Techmeme
September 28, 2021, 8:30 PM

Top News

Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Amazon debuts Astro, a $1K short robot with an Echo Show-like 10" display on top, meant to roam around the home; invite-only program is open for applications  —  In the fall of 1962, TV-watching audiences were invited to meet the Jetsons, a space-dwelling, flying-car-driving family from the future and their dog, Astro.
Matthew Gault / VICE:
Internal docs show how Amazon's Astro robot decision-making works; sources who worked on versions of Astro describe it as a “privacy nightmare” and “dangerous”  —  Leaked meetings show the robot will heavily rely on facial recognition and user behavior, but sources who worked on Astro say the robot is flawed.
Wall Street Journal:
Internal docs: Facebook was “exploring playdates as a growth lever”, including engaging tweens as they hung out together  —  It has investigated how to engage young users in response to competition from Snapchat, TikTok; ‘Exploring playdates as a growth lever’
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Amazon opens an invite-only program for its previously-announced $250 home surveillance drone, the Always Home Cam  —  Ring's $250 Always Home Cam is real and ready to fly into your living room  —  First announced at last year's Amazon hardware event, the Ring Always Home Cam is now ready for take-off.
Richard Lawler / The Verge:
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft opens the Windows app store to third-party app stores; Amazon and Epic Games will add the first storefront apps in the coming months  —  Amazon and Epic Games Store will be the first to integrate into the Microsoft Store  —  Microsoft is opening up its own app store in Windows even further today …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Netflix acquires its first game studio, Night School Studio, which was founded by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines in 2014 and is best known for the game Oxenfree  —  Netflix has acquired its first game studio with the acquisition of Oxenfree creator Night School Studio.  The purchase price wasn't disclosed.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon details Amazon Glow, a family-oriented $300 device with an 8" display and projector that creates a 19" touch-sensitive area on a surface in front of it  —  Amazon today introduced Amazon Glow, a new, interactive device aimed at families that allows kids to interact with family members …
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Amazon unveils a $250 Echo Show 15, with a 15.6-inch 1080p display, wall mount, Visual ID for tailored content, picture frame mode, and more  —  Amazon just took the wraps off the latest — and largest — addition to the Echo Show family.  The Echo Show 15 takes the company's smart screen technology …
Krebs on Security:
Researcher discloses AirTag Lost Mode vulnerability that enables a phishing attack, and says Apple spent three months investigating and refused basic questions  —  The new $30 Airtag tracking device from Apple has a feature that allows anyone who finds one of these tiny location beacons …
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Facebook asks Oversight Board for guidance on what content should get a second review via its cross-check program, which reportedly shields VIPs from its rules  —  Facebook is calling on its Oversight Board to issue policy recommendations about its cross-check system, a controversial program …
Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
1Password partners with email host Fastmail to introduce Masked Email, which creates unique emails for logins  —  Sign in with Apple has allowed iPhone and Mac users to protect their privacy by allowing them to generate random email addresses when they need to access a new website, service or app.
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon debuts $80 Halo View fitness band, the first device from its Halo health and wellness initiative with a screen, alongside a Halo Fitness service and more  —  Amazon unveiled a new health band called Halo View, the second device from its Halo health-and-wellness initiative, and the first with a display.
Tom Krazit / Protocol:
Cloudflare announces object storage service R2, running across its global network, and takes aim at AWS by forgoing data egress fees  —  Cloudflare is ready to launch a new cloud object storage service that promises to be cheaper than the established alternatives, a step the company believes …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Six creators from Clubhouse's 25-person creator program say it did not deliver sponsorships for their shows, leading them to look elsewhere  —  Dozens of Clubhouse creators had been anticipating their first sponsorship meeting for months.  As the inaugural class of Clubhouse's “Creator First” …
Sarah Rieger / CBC News:
Vaccine passport app Portpass, which has 650,000+ registered users across Canada according to the company's CEO, had a security flaw exposing private user info  —  Vaccine passport app has more than 650,000 registered users, according to its CEO  —  Private proof-of-vaccination app Portpass …

Sponsor Posts

Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
Knowledge management vs. document management  —  Document management is the process of storing and tracking documented information within the organization, while knowledge management is a more broader approach …
Hamming:
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy  —  Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Tue. 11/26 - Apple Going Too Thin Again?
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:30 PM ET, September 28, 2021.

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

Gene Park / Washington Post:
Kellen Browning / New York Times:

Earlier Picks

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Mitchell Clark / The Verge: