Techmeme
December 1, 2020, 2:15 AM

Top News

Cade Metz / New York Times:
Alphabet's DeepMind says it has solved the key “protein folding problem”, cutting the job down from months to hours, which could speed up drug discovery  —  Researchers at DeepMind say they have solved “the protein folding problem,” a task that has bedeviled scientists for more than 50 years.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Amazon launches EC2 Mac instances bringing the Intel-based Mac mini to its cloud for $1.083 per hour billed by the second  —  AWS today opened its re:Invent conference with a surprise announcement: the company is bringing the Mac mini to its cloud.  These new EC2 Mac instances, as AWS calls them, are now available in preview.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook says it has agreed to acquire Kustomer, which specializes in customer service tools and chatbots, reportedly for $1B+  —  Facebook Inc. has acquired Kustomer Inc., a New York-based software company that helps businesses manage customer conversations from multiple services on one dashboard.
Eric Geller / Politico:
SCOTUS worries about CFAA's sweeping nature, with Justice Gorsuch saying that the US government's view of the law risks “making a federal criminal of us all”  —  The Supreme Court on Monday indicated serious reservations about the ambiguity and scope of the nation's only major cybercrime law …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Ajit Pai, the Trump-appointed Republican chairman of the FCC, announces he will leave the agency on Jan. 20, when president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office  —  Aji Pai, the Trump-appointed Republican chairman of the FCC, announced that he will leave the agency on Jan. 20, 2021, when president-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple hires Josh Elman, former VC at Greylock Partners and ex-VP of product at Robinhood, to work on app discovery at the App Store  —  Apple Inc. hired Josh Elman, a former venture capitalist at Greylock Partners who led early investments in Discord and the precursor to TikTok, to work on the App Store.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Sources: Salesforce's deal to buy Slack is expected to be announced on Tuesday after markets close; Salesforce reports Q3 earnings on Tuesday  —  - Salesforce's deal to buy Slack is expected to be announced Tuesday after markets close, sources told CNBC's David Faber.
Surojit Chatterjee / The Coinbase Blog:
Coinbase says that, starting in early 2021, it will begin supporting Ethereum 2.0, letting users convert ETH into ETH2 and earn staking rewards  —  On December 1, the Ethereum Beacon Chain will launch, beginning a multi-year upgrade to Ethereum 2.0 (ETH2).  Coinbase intends to support ETH2 through staking and trading.
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Bitcoin price sets a record, passing $19,783, with more investors seemingly in it for the long haul, unlike 2017's boom driven by Asian investors new to crypto  —  The crazy cousin of traditional currencies, which fell below $4,000 in March, passed $19,783.  More investors now are buying it for the long term.
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Zoom reports Q3 revenue of $777.2M, up 367% YoY, vs. $694M est., and customers with 10+ employees rose to ~433,700, up 485% YoY, higher than Q2's 355% growth  —  - Zoom beat expectations for third-quarter earnings and guidance for the quarter ahead.  — The company now sees 329% …
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Sources: Apple suggested edits to a draft of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, extending some deadlines, limiting release of some info to the public, and more  —  Business groups and major companies like Apple have been pressing Congress to alter legislation cracking down on imports of goods …
Wall Street Journal:
S&P Global has agreed to acquire IHS Markit for about $44B in an all-stock deal, which would merge two of the largest providers of financial data and analysis  —  Landmark deal would combine two of the largest providers of data to Wall Street  —  S&P Global Inc. agreed to acquire IHS Markit Ltd …
Matt Richtel / New York Times:
Members of rehab groups like Alcoholics Anonymous say moving meetings online was helpful due to the convenience of virtual sessions, which feel more intimate  —  It began as a stopgap way to get through the pandemic, but both participants and providers say virtual sessions have some clear advantages …
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Italy's antitrust watchdog fines Apple €10M for alleged misleading iPhone water resistance claims in its promotional messages  —  Apple has been slapped with a 10 million euro ($12 million) fine by Italy's antitrust watchdog for unfair commercial practices related to its iPhone marketing in the country.

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