Techmeme
January 23, 2023, 1:05 AM

Top News

Jez Corden / Windows Central:
Microsoft laid off the entire teams behind its virtual reality platform AltspaceVR, which will shut down in March 2023, and its Mixed Reality Tool Kit framework  —  HoloLens, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality are all but dead at Microsoft.  —  What you need to know
Wall Street Journal:
The Daily Dot:
CommuteAir removed a 2019 copy of the US' No Fly List, after a researcher said they found it on an unsecured server and it had 1.5M+ entries with many aliases  —  One of the most sensitive U.S. government documents was left online.  —  An unsecured server discovered by a security researcher …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Analysis: Apple timed the MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and HomePod launches to boost this quarter's revenue and avoid suffering supply issues in the holiday season  —  Apple timed the launch of the new MacBook Pro, Mac mini and HomePod to shore up its current quarter's revenue …
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
Researchers and ex-Twitter staff: physical attacks in the US track with Twitter spikes in some hate speech, notably anti-Semitic and anti-gay slurs and rhetoric  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Earlier this month, the FBI charged a Florida man with making detailed online threats to murder 100 gay people.
Rolling Stone:
Sources: Donald Trump does not want to renew his Truth Social exclusivity contract, expiring in June 2023, and is asking associates for first tweet suggestions  —  The ex-president is planning his first tweets with a few months to go on his Truth Social contract
Aaron Tilley / Wall Street Journal:
Apple's lean hiring may help the company avoid layoffs; Apple's workforce grew ~20% from 2019 to 2022, Amazon's grew 100%, Meta 94%, Alphabet 57%, Microsoft 53%  —  The iPhone maker's workforce grew 20% in the past three years, a far slower pace than rivals  —  Tech Layoffs Pile Up as Bosses Reverse Course
Wall Street Journal:
A look at Mittens, a ruthless Chess.com bot with a kitten avatar introduced on January 1 that is driving more people to play on the website than ever before  —  A ruthless bot with an innocuous avatar is driving chess players crazy  —  The heels of the chess world have included Soviet grandmasters …
Keri Blakinger / The Marshall Project:
How some US incarcerated people use contraband mobile phones to educate themselves, make TikToks, find love, publicize prison conditions, earn money, and more  —  Despite the security concerns of administrators, incarcerated people use phones to hustle, make TikToks or publicize prison conditions.
New York Times:
Emails and sources: Google fired 16% of its ~400-person Fuchsia OS team, Research cut jobs in lower traction areas, and Cloud cut operational and other roles  —  The layoffs amount to about 6 percent of the global work force at the company, the latest tech giant to make cuts after a pandemic hiring spree.

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More News

Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
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Earlier Picks

Eric Wallerstein / Wall Street Journal:
Dietrich Knauth / Reuters: