Techmeme
April 4, 2019, 6:10 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon is readying AirPods-like wireless earbuds with built-in Alexa for as early as the second half of this year  —  - Company plans wireless earbuds for second half of this year  — Move is attempt to take Alexa mobile after flopped Fire phone
Alan Boyle / GeekWire:
Amazon confirms Project Kuiper, its new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide broadband around the world  —  Amazon is joining the race to provide broadband internet access around the globe via thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, newly uncovered filings show.
Washington Post:
Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, announce a divorce settlement that will leave him with 75% of their Amazon stock and all voting power  —  In a tweet Thursday, MacKenzie Bezos said that her divorce from Jeff Bezos was finalized and that she would give her ex-husband voting control of her Amazon shares.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Snapchat debuts Snap Games platform that lets users play real-time multiplayer games with six-second unskippable ads and rewards  —  Snap is unlocking a new revenue stream while giving you something to do in between chats and Stories.  Today Snapchat debuts its Snap Games platform that lets …
Mike Fortin / Windows Blog:
Starting with the May 2019 Update, Windows 10 will no longer auto install feature updates and will let users pause updates for up to 35 days  —  While regular updates are critical to keeping modern devices secure and running smoothly in a diverse and dynamic ecosystem, we have heard clear feedback …
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:
Amazon launches six HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills from health care companies like Cigna and Boston Children's Hospital for uses like scheduling appointments  —  Amazon today announced the introduction of a limited number of voice apps for the Alexa Skills Kit by health care companies like Cigna …
Michelle Toh / CNN:
MIT suspends ties with Huawei and ZTE over US investigations and says any projects working with China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will merit additional review  —  Hong Kong (CNN Business)The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is hitting pause on its relationships with Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE.
Dave Gershgorn / Quartz:
Microsoft is investigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims that some workers say HR overlooked after women shared stories in a long email chain  —  In a far-reaching email chain within Microsoft, women have shared stories of sexual harassment and discrimination …
Paul Karp / The Guardian:
Australia passes law penalizing content service providers and hosting services for failing to quickly remove abhorrent violent content, despite tech opposition  —  Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies' concerns
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft announces it will integrate its WhatsApp-like Kaizala group messaging service into Teams over the next 12 to 18 months  —  Microsoft will be integrating its Kaizala service into Teams over the next 12 to 18 months.  In the interim, it's adding a lot more features to Kaizala.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple cuts the price of HomePod worldwide, dropping it from $349 to $299 in the US Apple Store  —  Apple has officially lowered the price of the HomePod worldwide.  In the price has fallen from $349 to $299, breaking the $300 level.  HomePod has seen promotional discounts at many third party retailers …
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
As more seniors go online, they are largely being left out of digital literacy efforts, making them targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric  —  Older people play an outsized role in civic life.  They also are more likely to be online targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric.
Manish Singh / VentureBeat:
Tonal, maker of a $2,995 in-home workout system that uses machine learning to personalize workouts, raises $45M Series C, bringing the total raised to $90M  —  Fitness startup Tonal today announced it has raised $45 million as it prepares to scale its smart in-home workout system and fend off …
More: TechCrunch and FinSMEs
Brady Dale / CoinDesk:
O(1) Labs, the startup behind the Coda protocol, which reduces the size of the blockchain from gigabytes down to kilobytes, raises $15M Series A  —  A blockchain that makes its blocks disappear has raised a fresh $15 million.  —  Coda protocol, announced last May as the first project of the startup O …
Kelsey Piper / Vox:
Nearly half of Google's external AI board has resigned or is under fire, and the design of the board suggests Google is treating AI ethics like a PR problem  —  One member resigned and two more are under fire.  It's only a week old.  —  Just a week after it was announced, Google's new AI ethics board is already in trouble.
Colin Lecher / The Verge:
SEC: Amazon has to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales of its controversial facial recognition product Rekognition to government agencies  —  Activist shareholders are pressing the proposals  —  Amazon will have to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales …
More: Open MIC
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
Researchers find that Facebook appears to deliver certain ads, despite neutral targeting parameters, in a way that aligns with race and gender stereotypes  —  How exactly Facebook decides who sees what is one of the great pieces of forbidden knowledge in the information age …

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