Gillmor Gang: Apple Tacks

When the music's over, turn out the lights. Back in the day, The Doors were one of a number of 60s rock groups to surface around the intersection of blues, R&B, and a cultural shift that challenged our notions of who was in charge. The Doors were a four-piece that sounded like something bi

Amazon's drone delivery team hit with layoffs amid reorganization

Amazon has confirmed an early Financial Times report outlining layoffs at the retail giant's Prime Air drone delivery program. “As part of our regular business operations, we are reorganizing one small team within our larger Prime Air organization to allow us to best align with the needs of o

Iconic Arecibo radio telescope to be dismantled after 57-year run

Update: The telescope has collapsed, the suspended platform falling through the remainder of the dish. The famous Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which has provided an invaluable service to scientists for 57 years as well as establishing itself in popular culture, will be dismantled after i

Transfr raises $12M Series A to bring virtual reality to manufacturing-plant floors

The coronavirus has displaced millions of workers across the country. In order to recover, companies must focus on re-skilling their workforces in a measured and sustainable way. However, training and recruitment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for companies, a heavy investment that is ha

Thank you, Chrome team

Since Chrome came out back in 2008, it’s been a constant companion in my life. In fact, Chrome’s launch is how I helped get the startup I worked for at the time onto technewss for the first time. We did shots to celebrate. Chrome rocked, and we were Day One Fans. But ov

Facebook sues operator of Instagram clone sites

Facebook has today filed another lawsuit against a company acting in violations of its terms of service. In this case, the company has sued Ensar Sahinturk, a Turkish national who operated a network of Instagram clone sites, according to court filings. Facebook says Sahinturk used automation softwa

Lime plans for ‘modes’ beyond bikes and scooters in 2021

Lime is launching its fourth-generation scooter in Paris this week, an example the company says of its financial turnaround and commitment to growth. But the product rollout isn’t over. Lime CEO Wayne Ting hinted Thursday during the WSJ Future of Everything event that a “third mode,R

Bessemer's Byron Deeter thinks SaaS companies could grow even faster in 2021

Byron Deeter is not backing down from his optimism about the cloud and the end of the COVID-19-induced wave of software buying doesn’t have him too worried. Of course, Deeter is an investor at Bessemer, a venture capital concern that has done well betting on the cloud, so you might expect him

Genomatica's expanded Aquafil partnership brings biomaterials to more consumer goods

"speakable-summary" align="left">In a deal that has potentially big implications for the sustainability of consumer packaged goods, biomaterial manufacturing technology developer Genomatica and the massive nylon material manufacturer Aquafil have partnered on a new demonstration scale facility. Nylo

BuzzFeed acquires HuffPost

HuffPost has a new owner, with its current parent company Verizon Media reaching an agreement to sell the site to BuzzFeed. The Wall Street Journal broke the news and described this as a stock deal. Verizon Media is also making an investment in BuzzFeed and becoming a minority shareholder in the d

Lime touts a 2020 turnaround and 2021 profitability

Micromobility company Lime says it has moved beyond the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a milestone that seemed unthinkable earlier this year. In short, the company is now largely profitable. Lime said it was both operating cash flow positive and free ca

Facebook details AI advances in catching misinformation and hate speech

Facebook’s battle against misinformation will never be over at this rate, but that doesn’t mean the company has given up. On the contrary it is only by dint of constant improvement to its automated systems that it is able to keep itself even remotely free of hate speech and misinformati

Tech in the Biden era

President-elect Joe Biden may have spent eight years in an administration that doted on the tech industry, but that long honeymoon, punctuated by four years of Trump, looks to be over. Tech is on notice in 2020. The Russian interference saga of the 2016 election opened the floodgates for social med

Astra targets December for next orbital launch attempt

Astra is set to launch it’s next orbital rocket, with a window that opens on December 7 and lasts for 12 days following, until December 18, with an 11 AM to 2:30 PM PT block each day during which the launch could occur, depending on weather and conditions on the ground. This is the startup