Monday, 11 October 2021

10 things in tech you need to know today

10 THINGS IN TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

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1. Facebook will 'nudge' teens from harmful content, company executive Nick Clegg said. The company is also set to tell teens to 'take a break' from Instagram, following scrutiny of its platforms. More on the changes here.

2. Blue Origin is sending William Shatner to the edge of space tomorrow. 90-year-old Shatner, best known for his role in "Star Trek," will be Blue Origin's first celebrity customer — and the oldest person to reach the boundary of space. But his departure comes amid criticism from employees, some of whom said they wouldn't ride in the rocket.

3. Employees describe Facebook's week from hell. From an outage affecting all of its apps to a whistleblower's testimony, employees describe the unprecedented turmoil of the past week. More on the mood at the company, which they said was that of an army under siege.

4. An Amazon shopper faces up to 20 years in jail for $290,000 worth of fraud. Prosecutors say the North Carolina man bought Apple, Asus, and Fuji products — then returned cheaper items. More on his fraudulent returns.

5. Elizabeth Holmes' fraud trial has rounded out its fifth week. Another juror left because of her views on punishment, and former Safeway CEO Steven Burd described an unusual deal. Here's what you might have missed in week five.

6. A Singaporean prefab tiny-home maker has unveiled its latest smart home. As interest in tiny homes booms, Nestron has released its new unit, a $98,000, 377 square-foot artificial-intelligence-powered tiny home. See inside the Cube Two X.

7. Apple is expanding its offices to make more TV shows and movies. The company is expanding its Los Angeles space by more than 550,000 square feet, marking a significant move in the streaming wars. What we know so far.

8. Facebook's VP said he couldn't give a "yes or no answer" on whether its algorithms boosted insurrection sentiments ahead of the Jan. 6 riot. While talking with CNN, Nick Clegg said the site has "thousands" of algorithms that determine a Facebook user's experience. Here's what else he said.

9. Google's biggest rivals want lawmakers to ban its default spot on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Google has multi-billion dollar deals with Apple and Mozilla that secure its place as the default search engine for their browsers — but the company's rivals want EU legislators to put an end to that. Read their letter to lawmakers here.

10. Insiders say Google Cloud's secret weapon against Amazon and Microsoft is incentivizing salespeople to work with partners. Salespeople told us they enjoy working with Google Cloud because when they sell a partner's products to a customer, they get the same level of commission as they would if they sold the tech titan's own. More on Google Cloud's incentive structure.

Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.

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Friday, 8 October 2021

10 things in tech you need to know today

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10 THINGS IN TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Good morning and welcome to 10 Things in Tech. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go – click here for iOS and here for Android.

Let's get started.

1. Elon Musk is moving Tesla's headquarters from California to Austin, Texas. The Tesla chief made the announcement during an annual shareholder meeting. Musk outlines some of the reasoning behind the move here.

2. Twitch offered a brief explanation for the platform's giant leak. The company explained how hackers accessed creator payouts and source code, and said there was no indication that users' login or credit card information was breached. Read the explanation Twitch gave.

3. This former Facebook staffer quit her job once she realized she was giving the best years of her life to someone else's vision. Amid 50-70 hour work weeks, Taygerly remembers feeling both "exhilarated and bone-tired" every single day. She shared five pieces of advice for people thinking about leaving their job.

4. Netflix employees speak out against Dave Chappelle's new special. Some also criticized Netflix, saying it gave Chappelle a platform to make transphobic comments. See why Chapelle — and Netflix — are under fire for the special, "The Closer."

5. Google and YouTube will prohibit monetization of climate denial content. The company announced it won't let climate-denying creators profit on their platforms, one of the most aggressive policies any tech giant has set to combat climate change misinformation. Here's what you need to know.

6. Tesla shareholders voted on whether to kick Elon Musk's brother off the company's board. Kimbal Musk was up for reelection to the board, as was James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch. An advisory firm had urged shareholders to oust the pair, but the New York Times reported that shareholders voted to keep them. Read more about the vote here.

7. The verdict is in: Teens hate Facebook and Twitter. Of 10,000 teenagers surveyed, only 2% said Twitter or Facebook was their favorite social media app. Instead, Instagram and TikTok have taken the crown as youngsters' favorite apps. What else the survey revealed about teens' habits.

8. Snapchat rolled out safety features to cut down on sales of illegal drugs. After a string of fentanyl deaths, a safety portal will now redirect users who search for certain terms to educational materials about illegal drugs. Here's how it'll work.

9. Elizabeth Holmes' defense lawyer just wrapped up a four-day long cross-examination — and the judge put an end to it. After former lab director Adam Rosendorff gave a damning testimony against Theranos's fallen boss, lawyer Lance Wade attempted to destroy his credibility with the jury — only to earn a harsh rebuke from the judge. Here's why the whole debacle seemed more exhausting than productive.

10. Tech firms like Uber and Google are making some major changes to the way they pay employees in stock. New hires at Uber can now unlock more of their equity faster, while Google, Stripe, and Coinbase could end Silicon Valley's famed "rest and vest" culture to company equity. Get the inside scoop on the "experimentation" going on with big tech compensation.

Compiled by Jordan Erb and Phil Rosen. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.

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Thursday, 7 October 2021

10 things in tech you need to know today

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10 THINGS IN TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Good morning and welcome to 10 Things in Tech. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go – click here for iOS and here for Android.

Let's get started.

1. Amazon-owned Twitch was hacked. The massively popular video-game-streaming site was breached, resulting in a major data leak.

The leak included everything from Twitch's original source code to several years of popular creators' payout information. See how much top streamers are getting paid.
The people claiming responsibility said it was to "foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space" because Twitch's community is "a disgusting toxic cesspool."
It's unclear if user data was breached — but users might want to change their passwords and set up two-factor authentication.

2. Facebook is holding off on new products that could hurt its reputation. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that Facebook is conducting "reputational reviews" to see if new products could invite public criticism. Here's what you need to know.

3. Laurene Powell Jobs has multiplied her fortune and power by acting nothing like Steve Jobs (most of the time). Ten years after Jobs' death, his widow's rise as a $16 billion power player in media and politics doesn't look like the hard-edged kingdom of her husband — but some parallels are slowly starting to show. Read our exclusive profile of Powell Jobs.

4. Amazon has won $650 million in tax breaks from local and state governments so far this year. The incentives, most of which were issued to help expand local delivery, mark the most subsidies Amazon has won in any single year. Get the latest on the company's unprecedented tax breaks.

5. The Facebook whistleblower told Congress it should amend Section 230. Section 230 allows tech companies to moderate content on their services — and also means they're not liable for illegal things that people say on their platforms. Here's how the law works.

6. Andy Jassy said Amazon's COVID-19 paid leave policy "didn't work the way we wanted it to work." Amazon had promised two weeks' sick pay to workers with positive tests or quarantine orders, but workers have accused the company of failing to pay. See what else he said about the policy's shortcomings.

7. Elon Musk may move Tesla's headquarters to Austin. Musk has already moved to Texas and relocated his foundation there. Now, Tesla's annual shareholder meeting is taking place there, which some have predicted may mean a big move in the future. More on that here.

8. A former Pinterest whistleblower created a handbook to help tech workers safely speak up. The handbook, designed for would-be whistleblowers, offers guidance on finding a lawyer, understanding nondisclosure agreements, and other issues. Check out the "Tech Worker Handbook."

9. Some startup founders are turning down VC money. In today's frenzied funding environment, founders have more options than ever to raise capital, and many are turning to nontraditional ways — like crowdsourcing or raising debt — to do it. Eleven startup founders explain why they're turning away VCs to self-fund their companies.

10. Lucid insiders worry its CEO's "vendetta" against Elon Musk could hold the company back. For Peter Rawlinson, beating his one-time boss and building the "best car in the world" has always been part of the plan. But employees told us his obsession with outdoing Musk could undermine the EV startup's bid to be the next Tesla.

Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.

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Don't forget — we're publishing new puzzles every morning through October 8. Solve it here.

Monday, 4 October 2021

10 things in tech you need to know today

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10 THINGS IN TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Good morning and welcome to 10 Things in Tech. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go – click here for iOS and here for Android.

Let's get started.

1. The whistleblower behind the release of a raft of internal Facebook documents has been revealed. During an interview with 60 Minutes, ex-Facebook employee Frances Haugen said it was her intention to help the company not destroy it. Read more about her findings here.

2. Ozy Media is shutting down. After a damning report by the New York Times, which found that Ozy's COO impersonated a YouTube exec on a fundraising call with Goldman Sachs, the company announced it's ceasing operations. Meanwhile, Ozy alumni told us about internal doubts about the company.

3. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes merch is gaining popularity. Mugs, shirts, and accessories making fun of the "girl boss" have cropped up all over the internet (some of which with slogans like "fake it 'til you make it"). Plus, here's everything you missed in the trial's fourth week.

4. Walmart has poached Instacart's chief revenue officer. After two years with Instacart, Seth Dallaire will join Walmart in a similar role. More on the latest shake-up in Instacart's executive ranks.

5. Blue Origin reportedly fired an exec over allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior. The report, which says the exec was fired in 2019, comes after a group of current and former employees penned an open letter saying Jeff Bezos fostered a toxic work culture. See the email Blue Origin's CEO sent to staff addressing the allegations.

6. A luxury travel-trailer maker unveiled its latest $250,000 model that can charge EVs. Following a pandemic-fueled boom in interest, Living Vehicle has launched its latest trailer, which comes with a washer and dryer and the option to install an in-home movie theater. See inside the 2022 Living Vehicle.

7. Google faces a lawsuit over DeepMind's access to 1.6 million UK patients' records. DeepMind gained access to the data in 2015 in a deal with the Royal Free, which is deemed to have broken UK law. Now, a law firm is planning legal action. A look at what we know so far.

8. Social media algorithms are keeping healthcare professionals from dispelling anti-vaxx information. People spreading COVID-19 misinformation take advantage of engagement-driven algorithms to spread their messages — and experts say moderating the content is becoming an "impossible task." Here's why.

9. A former Facebook VP now working as a venture partner shares what he's investing in, from healthcare to sustainability. Hugo Barra, Facebook's former head of VR, has been quietly working as an investor at LatAm firm Atlantico since leaving the tech giant earlier this year. Here's what he's investing in.

10. Amazon's massive cloud ecosystem makes it hard for small firms to succeed, partners say. With AWS counting on partnerships with over 100,000 independent companies, some partners have said they're struggling to stand out from IT giants and win big deals. Take a look at what seven AWS partners told us.

Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.

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