Techmeme
March 16, 2022, 4:05 AM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says an ad in Windows 11 File Explorer “was not intended to be published externally and was turned off” after a Microsoft MVP found it in latest build  —  We may still see File Explorer ads in the future  —  Microsoft appears to be testing a new type of ad inside File Explorer on Windows 11.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google says Steam launched in alpha “on select Chromebooks”; code changes previously showed that the PC game store would require a high-performance Chromebook  —  The long-awaited availability of Steam on Chromebooks was just more or less announced (in alpha) at the 2022 Google for Games Developer Summit.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Google details Stadia plans, including letting developers offer trials, port Unreal Engine and Unity games more easily, and white label cloud gaming services  —  Less friction, more white-labeling  —  Google's Stadia cloud gaming service didn't stick the landing, and it's been a rough ride since.
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Mark Zuckerberg says NFT support will be coming to Instagram over the next several months and that users will “be able to mint things within that environment”  —  Love them or hate them, NFTs will soon be coming to Instagram.  Speaking at SXSW, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed …
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
The FBI and CISA warn that Russian state-sponsored hackers accessed an unnamed NGO's network by exploiting default MFA protocols and the PrintNightmare flaw  —  The FBI says Russian state-backed hackers gained access to a non-governmental organization (NGO) cloud after enrolling their own device …
Chris Bengel / CBS Sports:
Spotify signs a sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona, including rebranding the soccer club's stadium to Spotify Camp Nou, reportedly worth $310M over four years  —  FC Barcelona have agreed to a sponsorship deal with Spotify to have the audio streaming platform become the club's main partner.
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Several Patreon creators say Vimeo is forcing them to pay thousands of dollars per year for a custom plan, as Vimeo shifts its focus to large corporate clients  —  Popular Patreon creators are being hit with unexpected Vimeo price hikes as Vimeo shifts corporate strategy
Ian Allison / CoinDesk:
ConsenSys, which develops and invests in Ethereum projects, announces a $450M Series D led by ParaFi Capital at a $7B valuation and says MetaMask has 30M+ MAUs  —  The hefty Series D more than doubles the firm's previous valuation from November 2021.  —  Ethereum application …
Rest of World:
Six months after El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, citizens, economists, and tech developers reflect on the country's glitch-plagued initiative  —  As El Salvador prepares to launch its ‘Bitcoin bond’, interviews with citizens, economists and technologists reveal cracks in the country's crypto revolution.
Thomas Brewster / Forbes:
A look at Ukraine's “invisible heroes”, its internet technicians who are risking their lives battling Russian hackers and avoiding bombs to keep Ukraine online  —  They're fixing internet in bombed-out buildings, finding rogue operators providing Russians with mobile connections and thwarting hackers.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
The Irish DPC fines Meta €17M for GDPR violations related to 12 personal data breaches that Meta disclosed to the regulator between June 2018 and December 2018  —  Facebook's parent company, Meta, has been fined €17 million (~$18.6M) by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) over a string of historical data breaches.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Selector, which develops AI tools for IT operations, raises a $28M Series A, bringing its total funding to $33M  —  AIops — the practice of applying AI to automate and improve IT operations — has gained currency during the pandemic.  As businesses embrace digital transformation strategies involving …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
UiPath Unveils 10 Innovations that Will Shape the Agentic Future  —  Orchestration engine, API workflows and agentic testing among key features of new UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation, launched at UiPath DevCon 2025
Zoho:
Zoho CRM for Everyone - No More Missed Customers  —  Evolution is the secret of survival; everything that thrives in the world operates by that principle.  Animals, people, technology, products, businesses—and software, too.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
Airbnb's Midlife Transformation
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Azeem Azhar's Exponential View:
China's catching up to US AI... Here's why it won't matter
Azeem Azhar explores how AI and exponential technologies are shaping our future.
Subscribe to Azeem Azhar's Exponential View.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
How Apple trapped itself in China
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Debunking Healthcare's Biggest Myths with Zach Weinberg and Derek Thompson
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Spotlight On:
Supabase's Paul Copplestone on the difference between "playing startup" and strategy
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Royce Yudkoff & Rick Ruback - Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:05 AM ET, March 16, 2022.

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

Kim Mackrael / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

Michael Novinson / CRN:
TechCrunch:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Manish Singh / TechCrunch: