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May 1, 2020, 7:25 PM
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| ICANN: |
ICANN board has voted to reject the sale of the .org registry to private equity firm Ethos Capital — Today, the ICANN Board made the decision to reject the proposed change of control and entity conversion request that Public Interest Registry (PIR) submitted to ICANN.
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Gizmodo, Electronic Frontier Foundation, ICANN, KeyPointsAbout.org, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Ars Technica, Input, dot.LA, BBC, Internet Society, Wired, New York Times, SiliconANGLE, Digital Trends, VICE, Wccftech, Neowin, ZDNet, Mashable, Engadget, The Daily Dot, The Register, CircleID, and Financial Times
Tweets: @eff, @icann, @kenroth, @leojtravis10, @restartproject, @carolinegreer, @malloryknodel, @randfish, @accessnow, @katrinfritsch, @anasuyashh, @marietjeschaake, @katiehafner, @timberners_lee, @robleathern, @senwarren, @mgeist, @robinwauters, @smashdawg, @evacide, @jacklerner, @hpana, @enthusiamy, @evan_greer, @timbray, @dellcam, @georgekirikos, @grady_booch, and @stshank
| David Heaney / UploadVR: |
Valve ends SteamVR support for macOS, three years after Apple announced it at WWDC; Valve's survey found only 4% of Steam users were using macOS — Valve just ended SteamVR's support for macOS. ‘Legacy builds’ will continue to be available. — SteamVR is Valve's PC-based virtual reality platform, supporting Windows and Linux.
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Steam Community, The Verge, AppleInsider, TechSpot, Daring Fireball, 9to5Mac, MSPoweruser, MacRumors, SlashGear, Yahoo News, iDownloadBlog.com, and Neowin
Tweets: @reneritchie and @uploadvr
| Tony Romm / Washington Post: |
House Judiciary Committee demands Jeff Bezos testify at a hearing on Amazon's alleged misuse of third-party seller data or face a potential subpoena — A top House committee investigating the tech industry has asked him to agree to appear or face a potential subpoena if he declines
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Cmte Judiciary (D) …, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Protocol, TechCrunch, The Guardian, Input, The Verge, CNET, Gizmodo, Vox, Bloomberg, International Business Times, Engadget, and PYMNTS.com
Tweets: @davidcicilline, @stacyfmitchell, @stacyfmitchell, @tonyromm, @saraheneedleman, @karolcummins, @stevekovach, @people4bernie, @danamattioli, @stevekovach, @kantrowitz, @edmundlee, @stacyfmitchell, @ac4congress2020, @erickfernandez, @marialangholz, @fxmacro, @kantrowitz, @realrobcopeland, @adammilstein, @jason_kint, and @jacobpramuk
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: Microsoft is in talks to buy UK-based robotic process automation software startup Softomotive — Microsoft Corp. is in talks to buy Softomotive Ltd., a U.K.-based startup that makes software robots to automate tasks, according to people familiar with the matter.| Russell Brandom / The Verge: |
Workers at Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart join together in striking on May 1, demanding better workplace safety conditions — Demands include better cleaning services and 14-day shutdowns at affected locations — On May 1st, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods …
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The Intercept, VICE, Wired, BuzzFeed News, Mashable, and The Daily Hodl
| Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge: |
Automatic Labs, which was recently acquired by SiriusXM, shuts down its vehicle-tracking service, tells users to remove its connected car adapters from vehicles — Automatic has announced that it'll be abruptly shutting down on May 28th because “the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted our business.”
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MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Android Police, TechCrunch, iMore, SlashGear, and Engadget
Tweets: @reckless and @evandcoleman
| Thomas Brewster / Forbes: |
Researchers say Xiaomi phones are tracking usage habits and browsing data even in incognito mode — “It's a backdoor with phone functionality,” quips Gabi Cirlig about his new Xiaomi phone. He's only half-joking. — Cirlig is speaking with Forbes after discovering that his Redmi Note 8 smartphone …
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XDA Developers, Slashdot, South China Morning Post, Android Central, Wccftech, iPhone in Canada Blog, The Next Web, TechSpot, and Neowin
Tweets: @iblametom, @campuscodi, and @iblametom
| CNET: |
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Mi Blog. Tweets: @cybergibbons, @cybergibbons, @cybergibbons, @cybergibbons, @cybergibbons, @cybergibbons, @zackwhittaker, and @mishaalrahman
| Eric Rosenbaum / CNBC: |
Q&A with CEO of Apple subsidiary Claris who says FileMaker, Claris' low-code app development software, has seen a spike in interest amid the pandemic — - Apple owns enterprise software company Claris and its low-code application development software called FileMaker.| Jesse Damiani / Wired: |
A look at how VR is enabling people to stay more fit by blurring the boundary between movement for fun and movement for fitness — Get over yourself and try VR workouts already. It's private, liberating, and doesn't require gym shorts. — I can without bashfulness say that I have logged hundreds … | Kevin Roose / New York Times: |
While the pandemic has driven sales for VR makers like Oculus, it has yet to give the tech mass-market appeal as a social or collaborative experience — Virtual escapism is perfect for a pandemic, but V.R. still seems far from a mainstream technology. — I have wanted to love virtual reality for a really long time.| Jonathan Stempel / Reuters: |
Federal judge rules that Uber must face a lawsuit claiming its anticompetitive practices stifled competition, and drove Sidecar out of business — (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc was ordered by a U.S. judge on Friday to face a lawsuit claiming its illegal predatory pricing … | Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: |
Cliqz is shutting down its anti-tracking browser and search engine but says it will keep Ghostery subsidiary running — Cliqz, a Munch-based anti-tracking browser with private search baked in that has sought to offer a local alternative to Google powered by its own search index … | KC Ifeanyi / Fast Company: |
Pandora founder Tim Westergren launches Sessions, a free live-streaming platform for musicians, where audiences can leave tips, in beta in 200+ countries — Disillusioned after leaving Pandora, Tim Westergren set out to create a better kind of streaming platform. Can he save struggling artists while redeeming himself?| Aimee Chanthadavong / ZDNet: |
IDC: Global smartphone shipments dropped 11.7% YoY to 276M during Q1 2020, the largest YoY decline ever — Shipment volumes suffered its largest year over year decline in the first quarter. — The latest data from International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed that as the world grapples …
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IDC, Counterpoint Research, CNBC, Pocketnow, Tech.pinions, Thurrott, Gizchina, Liliputing, TechRepublic, Android Headlines, The Irish Times, 9to5Mac, XDA Developers, Android Authority, Engadget, and The Register
Tweets: @neiltwitz, @neiltwitz, @canalys, and @neiltwitz
| Kif Leswing / CNBC: |
CDC issues new criteria for evaluating contact tracing tools to be used by public health authorities, opening the door for Apple-Google approach — - A new document published by the Centers for Disease Control outlines what it sees as the critical features for digital contact tracing apps.
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9to5Mac, CDC, Financial Times, and Forbes
| Globes Online: |
Israel-based Otonomo raises $46M Series C for its software that helps automotive OEMs monetize data generated by connected cars — The Herzliya-based company is currently working with seven new OEMs and connecting over 2.6 billion data points a day. — Israeli vehicle data services …
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NoCamels and GlobeNewswire
| Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News: |
Ontic, whose “protective intelligence software” lets companies identify potential physical threats to employees and facilities, raises $12M Series A — Ontic, which has developed a software platform to help businesses proactively address physical safety, announced today … | Randy Nelson / Sensor Tower Blog: |
Sensor Tower: in Q1 iPad app downloads saw first YoY growth in four years, surpassing 1.1B worldwide, as consumer spending in iPad apps crosses $2B — Driven by a surge in use and adoption of the device during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarterly first-time downloads of apps …
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iMore, MacRumors, AppleInsider, and iPhone in Canada Blog
| Joseph Cox / VICE: |
The UN's social distancing app, 1point5, is largely ineffective at monitoring distance between people, indiscriminately picking up any Bluetooth signals — This week a division of the United Nations announced its new social distancing app designed to help alert people when they get too close …
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Los Angeles Times, BBC, and Silicon Republic
Tweets: @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @rebelcinder, @evacide, and @josephfcox
| Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News: |
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Schneier on Security and Gizmodo
Tweets: @tante, @schneierblog, @wwnorton, @manhack, @marietjeschaake, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, @azeen, @sarahnemerson, @benadida, and @stephaniemlee
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Command Line:
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