Techmeme: Dish's Sling TV now has 2.5M subscribers, losing 94,000 in Q4, the first time it lost subscribers since its 2015 launch (Todd Spangler/Variety)

Google launches Android 11 Developer Preview earlier than expected, with new display types, improved messaging, biometrics, and more; final release expected Q3 — Following an inadvertent tease last week, Google today officially launched the Android 11 Developer Preview.

Mishaal Rahman / XDA Developers:

Android 11 boosts privacy with temporary app permissions, like “Allow Once” option in iOS, and requiring apps use Scoped Storage API, despite developer backlash — Ahead of schedule, Google today released the first Developer Preview of the next version of the Android OS: Android 11.

More: Android Developers Blog, Android Developers, 9to5Google, Android Police, Ars Technica, Android Headlines, Android Police, Android Police, Android Police, and Android Police

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

EU issues proposals to drive digitization across industries and sectors, including rules for high risk AI systems and a regulatory framework for data governance — European Union lawmakers have set out a first bundle of proposals for a new digital strategy for the bloc …

Joseph Menn / Reuters:

Sources: following Brexit, Google plans to move UK user accounts out of EU's jurisdiction and into the US', where privacy protections are weaker — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google is planning to move its British users' accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators …

Tweets: @slpng_giants, @blmohr, @iainthomson, @podehaye, @mikebutcher, @andymcgeady, @gavinsblog, and @arashbahmani

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed News:

Inside the FBI's complaint against two ex-Twitter employees who allegedly accessed personal info of thousands of users on behalf of Saudi Arabia for $300K+ — Ali Alzabarah was panicked. His heart raced as he drove home from Twitter's San Francisco headquarters in the early evening on Dec. 2, 2015.

Tweets: @kantrowitz, @glukianoff, @katienotopoulos, @zeynep, @kimzetter, @kantrowitz, @rmac18, @kantrowitz, @clarajeffery, @scottlucas, and @johnpaczkowski

Michael del Castillo / Forbes:

Coinbase becomes a Visa Principal Member, allowing it to issue bitcoin debit cards for other crypto companies and traditional firms — Credit card giant Visa has granted its principal membership to a cryptocurrency company for the first time. Officially awarded to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

TikTok announces new Family Safety Mode parental controls to limit kids' usage with screen time management, DM limits, and more, coming first to the UK — TikTok announced today the introduction of a new set of parental controls, called “Family Safety Mode,” designed to let parents set limits …

More: TikTok, The Verge, USA Today, Engadget, CNN, CNET, Digital Trends, 9to5Mac, BBC, and Android Central

Tweets: @jasonlk and @roi

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Apple sends a cease and desist letter to the author of “App Store Confidential”, published in Germany by an ex-Apple employee, claiming it reveals trade secrets — Apple is aiming to stop the sale of a new insider book called “App Store Confidential,” written …

More: AppleInsider, iMore, The Verge, iDownloadBlog.com, Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac, The Mac Observer, iPhone Hacks, Patently Apple, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @drbarnard and @mcwm

Dan Primack / Axios:

Inside Founders Fund's deal process, where smaller investments only need limited partner approval, as it has raised its seventh fund and a $1.5B growth fund — Founders Fund has raised $3 billion for a pair of new funds, so expect a slew of headlines about how “Peter Thiel's venture capital firm” is now flush with cash.

More: TechCrunch and Silicon Valley Business …

Tweets: @rabois, @briansin, and @dannycrichton

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft launches a unified Office app for iOS and Android, combining Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single app; standalone versions will remain available — Even more mobile features are on the way soon — Microsoft is releasing its new unified Office app for iOS and Android today …

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

An in-depth look at Samsung's Ultra Thin Glass, used on the Galaxy Z Flip: how its thinness allows it to fold but requires a plastic protective layer — On February 11th, 2020, Samsung introduced the world's first folding glass phone: the Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung declared that it had broken …

More: Business Wire, 9to5Google, SlashGear, Liliputing, and Android Police

Tweets: @starfire2258, @mcwm, and @reckless

Andrew Liszewski / Gizmodo:

Larry Tesler, an influential figure at Xerox PARC and Apple who coined “cut, copy, paste” and advocated for modeless computing, has died at 74 — The advent of the personal computer wasn't just about making these powerful machines available to everyone, it was also about making …

More: Cult of Mac, The Verge, The Register, AppleInsider, Daring Fireball, Michael Tsai, and The Mac Observer

Tweets: @mkapor, @appleinsider, @codeorg, and @mit_csail

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Dish's Sling TV now has 2.5M subscribers, losing 94,000 in Q4, the first time it lost subscribers since its 2015 launch — Dish Network continued to feel the cord-cutting sting in the fourth quarter of 2019: While its total subscriber losses in the period were not as bad as the year earlier …

More: Hollywood Reporter, Fast Company, Android Headlines, and CNET

See also Mediagazer

NBC News:

Chess has seen rapid viewership growth on Twitch, with time spent watching rising by 500% since 2016, fostering a new culture in a previously staid domain — Grandmasters and upstarts are reinventing the game online, becoming its most visible ambassadors and arguably its first entertainers.

More: Slashdot. Tweets: @somospostpc, @davidhigdon, and @smithymayo

Katie Paul / Reuters:

IRS lawsuit against Facebook, alleging the company owes $9B+ in taxes after shifting profits to Ireland, begins in San Francisco — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc is slated to begin a tax trial in a San Francisco court on Tuesday, as the Internal Revenue Service tries to convince …

More: The Verge and AppleInsider

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google begins rolling out two Google Docs features: autocorrect, enabled by default, and Smart Compose, for paying customers — Last November, Google Docs started testing autocorrect and Smart Compose as part of leveraging machine learning to improve user productivity.

More: G Suite Updates Blog, TechCrunch, G Suite Updates Blog, The Verge, Android Police, Input, TechRadar.com, and Android Headlines

Tweets: @kantrowitz, @caseynewton, and @mat

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:

Uber introduces new “Report Safety Issue” feature, letting riders discreetly report non-emergency safety concerns in real time, available in the US and Canada — Is your driver texting — Uber updated its app to let riders “discreetly” report instances that may not rise …

More: Uber Newsroom, Yahoo Finance, Neowin, SlashGear, and Input

Julie Verhage / Bloomberg:

Profile of neobank Chime, which has 8M accounts, is reportedly valued at $5.8B, and will soon offer 1.6% interest on savings, compared to industry average of 1% — In Silicon Valley, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are making big bets that the future of banking is digital …

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @technology and @alex

Dave Gershgorn / OneZero :

Profile of Japan-based NEC, which has been a longtime provider of facial recognition services globally and garners less scrutiny than new entrants in the space — July 2018, the mayor of Irving, Texas, signed a contract that would dramatically expand how the city's police department could investigate crimes using facial recognition.

More: Vox and VICE

Tweets: @ozm, @davegershgorn, @ozm, @bcmerchant, and @mvzelenks

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Facebook is internally testing a tabbed version of News Feed for mobile that includes the Most Relevant, Most Recent, and Already Seen feeds — Facebook may make it easier to escape its ranking algorithm and explore the News Feed in different formats. Facebook has internally prototyped …

More: The Next Web, iDownloadBlog.com, KnowTechie, 9to5Mac, XDA Developers, Social Media Today, and Input

Tweets: @wongmjane, @alexvoica, @joshconstine, and @wongmjane

Billy Steele / Engadget:

As Photoshop turns 30, Adobe begins rolling out new desktop and mobile features, including bringing the Object Selection tool to iPad — Photoshop turns 30 today, and Adobe is celebrating with some worthwhile updates to the photo-editing app on both the desktop and iPad.

Nick Turner / Bloomberg:

Groupon says it will shutter Groupon Goods, its e-commerce platform for physical products, after reporting worse-than-expected results; stock drops over 40% — - Company plans to abandon the business of selling goods — Groupon will focus on being marketplace for local experiences

More: Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Gizmodo, PYMNTS.com, The Business Journals, The Verge, Engadget, Input, and Business Wire

Joseph Cox / VICE:

Yodlee, America's largest financial data broker, says the data that it sells is anonymous, but a leaked Yodlee doc shows millions of people could be unmasked — Yodlee, the largest financial data broker in the U.S., sells data pulled from the bank and credit card transactions of tens …

Tweets: @scriptjunkie1, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, @josephfcox, and @neerajka

Alex Clayton / Meritech Capital:

Financial analysis of 12 high-growth SaaS companies that went public in 2019, including Cloudflare and Slack, shows median annual revenue of $242M, up ~48% YoY — Logos of High-growth SaaS IPOs in 2019: — ‍ — Last year I wrote a post summarizing the 2018 cohort of SaaS IPOs.

Tweets: @louicop and @hkanji

Richard Cooke / Wired:

A tribute to Wikipedia, which is one of the few remaining places that retains the faintly utopian glow of the early World Wide Web — People used to think the crowdsourced encyclopedia represented all that was wrong with the web. Now it's a beacon of so much that's right.

Tweets: @alexhinojo, @wired, @johnbirmingham, @mondaystory, @timsmithrx, @jonnoxrevanche, @wikimedia, and @rgcooke

Jennifer Elias / CNBC:

Documents: US EEOC is investigating Google's alleged discrimination against Chelsey Glasson, an employee who wrote publicly about her treatment while pregnant — - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has opened an investigation into a former Google employee's pregnancy discrimination case, CNBC has learned.

More: CNET. Tweets: @mattrosoff. Thanks:@mattrosoff

Christine Negroni / New York Times:

Current US air traffic systems are ill equipped to deal with the coming surges in air congestion from drones and urban air mobility vehicles — As aviation technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, providers of new services brace for the unknown.

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