Techmeme
November 14, 2019, 11:55 PM

Top News

Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Apple signed on 200,000 subscribers to Apple News+ in its first 48 hours in March but has since struggled to add customers  —  - Apple signed on 200,000 subscribers to Apple News+ in its first 48 hours in March, but has been stuck in neutral since that time, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is considering bundling News+, Apple TV+, and Apple Music as soon as 2020 to attract subscribers, meaning less money for News+ publishers  —  - Company keeps rights to bundle News+ service with TV+, Music  — Move may woo more subscribers, but lower publishers' News+ cut
CNBC:
Amazon says it has filed a protest of the Pentagon's decision to award the JEDI contract to Microsoft, claiming “unmistakable bias”, and “errors” in process  —  - Oracle and IBM were removed from the competition earlier this year, and last month Amazon was knocked out.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google says it is now rolling out support for RCS messages in the Android Messages app to all of its users in the US  —  Google today announced that it is now rolling out to all of its users in the U.S. support for Rich Communication Services messages (you can think of it as the next generation of SMS) …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple Research app is now available to download for iPhone and Apple Watch; US users can enroll in three health studies  —  Following the announcement at the September event, the Apple Research app is now available to download for iPhone and Apple Watch.  Users in the United States can sign …
CNBC:
Sources: the 50 AGs investigating Google are preparing to expand their antitrust investigation beyond Google's ad business into search and Android businesses  —  - The 50 attorneys general investigating Google are preparing to expand their antitrust investigation into the company's search …
Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News:
Toronto-based password manager 1Password raises $200M Series A led by Accel, its first external round of funding in its 14-year history  —  1Password, a Toronto-based password manager, announced today it has raised $200 million in a massive Series A funding round that was led by Accel.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Instagram says it is expanding its test making Like counts private to the rest of the world beyond Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand  —  Instagram is making Like counts private for some users everywhere.  Instagram tells TechCrunch the hidden Likes test is expanding to a subset of users globally.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft plans to launch its xCloud game streaming service in the US in 2020, with plans to expand xCloud preview to Canada, India, Japan, and Western Europe  —  More countries are getting access to xCloud next year, too  —  Microsoft is planning to launch its xCloud game streaming service in 2020 …
Sarah Emerson / OneZero:
On-demand transcription service Rev lets freelancers listen to “unclaimed” audio or video files, which can contain personal info or even trade secrets  —  Gig workers warn that more than 40,000 transcribers could access private customer information, including job details
James Vincent / The Verge:
Google search launches an experimental feature on mobile that will use AI to let users check their pronunciation of unfamiliar American English words  —  Speak into the microphone to be schooled by Google  —  Google search is launching a new feature that will let users check their pronunciation …
Samantha Cole / VICE:
Pornhub says PayPal is no longer supporting payments for Pornhub, affecting over a hundred thousand performers using the site as a source of income  —  \u003Cp\u003E Late Wednesday night, Pornhub announced that PayPal is no longer supporting payments for Pornhub—a decision that will impact thousands …
Dave Gershgorn / OneZero:
Docs show surveillance robots from Knightscope collect data using tools like facial recognition, automatic license plate readers, and wireless device detection  —  OneZero obtained a presentation that reveals how Knightscope uses facial recognition and license plate readers to track individuals
Bloomberg Law:
New Jersey says Uber owes it about $650M in unemployment and disability insurance taxes because Uber has been misclassifying drivers as independent contractors  —  Uber Technologies Inc. owes New Jersey about $650 million in unemployment and disability insurance taxes because the rideshare company …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Salesforce says it will use Microsoft's Azure for its Marketing Cloud service, signaling a thaw in a complicated relationship  —  - Salesforce will deploy its Marketing Cloud service on Microsoft's Azure public cloud infrastructure.  — Salesforce already uses Amazon Web Services …
Bloomberg:
Following EU scrutiny, Google to stop sharing info with buyers in ad auctions about the type of content on a page where an ad could appear, starting in February  —  - Search giant to stop sharing some info with buyers in auction  — Google said it took step follow discussions with watchdogs
BBC:
UK's Labour party pledges free broadband for all by 2030, by nationalizing part of BT and introducing a tax on tech giants, if it wins the general election  —  Labour has promised to give every home and business in the UK free full-fibre broadband by 2030, if it wins the general election.
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Oculus CTO John Carmack says he is stepping down but will remain as a “consulting CTO” and will work on an artificial general intelligence as a personal project  —  One of the driving forces behind Facebook's virtual reality efforts is leaving his post: Oculus CTO John Carmack …

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
SignalFire:
SignalFire raises another $1 billion to back applied AI startups  —  We build AI too.  It tracks 650M tech employees so we can help companies with recruiting and GTM across enterprise, infra, healthcare, security, and consumer.
Zoho:
How to turn employees into your brand's biggest supporters  —  Turning your employees into your brand's biggest advocates is one of the most powerful ways to grow your brand.  When employees feel connected to your mission …
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:
Zuck Trying To Make Fetch Happen
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:
Is Google Breaking Up? + Seasteading Is Back + Tool Time
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:
Blake Scholl (Founder and CEO, Boom Supersonic) on Why Supersonic Flight Failed & How Boom is Bringing it Back
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
BG2 Pod:
Tariffs, Free Trade, Export Controls, H20 & Rare Earth Ban
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
Founders need prenups, too
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:55 PM ET, November 14, 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

Earlier Picks

New York Times:
Roger Cheng / CNET: