Techmeme
May 19, 2021, 2:20 PM

Top News

CNBC:
Bitcoin fell 20%+ over the last 24 hours to below $35K, the lowest level since Feb., and is down 30%+ in the last week; Ether, Dogecoin, and others also plunged  —  Galaxy Digital's Novogratz on bitcoin's plunge: These are setbacks for investor base  —  Bitcoin plunged to near $30,000 …
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
Coinbase was down for some users as cryptocurrencies plunge; Coinbase stock is down ~7%  —  - Crypto-exchange Coinbase said its site and app resumed service after a brief outage earlier in the day.  — Coinbase was down for some users Wednesday morning as digital coins plunged.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
iPad Pro (2021) review: amazing mini-LED screen on 12.9", fast M1 CPU, Center Stage works well for video calls, but camera still misplaced and no multi-user  —  Mini LED, major improvement  —  How much do you care about having a great screen?  —  That, really, is the only question that matters with the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google details Android 12's new design, based on the flexible Material You system, with better widgets and buttons, more animation, privacy features, and more  —  There are new features, but it's the biggest design update in years  —  Google is announcing the latest beta for Android 12 today …
New York Times:
After its WarnerMedia spinoff, AT&T is back to primarily being a wireless company, facing myriad issues, including ~$170B debt and an expensive 5G build-out  —  Following its spinoff of WarnerMedia, AT&T is back to primarily being a wireless company, with all of the challenges that entails.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google is testing a “Follow” button in Chrome for sites that support RSS, with content appearing in the New Tab page, initially with Chrome Canary users  —  Web browsers used to feature feed aggregators, but those built-in capabilities have since been phased out.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
During his two days of testimony at the Epic trial, Phil Schiller mostly stuck to the script and countered Epic's harshest attacks with an Apple history lesson  —  On Tuesday, Apple's chief evangelist finished up his time on the stand  —  Phil Schiller is one of the biggest names at Apple …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says it is finally retiring Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022, after more than 25 years, in favor of Edge  —  Internet Explorer will no longer be supported in June 2022  —  Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer next year, after more than 25 years.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple announces accessibility features, including background sounds to help maintain focus and calm, AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch, and iPad eye-tracking  —  Apple today announced the upcoming launch of several new accessibility features that are being added to its various products and services.
James Vincent / The Verge:
At I/O, Google made AI systems a centerpiece but failed to address concerns over its handling of research about the dangers of AI, which has led to firing staff  —  The company has been accused of censoring critics of these same AI systems  —  Yesterday at Google's I/O developer conference …
Collin Eaton / Wall Street Journal:
Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount says the company paid a $4.4M ransom because executives were unsure how bad the attack was  —  Joseph Blount says he needed to quickly restore service after cyberattack threatened East Coast supply  —  The operator of the Colonial Pipeline learned …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Miami-based Pipe, a trading service that helps companies with recurring revenue streams access capital, raises $250M at a $2B valuation  —  At the end of March, TechCrunch reported that buzzy startup Pipe — which aims to be the “Nasdaq for revenue” — had raised $150 million in a round of funding that values the fintech at $2 billion.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Google's slow pace in improving Docs, one of its most-used products, helped upstarts offer better features and the new, welcome improvements might not be enough  —  Why the biggest improvements in years might not be enough  —  Today let's talk about some big changes announced today …
Sheera Frenkel / New York Times:
Analysis: after violence between Israelis and Palestinians escalated last week, 100+ WhatsApp groups were created to coordinate attacks on Palestinians  —  Jewish extremists have formed more than 100 new groups on the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging app in recent days to target attacks.
Charlotte Shane / New York Times:
Profile of OnlyFans, a site synonymous with porn, where sex workers resent the absence of search and tags, which they say helps it minimize legal liability  —  Despite all assertions that the site isn't powered by its sexual content, the platform is synonymous with porn.  What is it really?
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Indian government asks WhatsApp to withdraw its new policy terms, giving the messaging service seven days to offers a “satisfactory” response  —  The Indian government is not pleased with WhatsApp's new privacy policy.  The nation's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology …
Scott Stein / CNET:
Google unveils Wear OS 3.0, with a revamped design and 30% performance boost, and partners with Samsung, which will use Wear OS, not Tizen, for its next watches  —  Were you considering buying a smartwatch for your Android phone?  Hold off until the fall.  Google and Samsung have announced …

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