Techmeme
February 5, 2020, 7:20 PM

Top News

Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
LinkedIn says CEO Jeff Weiner is stepping down in June after 11 years in the role, becoming executive chairman, to be replaced by SVP of Product Ryan Roslansky  —  After 11 steady years as the CEO of the professional networking company, Weiner is yielding the reins to deputy Ryan Roslansky.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft reorganizes its Windows software and hardware teams into one group, called Devices + Windows and led by Panos Panay, amid other reshuffling  —  It's reorg day in Microsoft's Experiences and Devices unit.  Here's what's happening, including what's happening with Windows client and Surface.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple adds universal purchases for iOS and macOS apps to the Xcode 11.4 beta, letting developers bundle apps  —  The new Xcode 11.4 beta update, released today alongside the iOS 13.4, tvOS 13.4 and macOS Catalina 10.15.4 betas, includes support for universal purchases …
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Apple releases the first iOS 13.4 beta, which includes a “CarKey” API, making it possible to unlock, lock, and start a car with an iPhone or Watch  —  Apple today released the first beta version of iOS 13.4 for developers, and now 9to5Mac has found evidences to a new feature …
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Spotify will buy The Ringer, the podcast-centric media company run and owned by Bill Simmons, and plans to hire Simmons and his approximately 90 employees  —  It's the fourth podcast deal Spotify has done in a year.  —  Spotify is making yet another big-budget purchase aimed at getting …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue of $2B, up 24% YoY; 271M total MAUs, up 31% YoY, as paying users rise 29% YoY to 124M; 16% of its MAUs engage with podcast content  —  Streaming music now accounts for more than 80% of all music consumption in key markets like the US, and one of the big leaders in the field is reaping some of the rewards.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google says Chrome's ad blocker will expand to target disruptive video ads in August, including long pre-roll ads, mid-roll ads, and overlays ads on video  —  Last year, Google made Chrome's standards-backed ad blocker fully available around the world.  The Better Ads Standards today announced a …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says it resolved an issue that caused Windows 10 Search, which is powered by Bing, to return blank results for several hours  —  Microsoft's Bing search was misbehaving in Windows 10  —  Microsoft's built-in Windows search went down for many users for more than three hours today.
Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
Facebook says older versions of the WhatsApp desktop app, which uses Electron, let hackers access files on macOS and Windows via a malicious link in messages  —  Yet another Electron implementation of a “secure” app turns out not to be.  —  Facebook has issued a security advisory for a flaw …
Alfred Ng / CNET:
YouTube sends cease-and-desist letter to Clearview AI over photo scraping after a similar move by Twitter; Facebook says it is reviewing Clearview AI practices  —  Google and YouTube have sent a cease-and-desist letter to Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that has been scraping billions …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Researchers discover a now patched vulnerability in Philips Hue smart light bulbs that could have let hackers infiltrate users' home or corporate networks  —  Might want to check if you've got firmware 1935144040  —  Four years ago, security researchers showed how a flying drone could hack …
Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:
Lightning Labs, which wants to speed up bitcoin transactions, raises $10M Series A led by Craft Ventures and rolls out its first enterprise product  —  Elizabeth Stark stands out in the digital currency world.  The 30-something entrepreneur is at ease among crypto's tribal subcultures …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Researcher details a backdoor in Huawei-owned HiSilicon chips used in millions of smart devices, including security cameras, that has been active since 2013  —  Researcher said he did not notify HiSilicon due to a lack of trust in the hardware vendor to adequately fix the issue.
David Ingram / NBC News:
A look at the growing privacy industry, as hundreds of tech companies help enterprises and consumers navigate the California Consumer Privacy Act  —  Privacy-focused technology companies are offering a variety of services, from personal data scrubbing to business-focused software meant to help companies comply with the law.

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More News

Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Charlie Warzel / New York Times: