Techmeme
February 4, 2021, 6:35 PM

Top News

The Information:
Source: Apple is planning a $3,000+ mixed-reality headset with 8K displays, eye-tracking tech, and 12+ cameras to track hand movements and show the real world  —  A mixed-reality headset Apple is developing will be equipped with more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Amazon is quietly transitioning its US warehouse workers to 10-hour graveyard shifts; labor experts say the move is to cut costs and pay for fewer benefits  —  The company has been quietly transitioning warehouse workers at Amazon warehouses nationwide to a 10-hour graveyard shift, known as the “megacycle.”
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Microsoft launches Viva, an employee intranet with LinkedIn integration, access to communication tools like SharePoint and Yammer, training content, and more  —  Microsoft today launched Viva, a new “employee experience platform,” or, in non-marketing terms, its new take on the intranet sites …
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Google says Pixel users will be able to use their phone cameras to measure pulse and breath rates through the Google Fit app, starting next month  —  Like many of us, Google is getting more interested in our health.  The company is announcing today new features that will allow …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Google is exploring a less-stringent Android alternative to Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature, resembling planned Chrome changes  —  - Internet giant mulls bringing web privacy approach to Android  — Google balancing user privacy with developer, advertiser needs
Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal:
Incoming head of Senate antitrust subcommittee Amy Klobuchar introduces an antitrust bill that would raise the bar for tech acquisitions  —  Incoming head of Senate panel proposes broad changes as Democrats press issue of perceived monopoly power  —  WASHINGTON—Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D. …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter took coordinated action to take down top members of account hijacking forum OGUsers and seized hundreds of accounts  —  Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter this week all took steps to crack down on users involved in trafficking hijacked user accounts across their platforms.
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
In a NLRB filing, the Alphabet Workers Union accuses Google vendor Adecco of violating US labor law by forbidding contract workers from discussing their pay  —  - New labor group accuses Google vendor of violating labor law  — Worker says Facebook post got her suspended by contractor
Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:
Google delists the popular Chrome extension The Great Suspender for containing malware and is disabling the extension for those who installed it  —  This afternoon, Google has delisted the popular extension The Great Suspender for containing malware and is proactively disabling the extension for those who have it.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google starts rolling out Google News Showcase in Australia, paying local and regional publishers, amid an ongoing dispute over Australia's proposed media rules  —  Google has a $1 billion plan to pay publishers for content that appears in a cross-service “News Showcase” product.
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Kuo: iPhone 13 is now more likely to feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera with significantly improved low-light performance thanks to a new lens supplier  —  The iPhone 13 is now more likely to feature an upgraded Ultra Wide camera with significantly improved low-light performance …
Kristen V Brown / Bloomberg:
23andMe to go public through a merger with VG Acquisition Corp., a SPAC founded by Richard Branson, at a valuation of $3.5B  —  - CEO Wojcicki and SPAC leader Branson each invest $25 million  — DNA-testing company has been expanding its health-care profile
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Q&A with mobile marketing analyst Eric Seufert on Facebook-Apple conflict, Apple's real motives for iOS privacy changes, and potential harm to businesses  —  In yesterday's Article The Relentless Jeff Bezos, I called the Amazon founder “arguably the greatest CEO in tech history.”
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast  —  Snap's stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings despite beating Wall Street's expectations …
The Information:
Carta, which launched a private stock exchange, CartaX, to help employees and investors sell stock in private startups, is now valued at $6.9B  —  Launching an exchange to help employees and investors sell stock in private startups may seem an odd choice for this year, given the boom in public listings that promise imminent cashouts.
Josh Ye / South China Morning Post:
Chinese-founded Agora, which a source says provides back-end communications tools for Clubhouse, rose 30% on Monday to $73.60 as Elon Musk joined Clubhouse  —  Agora saw its stock jump 30 per cent on Monday amid broader awareness that the start-up Clubhouse uses the company's real …
Kashmir Hill / New York Times:
Canada's privacy authority says what Clearview AI does is mass surveillance, calls it illegal and unacceptable, and tells it to delete citizens' facial images  —  Canadian authorities declared that the company needed citizens' consent to use their biometric information, and told the firm to delete facial images from its database.
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Drone mapping and analytics service DroneDeploy raises $50M Series E, bringing its total raised to ~$143M  —  DroneDeploy, a platform that offers businesses access to commercial drone operators to capture professional-grade imagery of an environment and carry out data analysis, has raised $50 million in a series E round of funding.

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