Techmeme: Foxconn posted a $1.58B profit in Q4 2019, down 24% YoY; sources say the 5G iPhone will launch in the fall, but future Apple products may be delayed (Debby Wu/Bloomberg)

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March 30, 2020, 1:55 PM

Top News

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft debuts a Family Safety mobile app, AI-powered PowerPoint and Excel features as part of Microsoft 365 Family and Personal subscriptions coming April 21 — Microsoft today announced that on April 21, Office 365 will become Microsoft 365, or “the subscription for your life.”

More: The Verge, TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM, Windows Central, Windows Central, The Verge, Android Police, BetaNews, ZDNet, AppleInsider, and CNET

Tweets: @epro and @benbajarin

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft says Chromium Edge is getting Vertical Tabs, Smart Copy to help you copy web content into docs, Password Monitor to alert users of stolen credentials — Microsoft today announced upcoming features for its Edge browser based on Google's Chromium open source project, the same browser Google's Chrome is based on.

More: Protocol

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft announces Teams for consumers, to help plan trips, share grocery lists, and more, Skype DAUs up 70% month-over-month to 40M, calling minutes up 220% — As part of its Microsoft 365 for consumers news today, Microsoft announced Microsoft Teams for consumers and new Skype metrics.

More: ZDNet and Windows Central. Tweets: @epro

Debby Wu / Bloomberg:

Foxconn posted a $1.58B profit in Q4 2019, down 24% YoY; sources say the 5G iPhone will launch in the fall, but future Apple products may be delayed — - The company known as Foxconn grappling with Covid-19 upheaval — Apple's key partner getting back on track after the outbreak

More: Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Wall Street Journal, Input, iPhone in Canada Blog, Thurrott, iMore, Appleosophy, MacDailyNews, Softpedia News, BGR, iPhone Hacks, Gizchina, AppleInsider, Wccftech, MacRumors, Redmond Pie, Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac, and Seeking Alpha

Reuters:

Sources: production ramp-up for 5G iPhones at some of Apple's suppliers has been postponed; one key display supplier mulls lowering production targets by 17%+

More: 9to5Mac, Mashable, iLounge, and TechRadar.com

New York Times:

Sources: Facebook's security team had disinfo concerns about The Daily Wire's sites in 2019, clashing with the policy team, which prevented action being taken — After spending billions to avoid a repeat of 2016, the tech giants are careening from crisis to crisis as their foes change tactics.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @alkapdc, @alexstamos, @donmoyn, @kevinroose, @rasmus_kleis, @nytimes, @micahzenko, @rmac18, @nytnational, @karaswisher, and @slpng_giants

See also Mediagazer

The Information:

Facebook says it has struck a deal to buy all of the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey, which sources say Apple recently looked at buying — Facebook has struck a deal to buy all of the augmented reality displays made by British firm Plessey, as the social network looks …

More: AppleInsider, MacRumors, Plessey, Apple Must, iDownloadBlog.com, and Road to VR

Tweets: @blakebowyer, @alexeheath, and @nickwingfield

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

A hacker has hijacked several YouTube accounts of Microsoft to broadcast a crypto Ponzi scam; the streams have been running for over 13 hours and are still up — Several of Microsoft's YouTube accounts appear to have been hacked. — A hacker has hijacked all of Microsoft's official YouTube accounts …

Tweets: @zackwhittaker, @brianfagioli, @cauchon, and @campuscodi

Josh Lawler / CoinDesk:

Recent US federal court ruling on Telegram's ICO obliterates using private token sales to finance public blockchain projects, further stymying crypto innovation — Josh Lawler is a partner at Zuber Lawler, which focuses on mergers & acquisitions, securities law and technology transactions.

More: CoinDesk, Messari Crypto, and Decrypt

Tweets: @coindesk and @coindesk

Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:

Data from a whistleblower appears to show Saudi Arabia tracking the location of its citizens in the US by exploiting flaws in the SS7 phone network protocol — Exclusive: Whistleblower's data suggests millions of tracking requests sent over four-month period

More: TechCrunch and The Next Web

Tweets: @zackwhittaker, @deftechpat, @aaschapiro, @kyleworton, @reflectingman, @agnescallamard, @espionagenews, @rj_gallagher, and @julianborger

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Kabbage, a Softbank-backed small business loan platform, is furloughing a “significant number” of its 500 US staff, closing India office in the wake of pandemic — Another tech unicorn is feeling the pinch of doing business during the coronavirus pandemic.

More: Crowdfund Insider. Thanks:@ingridlunden

Zara Stone / OneZero :

A look at video chat service Houseparty, which has topped the Australian, Canadian, and UK iOS App Stores and is like Zoom but with built-in games — ast Saturday night, Jason Shaverin, a 36-year-old project manager in London, spent three hours talking to friends on Houseparty …

More: TechCrunch and NDTV Gadgets 360

Tweets: @ozm, @ozm, @mvzelenks, and @ozm

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Personal information of nearly 5M citizens of the country of Georgia leaked, including home addresses, dates of birth, ID numbers, and mobile phone numbers — A file containing personal information for 4,934,863 Georgians has been published on a hacker forum over the weekend.

More: Security Affairs. Tweets: @nikolo_z

Ina Fried / Axios:

After changing its rules, Twitter is cracking down on COVID-19 misinformation from prominent accounts, including Brazilian President Bolsonaro and Rudy Giuliani — It's notable that Twitter, like other social networks, has announced stricter rules on virus-related misinformation than other types of false posts.

More: Business Insider, Sydney Morning Herald, Mashable, The Jakarta Post, The Guardian, and BuzzFeed News. Tweets: @charlesarthur

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From Mediagazer

Associated Press:

President Trump signed an EO on May 1 instructing CPB and other agencies to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters' reporting

Minho Kim / New York Times:

An appeals court allows the Trump admin to continue withholding funds from federally funded newsrooms, temporarily reversing parts of two lower-court rulings

Sean Burch / The Wrap:

The LA Times Guild says 14 of its members have been laid off, or 6% of its newsroom staff, the third round of newsroom layoffs at LAT in as many years

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More News

Violet Blue / Engadget:

Before using the tools built by data harvesting companies to track the coronavirus pandemic, we must assume that the tools will be abused

More: The Economic Times. Tweets: @stephenlrose

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:

A coalition of UK grassroots UK tech initiatives form the COVID19 Tech Response to coordinate tech talent and solve problems, with 400+ volunteers so far

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

Q&A with CA Rep. Ro Khanna on COVID-19's impact on tech industry, how stimulus' SMB loans work for VC-funded companies, unemployment protections for gig jobs

Tweets: @protocol and @demianbulwa

Charlotte Tucker / EU-Startups:

Preply, an online language tutoring service that uses machine learning to pair tutors with students, raises €9M led by London-based Hoxton Ventures

More: Tech.eu, Tech.eu, PR Newswire, Silicon Canals, TechCrunch, Business Insider, FinSMEs, and EdSurge

Paul Sandle / Reuters:

UK telcos, including BT, Virgin Media, Sky, and TalkTalk, have agreed to remove all data caps on fixed-line broadband services during the coronavirus crisis

More: MacRumors and Cult of Mac. Tweets: @triketora

FinSMEs:

Forager, which lets users book, track, and manage shipments between the US, Mexico, and Canada, raises $10M Series A led by US Venture Partners

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:

A look at the 3D animals and other objects viewable in Google Search using AR on a variety of smartphones and tablets, added since Google's 2019 I/O Conference

More: The Next Web and 9to5Google

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:

Helm.ai, which develops autonomous car software that it claims can sidestep the need for on-road testing, emerges from stealth with $13M in seed funding

More: FinSMEs. Tweets: @sheeltyle

Earlier Picks

Dan Primack / Axios:

HQ Trivia, which laid off its entire staff and shut down in February, has been acquired by an undisclosed investor and has already returned, airing another show

More: Business Insider, VentureBeat, Forbes, New York Post, Android Authority, Digital Trends, The Next Web, The Mac Observer, IGN, CNET, Telegraph, and Mashable

Tweets: @mattwasfunny, @hqtrivia, @tomgara, @kerrymflynn, and @kerrymflynn

Jon Evans / TechCrunch:

Apple and Google should add contact tracing functionality, similar to Singapore's TraceTogether app, in a privacy-respecting way to iOS and Android

More: 9to5Mac and Schneier on Security

Tweets: @florencebonnet, @karanmerwana, @bencapper3, and @tfoil2

Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:

As the Authors Guild voices its opposition to Internet Archive's National Emergency Library, a look at the legal issues related to digital book lending

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

MX Player, an ad-supported video streaming service that has 175M MAUs in India, expands to new international markets including the US, UK, and Australia

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure should let startups and small businesses defer their cloud infrastructure payments for three to six months

More: PYMNTS.com. Tweets: @falonfatemi, @carnage4life, @brupaese, and @joshconstine. Thanks:@joshconstine

Jon Fingas / Engadget:

Report: CDC, state, and local authorities in the US have started using anonymized location data from mobile ads to help plan their response to the pandemic

Mark Wyciślik-Wilson / BetaNews:

Microsoft says it has seen a 775% increase in use of its cloud services worldwide in regions that have enforced social distancing or shelter in place orders

Leo Kelion / BBC:

UK's NHS says it is working with Microsoft, Google, Palantir, and Faculty AI on a dashboard that shows the spread of the virus and NHS' ability to deal with it

More: Business Insider and Technology in the NHS

Tweets: @nhsx, @tomcopsymes, @palantirtech, @danielkorski, @nmrperrin, @jenit, @yvesalexandre, @rachelcoldicutt, @lisafox202, @jdr_tech, @benpatrickwill, @rowlsmanthorpe, @paulias, @peterkwells, @ruskin147, and @halhod