Techmeme
May 13, 2020, 10:55 AM

Top News

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Facebook will pay $52M in a settlement covering 11,250 content moderators as compensation for mental health issues developed on the job  —  Current and former moderators will all be paid a minimum of $1,000  —  In a landmark acknowledgment of the toll that content moderation takes on its workforce …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Max Willens / Digiday:
Sources: Apple is asking the publishers participating in Apple News+ for permission to produce audio versions of stories, with Apple handling production costs  —  Apple News+ is pivoting to audio.  —  Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to return employees to offices sooner than rival tech companies, with staff coming back in phases  —  - Company to start letting more workers return to major offices  — Google, Facebook will allow remote work through end of 2020  —  Apple Inc. plans …
CNBC:
Sources: Uber has been in off and on talks for a year to acquire Grubhub, but the parties remain at odds about price  —  - Uber has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC Tuesday.  — Grubhub's stock spiked as much as 38% …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Dell announces a new XPS 17 and a redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays, only USB-C ports, and Intel 10th-gen CPUs, starting at $1,300 and $1,500  —  Dell goes all USB-C and 16:10 for its XPS lineup  —  Dell is making some big changes to its XPS lineup today, with a redesigned XPS 15 and a new XPS 17.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Spatial makes its VR meeting rooms free to use and adds support for the web, mobile, and Oculus Quest  —  Two years ago, we called Spatial's virtual collaboration platform “FaceTime in VR.”  Since then, the company has focused on corporate users who have access to pricey augmented reality headsets …
More: VentureBeat, CNET, and WiredThanks:@lucyagoss
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon updates the Fire HD 8 tablet with a faster processor, more RAM, more storage, and USB-C, with the base model getting a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Along with a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Amazon has announced a new update for its Fire HD 8 tablet, adding a faster processor, more RAM, and USB-C charging.
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Instagram adds bulk comment deletion and control for who can mention or tag you on iOS, to help fight bullying; the ability to pin comments is being tested  —  Instagram is rolling out some changes today to keep the platform a more positive place for users.
Robert Stevens / Decrypt:
Chat app Telegram says it's abandoning its TON blockchain project, after the SEC challenged the legality of its $1.7B ICO and delayed the network's launch  —  Telegram, the operator of the 400 million-strong messenger app, today announced that it has given up on its upcoming blockchain network …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Alphabet's Loon signs deal with carrier Vodacom to bring its commercial internet service to Mozambique  —  Loon, the Alphabet -owned company that's using stratospheric balloons to provide high-speed bandwidth to hard-to-serve areas without strong ground infrastructure, has signed a new deal …
More: Loon and Engadget
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Security experts believe online voting systems do not have strong enough security guarantees for prime time despite seemingly successful trials in the US  —  Proponents of mobile and internet voting point to its uneventful track record.  That's not good enough.
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed News:
Jack Dorsey tells Twitter staff they can work from home indefinitely even after the pandemic passes; policy won't apply to some jobs requiring physical presence  —  Some Twitter employees will never return to their office.  —  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed employees on Tuesday telling …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Expel, which offers security operations as a service and helps use automation to reduce security staff, raises $50M Series D led by CapitalG  —  Even in these trying economic times, there are some services that companies can't do without.  Having good security tools is one of them.
JD Alois / Crowdfund Insider:
CBInsights: global VC funding in fintech totaled $6.1B in Q1 across 404 deals vs. $7.1B in Q1 2019; US startups raised $3.3B, India topped China with $421M  —  - Twitter- Facebook- LinkedIn- Pinterest- Reddit- HackerNews- Telegram- Weibo- Email- Print- Subscribe

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:
Everything new in the Zoho Sign iOS mobile app  —  Ranked highly in the iOS App Store (4.9 stars), Zoho Sign's mobile app for iPhone is a user favorite.  We're thrilled to share that the app has been enhanced …
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:
Why COULDN'T Apple Make An iPhone In The US?
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Derek Thompson (Writer, The Atlantic) and Zach Weinberg (Co-founder & CEO, Curie.Bio) Discuss the Tariff Withdrawal and America's Future
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Hard Fork:
Big Tech's Tariff Chaos + A.I. 2027 + Llama Drama
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.
Great Chat:
The bull case for domestic manufacturing
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.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Why DOGE is killing the agency that keeps banks from ripping you off
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
OpenAI's CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter)
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 10:55 AM ET, May 13, 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

Earlier Picks

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Joe Tidy / BBC: