Friday, February 3, 2023

Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft will collectively incur more than $10B in charges related to mass layoffs, real estate, and other cost savings (Dave Lee/Financial Times)

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft will collectively incur more than $10B in charges related to mass layoffs, real estate, and other cost savings  —  Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft reveal hefty price tag as they rein in spending  —  Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft …



As the spat between Binance and WazirX escalates, Binance invites the Indian exchange to withdraw its assets held in Binance wallets after February 3 (Amitoj Singh/CoinDesk)

Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
As the spat between Binance and WazirX escalates, Binance invites the Indian exchange to withdraw its assets held in Binance wallets after February 3  —  The solution ostensibly ends worries about what would happen to customer funds if Binance and WazirX end their collaboration.



A group of MEPs launches a website for European parliament staff and EU officials to warn about "shady lobbying" by Big Tech and other interest groups (Jennifer Rankin/The Guardian)

Jennifer Rankin / The Guardian:
A group of MEPs launches a website for European parliament staff and EU officials to warn about “shady lobbying” by Big Tech and other interest groups  —  Exclusive: Dutch MEP hopes site will give early warning of suspicious tactics such as use of front organisations



Thursday, February 2, 2023

A brief look at several lawsuits challenging generative AI tools and what music labels suing Napster but making peace with Spotify tells us about the future (Peter Kafka/Vox)

Peter Kafka / Vox:
A brief look at several lawsuits challenging generative AI tools and what music labels suing Napster but making peace with Spotify tells us about the future  —  What can Napster tell us about the future?  —  That was quick: Artificial intelligence has gone from science fiction to novelty to Thing We Are Sure Is the Future.



Chainalysis plans to cut under 5% of its staff as part of a reorganization; in January, its CEO said the company plans to grow staff by 11% and expand globally (Olga Kharif/Bloomberg)

Olga Kharif / Bloomberg:
Chainalysis plans to cut under 5% of its staff as part of a reorganization; in January, its CEO said the company plans to grow staff by 11% and expand globally  —  Chainalysis Inc., a company that specializes in tracking crypto transactions and the entities behind them, said it's made layoffs affecting less than 5% of staff.



Sony announces a beta version of Discord for the PlayStation 5 in the US, Canada, Japan, and the UK, adds Variable Refresh Rate support for 1440p, and more (Tom Warren/The Verge)

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony announces a beta version of Discord for the PlayStation 5 in the US, Canada, Japan, and the UK, adds Variable Refresh Rate support for 1440p, and more  —  Beta testers will be able to join Discord voice calls on a PS5 console in the US, Canada, Japan, and UK starting today.



Netflix Japan used AI art in the anime short "The Dog & The Boy", citing a "labor shortage" in the industry, which has long faced labor abuses and poor wages (Samantha Cole/VICE)

Samantha Cole / VICE:
Netflix Japan used AI art in the anime short “The Dog & The Boy”, citing a “labor shortage” in the industry, which has long faced labor abuses and poor wages  —  A new short film called ‘The Dog & The Boy’ uses AI-generated art for its backgrounds.  —  Samantha Cole



Sony reports Q3 sales rose 13% YoY to ~$26.4B as operating profit drops 8% YoY to ~$3.3B, beating analyst estimates; PS5 sales were 7.1M, up from 4M YoY (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Sony reports Q3 sales rose 13% YoY to ~$26.4B as operating profit drops 8% YoY to ~$3.3B, beating analyst estimates; PS5 sales were 7.1M, up from 4M YoY  —  Sony Group Corp. revised up its full-year profit outlook after earnings beat estimates and the company had its best quarter of PlayStation 5 sales.



Wednesday, February 1, 2023

An interview with Chris Miller, a Tufts professor and author of the book Chip War, on EUV lithography, ASML's role in global chip manufacturing, TSMC, and more (Nilay Patel/The Verge)

Nilay Patel / The Verge:
An interview with Chris Miller, a Tufts professor and author of the book Chip War, on EUV lithography, ASML's role in global chip manufacturing, TSMC, and more  —  Professor Chris Miller's new book Chip War explains the complicated global politics inside your iPhone.



A look at Spanish-language livestreaming growth on Twitch; the platform's audience for Spanish, its fastest-growing language, grew sixfold from 2019 to 2022 (Cecilia D'Anastasio/Bloomberg)

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
A look at Spanish-language livestreaming growth on Twitch; the platform's audience for Spanish, its fastest-growing language, grew sixfold from 2019 to 2022  —  Samantha Rivera was studying engineering in Mexico in 2020 when a group of friends convinced her she could draw an audience …



A report by the White House's NTIA describes Apple and Google as "gatekeepers" of mobile app stores and suggests legislation to improve competition and choice (Ashley Gold/Axios)

Ashley Gold / Axios:
A report by the White House's NTIA describes Apple and Google as “gatekeepers” of mobile app stores and suggests legislation to improve competition and choice  —  A new Biden administration report describes Apple and Google as “gatekeepers” of mobile app stores and suggests legislation …



Meta's Ready at Dawn studio plans to shutter Echo VR, one of the best-rated and most popular free Quest games, after layoffs, to focus on "our next project" (Ben Lang/Road to VR)

Ben Lang / Road to VR:
Meta's Ready at Dawn studio plans to shutter Echo VR, one of the best-rated and most popular free Quest games, after layoffs, to focus on “our next project”  —  As a parting gift, players can claim lots of premium cosmetic items for free  —  The Entire VR Industry in One Little Email



Sources: the UK's semiconductor plan, which missed a publication deadline last fall, has suffered from government disarray, as the US and EU move forward (Politico)

Politico:
Sources: the UK's semiconductor plan, which missed a publication deadline last fall, has suffered from government disarray, as the US and EU move forward  —  The UK's long-awaited chips strategy remains mired in Whitehall wrangling.  —  LONDON — As nations around the world scramble …



Western Digital raised $900M from Apollo Global and Elliott, sources say as a precursor to a merger with Japan's Kioxia, as the memory chip industry struggles (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Western Digital raised $900M from Apollo Global and Elliott, sources say as a precursor to a merger with Japan's Kioxia, as the memory chip industry struggles  —  Western Digital Corp. is receiving a $900 million investment led by Apollo Global Management Inc., getting financial firepower …



A look at Blind, an anonymous professional networking site that has emerged as a lifeline for tech workers seeking information and advice about the mass layoffs (Catherine Thorbecke/CNN)

Catherine Thorbecke / CNN:
A look at Blind, an anonymous professional networking site that has emerged as a lifeline for tech workers seeking information and advice about the mass layoffs  —  In the week before Microsoft publicly announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs, thousands of workers at the tech giant who were eager …



Google launches Google Wallet for Android in India and partners with 20+ brands to let users store boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets, and more (Aamir Siddiqui/Android Authority)

Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority : Google launches Google Wallet for Android in India and partners with 20+ brands to let users store b...