Techmeme
October 9, 2020, 6:10 AM

Top News

Ashley Stewart / Business Insider:
Sources: Microsoft's Phil Spencer told employees on Game Pass will absolutely be on iOS and iPadOS in 2021 via a “direct browser-based solution”  —  - Microsoft last month officially added a key feature to Game Pass, its Netflix-style subscription library of Xbox games …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
ProtonMail CEO says Apple made it add in-app purchases in 2018 even though it had been free for years, compares Apple's tactics to a mafia protection racket  —  Remember Hey and WordPress?  ProtonMail was forced into IAP too.  —  ProtonMail is one of the founding partners of the Coalition …
Ina Fried / Axios:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple to extend Apple TV+ free year trials that started between November 1 2019, and January 31 2020, through February 2021  —  If you purchased a new Apple device from September 2019 last year — like an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV — you were automatically eligible for a free year of Apple TV+.
Washington Post:
The recently thwarted Michigan kidnapping plot highlights social media's role in promoting violent extremism, as well as building a case against extremists  —  In June, one of the suspects in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to the relative privacy of a Facebook group to make clear his brewing hatred.
Brian Armstrong / The Coinbase Blog:
Coinbase CEO says 60 employees, or about 5% of its staff, have taken the exit package the company offered for those not comfortable with its apolitical mission  —  A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company  —  Last week, I shared that Coinbase is a mission focused company.
Ira Boudway / Bloomberg:
Waymo says it will open its fully driverless ride-hailing service in suburban Phoenix to the public  —  Waymo said Thursday that it is opening its fully driverless ride-hailing service in suburban Phoenix to the public.  Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving car unit began ferrying a select group …
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Square purchases $50M worth of bitcoin, becoming the second publicly listed company after MicroStrategy to invest in the cryptocurrency  —  Revolut, the London-based fintech firm, has enlisted crypto security firm Fireblocks to lay the foundations for new crypto products.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Google says Assistant can now search and control third-party Android apps, starting with the top 30 on the Play Store, with support for more coming soon  —  Before today, if you ask Siri or the Google Assistant to “check the news on Twitter,” you'll either be shown the @CHEK_News account …
CoinDesk:
DOJ publishes an “enforcement framework” on cryptocurrencies, outlining priorities and strategies for its crypto enforcements  —  U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr announced Thursday the release of “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” a roadmap for policing the cryptocurrency landscape.
Alfred Ng / CNET:
Court documents in a Florida case show Google provided US law enforcement with IP addresses for any user searching for specific key words  —  There are few things as revealing as a person's search history, and police typically need a warrant on a known suspect to demand that sensitive information.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Google is preparing to launch a $129 Nest Thermostat with hand gesture controls, using a sensor similar to the Soli system included in Pixel 4  —  - New Nest Thermostat to cost $129; goes on sale in coming weeks  — Lower pricing may spur adoption of Google smart home devices
Abrar Al-Heeti / CNET:
Google rolls out Sound Notifications on Android to alert people with hearing loss about “critical household sounds” like appliances beeping and dogs barking  —  Google on Thursday rolled out a new feature for Android designed to alert people with hearing loss about …
Noorie Malik / Yelp:
Yelp introduces Business Accused of Racist Behavior, a new alert to caution users about businesses that may be associated with overtly racist actions  —  At Yelp, we value diversity, inclusion and belonging, both internally and on our platform, which means we have a zero tolerance policy to racism.
TechCrunch:
Instacart raises $200M led by D1 Capital and Valiant Peregrine Fund, at a post-money valuation of $17.7B, following a $100M raise in July and $225M in June 2020  —  Instacart announced today that it has raised $200 million in a new funding round featuring prior investors.

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More News

Tom Krazit / Protocol:
Abhishek Manikandan / Reuters:

Earlier Picks

Brendan Sinclair / GamesIndustry.biz:
Scott Chipolina / Decrypt:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
David Gilbert / VICE:
Larry Dignan / ZDNet: