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November 1, 2019, 8:00 PM
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| Lauren Feiner / CNBC: |
Google to acquire Fitbit at $7.35 per share in cash, valuing the company at about $2.1B — - The acquisition pits Alphabet against fellow tech giant Apple in the wearable fitness tracking space. — Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks on stage during the annual Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, May 8, 2018.
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The Verge, Fitbit, Inc., The Keyword, New York Times, VentureBeat, AnandTech, Washington Post, Android Central, Bloomberg, Windows Central, The Register, The Verge, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, Mashable, AppleInsider, Ars Technica, MacRumors, New York Times, Bloomberg, Tech.co, Variety, Vox, TalkAndroid.com, WebProNews, BetaNews, iPhone Hacks, Search Engine Land, Cult of Mac, ZDNet, Gizmodo, Voicebot.ai, Droid Life, WinBuzzer, Neowin, TechSpot, Coinspeaker, Phandroid, VentureBeat, CNET, Thurrott, Crunchbase News, GeekWire, Michael Tsai, Business Insider, Gizchina, Android Police, SlashGear, Macworld, Digital Trends, Firstpost Tech, Technology Personalized, ExtremeTech, Tom's Guide, Android Authority, iDownloadBlog.com, The Daily Caller, OnMSFT.com, XDA Developers, Fast Company, AndroidGuys, Silicon Republic, 9to5Google, KnowTechie, Pocketnow, Memeburn, PYMNTS.com, Newser, Computer Business Review, Axios, and The Daily Dot
Tweets: @google, @anildash, @neilcybart, @benbajarin, @justinbrookman, @daiwaka, @tiffanycli, @lpolovets, @rosterloh, @backlon, @edmundlee, @tomwarren, @geoffreyfowler, @neilcybart, @scalzi, @markdeloura, @stevekovach, @counternotions, @realdanstoller, @stevekovach, @natashanyt, @a_w_gordon, @daniel_rubino, @ilvestoomas, @mcfaul, @lamonicabuzz, @raztweets, @_am1t, @tonyromm, @marshallk, @alfredwkng, @lexnfx, @tonyromm, @zerohedge, @amberkanwar, @tupp_ed, @lutherlowe, @krazyfrog, @eringriffith, @jonerlichman, @mathowie, @kkiyer90, @owensdamien, and @disappoptimism
| David Ruddock / Android Police: |
Google's Fitbit acquisition feels like a top-down decision of executives who found enough yes men to agree to the delusion that Fitbit can revive Wear OS — Google announced today that it would purchase Fitbit, the ailing manufacturer of fitness-focused wearables and smartwatches, for $2.1 billion.
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The Keyword, Engadget, Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Silicon Valley Business …, and MacDailyNews. Tweets: @rdrv3
| Alex Heath / The Information: |
Source: Facebook held talks to acquire Fitbit but wanted to pay roughly half of the $2.1B that Google eventually agreed to pay — Before Google reached a $2.1 billion deal to buy Fitbit, announced on Friday, Facebook held talks to acquire the smartwatch-maker, according to two people familiar with the situation.
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The Verge, The Next Web, The Keyword, CNET, The Daily Dot, FinSMEs, SiliconANGLE, and 9to5Google
Tweets: @amir, @alexeheath, @nickwingfield, @charlesarthur, and @mikeisaac
| Reuters: |
Sources: CFIUS has launched a review of ByteDance's 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly, as TikTok didn't seek clearance from CFIUS during the acquisition — NEW YORK/BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has launched a national security review of TikTok owner Beijing ByteDance …
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New York Times, Axios, Telegraph, Washington Post, Quartz, Bloomberg, Digital Trends, Financial Times, BBC, PYMNTS.com, Reclaim The Net, The Hill, MIT Technology Review, WinBuzzer, Android Central, The Verge, The Guardian, Fast Company, CNET, New York Post, Variety, and Seeking Alpha
Tweets: @anaswanson, @pkafka, @oneunderscore__, @matthewstoller, @profcarroll, @karissabe, @nytimes, @gwbstr, @gaberivera, @hawleymo, and @marcorubio
| Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire: |
Satya Nadella says Microsoft won Pentagon's JEDI contract by focusing on customer's needs and company's unique tech capabilities, and staying out of politics — Microsoft's surprise victory last week in a protracted competition to build the Pentagon's war cloud has some critics asking whether politics played any role in the outcome.| Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac: |
Apple TV+ launches with nine original titles in 100+ countries for $4.99/month or $49.99/year with a one year free trial on the purchase of a new Apple device — After months of waiting, Apple's TV streaming service Apple TV+ is now live. You can start watching on any platform that offers …
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MacRumors, TechCrunch, AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, Android Authority, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Apple, AppleInsider, MacRumors, Engadget, iMore, Variety, AppAdvice.com, CordCutters, iDownloadBlog.com, Bloomberg, CNBC, Gotta Be Mobile, The Next Web, Windows Central, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Telegraph, iMore, Thurrott, Bloomberg, Engadget, Polygon, 9to5Toys, and MacDailyNews
Tweets: @markgurman, @snazzyq, @jaketapper, @davidcampbell73, @reesew, @appleinsider, and @bzamayo
| Alex Sherman / CNBC: |
Sources: NBCUniversal is considering making its ad-supported Peacock streaming service free for everyone, with an ad-free tier available for subscribers — - NBC is considering giving away the ad-supported version of its streaming service Peacock for free to everyone, sources say.
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Android Headlines, Digital Trends, The Streamable, CordCutters, The Verge, Engadget, 9to5Mac, CNET, Seeking Alpha, and iDownloadBlog.com
Tweets: @sherman4949, @pkafka, @sherman4949, @rosskimbarovsky, @mgsiegler, and @jamiepastore9. Thanks:@mattrosoff
| Kyle Orland / Ars Technica: |
At Blizzcon, Blizzard president gives vague apology over the Hearthstone Hong Kong protests response, says he accepts “accountability,” promises to “do better” — Brack accepts “accountability,” promises to “do better” without offering details on how.
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The Verge, Engadget, VentureBeat, Kotaku, Polygon, New York Times, PC Gamer, CNET, GameSpot, and VentureBeat. Tweets: @shannon_liao
| BBC: |
Investigation finds domestic workers in Kuwait are sold using Instagram, promoted via hashtags; other apps on Play Store and App Store list people for sale — Drive around the streets of Kuwait and you won't see these women. They are behind closed doors, deprived of their basic rights …
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BBC, Boing Boing, and The Mac Observer
Tweets: @slpng_giants, @aronlund, @martinpatience, @khalidalbaih, @blmohr, @moonalice, @maariaris, @matthewstoller, @cahill_lou, and @bbcworld
| Ryan Christoffel / MacStories: |
Adobe updates its Creative Cloud iOS app with 1,300 free fonts that can now be used by any iOS 13 app supporting custom fonts API — Today Adobe released an update to its Creative Cloud app on iPhone and iPad which introduced a set of thousands of fonts that can now be installed …
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Adobe Blog, 9to5Mac, The Verge, AppleInsider, The Mac Observer, iMore, and Engadget
Tweets: @viticci, @viticci, @adobedesign, @iryantldr, and @benricem
| Jeremy Bogaisky / Forbes: |
China-based autonomous flying taxi startup Ehang files for a US IPO, says its revenues declined 15.6% YoY to $4.7M in H1 2019, as losses increased 42% to $5.5M — Deputy editor for Industry; eyes on the skies — EHang, a Chinese company that is preparing to launch what could be the first …
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The Verge, TechCrunch, Crunchbase News, and SEC
| Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge: |
New York State Supreme Court dismisses Uber's lawsuit challenging NYC's law that capped the number of ride-hail vehicles that operate in the city — Taxi driver groups call it a ‘victory’ — Uber's lawsuit challenging New York City's first-in-the-nation law capping the number … | Josh Constine / TechCrunch: |
In an earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook's political ads policy, estimates ads from politicians will be less than 0.5% of company's revenue in 2020 — As Jack Dorsey announced his company Twitter would drop all political ads, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg doubled-down on his policy of refusing to fact check politicians' ads.| @jack: |
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OneZero, Digital Trends, The Guardian, The Next Web, Marketing Land, Inc42 Media, infosecurity-magazine.com, Social Media Today, The Mozilla Blog, Slate, Politico, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Startup, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @willoremus, @jack, @jack, @aoc, @willoremus, @jack, @jalter, @jack, @herrmanndigital, @davidakaye, @nedsegal, @jack, @om, @hillaryclinton, @mcclure111, @mcclure111, @charlottejee, and @fabiochiusi
| Google Maps Help: |
Google says it has started rolling out incognito mode for Google Maps on Android, in which users' activity will not be saved to their Google Account — When you turn on Incognito mode, your activity in Maps—like the places you search or get directions to—won't be saved to your Google Account.
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Engadget, Yahoo Finance, 9to5Google, Android Central, KnowTechie, Android Police, Android Authority, Slashdot, and SlashGear
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The power of asynchronous communication: Striking the right balance in the workplace — Asynchronous communication may have surged during the transition to remote work, but as the years passed and teams returned …
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