Techmeme
May 19, 2021, 8:00 PM

Top News

CNBC:
Bitcoin fell 30% to just over $30K on Wednesday, recovering partially to $38K; 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 at one point on Wednesday morning …
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.
Ian Sherr / CNET:
During the Epic trial, Craig Federighi says malware on macOS has reached an “unacceptable” level and the problem is “significantly larger” than iOS  —  Apple's head of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said malware on Macs have hit “unacceptable” levels.
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 …
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.
Rumman Chowdhury / Twitter:
Twitter shares the results from an investigation into bias within the image cropping algorithm it used to employ, finding it favored white people and women  —  In October 2020, we heard feedback from people on Twitter that our image cropping algorithm didn't serve all people equitably.
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.
Joan E. Solsman / CNET:
WarnerMedia says HBO Max's cheaper, ad-supported tier will cost $10 per month and launch in the first week of June  —  HBO Max's cheaper, ad-supported tier will cost $10 a month and launch in the first week of June, WarnerMedia said Wednesday.  It'll come the week after — possibly just days after …
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 …
Bloomberg:
Squarespace stock closed down ~9% at $43.65, after opening at $48 per share, valuing the company at ~$5.9B, well below its $10B valuation in March  —  - Firm is first major direct listing to close below guide price  — Listing comes on third day of losses on U.S. exchanges
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Right-wing video platform Rumble says it has raised an undisclosed amount from Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, and others; sources say Rumble is valued at ~$500M  —  Backing from conservative venture capitalists comes amid push for alternative social-media channels with looser rules on speech
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.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
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.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google says Android TV OS, which includes Google TV, now reaches over 80M monthly active devices, with 80% YoY growth in the US  —  Google offered an update on its TV platform, Android OS, at its Google I/O developer event on Tuesday.  The company said its Android TV OS now reaches …
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.
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 …

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