Techmeme
April 12, 2021, 4:50 AM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Sources: Microsoft in advanced talks to buy speech technology company Nuance Communications for ~$16B, or $56 a share, a 23% premium to Nuance's Friday close  —  - Price under discussion would value Nuance at $56 a share  — An agreement could be announced as soon as this week
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
Reporting on tech from India “feels like having a front-row seat to the country's rapid slide into authoritarianism”, as Big Tech companies remain silent  —  I love writing about tech.  But covering how a Hindu nationalist government is using it to destroy a secular democracy isn't what I signed up for.
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Substack strikes deals with trans writers, amid claims it supports allegedly anti-trans writers and is a kind of lucrative off ramp for “cancel culture” victims  —  A company that makes it easy to charge for newsletters has captivated an anxious industry because it embodies larger forces and contradictions.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google confirms it is ending support for Google Shopping apps on Android and iOS, as it expands shopping functionality in Search and apps like YouTube  —  A new Google Shopping experience that featured a personalized homepage launched in 2019.  On Android, Google rebranded the existing Express app …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Responding to Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, Apple says it will make Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer available at an upcoming hearing on app stores  —  - Company earlier declined to attend, now makes Andeer available  — Subcommittee investigating developer concerns, competition
Wall Street Journal:
Erroneously unredacted court docs in Texas antitrust case expand on Facebook and Google's Jedi Blue deal, detail Google's secret “Project Bernanke” program  —  Program used past bid data to boost tech giant's win rate in advertising auctions, according to court filing
CyberNews:
Database containing 1.3M Clubhouse profiles was posted to a hacker forum; Clubhouse says it hasn't been breached, and the data is public info from its app  —  So far, it seems like it's been the worst week of the year for social media platforms in terms of data leaks, with Clubhouse seemingly joining the fray.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple faces supply constraints due to issues with MiniLED display production, but still plans to debut two iPad Pros later this month  —  - New iPads planned for introduction in latter half of April  — MiniLED display is key part of Apple's upgrade proposition
David Heinemeier Hansson:
Apple should stop saying the App Store adds meaningful security, which seeds cynicism among devs, and focus more on macOS-style system-level protections for iOS  —  When Kosta Eleftheriou first started revealing scam upon scam in the App Store, I have to admit I didn't quite get it.
Raymond Zhong / New York Times:
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Sources: Biden admin to announce the nominations of ex-NSA deputy director Chris Inglis as first national cyber director and Jen Easterly as CISA head on Monday  —  The Biden administration plans on Monday to name a former senior National Security Agency official as the first national cyber director …
Balaji S. Srinivasan:
Adding crypto to IndiaStack, a set of national APIs for payments and identity, could allow India to build an OSS stack for domestic and foreign transactions  —  Use the digital rupee to facilitate domestic commerce and crypto protocols to attract international investment.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Generate videos with Veo 3 in Google Gemini  —  Create high-quality, 8-second videos with Veo 3, our state-of-the-art AI video generator.  Try it with a Google AI Pro plan or get the highest access with the Ultra plan.
Codegen:
Ship with AI: The Future of Coding is Here  —  Use natural language in Slack to trigger real PRs, docs, dashboards, infra & more.  Codegen connects GitHub, Linear, Notion, and beyond.
Zoho:
Introducing Zoho Translate: Your ultimate privacy-focused translation app  —  Zoho is transforming the way people work, communicate, and connect with innovative tools that make everyday tasks easier and more impactful.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
Stablecoins Everywhere
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Hard Fork:
Meta Bets on Scale + Apple's A.I. Struggles + Listeners on Job Automation
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
How Chris Degnan Built Snowflake's Sales Org From Scratch
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Lenny's Podcast:
35 years of product design wisdom from Apple, Disney, Pinterest and beyond | Bob Baxley
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
On the hunt for media optimism, with Semafor's Ben Smith and The Rebooting's Brian Morrissey
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Marc Andreessen from a16z
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:50 AM ET, April 12, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg:
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg: