A profile of Liu Xiaoping, a dog food seller on Pinduoduo who coaches Chinese merchants on using legal action to fight Pinduoduo's refund-without-return policy (Viola Zhou/Rest of World)

Viola Zhou / Rest of World:
A profile of Liu Xiaoping, a dog food seller on Pinduoduo who coaches Chinese merchants on using legal action to fight Pinduoduo's refund-without-return policy  —  A dog food seller known as “Lawsuit Bro” is leading the fight.  — A dog food seller on Pinduoduo has emerged as an unlikely hero …

STMicroelectronics defies chips gloom with Q1 beat

STMicro reported first-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10 on a 20% increase in revenues to $4.25 billion. Analysts had expected EPS of $0.99 and revenues of $4.19 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv Eikon. https://ift.tt/kYlUAhn

SpaceX's Starship launch comes under US FAA scanner

SpaceX's giant Starship rocket, which exploded after launch, has now come under the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) scanner for reportedly spreading plumes of potentially hazardous debris endangering human lives as well as habitats of animals. https://ift.tt/GENz6n7

How to disable ‘Contact is Now on Google Pay’ alerts

Google Pay allows users to transfer money and sync contacts. However, some users may find the notifications alerting them about their contacts joining the platform annoying. The app provides an option to disable the feature. https://ift.tt/IdPTty5

Elon Musk hints at bringing back Snapchat, Instagram-like feature on Twitter

The company CEO has hinted that Twitter may bring back ‘Fleets’ – but in a new avatar. Fleets is an Instagram and Snapchat-like ‘Stories’ feature that enabled users to post primarily text-based stories that disappeared after 24 hours. In a thread, another user asked whether Musk is also planning to bring Fleets back. To this, the CEO said that “But not in the way it was done last time.” https://ift.tt/rO98hVf

A profile of ASML, the most valuable tech company in Europe, as the US-China chip war escalates; ASML's next apartment-sized machine ships in 2025 for $380M+ (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
A profile of ASML, the most valuable tech company in Europe, as the US-China chip war escalates; ASML's next apartment-sized machine ships in 2025 for $380M+  —  In 1984, Martin van den Brink, a young Dutch engineer, joined a newly created venture in a quiet corner of the Netherlands.

An analysis of Baidu, Bilibili, Bing, Douyin, Weibo, and other Chinese search platforms finds 60K censorship rules, implemented differently by each service (Jeffrey Knockel/The Citizen Lab)

Jeffrey Knockel / The Citizen Lab:
An analysis of Baidu, Bilibili, Bing, Douyin, Weibo, and other Chinese search platforms finds 60K censorship rules, implemented differently by each service  —  This report has an accompanying FAQ.  —  Key findings  — Across eight China-accessible search platforms analyzed — Baidu …

YouTube Music to let users publically share the songs they have on loop

YouTube Music, the music streaming app from Google, may receive a social feature that lets users share their listening stats with others. This rumoured addition may come in the form of a settings toggle. According to a 9to5Google report, YouTube Music is expected to make the ‘Enable public stats’ toggle available in the ‘Advanced Privacy Settings’ section on the ‘Channel Settings’ page. https://ift.tt/CKLnP9O

Google releases Android 14 Beta 1.1 for Pixel smartphones: All the details

Google has released the Android 14 Beta 1.1 for Pixel smartphones two weeks after the release of the initial public beta of Android 14. This is a minor patch, which comes ahead of the second beta scheduled to release next month. The over-the-air update is available for Pixel 4a and newer models registered in the Android 14 Beta program. https://ift.tt/C4KzW75

Iran to launch 6 satellites by March 2024

Iranian Deputy Defence Minister Amir Rastegari announced that the country is preparing six satellites to be launched by March 2024. https://ift.tt/ogsZSMb

SK hynix widens quarterly losses as chip glut intensifies

SK hynix said it logged losses for the second consecutive quarter, as a worsening macroeconomic climate dented demand for semiconductors used in PCs and other digital products, and a continued chip glut wiped out profits. https://ift.tt/lNgR8I7

Experts say 5G's next iteration, 5.5G, could help autonomous cars, drones, and more, but everyday users may not see many applications beyond faster speeds (Dan Strumpf/Wall Street Journal)

Dan Strumpf / Wall Street Journal:
Experts say 5G's next iteration, 5.5G, could help autonomous cars, drones, and more, but everyday users may not see many applications beyond faster speeds  —  Mobile companies say an upgrade is coming in a couple of years that will boost connection speeds amid flagging consumer interest

AMD announces new chipsets for handheld gaming consoles

The chipsets has up to eight cores and 16 threads, and are equipped with Zen 4 architecture for enhanced efficiency and battery life. The first handheld gaming device using the Ryzen Z1 chipset will be the Asus ROG Ally, a "premium handheld PC console", which is expected to be launched with further details on May 11. https://ift.tt/g9JaEMt

The UK CMA blocks Microsoft's $68.7B Activision acquisition, citing concerns about competition and innovation in the UK gaming market; Microsoft plans to appeal (GOV.UK)

GOV.UK:
The UK CMA blocks Microsoft's $68.7B Activision acquisition, citing concerns about competition and innovation in the UK gaming market; Microsoft plans to appeal  —  The CMA has prevented Microsoft's proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would alter the future …

A look at the mounting US pressure on Binance: the DOJ's money laundering division leading its criminal investigation, CZ hiring Latham & Watkins, and more (New York Times)

New York Times:
A look at the mounting US pressure on Binance: the DOJ's money laundering division leading its criminal investigation, CZ hiring Latham & Watkins, and more  —  The scrutiny on Binance, the giant cryptocurrency exchange, has sent new tremors through a market that is still bruised by the implosion of FTX.