A Kenyan court rules that Meta is the primary employer of 184 content moderators suing Meta and contractor Sama for unlawful dismissal, and pauses their layoffs (Annie Njanja/TechCrunch)

Annie Njanja / TechCrunch:
A Kenyan court rules that Meta is the primary employer of 184 content moderators suing Meta and contractor Sama for unlawful dismissal, and pauses their layoffs  —  A Kenyan court has ruled that Meta is the primary employer of content moderators suing the social media giant and its content review partner …

With AR/VR startup funding from October 2022 to March 2023 falling 74% YoY to $800M, per PitchBook, the industry hopes Apple's MR headset could lure back VCs (Patrick McGee/Financial Times)

Patrick McGee / Financial Times:
With AR/VR startup funding from October 2022 to March 2023 falling 74% YoY to $800M, per PitchBook, the industry hopes Apple's MR headset could lure back VCs  —  Frenzy over iPhone maker's longed-for launch of mixed reality headset has reached ‘fever pitch’

Scientists and DNA sequencing startup Illumina identified 4.3M genetic variants in ~800 primates and then used AI to predict genetic health risks in 454K humans (Clive Cookson/Financial Times)

Clive Cookson / Financial Times:
Scientists and DNA sequencing startup Illumina identified 4.3M genetic variants in ~800 primates and then used AI to predict genetic health risks in 454K humans  —  Scientists apply deep learning to expanded DNA database to help identify disease-causing mutations in humans

A look at India's hacking-for-hire industry, which has a tacit alliance with the government and is unusually brazen, with firms publicly touting their services (David D. Kirkpatrick/New Yorker)

David D. Kirkpatrick / New Yorker:
A look at India's hacking-for-hire industry, which has a tacit alliance with the government and is unusually brazen, with firms publicly touting their services  —  The country has developed a lucrative specialty: cyberattacks for hire.  —  In the summer of 2020, Jonas Rey …

At Computex, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, and more bet on OLED displays to revive PC sales, despite higher component costs; Samsung has 99%+ of the OLED laptop market (Vlad Savov/Bloomberg)

Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
At Computex, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, and more bet on OLED displays to revive PC sales, despite higher component costs; Samsung has 99%+ of the OLED laptop market  —  PC makers from Lenovo Group Ltd. to Samsung Electronics Co. are pinning their hopes for reviving laptop sales on upgraded displays.

Airtel reveals common international destinations visited by its customers

A recent report by Airtel reveals a surge of over 100% in international roaming plan subscriptions and up to 146% growth in international roaming subscriptions compared to last year, with up to a 47% increase in international travelers. US, UK, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany are among the most visited countries from Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh + Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Karela. Additionally, Middle East, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries were preferred by travelers. Airtel has also set up kiosks at Indian international airports to help users activate international plans. https://ift.tt/45AxBZ8

Apple adds this MacBook model to obsolete product category

According to a report by MacRumors, Apple has officially added the original 12-inch MacBook to its obsolete products list. The addition of the Apple 12-inch MacBook list marks its official end. https://ift.tt/cGAxsHv

Cat survival game ‘Stray’ coming to Mac

The adventure game 'Stray,' in which players assume the role of a cat, will soon be accessible to Apple's M1 or M2 processor-based Macs. The game's narrative includes solving puzzles, navigating challenges and mission paths, all while avoiding pitfalls like Zurks and Sentinels. The beta version for Macs has not been given a release date or price. https://ift.tt/GzC7eM0

WhatsApp to soon bring redesigned keyboard with emoji bar: Here’s what it means

WhatsApp is said to be working on a new feature which is said to improve the user experience. A new report has revealed that the popular messaging app is working on a redesigned keyboard with an emoji category bar. https://ift.tt/JIHhB83

Challenger report: US tech companies have announced 136,831 layoffs in 2023 so far, more than in any full year since 2001, when job cuts reached 168,395 (Alexandre Tanzi/Bloomberg)

Alexandre Tanzi / Bloomberg:
Challenger report: US tech companies have announced 136,831 layoffs in 2023 so far, more than in any full year since 2001, when job cuts reached 168,395  —  US companies have announced more job cuts this year than during all of 2022, according to executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

AT Protocol's account portability tool gives the users of Bluesky, a public benefit LLC independent from Twitter, a way out should a billionaire take over (Micah Lee/The Intercept)

Micah Lee / The Intercept:
AT Protocol's account portability tool gives the users of Bluesky, a public benefit LLC independent from Twitter, a way out should a billionaire take over  —  Here are some answers about the new social media network Bluesky that you don't need an invite to see. … The vibes are great.

Government of India offering free laptop to students scheme is fake: PIB Fact Check

A fake scheme claiming that the Indian government is offering free laptops to youth under the Prime Minister Free Laptop Scheme 2023 is circulating on the internet. PIB Fact Check has confirmed that this claim is false, and that the education ministry of India isn’t running any such scheme to offer free laptops. The scheme asks students to submit registration forms on the official website and login with required details to receive a Lenovo laptop. Students are advised to avoid the scheme to prevent getting scammed. https://ift.tt/C6yF4bx

LA- and Bengaluru-based hyperspectral imagery startup Pixxel raised a $36M Series B led by Google, after launching three demonstration satellites in 2022 (Aria Alamalhodaei/TechCrunch)

Aria Alamalhodaei / TechCrunch:
LA- and Bengaluru-based hyperspectral imagery startup Pixxel raised a $36M Series B led by Google, after launching three demonstration satellites in 2022  —  Hyperspectral imagery startup Pixxel has closed $36 million in funding as it prepares to roll out new remote sensing and analytics capabilities to customers.

Russia accuses US of using Apple iPhones for spying

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused the US of using Apple iPhones to spy. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB said that it had uncovered a US National Security Agency (NSA) plot using previously unknown malware to access specially made so-called backdoor vulnerabilities in Apple phones. Incidentally, this is the same NSA that had tried to garner public opinion on its side as it objected to Apple's refusal to give it access to user data. https://ift.tt/HdrTyxn

A look at the grotesque world of AI true-crime-victim TikTok, where AI deepfakes, based on images of children who were abused, describe their own ghastly demise (EJ Dickson/Rolling Stone)

EJ Dickson / Rolling Stone:
A look at the grotesque world of AI true-crime-victim TikTok, where AI deepfakes, based on images of children who were abused, describe their own ghastly demise  —  TikTok accounts are posting horrifying artificial intelligence-generated clips of murder victims — mostly children — describing their own ghastly demise