Techmeme
February 15, 2019, 4:00 PM

Top News

Brad Stone / Bloomberg:
After Amazon misread New York's politics, pulling out was a typical Bezos' power play of belligerently confronting opposition he views as unfair or unjust  —  In retrospect, the helipad was probably a bad idea.  —  The proposed transportation hub for senior Amazon executives was supposed …
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Amazon says it has canceled plans to build HQ2 in New York City, focusing instead on Northern Virginia and Nashville, following backlash  —  Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from lawmakers …
More: Recode, The Guardian, The Amazon Blog, NBC News, CNET, Business Insider, CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, CNET, Continuations, TechCrunch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, GeekWire, Wall Street Journal, Axios, New York Times, Gothamist, CNN, The Intercept, Curbed NY, AOL, PYMNTS.com, Hit & Run, Recode, The Verge, Axios, Telecoms.com, Fortune, New York Times, CNBC, Washington Post, Fox News, Wired, Silicon Republic, Haystack.vc, Pocketables, Inquirer, Reuters, Geek.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, CNBC, Tangentialism is David Yee, eWeek, Reuters, Mashable, Axios, VentureBeat, The Register, and The Ringer
Natt Garun / The Verge:
Bloomberg:
Matthew Gardner / ITEP:
Amazon has made $11.2B in profits in 2018 but will pay no federal income tax and will receive a rebate of $129M due to unspecified tax credits  —  Amazon, the ubiquitous purveyor of two-day delivery of just about everything, nearly doubled its profits to $11.2 billion in 2018 from $5.6 billion …
Stefan Etienne / The Verge:
Samsung unveils 10.5-inch Galaxy Tab S5e, its lightest and thinnest tablet and the first with Bixby built-in, starting at $399, launching in the second quarter  —  It's $399 and comes in three “millennial friendly” colors  —  There isn't a single Android tablet we can currently wholeheartedly recommend …
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
US Copyright Office has refused a copyright claim for the “Carlton Dance”, a potential blow to performers seeking rights to dance emotes in games like Fortnite  —  A government examiner also questioned the submission of the actor's performance on ABC's “Dancing With the Stars,” …
Shara Tibken / CNET:
Samsung to open stores in LA, Houston, and Long Island on February 20, the first US retail stores to be operated by the company  —  Samsung's coming to a mall near you — if you live in California, New York or Texas.  —  The company on Thursday said it plans to open three Samsung Experience Stores …
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Pokémon Go creator Niantic agrees to settle class action with property owners for unsanctioned PokéStop and Gym placements; monetary damages up for mediation  —  After fighting over the meaning of “trespass” in the digital age, Niantic agrees to a system for resolving nuisance complaints …
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Samsung's wearables app reveals new products including Galaxy Buds wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Watch Active smartwatch, and Galaxy Fit and Fit e fitness bands  —  An update to Samsung's wearables app has inadvertently revealed an entire lineup of new products that are presumably set to be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S10 next week.
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Uber reports Q4 revenue of $3B, up 24% YoY, gross bookings of $14.2B, up 37% YoY, and adjusted EBITDA losses of $842M, up 88% YoY and 60% QoQ  —  Uber on Friday released its latest quarterly financials, likely its last before formally filing to go public. showing continued growth and investment in areas like UberEats.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
Introducing the UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation  —  UiPath's new platform empowers enterprises to experience the full power of AI to transform industries
Zoho:
2025: World Password Day is now also World Passkey Day  —  Since 2013, the first Thursday of May has been recognized as World Password Day to spread awareness about good password practices and protecting our online accounts.
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

Hard Fork:
The Dangers of A.I. Flattery + Kevin Meets the Orb + Group Chat Chat
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:
EP 141 Ben Lamm (Founder & CEO, Colossal Biosciences) On The Breakthroughs Making De-Extinction Actually Possible
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Judge Refers Apple For A Criminal Investigation
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Great Chat:
What's the deal with Deel?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Lenny's Podcast:
The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO)
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Josh Kopelman from First Round Capital
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 4:00 PM ET, February 15, 2019.

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

Marco Chown Oved / Toronto Star:

Earlier Picks

James Vincent / The Verge:
Hugh Son / CNBC: