Techmeme
May 5, 2020, 6:45 PM

Top News

Apple:
Apple will host a virtual WWDC starting on June 22 in the Apple Developer app and website, free for all developers  —  Submissions for the Swift Student Challenge Are Now Open Through May 17  —  Cupertino, California — Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers …
Kieren McCarthy / The Register:
UK's NHS contact tracing app won't work unless it's running in the foreground and the phone is kept awake and unlocked, and will also ask for users' location  —  Herd immunity all over again  —  Comment Britain is sleepwalking into another coronavirus disaster by failing to listen …
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
Letter from Brian Chesky to Airbnb employees says the company is laying off 1,900, or ~25% of its workforce, and expects a 2020 revenue decline of 50% YoY  —  Brian Chesky, Airbnb's CEO.  Photo by Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times  —  Airbnb is laying off a quarter of its staff.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Facebook's Oculus division is developing a smaller, lighter Quest VR headset, but the device is facing potential delays due to COVID-19  —  - Timing of new mid-range device is being impacted by Covid-19  — Company's planned AR glasses also facing Covid-related delays
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says its goal is to launch the Xbox Series X this year, and it will hold monthly streams to promote games for the next-gen console  —  Microsoft is revealing the Xbox Series X boot screen animation today and is promising to focus on first-party Xbox Game Studios games during a July event.
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Following Facebook, YouTube says it will host an online graduation event on June 6, featuring the Obamas, Sundar Pichai, Malala Yousafzai, Lady Gaga, and others  —  YouTube announces a stacked, eclectic lineup  —  YouTube is hosting an online graduation event to give seniors whose ceremonies have been canceled something to tune into.
Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch:
California AG, along with city attorneys from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, file a worker misclassification lawsuit against Uber and Lyft  —  California Attorney General Xavier Becerra along with city attorneys from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco are filing …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Firefox 76 arrives with password management improvements, including site breach alerts, and support for Audio Worklets, which are used by Zoom  —  Mozilla today launched Firefox 76 for Windows, Mac, and Linux.  Firefox 76 includes new Firefox Lockwise password functionality, Zoom improvements, and a handful of developer features.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Security researchers and experts say Apple's lawsuit against iOS and Android virtualization company Corellium has had a chilling effect on security research  —  Last year, Apple accused a cybersecurity startup based in Florida of infringing its copyright by developing and selling software …
Mike Murphy / Protocol:
3D-printing companies have stepped in to help plug gaps in the supply chain during the pandemic, including HP, which has printed and shipped 50,000+ items  —  When the spread of COVID-19 decimated supply chains around the world, countries scrambled for important medical supplies — face masks …
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Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Google responds to Australia's plan to make online platforms pay for news content, arguing search results are like publishers' posters in a newsstand's window  —  Google Australia responds to government's move to force it to pay for content by arguing it provides publishers with free advertising
Cecilia Kang / New York Times:
With one in four Americans lacking high-speed internet at home, some resort to sitting outside closed cafes and libraries to access free Wi-Fi  —  With cafes and libraries closed, Americans without internet access are sitting outside them to get free and fast connections.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Twitter is testing a prompt for iOS users that asks them to consider revising a tweet they are writing when it includes “harmful” language  —  To let you revise the tweet before you post it  —  Twitter is experimenting with a new moderation tool that will warn users …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Apple and Google release sample code, UI screenshots, detailed policies for COVID-19 exposure notification apps, including prohibiting location data collection  —  Apple and Google are providing additional resources for developers working with the first version of their Exposure Notification API …
Meggie Gates / Consequence of Sound:
Pop artists are embracing a future where TikTok, Twitter, and Twitch dictate what's memeable and successful, with Lil Nas X, Drake, and Lizzo leading the pack  —  The fate of a pop artist now belongs in the hands of Twitch, Twitter, and Tik Tok  —  You may barely remember the Harlem Shake videos …

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More News

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Earlier Picks

The Information:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Apple: