Techmeme
October 2, 2020, 3:20 PM

Top News

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
After criticism of racial bias, Twitter says its automated image cropping showed “salient” areas of the image, but will change it to give users more control  —  Twitter will change its automated image cropping feature after users complained that it was biased.
Mirko Ranieri / The Keyword:
Google Maps' Live View AR feature now includes notable landmarks in ~25 cities around the world, and gets location sharing, improved accuracy, and more  —  Live View in Google Maps helps you keep your bearings so you can find your way around.  With new ways to use Live View …
Arnold Kim / MacRumors:
YouTube restores Picture in Picture functionality to everyone on its mobile website on iOS 14, after limiting its availability to Premium users a few weeks ago  —  Tonight, the YouTube website has started allowing iOS 14 devices to use the built-in Picture in Picture functionality for its videos even without a Premium account.
Dan Whateley / Business Insider:
Six former Triller employees say the 13M MAUs it announced in Oct. 2019 was over 5X what they were seeing on internal metrics, as a screenshot shows ~2M MAUs  —  - Short-form-video app Triller, a TikTok rival, touted massive user growth last year that some former employees believe was inflated.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon says that of its 1.37M frontline workers, 19K+ contracted COVID-19 between March 1 and Sept. 19, with an infection rate lower than general US population  —  - Amazon on Thursday released comprehensive data into the spread of the coronavirus across its workforce.
Stu Woo / Wall Street Journal:
As QAnon presence on LinkedIn grows, the network is taking steps to limit the spread but does not sanction members for displaying support on their profiles  —  As more users show support for the conspiracy theories, the website reacts to those who break its guidelines
Stephanie Chan / Sensor Tower Blog:
Global app revenue grew 32% YoY in Q3 2020 to $29.3B, with spending in the App Store growing 31% to $19B and in the Play Store growing 33.8% YoY to $10.3B  —  Worldwide consumer spending in mobile apps reached $29.3 billion and their installs climbed to 36.5 billion across Apple's App Store …
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Netflix support document says 4K streaming will work only on Macs that have a T2 security chip and run macOS 11.0 Big Sur with the latest Safari browser  —  Macs without a T2 chip can't watch 4K Netflix  —  macOS Big Sur, Apple's upcoming release of its Mac operating system …
The Verge:
Facebook moderators at Accenture say they were told to return to the office despite the pandemic; Facebook says their work can't be done remotely  —  Employees are concerned about COVID-19 now that they're being told to return starting October 12th  —  Facebook moderators employed …
The Verge:
HP debuts 14-inch Spectre x360 laptop with a 3:2 aspect ratio, 11th-gen Intel processors, Thunderbolt 4, and AI-based noise removal features, starting at $1,199  —  Plus updates for Spectre x360 13 and HP's Envy lineup  —  HP has just announced several new laptops, including …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google says it will turn off face retouching by default and avoid references to “beauty” in its Camera app, starting with the Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, and 5  —  When Digital Wellbeing launched, it was initially used to manage how often people use their phones.
CNBC:
Sources: Airbnb is aiming to raise around $3B in its upcoming IPO, planned for some time in December  —  - Home rental company Airbnb is aiming to raise around $3 billion in its upcoming initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Amazon third-party sellers are using Facebook and WeChat groups to find users who write fake reviews; Facebook removed three US groups linked to such schemes  —  Third-party sellers are evading detection by hopping between tech platforms  —  The halloween cat collar (three pack …
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Portland-based Eclypsium, which helps detect, analyze, and prevent security threats at the firmware level, raises $13M, bringing its total raised to $25M  —  Portland, Ore.-based startup Eclypsium raised $13 million to help expand its enterprise hardware security technology.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google will pay publishers $1B+ through 2023 to create and curate high-quality journalism for the new Google News Showcase, starting in Germany and Brazil  —  Google will pay publishers more than $1 billion over the next three years to create and curate high-quality journalism for a new set …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
The Senate Commerce Committee votes to subpoena CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter to testify before the panel about concerns over Section 230  —  The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter to testify before the panel …

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
The brand supporting the biggest brands in tech  —  Deliver memorable experiences throughout the customer journey with customer experience support from TELUS Digital.  Scale quickly, automate efficiently and win decisively.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
From app chaos to business clarity: How to solve software overload  —  The software overload dilemma: A maze or a highway?  Imagine driving through a city where every street follows different rules, forcing constant stops, detours, and delays.
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

Channels with Peter Kafka:
Inside PJ Vogt's low budget, super successful podcast
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.
Spotlight On:
Speak CEO Connor Zwick on Building the Next Great Language Learning App
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Techmeme Ride Home:
The Big M&A Test I Was Waiting For
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Invest Like the Best:
Alex Wiltschko - Giving Computers A Sense Of Smell
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:
How Trump's tariff chaos is already changing global trade
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Grit:
From Bootstrapped to $12B: Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on Life After the Exit
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:20 PM ET, October 2, 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

TechCrunch:
Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:

Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Michael McSweeney / The Block:
Gordon Corera / BBC:
Tom Warren / The Verge: