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Techmeme
February 19, 2021, 11:05 AM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces new standalone versions of Office: Office 2021, available for Windows and macOS later this year, and Office LTSC for commercial customers  —  Microsoft Office LTSC is also arriving for businesses  —  Microsoft is announcing two new versions of Office today …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for iPhone 12 that would wirelessly charge the handset  —  - Accessory has faced development issues related to software  — Wireless charging unit may be popular with frequent users  —  Apple Inc. is working …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google releases Android 12 developer preview, available for Pixel devices, with under-the-hood changes adding security, support for more media formats, and more  —  The big, consumer-facing changes will come later this year  —  Google is releasing a developer preview for the next version of Android …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
UK Supreme Court rules that Uber drivers should be classified as workers not independent contractors, concluding an almost five-year legal battle  —  - The U.K.'s Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Uber's drivers should be classified as workers rather than independent contractors.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Facebook's refusal to pay a misguided media tax, pushed by Rupert Murdoch, is a defense of the open web and criticizing it for rejecting a link tax is bizarre  —  None of this should have been a surprise.  Back in September we wrote about Facebook publicly saying that if Australia went forward …
Damien Cave / New York Times:
William Easton / About Facebook:
Nicholas McElroy / ABC:
Benedict Evans:
Nikkei Asia:
Sources: Huawei notifies suppliers that it plans to order components for 70M to 80M smartphones this year, down over 60% from the 189M it shipped last year  —  China's largest handset maker suffers from US sanctions Biden appears to back  —  TOKYO — Huawei Technologies has notified …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Microsoft completes its probe into its SolarWinds-related breach, finds hackers stole some source code but no evidence that they abused its internal systems  —  Microsoft says it has completed its investigation into its SolarWinds-related breach.  —  Microsoft's security team said today …
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
House Republicans introduce the CONNECT Act, which aims to expand broadband connectivity and competition, but would limit government-run municipal networks  —  GOP claims ban would “promote competition by limiting government-run networks.”  —  House Republicans have unveiled their plan for …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Jack Dorsey are scheduled to testify at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on platform misinformation on March 25  —  The hostility toward Big Tech that had taken hold in Washington has intensified after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol
Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge:
WhatsApp says it will offer users the ability to review its new privacy policy through a banner inside its app, ahead of the update's May 15 launch  —  The company is trying to set the record straight on private messages and what's changing  —  WhatsApp has a new plan to explain …
Usman Pirzada / Wccftech:
Nvidia announces dedicated crypto mining GPUs and says RTX 3060 GPU will detect the Ethereum cryptocurrency mining algorithm and limit the hash rate by 50%  —  NVIDIA has finally conceded to the overwhelming mining demand facing the GPU market right now and launched a lineup …

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More News

Rest of World:
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Todd Spangler / Variety:

Earlier Picks

Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Bloomberg: