Techmeme
March 14, 2020, 11:55 AM

Top News

Peter Kafka / Vox:
Google confirms Verily is building a tool to expedite COVID-19 testing in the Bay Area initially; Trump says Google has 1,700 engineers working on the project  —  Dr. Debbie Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks at a White House press conference on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says it is closing all of its stores outside China until March 27 due to the spread of COVID-19 and plans to pay its hourly workers during the closures  —  Apple today announced that it is closing all of its retail locations outside of Greater China until March 27 due to the continuing spread …
Apple:
Apple announces it will hold WWDC in June in “an entirely new online format”  —  WWDC 2020 to Feature an Online Format with a Keynote and Sessions Connecting Millions of Developers Around the World  —  Cupertino, California — Apple today announced it will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Microsoft:
Bill Gates has stepped down from the Microsoft's Board of Directors, will continue to serve as Technology Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella  —  REDMOND, Wash. — March 13, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Co-Founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates stepped down from the company's Board …
Patricia Hernandez / Polygon:
Niantic has temporarily updated various Pokémon Go mechanics to limit the need for extended travel during gameplay due to “the current global health situation”  —  Monster collecting will be slightly easier now  —  As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, more ISPs join FCC-orchestrated “Keep Americans Connected Pledge”, will open Wi-Fi hotspots, not terminate service for late fees, more  —  AT&T, Comcast and Verizon joined dozens of telecom providers in agreeing to aid Americans who are out of work …
Adele Peters / Fast Company:
Uncensored Library, a Reporters Without Borders project in Minecraft, lets people anywhere read articles from censored journalists and get info on press freedom  —  In countries where censorship is standard practice—such as China, where articles and social media posts about COVID-19 …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Kenneth Chenault will be leaving Facebook's board following disagreements with Zuckerberg over the company's governance and political policies  —  Board member disagreed with founder over governance and political policies  —  Kenneth Chenault will be leaving Facebook Inc.'s board …
Margaret Harding McGill / Axios:
As coronavirus forces many activities online, the often-invisible digital divide in the US is exposed, with 21M Americans lacking access to high-speed internet  —  As the coronavirus pushes more human activities online, it's forcing a reckoning with the often-invisible digital divide.
Song Jingli / KrASIA:
An interview with Lu Zhihui, founder of MMC whose drones have been used during COVID-19 outbreak in China to disinfect public areas, control traffic, and more  —  If you Google for the keywords “talking drones,” a lot of news and videos will show up about how China started to deploy flying drones …

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More News

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:

Earlier Picks

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
CNN: