Tech News
Tech News and Analysis from around the web
So, what about Mastodon? It does everything, right? I'm sure, but Twitter is where the people are and that's what matters. This happens all the time in tech, people think the solution is to rebuild something from scratch with the feature we wish the default platform would have. It isn't about the feature as much as where the feature is. I have a blogging system that's way more fun that Twitter and has none of its limits. BFD, the people use Twitter.
This is the mistake people who created Atom made, they thought what if we had invented RSS instead of the messy process by which RSS was created, we'll do it the right way and it'll be wonderful. Then they finished and no one knew what to do next. I'm sure they were very proud but unless they can get everyone who already supported RSS to go back and reimplement their support, we all still have to support RSS. And it's one of those things that no matter how much better it is, people will ask "Is everyone doing this" and if the answer is no, they do something else they have to do, putting out fires etc.
Another example, if I have to go to NYC I take the George Washington Bridge or the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels. I'd much rather take the Golden Gate Bridge, it's so much nicer, but it doesn't go where I want to go!
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Amazon launches Audible Suno, an ad-free service featuring more than 60 original series in Hindi and English, in India for free — Amazon is having another go at expanding its reach to listeners in India. The company, which launched pay-to-use Audible in the country last year …
Roma Slyusarchuk / The Keyword:
Google rolls out Verified SMS, which labels messages from legitimate businesses, on Android in nine countries, expands spam detection in messages to the US — In addition to enhancing messaging on Android with Rich Communication Services (RCS) and bringing you helpful features with Messages …
Bloomberg:
As Apple Pay expands in Europe, it is drawing increasing regulatory scrutiny from EU and countries including France, the Netherlands, and Germany — - Banks, payments rivals say Apple restricts access to NFC chip — German law may force Apple's hand. A good start, banks say
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Google brings its real-time translation mode, interpreter, to the Google Assistant app on iOS and Android globally with support for 44 languages — After rolling out on smart speakers and displays earlier this year, Google's interpreter real-time translation mode finally landing on mobile.
Reuters:
Report: Samsung to increase investment in its chip factory in China by $8B to boost production of NAND flash memory chips — SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics will increase investment at its chip factory in China by $8 billion to boost production of NAND flash memory chips, Chinese media reported on Tuesday.
James Vincent / The Verge:
AI Index Report 2019: 300% rise in research papers, US the global leader by most metrics, self-driving cars received more private investment than any AI field — The 2019 AI Index report gives us a glimpse into AI progress — Trying to get a handle on the progress of artificial intelligence …
Globes Online:
Sproutt, which uses data and AI to offer better life insurance terms to customers, raises $12M Series A from State of Mind Ventures, Moneta Capital, and others — Sproutt uses data and AI to offer better life insurance terms to customers who lead healthier lives.
New York Times:
Details of 15M bank debit cards in Iran from its three largest banks have been published on social media in what experts suspect is a state-sponsored attack — The details of millions of Iranian bank cards were published online after antigovernment protests last month. Experts suspect a state-sponsored cyberattack.
Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News:
LeanDNA, an AI-powered analytics platform for factory management, raises $15M Series B led by S3 Ventures, bringing its total raised to $20M — Factories have been somewhat left behind in the innovation world, but one Austin-based company is taking advantage of that to capitalize on increasing productivity.
Charlotte Tucker / EU-Startups:
Paris-based Yubo, which lets young people create live video discussion spaces, raises €11M led by Iris Capital and Idinvest Partners — Today Yubo, the social platform connecting Generation Z around the world, announces snapping up more than €11 million.
Maya Shwayder / Digital Trends:
Decentralizing Twitter won't solve its hate speech problems; Mastodon CEO: “it sounds like Twitter is making a Mastodon clone” — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey floated a compelling possibility on Wednesday: He wants to put together a team to explore decentralizing Twitter.
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Profile of Canva, a graphic design app that CEO Melanie Perkins helped build from a yearbook-design business out of Perth into a profitable $3.2B Adobe rival — On a steamy May morning in 2013, Canva CEO Melanie Perkins found herself adrift on a kiteboard in the channel between billionaire …
Alexander George / Popular Mechanics:
The Mac Pro uses three axial fans and a centrifugal fan to keep it cool, with blade design drawn from vehicle tires to make them sound pleasant even when loud — Spend a few tens of thousands on optional upgrades, and the new Mac Pro becomes a list of superlative performance specs. A 28-core CPU.
Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop:
Jeanette Manfra, assistant director for cybersecurity at DHS, will be joining Google Cloud as global director of security and compliance — One of the U.S. government's most influential cybersecurity officials is heading to Google. — Jeanette Manfra will take a job at the tech giant's cloud division …
Anna Irrera / Reuters:
Qwil, an automated lending platform for on-demand and freelancer marketplaces to advance pay to workers, raises $24.4M in equity and $200M in debt funding — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Qwil, a startup that provides financing to freelancers and small businesses, has raised $24.4 million in equity …
