Note: Techmeme is hiring part-time editors. Apply here or tell a friend!
Techmeme
January 28, 2020, 7:50 AM

Top News

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Ten years after the iPad's launch, it has not come close to being revolutionary or living up to its potential because of its inconsistent multitasking software  —  Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad on stage at the Yerba Buena theater in San Francisco.  It surprised everyone, in several ways.
Heather Stewart / The Guardian:
UK government announces it will allow Huawei to build non-core elements of Britain's 5G network but will ban the company from operating at sensitive sites  —  Chinese firm is designated ‘high-risk vendor’ but will be allowed to build non-core elements of UK 5G network
Raymond Zhong / New York Times:
As China tries to contain the coronavirus, the sheer volume of criticism of the government overwhelms censors and tests China's ability to control the narrative  —  The sheer volume of criticism of the government, and the sometimes clever ways that critics dodge censors, are testing Beijing's ability to control the narrative.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google says it will shut down App Maker, G Suite's low-code environment for building custom business apps, on January 19, 2021  —  Google today announced it is killing off yet another service: App Maker, G Suite's low-code environment for building custom business apps.
Danny Palmer / ZDNet:
UK government proposes new IoT rules: firms must tell consumers how long security updates will be provided, ship individual devices with unique passwords, more  —  Proposed laws from the UK for Internet of Things security and suggests vendors will need to follow new rules to be considered secure.
Azeem Azhar / Exponential View:
As Alphabet and Microsoft clamor for regulation of tech like facial recognition, potential new rules and their obstacles pose existential threats to startups  —  You couldn't have missed it.  The world's largest tech companies have started to clamour for regulation in this hugely under-regulated sector.
Reuters:
Sources: Turkey-backed hackers have used DNS hijacking to obtain login credentials, targeting ~30 EU and Middle East governments and organizations since 2018  —  LONDON (Reuters) - Sweeping cyberattacks targeting governments and other organizations in Europe and the Middle East are believed …
Alexa Pavliuc / Medium:
A visual analysis of six state-backed disinformation operations on Twitter, including from China and Russia, and how they have evolved over the last decade  —  Here's a bird's eye view of six state-backed information operations on Twitter, and how they evolved over the last decade.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
French startup ManoMano, which operates an e-commerce site for DIY, home improvement, and gardening products, raises $139M led by Temasek  —  French startup ManoMano is raising another mega round of funding.  The company operates an e-commerce website for DIY, home improvement and gardening products.
Geoffrey Fowler / Washington Post:
Facebook announces its Off-Facebook Activity tool, which lets users clear all the data passed onto Facebook by other apps and sites, is now available globally  —  The new ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ tool reminds us we're living in a reality TV program where the cameras are always on.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Generate videos with Veo 3 in Google Gemini  —  Create high-quality, 8-second videos with Veo 3, our state-of-the-art AI video generator.  Try it with a Google AI Pro plan or get the highest access with the Ultra plan.
Warp:
The #1 Coding Agent  —  #1 on Terminal-Bench.  71% on SWE-bench Verified.  Trusted by 600K+ devs.  Try the top agentic dev tool for $1 for 1st month with code TECHMEME.
Zoho:
How appreciation solves real workplace challenges  —  Recognition isn't just a feel-good gesture; it's a powerful way to fix some of the most common workplace problems.  Whether it's low morale, high turnover …
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.
F5:
F5's 2025 AI Strategy Report  —  Only 2% of Enterprises Are Fully AI-Ready.  Most face security gaps like weak data governance and lack of AI firewalls, stalling adoption and innovation.  What is your readiness to scale AI?

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
The US AI Action Plan
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:
We are not ready for better deepfakes
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Great Chat:
The tech origin story: No straight lines
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Why Trump is defunding NPR and PBS - and suing Rupert Murdoch
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Big Technology Podcast:
Are AI's Economics Unsustainable? -- With Ed Zitron
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Peter Fenton from Benchmark
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 7:50 AM ET, January 28, 2020.

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

Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:

Earlier Picks

Tara Duggan / San Francisco Chronicle:
Joseph Cox / VICE: