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 YouTube Bans Videos Containing Hacked Information That Could Interfere With the Election
As Democrats and Republicans prepare to hold their national conventions starting next week, YouTube on Thursday announced updates to its policies on deceptive videos and other content designed to interfere with the election. From a report: The world's largest video platform, with more than 2 billion users a month, will ban videos containing information that was obtained through hacking and could meddle with elections or censuses. That would include material like hacked campaign emails with detai
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Single-line Software Bug Causes Fledgling YAM Cryptocurrency To Implode Just Two Days After Launch
A two-day-old decentralized cryptocurrency called YAM collapsed this week after its creators revealed that a software bug had effectively vetoed human governance. From a report: "At approximately 6PM UTC, on Wednesday, August 12, we discovered a bug in the YAM rebasing contract that would mint far more YAM than intended to sell to the Uniswap YAM/yCRV pool, sending a large amount of excess YAM to the protocol reserve," the YAM project explained in a post on Thursday. "Given YAM's governance modu
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Intel Says New Transistor Technology Could Boost Chip Performance 20%
Intel on Thursday disclosed a new method for making transistors on semiconductors that its chief architect said could boost the performance Intel's next round of processors by as much as 20%. From a report: The Santa Clara, California-based company is one of the few remaining in the world that both designs and manufactures its own chips. But its manufacturing operations have become a concern among investors after Intel last month said that its next-generation chip-making process, called its 7-na
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Facebook Abandons Broken Drilling Equipment Under Oregon Coast Seafloor
Kale Williams, reporting for The Oregonian: Lynnae Ruttledge was worried when she heard Facebook planned to build a landing spot for an undersea fiber-optic cable near her Oregon Coast home. Tierra Del Mar, where the 70-year-old retired government worker lives part-time, is a tiny community north of Pacific City with no stoplights and no cell-phone service. The enclave, all zoned residential, consists of about a dozen mostly gravel streets running perpendicular to an idyllic stretch of beach, ea
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Epic Games Sues Apple
Epic Games has filed legal papers in response to Apple, read more here (PDF). From the filing: Epic brings this suit to end Apple's unfair and anti-competitive actions that Apple undertakes to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in two distinct, multibillion dollar markets: (i) the iOS App Distribution Market, and (ii) the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market. Epic is not seeking monetary compensation from this Court for the injuries it has suffered. Nor is Epic seeking favorable treatment for itse
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Apple Kicks Fortnite Out of App Store for Challenging Payment Rules
Fortnite, the social shooter made by Epic Games, has been removed from the Apple App Store, the only way to install software on iPhones. From a report: CNBC searched on the App Store on Thursday and did not find the game. It was previously available for download earlier in the day. App Store promotions about the game brought up a message that it "cannot connect to App Store." On Thursday, Epic Games challenged not only Apple but Google by introducing a new way to buy digital goods like character
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FBI and NSA Expose New Linux Malware Drovorub, Used by Russian State Hackers
The FBI and NSA have published today a joint security alert containing details about a new strain of Linux malware that the two agencies say was developed and deployed in real-world attacks by Russia's military hackers. From a report: The two agencies say Russian hackers used the malware, named Drovorub, was to plant backdoors inside hacked networks. Based on evidence the two agencies have collected, FBI and NSA officials claim the malware is the work of APT28 (Fancy Bear, Sednit), a codename gi
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 Epic Games launches a campaign (and lawsuit) against Apple
Epic Games is launching an all-out campaign against Apple and its App Store rules. Thursday morning, Epic Games introduced a new payment mechanism through a server-side update that allowed gamers to purchase Fortnite’s in-game currency directly, allowing the app to bypass Apple’s in-app purchase framework and the substantial cut that Apple takes. Apple quickly acted […]
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Fortnite for Android just got axed from the Google Play Store too
After Epic Games picked a fight with Apple over the sizable chunk of fees the company takes on transactions in its mobile ecosystem, it looks like the Fortnite developer will be waging a war on two fronts. Epic added a direct payment option to its mobile game early Thursday, prompting Apple to remove Fortnite from […]
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The Quest To Liberate $300,000 of Bitcoin From an Old ZIP File
A few quintillion possible decryption keys stand between a man and his cryptocurrency. From a report: In October, Michael Stay got a weird message on LinkedIn. A total stranger had lost access to his bitcoin private keys -- and wanted Stay's help getting his $300,000 back. It wasn't a total surprise that The Guy, as Stay calls him, had found the former Google security engineer. Nineteen years ago, Stay published a paper detailing a technique for breaking into encrypted zip files. The Guy had bou
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US Says It Seized Cryptocurrency From Three Terrorist Groups
The Trump administration dismantled digital campaigns by al-Qaeda and other other terrorist groups that used social media to obtain cryptocurrency for carrying out terrorist attacks, the Justice Department said on Thursday. From a report: The U.S. seized millions of dollars and more than 300 cryptocurrency accounts used by al-Qaeda; Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades; and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS. "These actions represent the government's largest-ever seizure
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Fortnite is Daring Apple To Shutter Its Game on iPhones
The company that owns Fortnite is making an in-your-face challenge to Apple: We're not going to obey the rules you've set for your powerful App Store. And we dare you to do something about it. From a report: It's a fascinating standoff between a very profitable, highly valued gaming company and one of the most powerful companies in the world. The way it plays out could have consequences for Apple, its tech rivals -- and antitrust regulators. Epic Games, the North Carolina-based developer behind
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Impossible Foods gobbles up another $200 million
Impossible Foods has raised $200 million more for its meat replacements. The new round values the company at a Whopper-sized $4 billion valuation, according to the data tracker PrimeUnicorn Index. The new round was led by Coatue, a technology-focused hedge fund; another New York-based hedge fund, XN, also participated in the round. Since its launch […]
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Lyft Joins Uber in Threatening To Pull Out of California Over Driver Status
Lyft said it would shut down operations in California if forced to classify drivers as employees, the company's executives said in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday. Lyft joins Uber in threatening to pull out of one of its most important US markets over the question of drivers' employment status. From a report: At issue is the classification of ride-hailing drivers as independent contractors, which Uber and Lyft say most drivers prefer because of the flexibility and ability to set the
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Facebook users are pretty bad at telling how much time they spend on it
A lot of studies and discussion of social media use time spent on the platforms as evidence for various theories and conclusions — but it turns out that people are actually super bad at telling how long they spend on them, according to research from Facebook. If you were conducting a study that was looking […]
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Apple Readies Subscription Bundles To Boost Digital Services
Apple is readying a series of bundles that will let customers subscribe to several of the company's digital services at a lower monthly price, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the effort. From the report: The bundles, dubbed "Apple One" inside the Cupertino, California-based technology giant, are planned to launch as early as October alongside the next iPhone line, the people said. The bundles are designed to encourage customers to subscribe to more Apple services, wh
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Apple boots Fortnite from the App Store after Epic adds direct payments
After its creator Epic Games implemented a workaround to duck Apple’s hefty developer fees, Fortnite has vanished from the App Store. The popular game’s disappearing act came the same day that Epic added a new direct payment option for in-game currency on mobile, offering an enticing 20% discount for players who pay the company for […]
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Apple's Climate Promise Depends on Taiwan Partners Going Green
Apple has gone carbon neutral. But in order to say the same for its flagship iPhone, it's going to need help from Taiwan. From a report: More than three-quarters of the emissions that come from making Apple's ubiquitous products come from outside suppliers, according to the company's Environmental Progress Report. That includes Taiwanese electronics giants like TSMC and Foxconn, which still get about 90% of their power from non-renewable sources, according to company reports. That's changing tho
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How to get what you want in a term sheet
One of the most exciting moments in the life of every newly christened founder is the sweet relief of seeing a term sheet come in from an investor. After weeks, perhaps months (but hopefully not years!), of work fundraising and pitching, there is nothing like getting that email with a PDF attached to it laying […]
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Daily Crunch: Apple removes Fortnite from the App Store
Epic Games takes on Apple, Instagram fixes a security issue and Impossible Foods raises $200 million. This is your Daily Crunch for August 13, 2020. The big story: Apple removes Fortnite from the App Store The controversy over Apple’s App Store policies has expanded to include Epic Games and its hit title Fortnite. The company […]
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Pompeo Says Trump's Executive Orders Are 'Broader' Than Just TikTok and WeChat, Hinting at More Action
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump's executive orders against TikTok and WeChat could be "broader" than just those two apps. From a report: Pompeo did not elaborate, but his comments could be hinting at action against other Chinese apps or even TikTok's parent company ByteDance, or WeChat owner Tencent. "So when President Trump made his announcement about not only TikTok, but about WeChat -- and if you read it, it's broader even still than that -- is that we're going
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Cube closes $5M Seed round to scale its financial planning software
This morning Cube announced that it has closed a Seed round worth just over $5 million. The software startup, focused on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) work, raised $3.8 million of the total recently, with remaining $1.25 million having come in an earlier Pre-Seed round. Christina Ross, Cube’s CEO and founder, told TechCrunch that she […]
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Omaze raises $30M after expanding beyond celebrity campaigns
Omaze, the startup that became famous for its celebrity-centric fundraisers, is announcing it has raised $30 million in Series B funding. Some of the company’s best-known campaigns include opportunities to meet Michelle Obama, meet “Star Wars” cast members and visit the set of “Star Trek Beyond.” (I’ll admit that I threw my hat in the […]
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Digital imaging pioneer Russell Kirsch dies at 91
Russell Kirsch, whose research going back to the ’50s underlies the entire field of digital imaging, died earlier this week at the age of 91. It’s hard to overstate the impact of his work, which led to the first digitally scanned photo and the creation of what we now think of as pixels. Born to […]
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Despite a difficult Q2 2020, Lyft and Uber reiterate profit promises
Lyft is sticking to its previous target to hit quarterly adjusted profitability by the fourth period of 2021, a milestone it says it can achieve even with fewer rides. The company reiterated its quarterly adjusted profit target timeline — a milestone based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — during its second-quarter earnings […]
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The Wear OS fall update promises better performance, simplified pairing and more
Google today announced a few new features for Wear OS we can expect from the next over-the-air update, which is slated to arrive this fall. The focus here, Google says, is on fundamentals, and that includes improved performance, with up to 20% speed improvements for app startup times, for example. The company also said it […]
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AMC will offer 15 cent tickets when it reopens 100+ US theaters on August 20
Like so many industries, the last five months have been absolutely devastating for movie theaters. As far as sheer volumes go, no one has been harder hit than the world's largest theater chain. AMC has had plans to reopen theaters for some time — but things change, particularly when you're dealing with something as uncertain […]
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Facebook Launches Hub To Help Users With US Poll Related Information
Facebook on Thursday launched a 'Voting Information Center' for the 2020 U.S. elections to help voters easily navigate the poll process. From a report: The hub will connect Facebook and Instagram users to accurate and easy-to-find information about voting wherever they live and help them hold their elected officials accountable, the social media company said in a blog.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Twitter pledges to dial up efforts to combat election misinformation
In the latest sign of U.S. platforms bracing for the 2020 U.S. presidential election in November, Twitter has said it will step up efforts to prevent its service from being used to target voters with false information around election participation. Earlier today Facebook announced the launch of a voting hub aimed at combating election misinformation […]
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Uber and Lyft lose bid to delay worker reclassification order in California
Uber and Lyft have lost their bid to delay a preliminary injunction that will force the two ride-hailing app companies to reclassify drivers as employees. A California superior court judge denied Thursday the companies request to delay the order from going into effect August 20. The decision sets the stage for a legal fight and […]
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Instagram wasn't removing photos and direct messages from its servers
A security researcher was awarded a $6,000 bug bounty payout after he found Instagram retained photos and private direct messages on its servers long after he deleted them. Independent security researcher Saugat Pokharel found that when he downloaded his data from Instagram, a feature it launched in 2018 to comply with new European data rules, […]
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We're exploring the future of SaaS at Disrupt this year
It’s been a wild year for modern software companies, often called software-as-service (SaaS) firms due to how they deliver their product. From a strong start to the year, to a rapid devaluation in the face of a global pandemic, and a return-to-form after it became clear that software wasn’t a category that a consumer recession […]
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A stampede of unicorn news
With a hot IPO market and a world accelerating its shift to digital technologies amidst a pandemic, it’s a busy time for late-stage startups. Happily, the current moment is generating a wave of leaks and news. So much so, it’s actually been pretty hard to keep up. In honor of the somewhat crazy week we’ve […]
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Apple said to soon offer subscription bundles combining multiple of its services
Apple is reportedly getting ready to launch new bundles of its various subscription services, according to Bloomberg. The bundled services packages, said to be potentially called “Apple One,” will offer Apple services including Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and iCloud in a number of different tiered offerings, all for one fee that […]
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TikTok rival Likee reaches 150M monthly users worldwide
As TikTok’s fate remains in flux, its smaller rival Likee has been making waves around the world, garnering 150 million monthly active users as of this June. That’s according to the earnings report of Chinese internet company Joyy, the owner of Likee. For comparison, TikTok recorded about 200 million daily active users in early 2020, […]
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Mirantis acquires Lens, an IDE for Kubernetes
Mirantis, the company that recently bought Docker’s enterprise business, today announced that it has acquired Lens, a desktop application that the team describes as a Kubernetes integrated development environment. Mirantis previously acquired the team behind the Finnish startup Kontena, the company that originally developed Lens. Lens itself was most recently owned by Lakend Labs, though, […]
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