Techmeme
June 12, 2023, 4:40 PM

Top News

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says he does not “feel an imperative” from users to release a new Xbox console, and the team is “pretty set on the hardware”  —  Microsoft Corp.'s video gaming chief Phil Spencer said he doesn't “feel an imperative” to come out with a major upgrade of its Xbox game console.
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Over 7,000 subreddits have gone private or read-only to protest Reddit's API pricing changes, and the site experienced issues for about two hours on June 12  —  Reddit went through some issues for many on Monday, with the outage happening the same day as thousands of subreddits going dark to protest the site's new API pricing terms.
CNBC:
Source: the US FTC is set to file for an injunction seeking to block Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition, after suing to block the $68.7B deal  —  The Federal Trade Commission is set to file for an injunction seeking to block Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard …
Shinhye Kang / Bloomberg:
South Korean prosecutors allege that a former Samsung executive stole blueprints and designs in 2018 and 2019 to reproduce an entire chip plant in Xi'an, China  —  A former Samsung Electronics Co. executive allegedly stole blueprints and designs to try and replicate an entire semiconductor plant in China …
Yuka Hayashi / Wall Street Journal:
Monica Chin / The Verge:
MacBook Air (15-inch) review: thin and relatively light chassis, excellent trackpad, keyboard, performance, and battery, but limited ports and no upgradability  —  Apple's first big-screened MacBook Air addresses a long-standing need in the company's laptop lineup.  And it comes with zero surprises and no sticker shock.
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
M2 Ultra Mac Studio review: a small, fast, efficient, and quiet desktop that has a good port selection and is a better deal than the new Mac Pro for most users  —  The realities of Apple Silicon make the Studio the best bet for most pros.  —  The original Mac Studio, despite the absence of …
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
A tech reporter on why he bought a 2023 World Book Encyclopedia printed set: nostalgia, permanence, and no AI or human tampering, link rot, or stealth edits  —  The still-updated World Book Encyclopedia is my antidote to the information apocalypse.  —  These days, many of us live online …
Samuel Stolton / Bloomberg:
Sources: the EU is set to hit Google with a formal antitrust complaint regarding the company's ad tech, with a statement of objections coming as soon as June 14  —  Google is set to be hit with a formal antitrust complaint from the European Union that could pave the way for massive fines …
Dhruv Mehrotra / Wired:
Documents show some US courts are using Covenant Eyes, an anti-porn app sold to churches to monitor all online activity, to surveil parolees and their families  —  A court used an app called Covenant Eyes to surveil the family of a man released on bond.  Now he's back in jail, and tech misuse may be to blame.
Laurie Clarke / Politico:
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic agreed to open their AI models to the UK government for research and safety purposes  —  LONDON — Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic have agreed to open up their AI models to the U.K. government for research and safety purposes …
Dell Cameron / Wired:
A declassified ODNI report from 2022: the US has amassed troves of data, including “sensitive and intimate” info, about Americans via commercial data brokers  —  A newly declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence reveals the federal government is buying troves of data about Americans.
Ian Tucker / The Guardian:
Q&A with Signal President Meredith Whittaker on how existential warnings about AI could help Big Tech entrench its power, the UK's Online Safety Bill, and more  —  The president of the not-for-profit messaging app on how she believes existential warnings about AI allow big tech to entrench their power …

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Earlier Picks

Newley Purnell / Wall Street Journal:
Matthias Bastian / The Decoder:
Dan Primack / Axios: