Techmeme
March 18, 2021, 7:50 PM

Top News

Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
Facebook is working on a neural wristband that reads signals from brain to hands, to go along with its AR glasses; Bosworth insists it can't “read your brain”  —  Facebook is working on a new neural wristband that can read the electrical signals sent to your hands and send them to an augmented reality interface.
Kashmir Hill / New York Times:
A look at the origins of Clearview AI, which far-right activist Charles Johnson says he co-founded, as it is besieged by lawsuits and investigations  —  In May 2019, an agent at the Department of Homeland Security received a trove of unsettling images.  Found by Yahoo in a Syrian user's account …
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Facebook, which supported security keys on desktop since 2017, expands support to iOS and Android users  —  Facebook has supported security keys on desktop since 2017 and will now enable iOS and Android users to log in to their account via the physical key.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter says it is testing a way for its iOS users to watch YouTube videos in their timelines, in the US, Japan, Canada, and Saudi Arabia  —  Shortly after Twitter announced it would begin testing a better way to display images on its app, it's now doing the same for YouTube videos.
Robert Hackett / Fortune:
OpenSea, a marketplace for NFTs, raises $23M Series A led by a16z Crypto, says $95M in digital merchandise was sold on the service in Feb., up from $8M in Jan.  —  When CryptoKitties roared onto the scene in 2017, most people regarded the collectible digital cats, which were tied to and encapsulated …
BuzzFeed News:
Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids under 13; source: the work will be led by Pavni Diwanji, a VP who joined Facebook in December  —  Executives at Instagram are planning to build a version of the popular photo-sharing app that can be used by children under the age of 13 …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers detail XcodeSpy, a custom version of open source backdoor EggShell that aims to spy on the Macs of iOS and other Apple OS developers  —  XcodeSpy uses malicious Xcode project to install the EggShell backdoor.  —  Researchers said they've found a trojanized code library in the wild …
Sundar Pichai / The Keyword:
Google says it will invest $7B+ in offices and data centers across the US and create at least 10K new full-time Google jobs in the US this year  —  One of the best parts of my job is getting the opportunity to visit the communities that Google is a part of across the U.S. Whether it's meeting …
Austen Goslin / Polygon:
Nvidia is doubling the price of GeForce Now cloud gaming memberships to $10 a month for new users; its almost 10M “Founder” members will keep the same price  —  Nvidia will keep the price the same for Founders subscribers  —  Nvidia is effectively doubling the price of GeForce Now, its cloud streaming service.
Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:
Developer of Watch app FlickType, who previously called out Apple for allowing scam and copycat apps, sues Apple claiming fraud and unfair competition  —  The developer behind FlickType, an Apple Watch keyboard, alleges the company used its power over the App Store to stymie its progress
Eddie Makuch / GameSpot:
Sony unveils PS5 VR controllers with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and finger touch detection  —  Sony has begun to share more details on its vision for next-gen virtual reality, today announcing and showing off the new controllers that will come with PSVR 2.0 for PS5.
CNBC:
NFL finalizes an 11-year media rights deal, with Amazon Prime Video as exclusive partner for Thursday Night Football; sources: Amazon is paying about $1B/year  —  - The new agreement runs through 2033 and will feature two Super Bowls returning to Disney's ABC network channel.
Annalee Newitz / The Hypothesis:
Substack's decision to pay certain writers to write on the platform is an editorial one as leaders decide what kind of writing they want to support  —  They paid a secret group of writers to make newsletter authorship seem lucrative  —  I think of myself as having decent critical faculties …
Reuters:
Sources: DOJ investigators are asking ad executives whether Google's plan to ban third-party cookies will hobble its smaller rivals  —  (Reuters) - Google's plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators …
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Kuo: MiniLED displays will be used in the MacBook Air by 2022 and the 2022 iPad Air will feature an OLED display  —  Rumors have been suggesting that Apple will soon release a new iPad Pro with a Mini-LED display, but the company also plans to bring this technology to other devices in the future.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
YouTube is rolling out its TikTok rival YouTube Shorts in the US, but the beta is missing features and feels half-baked  —  Rolling out to everyone in the US ‘over the next several weeks’  —  YouTube Shorts, the company's short-form answer to TikTok, is launching in beta in the United States starting today.
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Apple's concession to Russia to prompt users to install state-approved apps sets a precedent that other authoritarian countries may seek to follow  —  Russian iPhone buyers will soon be prompted to install software developed in that country, setting a precedent that other authoritarian governments may follow.

Sponsor Posts

Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Zoho:
How remote support can make your Christmas stress-free  —  As Christmas approaches, the air fills with the anticipation of joy, family gatherings, and gift-giving.  While the season brings immense happiness …
Genesys:
Executive Insights: The Era of Contact Center AI Copilots  —  How AI copilots are transforming customer experience and agent performance.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Mon. 12/23 - The Revenge Of Google Glass?
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:50 PM ET, March 18, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Kishan Vyas / XDA Developers: