Techmeme
March 20, 2019, 7:35 PM

Top News

EU Press Room:
The European Commission has fined Google €1.49B for “abusive practices in online advertising” and breaching EU antitrust rules  —  The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules.  Google has abused its market dominance by imposing …
Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Apple:
Apple launches new AirPods with hands-free “Hey Siri” and more talk time for $159, with wireless charging case for $199, available to order today  —  New AirPods Are Powered by the New H1 Chip and Feature 50 Percent More Talk Time, Hands-Free “Hey Siri” and the Option of a Wireless Charging Case
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Report: Apple approved production of its wireless charging AirPower mat earlier this year, after announcing it in 2017 with a 2018 launch date  —  The Wall Street Journal today reports that Apple approved production of its long-awaited wireless charging mat AirPower earlier this year …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Google's Stadia could be the future of gaming but the announcement left questions unanswered, like cost and subscription, launch date, or available games  —  A lot of questions remain unanswered  —  “The future of gaming is not a box,” according to Google.  “It's a place.”
Vlad Savov / The Verge:
By integrating Stadia into YouTube, Google plans to cement YouTube's dominance, as 200M users already watch gaming content there every day  —  Google's starting a revolution just to keep things as they are  —  Yesterday, Google announced plans for a new game-streaming service called Stadia.
Mike Isaac / New York Times:
Sources: WSJ plans to join the new paid tier of Apple News to be announced on Monday, expected to cost $10/month; NYT and The Washington Post have opted out  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Wall Street Journal plans to join a new paid subscription news service run by Apple, according to two people familiar …
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Oculus announces $399 Rift S, developed alongside Lenovo, with higher-res 1280x1440 displays and improved optics, available in spring  —  After years of high-profile onstage announcements, Oculus has decided to quietly deliver the successor to its flagship Rift virtual reality headset …
Paris Martineau / Wired:
Inside Airbnb's “guerrilla war” against US local governments, which often face a slew of lawsuits from the company when they try to collect occupancy taxes  —  “READ MY LIPS: We want to pay taxes," Chris Lehane, Airbnb's global head of public policy, told the nation's mayors in 2016.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Michelle Toh / CNN:
Profile of Connie Chan, a16z's first partner promoted from within, who has built a reputation for sourcing deals with startups like Pinterest and Lime  —  Hong Kong (CNN Business)For years, venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz stood by a steadfast rule: to become a general partner at the firm …
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Uber says Freight, which connects truck drivers to shipping companies, is expanding to Europe, starting in the Netherlands  —  Uber Freight, the newly spun out Uber business unit that helps truck drivers connect with shipping companies, is kicking off its global expansion plans.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon adds a built-in light to its entry-level Kindle, now available to preorder for $89.99, shipping April 10  —  You should probably just invest in a Paperwhite, though  —  Amazon is announcing an update to its entry-level Kindle (you know, the one that's just called “Kindle” …
Scott Stein / CNET:
Qualcomm says it is developing Snapdragon-powered VR and AR headsets that will double as wireless VR for PCs, with hardware arriving this year  —  There are just too many VR helmets and goggles out there — getting even one on your face is enough of a struggle.

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.
Zoho:
The crossroads of AI and SaaS  —  Enabling businesses of all sizes to build products in-house and disqualifying SaaS tools that are not AI-powered.  In a span of just two years, AI has made a name for itself as the key driver for innovation.
Genesys:
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots  —  How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Fri. 12/20 - Gemini Flash Thinking
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 7:35 PM ET, March 20, 2019.

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

New York Times: