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January 23, 2021, 3:25 AM
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| Sam Byford / The Verge: |
Microsoft backtracks on price hike for Xbox Live Gold subscriptions announced Friday and says free-to-play games will also no longer require a Gold subscription — Free-to-play games will also no longer require a Gold subscription — Microsoft has reversed its controversial Xbox Live price increase.
Source:
Xbox Wire. More:
Forbes, USA Today, Windows Central, VentureBeat, Engadget, Gamasutra, Pocketnow, OnMSFT.com, MSPoweruser, Kotaku, Neowin, GeekWire, Press Start, Polygon, Game Rant, TechSpot, HotHardware.com News, PCMag, and SlashGear
Tweets: @wario64, @xbox, @swiftonsecurity, @polygon, @samsheffer, @vicious696, @legacykillahd, @slasher, @rand_al_thor_19, and @shanselman
| Jordan Novet / CNBC: |
Microsoft president Brad Smith defended the company's political contributions in a meeting with employees after some questioned donations from its PAC — - Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, said the company needs the Microsoft Political Action Committee. — The company is looking … | Charlie Savage / New York Times: |
Unclassified memo: Defense Intelligence Agency analysts have used commercial databases of location data from smartphone apps to track Americans without warrants — The disclosure comes amid growing legislative scrutiny of how the government uses commercially available location records.
More:
Ars Technica, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, CyberScoop, CNET, and The Hill
Tweets: @charlie_savage, @eff, @zackwhittaker, @jesselynradack, and @markszaidesq
| Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: |
Ex-ADT technician pled guilty to computer fraud and invasive visual recording for viewing home security camera feeds he installed in ~200 homes over 9,000 times — Employee for ADT accessed ~200 customer cams on more than 9,600 occasions. — A home security technician has admitted …
More:
U.S. Department of Justice, Slashdot, Threatpost, CyberScoop, PCMag, Mashable, and infosecurity-magazine.com
Tweets: @yashar, @erindooley, @hauntedsunshine, and @fbidallas
| Adi Robertson / The Verge: |
FTC fines three bot-powered ticket scalping operations a total of $3.7M, the first time the agency applied a 2016 anti-bot law called the BOTS Act — The three will pay a total of $3.7 million — The Federal Trade Commission issued multimillion-dollar fines against three bot-powered ticket scalping operations.
More:
Federal Trade Commission, Gizmodo, TechSpot, Input, and PCMag
Tweets: @ftc and @rkslaughterftc
| Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: |
Sources: thinner and lighter, higher-end 13" MacBook Air with MagSafe charging to launch as soon as this year; redesigned MacBook Pros to get SD card slot back — Apple Inc. is working on a thinner and lighter version of the MacBook Air, the company's mass-market laptop, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
More:
9to5Mac, DigiTimes, International Business Times, The Verge, CNBC, Engadget, MacRumors, Tom's Guide, Pocketnow, iMore, Gizchina, Gadget Now, Pocketnow, 9to5Mac, Wccftech, Digital Photography Review, BGR, SlashGear, KnowTechie, SiliconANGLE, Redmond Pie, Trusted Reviews, Softpedia News, iDrop News, AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, Softpedia News, Debugger , Ars Technica, MACお宝 …, Gizmodo, PetaPixel, GSMArena.com, iPhone Hacks, Neowin, XDA Developers, iDownloadBlog.com, Tom's Hardware, Mashable, HotHardware.com News, TechSpot, Pocket-lint, Laptop Mag, Macworld, Input, MSPoweruser, CNET, MacDailyNews, MakeUseOf, iPhone in Canada Blog, and Apple Terminal
Tweets: @markgurman, @rossrubin, @jennaezarik, @harrymccracken, @tailosivetech, @alexjamesfitz, @every_daydad, @rdrv3, @wongmjane, @anshelsag, @glennf, @joannastern, @jerm_cohen, @timothycookothy, @stalman, @snazzyq, @cdespinosa, @reneritchie, @lanceulanoff, @canoopsy, @feliciaday, @wongmjane, @lapcatsoftware, @sriramk, @bdsams, @saradietschy, @julianchokkattu, @jpeguin, @lukemiani, @mgsiegler, @counternotions, @eposvox, @tailosivetech, @anshelsag, @stroughtonsmith, @gregorymcfadden, @lukemiani, @gillyberlin, @ijustine, @jank0, @bencsin, @thecomputerclan, @hayatohuseman, @hallstephenj, @casey, @pierce, @dhh, @glennf, @saradietschy, @adrianweckler, @markgurman, @evanedinger, @ihnatko, and @joannastern
| Dara Kerr / CNET: |
Lyft is testing a “priority mode” offering drivers more rides in exchange for a 10% pay cut; some drivers call it “poverty mode”, saying their earnings dropped — In late September, Earla Phillips got what she described as an irritating email from Lyft.| Reuters: |
Sources: Biden is looking to hire cybersecurity veterans for top roles, but some observers worry too much value is being placed on public sector experience — WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is hiring a group of national security veterans with deep cyber expertise …
More:
Engadget, Politico, CyberScoop, and CNET
| William Boston / Wall Street Journal: |
How Volkswagen's ID.3, the automaker's long-awaited answer to Tesla, was beset by faulty in-car software, prompting a reboot of the company's software business — Faulty software set back a bid by the world's largest car maker for electric-vehicle dominance
Tweets: @wsj, @wsj, @davidmwessel, @ue, @adamnash, @teslany, @jackkramer, @rachelkonrad, @nalanpog, @patrickmcgee_, @tomgara, @voltequity, and @patrickc
| Eric Newcomer / Newcomer: |
Sources: data analytics service Databricks is in talks to raise a private funding round, potentially valuing it at ~$27B; Databricks was valued at $6.2B in 2019 — The Andreessen Horowitz and NEA-backed company is raising a private round. — Databricks — a data and AI platform … | Todd Spangler / Variety: |
MoffettNathanson survey: 62% of Apple TV+ subscribers were on free offers in Q4 2020, only 30% said they plan to renew at the regular $4.99/month price — Apple has said it wants to bulk up revenue from services — including Apple TV Plus, which is just over one year old.
More:
MacDailyNews, Patently Apple, iMore, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, and iDownloadBlog.com
Tweets: @ballmatthew, @agoyal00, @lanceulanoff, @jnavok, @lanceulanoff, @tvgrimreaper, @tealambition, @ballmatthew, and @colettelala
| Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News: |
Analysis of US-based venture-backed companies that went public in roughly the past two years shows that top 40 companies are now valued at around $1.1T — It's hard to imagine, but there was a time not too long ago when billion-dollar startups were exceedingly rare.
Tweets: @crunchbasenews, @jrichlive, @hunterwalk, and @mmasnick
| Sara Fischer / Axios: |
Aside from Facebook Oversight Board's binding decision on Trump, Nick Clegg says it'll be interesting if it has guidance for similar situations in the future — Facebook's decision to ask its new independent Oversight Board to review the company's indefinite suspension of former President Trump … | Nick Clegg / About Facebook: |
More:
Platformer, New York Times, Wired, and Politico
Tweets: @fbnewsroom, @klonick, @caseynewton, @politixs, @fboversight, @persily, @nxthompson, and @jason
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