Friday, 15 October 2021

10 things in tech you need to know today

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.

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1. LinkedIn is shutting down its Chinese site. The company is sunsetting its local site after drawing criticism for censoring profiles with content considered offensive to the country's government. It will be replaced by InJobs, a job application site with no social feed. Get the details on LinkedIn's new strategy.

2. Self-driving Waymo cars are flocking to the same dead-end street in San Francisco — and no one knows why. Residents said the autonomous cars are flooding their street, with one estimating that as many as 50 cars come in a day. See what residents are saying about the Waymo mystery.

3. The latest job market trend? Boomerang employees. Workers who quit during the pandemic are starting to ask for their old jobs back, earning them the title of "boomerang employees." And while it used to be rare for employers to rehire quitters, many are welcoming back ex-employees with open arms. More on the wave of boomerang employees.

4. Facebook told staff it would seal off some internal message boards to prevent leaking. The change was immediately leaked. Amid a series of leaks, the company said some groups about platform safety would be made private — but someone quickly leaked that decision, The New York Times reported. Read up on Facebook's continuing struggle with leaks.

5. A Cisco leader who encouraged TikTok followers to report strippers to the IRS has been let go. Influencer Ethan Keiser, who told his followers they could make money by reporting strippers, is no longer employed by Cisco — and strippers have said he made their harassment worse than it already was. Get the scoop on the controversy.

6. House Democrats are taking aim at algorithms. Axios reported that a new bill would remove websites' protections if recommended content leads to real-world harm. What you need to know about the liability shield bill.

7. Elon Musk congratulated Jeff Bezos on Wednesday's Blue Origin flight. Despite the CEOs' years of beef, Musk said it was "cool" to send 90-year-old Star Trek star William Shatner to space. More on the rare congratulatory message.

8. Facebook is working on AI tech that will monitor your every move. As part of its push to create smart glasses that are as useful as smart phones, the company is working on tech that will monitor human life so it can see and hear the world like humans do. This is what we know about the advanced tech so far.

9. Google Cloud has lost its third senior exec in Europe in six months. Google Cloud's VP of operations in the EMEA regions is the latest senior leader to quit, after only 18 months with the company. Get the details on the executive exodus Google faces as it tries to catch up with Amazon and Microsoft.

10. Amazon sellers will be acquired at an unprecedented rate next year. A new survey shows that more than 1,000 third-party sellers will be acquired — and many buyers say they will pay anything for these businesses. Here are the survey's other key findings.

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

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Thursday, 14 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. DoorDash scrapped a pilot program to deliver free rape kits to college students. The company was running the program delivering at-home rape kits — but top executives didn't know about it. Once they discovered it, the program was immediately suspended. Here's how the program slipped past execs — and was ultimately cancelled.

2. William Shatner cried telling Jeff Bezos about his flight to space. After his journey to the edge of space with Blue Origin, Shatner said seeing space's blackness was like looking at death: "I hope I never recover from this."

3. The Elizabeth Holmes trial: The prosecution scores a $275 million point. Former Safeway CEO Steven Burd took the stand Tuesday to explain how he fell for Holmes. A US attorney used his testimony to suggest Holmes had criminally withheld that the product didn't work, while the defense painted Burd as a lazy car buyer. What else went down in the courthouse this week.

4. Miami's mayor says the city is moving toward paying public employees in bitcoin. The move is part of Mayor Francis Suarez's ongoing push to make Miami a major hub for digital assets. Here's what else Suarez has planned for his city.

5. Apple will likely have to cut its iPhone 13 production goals for 2021. The global chip shortage may push Apple to slash its target by 10 million iPhones — and that might affect your holiday shopping. More on that here.

6. Netflix has reinstated three employees. The employees' suspension came amid controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle's comedy special, though Netflix said they weren't suspended because of their criticisms. Now, trans staff are planning a walkout to protest co-CEO's choice not to remove the special. More on that here.

7. Elon Musk's Bay Area mansion is up for sale again. After taking it off the market last month, the mansion is back — and it's now 15% cheaper at $32 million. See the house here.

8. Mark Zuckerberg's stranglehold on Facebook could put the company at risk. With 55% of the company's voting shares, Zuckerberg has majority power over the company — and experts are saying he's "the most powerful person who's ever walked the face of the earth." They explain why that's problematic.

9. In a leaked email, an Amazon exec addressed complaints about "toxic" culture. Amazon's Fresh grocery employees raised concerns about burnout during all-hands meetings this year, prompting a senior exec to say in an email he's "extremely concerned." You can read the leaked email here.

10. Crowdfunding, once a last resort for startups, has been attracting unicorns. New SEC regulations are making it safer for both startups and investors, and some founders are using crowdfunding platforms to raise millions. Get the latest on the recent boom in equity crowdfunding.

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

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Wednesday, 13 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. Blue Origin is sending William Shatner to space today. Barring any further delays, the 90-year-old actor will head to the edge of space on Blue Origin's second civilian flight. You can watch his 11-minute journey, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET, here.

2. A former Apple employee alleges Tim Cook's anti-leaking email violates worker-protection laws. Last month, Apple's CEO sent an email to staff saying leakers "do not belong" at the company. Now, a former employee has filed complaints with the NLRB, saying the email and Apple's strict employee handbook violate US labor laws. Read her explanation.

3. Google Cloud will help customers reduce their carbon footprint in its latest push against Amazon. The cloud giant has released new features to help customers reduce their carbon emissions. We outline the features — and explain why Google thinks they'll lure customers away from Amazon.

4. A second Facebook whistleblower says she's willing to testify before Congress. The employee, Sophie Zhang, told CNN she'd testify and that she's already shared documentation about "potential criminal violations" with US law enforcement. More on the second whistleblower to come forward.

5. You can now "soft block" people on Twitter. The new feature will allow you to quietly remove followers and keep them from seeing your tweets. Here's how to do it.

6. Astronaut's photo shows a rare "sprite" in Earth's atmosphere. The phenomenon, caused by lightning shooting up toward space, resulted in a flash of bright light above Earth. Check out the "very rare" photo.

7. Instagram is testing a feature that lets you know when it's having issues. After suffering two outages in a week, the new feature would alert users to any issues in their Activity Feeds, then again once the problem is fixed. Get the latest on the feature here.

8. After months of Mac rumors, Apple has announced an event. The Verge reported the company is expected to use the event, scheduled for Oct. 18, to unveil new MacBooks, a Mac Mini, and potentially third-generation AirPods. Everything we know about the event so far.

9. Women at Microsoft are sharing stories of gender discrimination at the company in a leaked email chain. Dozens of tech workers have shared stories about gender and racial discrimination, microaggressions, and pay disparities — and are urging the company to take action. Here's what women are saying about working at Microsoft.

10. In other Microsoft news: We have a leaked database of employees' salaries. More than 1,200 employees have compiled information on their compensation in a shared spreadsheet viewed by Insider. See the data on Microsoft employees' pay and promotions.

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

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Tuesday, 12 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. Facebook's Oversight Board will meet with whistleblower Frances Haugen. Haugen tweeted that Facebook has lied to the board "repeatedly," adding that she'd be joining the board for a meeting and "sharing the truth with them." Here's what we know so far.

2. Netflix suspended three employees but says it wasn't due to their criticism of Dave Chappelle's comedy special. The Verge reported that Netflix suspended the employees, including a trans staffer who recently criticized the comedian's "The Closer", for crashing an executive meeting. Get the latest on the tension within Netflix.

3. AI startup Whisper is becoming the "Tesla of hearing aids." Whisper, which uses software updates to improve over time, is led by an all-star team of Big Tech incumbents — and is now funded by Sequoia Capital. See how it's trying to provide the best hearing money can buy.

4. Amazon has abandoned its return-to-office plan. In a major reversal of its previous plans, CEO Andy Jassy told employees the company would let directors set remote-work policies for individual teams (you can read some leaked FAQs about the policy here). More on Amazon's major return-to-office shift.

5. Facebook banned a developer for helping users delete their news feeds. Developer Louis Barclay said he was served a cease-and-desist letter after creating a browser extension called Unfollow Everything, which — you guessed it — lets users unfollow all their friends and pages. Barclay told us about his experience being barred from Facebook.

6. Apple is appealing its own "resounding victory" over Epic Games. It wants to delay a judge's order to change one of its App Store rules around "anti-steering," which stop developers from directing users away from an app to pay for services elsewhere. Get the full rundown here.

7. Elon Musk tweeted a silver medal emoji at Jeff Bezos. Musk has been poking fun at Bezos since surpassing him as the wealthiest man in the world — Musk's net worth has soared to $223 billion, while Bezos' is $191 billion. See the billionaires' banter here.

8. Parents are reportedly sneaking monitors into their kids' schools to test air quality. According to The New York Times, parents are sending the monitors to school to see how well-ventilated the building is — and to help inform about the risk of contracting COVID-19. More on the parents smuggling air-quality monitors into schools.

9. We made a list of the most influential VCs. Unlike other types of institutional investors, venture capitalists love to share business know-how, and some have become quasi celebrities — with massive followings across platforms. We outlined 53 entertaining, opinionated VCs you should follow.

10. AWS is using alliances with Salesforce, Notion, and small startups to take on Microsoft. Amazon has been quietly building a network of allies — establishing the ties it would need to wage something like a proxy war with Microsoft in the cloud software market. Here's what we know about its partnerships.

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

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