Techmeme
April 18, 2020, 1:40 AM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Sources: Google is working on a “Google card”, a debit card co-branded with banks including Citi, to set itself apart from rival payment services  —  Would you pay with a “Google Card?”  TechCrunch has attained imagery that shows Google is developing its own physical and virtual debit cards.
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple Music on the web exits beta and is available to all subscribers worldwide  —  Last September, Apple launched a web-based Apple Music experience, offering users a similar experience to the Mac version of the Music app with “For You,” “Browse,” and “Radio” sections, along with playlists, recommendations and more.
David Carnoy / CNET:
Apple Music head Oliver Schusser will take over Beats, replacing its president, Luke Wood, who's leaving the company on April 30  —  Apple Music head Oliver Schusser will be taking the top post at Beats, replacing Luke Wood, who's leaving the company on April 30.  —  Enlarge Image
Jessica Guynn / USA Today:
Facebook to add two new “Care Reactions”: an emoji hugging a heart on the main Facebook app and a pulsating heart on Messenger  —  Need a reassuring hug during the COVID-19 pandemic?  Facebook has a new feel-good reaction for that.  —  When even the smallest physical gesture …
Jeran Wittenstein / Bloomberg:
Shopify CTO says the platform is “now handling Black Friday level traffic every day”; Shopify stock gained 50% in the last 7 days, adding $23B in market value  —  Shopify Inc. shares are on track for a record high after an executive said the e-commerce company was experiencing traffic similar …
David Shepardson / Reuters:
In a setback to Amazon, a federal judge put its JEDI cloud contract lawsuit on hold, following a DOD report failing to establish White House interference  —  A U.S. judge on Friday put on hold a suit by Amazon.com Inc challenging the Pentagon's decision to award a $10 billion contract to Microsoft Corp.
Bloomberg:
Source: AWS is restructuring large contracts but is not flexible with small startups; report: Microsoft, Google gave some customers more time to pay cloud bills  —  - Startup requests Google pass along cloud ‘pandemic credits’  — Big customers may get a break from Big 3 utilities of the web
The Atlantic:
Trump's campaign is poised to replicate its 2016 success on Facebook, exploiting how FB's AI ad tools automatically distribute ad spend and target audiences  —  Look at a thousand of the millions of Facebook ads Donald Trump has run, and it's hard to believe that they represent a winning strategy.
Financial Times:
UK's competition watchdog provisionally approves Amazon's investment in Deliveroo, after concluding the startup risked collapse absent new funds  —  CMA says delivery group was at risk of failing without fresh funding  —  The UK's competition regulator has granted provisional approval …
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Binance launches a white paper for Binance Smart Chain, an Ethereum-compatible proof-of-stake blockchain for smart contracts with BNB as a native token  —  Crypto exchange Binance is launching a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain, with BNB as a native token.
Sam Mehmet / Intelligent Transport:
Lime to reactivate small fleets of scooters in some US and European cities and offer free 30-minute rides for health workers and law enforcement officers  —  The pandemic has had a notable impact on transportation, and Lime aims to offer its scooters in select cities as an easy way for people to travel while social distancing.

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
Are you ready for the era of agentic AI?  —  Tech leaders are always talking about what's next, and right now, agentic AI is dominating the discourse.  Equip yourself with the info you need in this recorded webinar.
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.
Zoho:
Introducing captions, dynamic cross-references, table of tables and figures, and more in Zoho Writer  —  Easily ensure that your documents—reports, manuals, research papers, or thesis—are neatly structured …
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:
It's Already Starting...
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Spotlight On:
Corelight's Brian Dye on What He's Learned About Scaling
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Michael Ovitz - Turning Potential into Prominence
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
UiPath CEO Daniel Dines on AI agents replacing our jobs
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Grit:
Brex 3.0: Inside the Radical Turnaround with Pedro Franceschi
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Become a better communicator: Specific frameworks to improve your clarity, influence, and impact | Wes Kao (coach, entrepreneur, advisor)
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:40 AM ET, April 18, 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

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Earlier Picks

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Queenie Wong / CNET:
Jason Snell / Six Colors:
Paresh Dave / Reuters:
Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg:
New York Times: