Techmeme
March 2, 2021, 7:40 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils Microsoft Mesh, a mixed-reality platform on Azure, and demos a meeting service to let users join virtual rooms using devices like HoloLens 2  —  Mesh is Microsoft's vision for the future of mixed reality  —  Last week, Microsoft's Alex Kipman, the inventor of Kinect and HoloLens …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft to add end-to-end encryption for one-to-one calls, channel sharing, and webinar and presentation features to Teams  —  Microsoft has a bunch of new Teams features coming and is introducing a new category of Teams Intelligent Speaker devices at Ignite this week.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Microsoft launches Azure Percept, a hardware and software platform to implement its Azure AI services for use cases, including object detection, at the edge  —  Microsoft today announced Azure Percept, its new hardware and software platform for bringing more of its Azure AI services to the edge.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Microsoft warns users a new Chinese state-sponsored threat actor is exploiting 4 previously undisclosed security flaws in Exchange Server; patches are available  —  Microsoft is warning customers that a new China state-sponsored threat actor is exploiting four previously undisclosed security flaws …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Sony says the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals on Aug. 31, citing users' preference for video streaming services  —  As of Aug. 31, 2021, the PlayStation Store will stop offering movie and TV show purchases and rentals.
Bloomberg:
Intel ordered to pay $2.18B after a federal court jury in TX found it infringed two patents once owned by NXP Semiconductors and now owned by VLSI Technology  —  - Intel had claimed royalty demands of VLSI were ‘outrageous’  — NXP would get a share of any damage award, Intel lawyer said
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
eMarketer: Spotify is on track to reach US monthly podcast listenership of 28.2M by the end of this year and surpass Apple's Podcasts for the first time  —  Investors have been waiting for Spotify's multimillion-dollar bet on podcasting to pay off, in terms of increased paid subscriptions or improved revenues.
Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:
Facebook Oversight Board member told UK Parliament that the panel feels constrained when reviewing decisions on a case-by-case basis, may seek algorithm access  —  Facebook's so-called “Supreme Court” is reportedly seeking the company's permission to examine the underlying machine-learning models …
CNBC:
Instacart raises $265M in a round valuing the company at $39B, after raising $200M at a $17.7B valuation in October  —  - Instacart is valued at $39 billion in a new funding round.  — It's the second time the company's valuation has doubled since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon quietly updated its app icon, changing the appearance of the ripped packaging tape after some drew comparisons of it to Adolf Hitler's mustache  —  The company's icon gets a less problematic new look  —  Amazon has quietly rolled out a slight update to its new app icon that it debuted …
Patrick Howell O'Neill / MIT Technology Review:
Researchers point out that Apple's walled garden approach on iOS makes it virtually impossible to detect the presence of malware on iPhones, which still exists  —  The iPhone's locked-down approach to security is spreading, but advanced hackers have found that higher barriers are great for avoiding capture.
Vjeran Pavic / The Verge:
DJI launches a $1,299 first person view drone bundle, which includes FPV Goggles V2 with crisp 810p resolution, controller, and a drone with ~20-min flight time  —  Cinematic first-person view or FPV drones have been a growing trend in the drone industry for a few years.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
TikTok launches a Safety Advisory Council for Europe to help it with content moderation, bringing external experts in fields like child safety and extremism  —  TikTok is bringing in external experts in Europe in fields such as child safety, young people's mental health and extremism to form …
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Mobile ad tech company AppLovin files S-1, revealing a net loss of $126M on $1.45B in revenue in 2020 and reporting its software reached 410M+ DAUs in Q4 2020  —  Applovin, a mobile ad tech company that's expanded into video game publishing, has filed with the SEC to go public on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol APP.
More: SEC
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Twitter users on Android can now join and talk in its Clubhouse-like live audio Spaces and will be able to create their own Spaces in an upcoming update  —  The platform introduced its audio chat rooms for iOS in December  —  Twitter has opened its audio chat room, Spaces, to Android users, the company tweeted Tuesday.
Mila Jasper / Nextgov:
A report from the National Security Commission on AI, which is chaired by Eric Schmidt, finds that the US is not fully prepared for AI competition with China  —  Retaining any edge will take White House leadership and a substantial investment, according to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

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Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
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