Techmeme
February 21, 2024, 3:30 PM

Top News

Emilia David / The Verge:
Google releases Gemma 2B and 7B, open-source AI models that let developers more freely use the research that went into Gemini, its flagship closed-source model  —  Google has released Gemma 2B and 7B, a pair of open-source AI models that let developers use the research that went into its flagship Gemini more freely.
Matt Burgess / Wired:
Apple unveils PQ3, a post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage built on the Kyber algorithm, launching in iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and macOS 14.4 in March  —  Useful quantum computers aren't a reality—yet.  But in one of the biggest deployments of post-quantum encryption so far, Apple is bringing the technology to iMessage.
Ryan Smith / AnandTech:
Intel's Direct Connect announcements: IFS rebranded to Intel Foundry, fab roadmap including 18A-P, 14A, Hybrid Bonding, five nodes in four years, and more  —  5 nodes in 4 years.  This is what Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger promised Intel's customers, investors, and the world at large back in 2021 …
Ian King / Bloomberg:
Microsoft plans to use Intel's 18A tech to make a chip that Microsoft designed in-house; Microsoft recently announced a computer processor and an AI accelerator  —  - Move marks a win for Intel's push into made-to-order chips  — Microsoft is looking to design more semiconductors in-house
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Corrie Driebusch / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Reddit plans to reserve some of its IPO shares for 75K loyal users, an unusual move that could build loyalty, and list its shares on the NYSE in March  —  Social-media company intends to offer shares in the offering to 75,000 of its biggest users  —  Reddit plans to place a big chunk …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple debuts Apple Sports, a free app offering scores and stats for the NBA, NHL, Premier League, and more, in the US, Canada, and the UK, on iOS 17.2 or later  —  Game on!  Apple launched a free standalone app for sports fans, Apple Sports, which is engineered to fire scores and stats to your iPhone as quickly as possible.
Counterpoint Research:
In a first, Apple had the seven best-selling smartphones globally in 2023, and Samsung had the next three; iPhone 14, 14 Pro Max, 14 Pro, and 13 were top four  —  - The combined market share of the top 10 smartphones in 2023 reached the highest ever at 20%, up from 19% in 2022.
Michael Acton / Financial Times:
Source: Meta and Microsoft lobby EU regulators to reject Apple's iOS and App Store changes to comply with the DMA, saying Apple's plans fail to go far enough  —  Meta and Microsoft want Brussels regulators to extract more concessions that unpick iOS mobile software
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple says the iPhone 15 lineup can retain up to 80% of its original battery capacity at 1,000 charge cycles, up from its original estimate of 500 charge cycles  —  In addition to changes to the Battery Health settings in iOS 17.4, Apple has more iPhone battery news to share today.
Stephen Totilo / Game File:
An interview with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer on Xbox growth, job cuts, and why getting rid of physical Xbox discs is “not a strategic thing for us”  —  Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer is upbeat about his vast Xbox team's future.  But he also tells Game File …
Christian Vasquez / CyberScoop:
Biden signs an EO to increase the cyber defenses of maritime ports via additional Coast Guard powers, invest $20B+ in infrastructure over five years, and more  —  President Joe Biden issued an executive order Wednesday morning aimed at increasing the defenses of maritime ports through additional authorities …
Bloomberg:
Cybersecurity experts say that global law enforcement agencies dealt Russia-linked LockBit a major blow, but history shows that ransomware gangs regroup quickly  —  - Disruption of LockBit praised as major blow against gang  — History has shown that hackers regroup quickly, experts say
Yoshiaki Nohara / Bloomberg:
How Japan plans to spend ~$67B to revive domestic chipmaking prowess, hoping to leverage the US' supply chain concerns; Rapidus plans to make 2nm chips by 2027  —  US-China tech battle makes semiconductors a key economic security concern for policymakers  —  Deep in the snowy northern island …
The Information:
Source: Magic, which recently raised $117M and says its AI coding assistant has a larger context window than rivals', may have made an AI reasoning breakthrough  —  Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and his investment partner, Daniel Gross, raised eyebrows last week by writing a $100 million check to Magic …
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:
Yuga Labs co-founder Greg “Garga” Solano announces he's returning as CEO of the company, replacing Daniel Alegre, who spent less than a year in the role  —  Big changes are coming as Greg “Garga” Solano takes the helm at Yuga Labs, apparently pushing out Daniel Alegre in the process.
Wall Street Journal:
A Montenegro court rules that Terraform co-founder Do Kwon should be extradited to the US for a trial; both the US and South Korea have sought to prosecute him  —  Both the U.S. and South Korea have sought to prosecute the creator of TerraUSD and Luna  —  Disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur …
Tom Wilson / Reuters:
Circle no longer plans to mint USDC tokens on the Tron blockchain, effective immediately, to “ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent, and safe”  —  Major U.S. crypto firm Circle will end support for its USDC token on the Tron blockchain network, a decision the company said on Wednesday …
Ryan Smith / AnandTech:
Arm prepares to release its Neoverse V3 and N3 CPU designs to customers, offering up to 128 cores, a CSS design, and more, for server, cloud, and infrastructure  —  A bit over 5 years ago, Arm announced their Neoverse initiative for server, cloud, and infrastructure CPU cores.

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning  —  SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds.  Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Cape:
Most carriers track everything.  Cape doesn't.  —  Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more.  Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Zoho:
Zoho Backstage x Zoho MCP: Your events, now connected to AI  —  Event management involves a constant stream of decisions and actions.  Registration numbers change, attendee lists grow, ticket classes evolve, and new requests come in throughout the day.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Invest Like the Best:
Neil Movva - Making AI 10x Cheaper
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
Data Centers in Orbit by 2028: Baiju Bhatt on His Plans After Robinhood
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
How to close $100K+ enterprise deals, step by step | Jen Abel
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
Big Tech's Insane Hidden AI Spending, Ranking Anthropic vs. OpenAI, AI For Travel Debate
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
OpenAI's Two-Week Pause + Jill Lepore on the Threat of the "Artificial State" + Train of Thought
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:30 PM ET, February 21, 2024.

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

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Daphné Leprince-Ringuet / Sifted: