancing.
More:
ITS International
| Financial Times: |
Profile of Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar, as the social network becomes a hub to help neighbors during the pandemic with DAUs up 80% globally from February to March — As usage of the hyperlocal social media hub explodes, the boss is coming under pressure — As coronavirus lockdowns have spread …
Tweets: @daveleeft
| Sarah de Crescenzo / Xconomy: |
RDMD, which connects patients with rare diseases and life science companies searching for new drug candidates, raises $14M Series A led by Spark Capital — Thousands of diseases occur so infrequently that few data are readily available about the patients who have them.
More:
BioWorld, Business Wire, and FinSMEs
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