Techmeme
August 3, 2019, 8:05 PM

Top News

Nick Statt / The Verge:
Goldman Sachs reveals Apple Card customer agreement, says jailbreaking as well as purchasing cryptocurrency, casino chips, and lottery tickets is forbidden  —  Apple has revealed more details about its upcoming credit card, and the Apple Card will come with one unique restriction and one not-so-unique restriction.
Alex Heath / The Information:
Facebook to rebrand Instagram and WhatsApp to “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook”, sources say causing surprise and confusion internally  —  In a big shift, Facebook plans to signal its control of Instagram and WhatsApp by adding its name to both apps …
Matt Day / Bloomberg:
Amazon says it will let users opt out of human review of the voice recordings picked up by Alexa, following similar moves by Apple and Google  —  - Alexa reviewers transcribe, annotate some voice recordings  — Apple, Google suspended human voice review programs this week
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
A data breaches seller provides evidence that sneaker marketplace StockX was hacked in May, says 6.8M records with contact info and hashed passwords were taken  —  It wasn't “system updates” as it claimed.  StockX was mopping up after a data breach, TechCrunch can confirm.
Melanie Ehrenkranz / Gizmodo:
UK data science company DataSparQ has developed “AI Bar”, an AI-powered facial recognition system to help bartenders check IDs, fill orders faster and fairer  —  Facial recognition systems have, to date, proven to be biased, unjust, flawed, and deeply powerful.
Thomas Ricker / The Verge:
Google will let Android users in Europe choose their default search engine starting in 2020; inclusion on the choice screen will be determined via auction  —  Only the top-three bidders will appear alongside Google on the choice screen  —  Starting in early 2020, Google will present …
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple spent $4.2B, or 7.9% of its revenue, on R&D in Q3, the highest percentage of R&D spending since 2003, and is on track to spend $16B in 2019  —  KEY POINTS  — Apple CFO Luca Maestri hinted that R&D would continue to rise, and said that the company's $1 billion purchase …
Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:
Sources: US officials warn the UK that a free trade deal would not happen if digital services tax on companies like Google and Amazon becomes UK law this fall  —  Donald Trump's administration is warning Britain that it will not get a free trade deal unless a new tax affecting US tech giants is dropped, The Telegraph can reveal.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
FTC is looking into the Amazon/Apple deal that kicked many small resellers off Marketplace, has interviewed at least one reseller of refurbished MacBooks  —  Experts say the deal raises serious antitrust concerns  —  Last year, Amazon cut a deal with Apple to bring direct iPhone sales to its platform for the first time.
Zen Soo / South China Morning Post:
Hong Kong startup Tink Labs, which has raised $160M to provide free-to-use smartphones in hotel rooms, is shutting down in many markets, undergoing mass layoffs  —  Handy is a smartphone service operated by Tink Labs that equipped hotels globally with in-room handsets for guests Tink Labs informed employees …

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
Gamification: A simple way to enjoy getting more work done  —  Work doesn't have to be boring.  Gamification transforms everyday tasks into exciting challenges, making employees feel more engaged and motivated.
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

Lenny's Podcast:
A field guide for introverts: How to thrive at work without changing who you are | Susan Cain (author of "Quiet")
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
E2EE For All!
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Why Trump can't be trusted with Congress' new anti-deepfake bill
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Breaks Down the Global Impact of Trump's New Tariffs
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Generative Now:
Dan Shipper: The First MultiModal Media Company
A podcast from Lightspeed dedicated to highlighting the stories, strategies and insights behind today's most exciting AI companies.
Subscribe to Generative Now.
Spotlight On:
Nebius's Arkady Volozh on What it Takes to Build Infrastructure Needed for the AI Era
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:05 PM ET, August 3, 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

Mark Wilson / Fast Company:

Earlier Picks

Mark Harris / The Guardian:
Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:
Ben Fox Rubin / CNET: