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Zoom apologizes, but also reveals some INSANE growth numbers. Facebook Messenger comes to desktop. YouTube wants to clone TikTok. Apple let’s some people avoid the App Store tax. More gross firings by teleconference and a timely interesting raise. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com No Parking Podcast Links: A Message to Our Users (Zoom Blog) Facebook debuts standalone Messenger app on Mac and PC (Engadget) 'Content network effect' makes TikTok tough to copy (TechCrunch) YouTube Plans ‘Shorts’ to Rival TikTok (The Information) Apple Lets Some Video Apps Sell Shows Without Taking 30% Cut (Bloomberg) 'It Felt Like a Black Mirror Episode' The Inside Account of How Bird Laid off 406 People in Two Minutes via a Zoom Webinar (dot.LA) Notion, Maker of Collaboration Software, Raises $50 Million (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve reached the end of the John Legere era. Samsung thinks we’ve reached the end of the LCD era. Comcast is inadvertently proving ISP datacaps are BS. Is Zoom a victim of its own success? And it’s maybe not overstating things to say it’s past time Amazon should start thinking more humanely about… people. Sponsors: No Parking podcast TinyCapital.com Sponsors: Legere is out as T-Mobile CEO as Sprint merger officially closes (CNBC) Samsung Display to end all LCD production by end 2020 (Reuters) Marriott discloses new data breach impacting 5.2 million hotel guests (ZDNet) Comcast waiving data caps hasn’t hurt its network—why not make it permanent? (Ars Technica) Zoom Lets Attackers Steal Windows Credentials via UNC Links (Bleeping Computer) @c1truz_ thread about Zoom Amazon's Covid Hiring Boom Has Applicants Packed Into Job Fairs With No Special Precautions (Bloomberg) Amazon Struggles to Find Its Coronavirus Footing. ‘It’s a Time of Great Stress.’ (WSJ) Amazon's past catches up with

Snapchat launches its Stories syndication program. Fitbit has a powerful new fitness tracker. Microsoft and Spotify release some family friendly features and apps. It’s time for Zoom to come under the spotlight for privacy concerns. And a court has ruled that simply breaking a site's terms of service does not constitute criminal hacking. Sponsors: F5.com/ride TinyCaptial.com Links: Apple purchases hyperlocal weather app Dark Sky, ending API and killing Android apps (9to5Mac) Snapchat preempts clones, syndicates Stories to other apps (TechCrunch) Surprise! Fitbit's First New Product Since Google Deal Is A Fitness Tracker (Gizmodo) Microsoft announces Teams for consumers, Skype daily active users up 70% to 40 million (VentureBeat) Microsoft 365 bundles Office 365 with AI and cloud-powered features (VentureBeat) Spotify Brings Standalone Kids’ App to U.S., Featuring a ‘Wash Your Hands’ Playlist (Variety) New York Attorney General Looks Into Zoom’s Privacy Practices (NYTimes) ZOOM MEETING

HQ Trivia resurrects itself thanks to an anonymous investor. Facebook tries to squeeze Apple out of the AR screen market. Some crowdsourced data reveals who where layoffs are happening in tech but also which companies are still hiring. And a major hack takes down a big chunk of the dark web. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Feals.com/techmeme Links: HQ Trivia Returns Thanks to Anonymous Investor (WSJ) Facebook Strikes Deal for AR Displays, Squeezing Out Apple (The Information) Government Tracking How People Move Around in Coronavirus Pandemic (WSJ) Coronavirus has led to a 775 percent increase in usage of Microsoft Azure cloud services (BetaNews) Apple's factories are running, but suppliers wary about iPhone demand (Reuters) Candor: 267 companies have frozen hiring, 44 had layoffs, 36 rescinded offers, 111 are hiring (VentureBeat) OneWeb files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Space News) Airbnb to Halt All Marketing, Most Hiring as Losses Mount (The Information) Lyft Tells Drivers to Work for Am

Apple has released an official Covid-19 App. Kuo says Arm-based Macbooks are coming next year. Sony is spinning off a lot of the parts of itself that make it a tech company. Instacart workers are planning a nationwide strike on Monday. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Kiwico.com/ride Links: Apple releases new COVID-19 app and website based on CDC guidance (Apple Newsroom) Kuo: Apple to Launch Several Macs With Arm-Based Processors in 2021, USB4 Support Coming to Macs in 2022 (MacRumors) Sony Spins Off Camera Business Into Separate Company (PetaPixel) Instacart’s Gig Workers Are Planning a Massive, Nationwide Strike (Motherboard) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Everything Is So Fucked, You Might As Well Get A Facebook Portal (Buzzfeed News) We Need A Massive Surveillance Program (IdleWords.com) Bosses Panic-Buy Spy Software to Keep Tabs on Remote Workers (Bloomberg) Why Don’t We Just Ban Targeted Advertising? (Wired) DJI Won the Drone Wars, a

Apple is weighing its options, and delaying the release of the 5G iPhone until 2021 is being discussed. Airbnb is offering free housing for medical workers. An interesting raise Thursday that wants to be the flip side of Shopify in the ecommerce space. And a preview of Huawei’s upcoming Google-less flagship phone. Sponsors: Metalab.co Sanebox.com/techmeme Links: Apple weighs delaying 5G iPhone launch by months, sources say (Nikkei Asian Review) Apple Testing AR/VR Headset With HTC Vive-Like Controller, Crosswalk Bowling Game, and More (MacRumors) What Qualcomm's new chips mean for upcoming true wireless earbuds (CNET) Airbnb Hosts to Help Provide Housing to 100,000 COVID-19 Responders (Airbnb Newsroom) TripActions, Zeus Living Laying Off Employees Due To COVID-19 Slowdown (Crunchbase News) What it feels like to be laid off on Zoom during this crisis (Protocol) Lime’s Valuation May Fall 80% in Emergency Fundraising (The Information) StubHub furloughs employees, other ticket sites face chall

How Facebook is coping with Corona, Google Podcasts comes to iOS, ad blocking officially comes to Safari, when Apple thinks it can re-open stores, Singapore open-sources it’s Corona-contact-tracing app, and have your screen time notifications horrified you this week? You’re not alone. Sponsors: Metalab.co Rhone.com/ridehome Promocode: ridehome for 20 percent off Links: Facebook Is ‘Just Trying to Keep the Lights On’ as Traffic Soars in Pandemic (NYTimes) The Coronavirus Revives Facebook as a News Powerhouse More than half of all news consumption on Facebook in America (NYTimes) Google Podcasts is finally available of iOS (TechCrunch) Apple updates Safari’s anti-tracking tech with full third-party cookie blocking (The Verge) Apple May Start Reopening Stores in First Half of April (Bloomberg) iPhone Makers Suspend India Production Due to Lockdown (Bloomberg) Coronavirus: S'pore Government to make its contact-tracing app freely available to developers worldwide (The Straight Times)

A wicked Windows zero day is out in the wild without a patch. Google is open sourcing a cool new AI architecture. Instagram wants you to co-watch your feed with a friend. A popular “challenger bank” comes to the US. And the iPad Pro reviews are in. Sponsors: Metalab.co Zapier.com/ride Links: Microsoft says hackers are attacking Windows users with a new unpatched bug (TechCrunch) Apple promises App Store expansion to 20 new countries starting next month (9to5Mac) Google open-sources framework that reduces AI training costs by up to 80% (VentureBeat) Google opens Stadia Makers program for indie game developers (9to5Google) Google unveils Android Performance Tuner, Android GPU Inspector, and Cloud Firestore for game developers (VentureBeat) Instagram has a new way for people isolated by coronavirus to connect: sharing posts via video chat (CNBC) Exclusive: Disney+ Sees Huge Subscription Spike As Homebound Audiences Clamor For Content (Forbes) Revolut launches its neobank in the US (Tech

The pros and cons of using big data, cellphones and the surveillance economy to combat the coronavirus. More iPhone rumors from Ming-Chi Kuo. Is the Oculus Quest bringing VR into the mainstream? And how to block your messy background when you’re on a Zoom conference call for work. Sponsors: Metalab.co Mintmobile.com/ride Links: European mobile operators share data for coronavirus fight (Reuters) Taiwan's new 'electronic fence' for quarantines leads wave of virus monitoring (Reuters) Hidden data is revealing the true scale of the coronavirus outbreak (Wired) Google’s coronavirus website finally launches alongside enhanced search results (The Verge) Google cancels I/O 2020 entirely in light of coronavirus (9to5Google) Kuo: Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization Coming to 6.7-Inch iPhone in 2020, Periscope Lens to Follow in 2022 (MacRumors) Facebook: 90% Of Quest Users For Christmas Were ‘Brand New’ To Oculus (UploadVR) Apple Acknowledges Personal Hotspot Issues Affecting Some iOS 13 and iPadO

WSJ Technology columnist Chris Mims and I talk WFH best practices, and how the Tech Industry has responded to the Covid-19 crisis thusfar. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency * KeepComingBackPodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yelp is showing how the restaurant industry is in deep trouble. Instagram makes ready to clone the last Snapchat feature it hadn’t copped yet. The very interesting lessons behind a self-driving startup closing its doors. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Zapier.com/ride Links: Amazon AWS launches $20 million initiative to help fight the coronavirus (CNBC) Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s DirectX 12 Ultimate unifies graphics tech for PC gaming and Xbox Series X (The Verge) Ex-Uber executive Anthony Levandowski pleads guilty to trade-secret theft (Washington Post) The End of Starsky Robotics (Medium) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How Reddit's coronavirus community became a destination (NBC News) Can Smart Thermometers Track the Spread of the Coronavirus? (NYTimes) Correlation and Market Meltdowns (Fred Wilson/AVC) Zoom conquered video chat — now it has even bigger plans (Protocol)

Square wants to become a bank. Microsoft Teams might be rocketing ahead of Slack in terms of user numbers. The EU wants streaming companies to cut back on HD streams. Covid might be depressing music streaming, and some analysis of the iPad becoming a regular old computer. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Blinkist.com/techmeme Links: Square gains FDIC conditional approval for a banking license (Silicon Angle) Microsoft Teams passes 44 million daily active users, thanks in part to coronavirus (VentureBeat) What worries Mark Zuckerberg (The Interface) EU warns of broadband strain as millions work from home (Financial Times) Improved iPhone, AirPods availability suggests Chinese production nearing normality (Apple Insider) Music streaming may actually be falling because of coronavirus (QZ) Apple's iPad Pro becomes more like a Surface, and that's a problem for Microsoft (Windows Central) Steven Sinofsky tweet thread about the iPad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch

It’s a day of new! New iPads pro, new Macbooks Air, new Macs Mini, and more bye bye butterfly keyboard! A new Transcribe for Android, a new design overhaul for Slack, all the specs for the new Playstation 5, and why Cameo is a new app to keep your eye on. Sponsors: Tinycapital.com Zapier.com/ride Linkedin.com/ride Links: Apple announces new iPad Pro with trackpad support and a wild keyboard cover (The Verge) The MacBook Air gets an updated keyboard and souped-up specs, starting at $999 (TechCrunch) Apple's $799 Mac mini debuts with double the storage (Apple Insider) Google Translate launches Transcribe for Android in 8 languages (VentureBeat) Slack unveils its biggest redesign yet (The Verge) PlayStation 5 hardware specifications revealed (Polygon) How Cameo Turned D-List Celebs Into a Monetization Machine (Marker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big acquisition for GitHub... which really means: big acquisition for Microsoft as it continues to gobble up the entire developer stack. The iPhone 9 chips will not be underpowered at all. How Amazon is, in fact, trying to cope with the Corona-surge. And is this crisis the tipping point for streaming media? Sponsors: Tinycapital.com TryExpressVPN.com/ride Links: Microsoft's GitHub acquires npm to help JavaScript developers (WindowsCentral) iOS 14 code confirms Apple planning ‘iPhone 9 Plus’ with A13 as larger version of rumored entry-level model (9to5Mac) Amazon ramps hiring, opening 100,000 new roles to support people relying on Amazon’s service in this stressful time (Amazon Day One Blog) Uber, Lyft suspend pooled rides in U.S., Canada to limit spread of coronavirus (Reuters) Phones Could Track the Spread of Covid-19. Is It a Good Idea? (Wired) To Track Coronavirus, Israel Moves to Tap Secret Trove of Cellphone Data (NYTimes) With Movie Theater Shutdown, Universal Pictures to Stream

Apple fined by France, the FCC nets a bundle at auction, new Beats earbuds, all the specs for the new Xbox Series X, and how Google got caught by surprise by President Trump’s announcement regarding Coronavirus work. Sponsors: Tinycapital.com TryExpressVPN.com/ride Links: Apple fined a record $1.2 billion by French antitrust authorities (CNBC) FCC’s largest spectrum auction nets $4.47 billion for 5G mmWave bands (VentureBeat) Beats announces $149 Powerbeats with 15 hours of battery life (The Verge) Inside Xbox Series X: the full specs (Eurogamer) Microsoft hits its goal of 1 billion devices running Windows 10 (The Verge) Trump Oversold a Google Site to Fight Coronavirus (NYTimes) Trump’s Google testing announcement mixed up several real projects (The Verge) Silicon Valley Was First to Send Workers Home. It’s Been Messy. (WSJ) Coronavirus Impact: Netflix Shuts Down Film, TV Work in U.S. and Canada as Production Nears Standstill (The Hollywood Reporter) Learn more about your ad

Has the Coronavirus proven that datacaps from ISPs are a sham? Comcast accidentally published the numbers of customers who paid them not to do that. Airbnb continues to be in trouble. Cool no-code tools from Atlassian, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency BuyRaycon.com/tech Links: Housebound Italian Kids Strain Network With Fortnite Marathon (Bloomberg) AT&T Suspends Broadband Data Caps During Coronavirus Crisis (Vice) Comcast accidentally published 200,000 “unlisted” phone numbers (ArsTechnica) Airbnb’s Loss Nearly Doubles in Fourth Quarter, Before Virus (Bloomberg) Atlassian brings new automation tools to Jira Cloud (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Secret History of a Cold War Mastermind (Wired) TIM COOK’S TRICK FOR MAKING IPHONES IS NOW AT RISK FROM THE PANDEMIC (The Verge) Why All the Warby Parker Clones Are Now Imploding (Marker) How Google kneecapped Amazon’s smart TV efforts (Protocol) A Chatty Auction Site Is Taking the Cl

Are the factories coming back online in China? Is G Suite quietly one of the biggest platforms out there? Why is Magic Leap “exploring options” and why does it want everyone to know that? An interesting raise. And I really didn’t mean to crash the crypto markets with my comments yesterday. Sponsors: Protect.eset.com/ride DoubleUp.agency Links: Apple Closes All 17 Stores in Italy Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (Bloomberg) Twitter makes working from home mandatory for employees around the world in response to COVID-19 (TechCrunch) Resumption of work at Foxconn factories in China beats expectations, says founder (Reuters) Scoop: Google's G Suite cracks 2 billion users (Axios) Kuo: New MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Models With Scissor Keyboards to Launch in Second Quarter (MacRumors) The next iPhone will get a ‘world facing’ 3D camera (Fast Company) Augmented-Reality Startup Magic Leap to Explore a Sale (Bloomberg) Deep North raises $25.7M for AI that uses CCTV to build retail analytics (TechCrunch)

E3 is cancelled. Uber might ban drivers AND riders who test positive for Coronavirus. A 2nd gen Chromecast Ultra might be coming. A Peloton-style workout app from Apple might be coming. A look at Amazon’s entry into the suddenly hot ARM-s race. And am I wrong or wasn’t crypto supposed to help during the apocalypse? Sponsors: Protect.eset.com/ride DoubleUp.agency Links: E3 2020 Canceled After ‘Overwhelming Concerns’ About Coronavirus (Variety) Uber may suspend accounts of riders, drivers who test positive for coronavirus (Reuters) Exclusive: Google plans new Chromecast Ultra based on Android TV (w/ remote!) (9to5Google) Apple Developing Fitness App for iOS 14 That Lets You Download Guided Workout Videos (MacRumors) UK presses ahead with digital tech tax in spite of pressure from Trump (CNET) Intel CPUs vulnerable to new LVI attacks (ZDNet) Amazon's Arm-based Graviton2 Against AMD and Intel: Comparing Cloud Compute (AnAndTech) More good news: Medical equipment is still prone to hacker attacks (Vent

A leaked version of Apple’s iOS 14 reveals a treasure trove of details about an upcoming iPhone and iPad, augmented reality software, and tracking tags; an analytics company has secretly operated VPN and ad-blocking apps and gathered data from tens of millions of users without proper disclosure, a company offering panopticon service to the state of Utah once developed disguised social-media scraping apps, Google adds quantum computing to its machine-learning open-source TensorFlow development kit, DoNotPay lets users share streaming and news logins, the latest on the coronavirus impact on the tech world, and things fall apart: political strife broke the knitting community at Ravelry. Sponsors Links: iOS 14 reveals iPhone 9 and updated iPad Pro details, new Apple TV remote, AirTags, more (9to5Mac) Apple developing new augmented reality app for iOS 14, testing Apple Store and Starbucks partnership (9to5Mac) Apple Watch Series 6 and watchOS 7 to include ‘Infograph Pro’ with tachymeter (9to5Mac) Apple Inv

Another day of markets in turmoil, another Robinhood outage. Jack Dorsey lives to fight another day. Apple is repairing some iPad Airs for free, and might bring 64 MP cameras to the iPhone 12. Gaming out the reality of a ARM-based Mac. And let me hip you to “sleep streaming” on TikTok. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency Links: Robinhood goes down again, causing clients to miss out on another historic trading day (CNBC) Twitter CEO Dorsey keeps his job after company strikes investment deal with Elliott Management, Silver Lake (CNBC) Apple sells fewer than 500,000 smartphones in China in February amid coronavirus (Reuters) Amazon launches business selling automated checkout to retailers (Reuters) SXSW canceled due to coronavirus after Austin declares ‘local disaster’ (CNBC) Apple opens repair program for 2019 iPad Air models suffering from blank screen issue (AppleInsider) iPhone 12 Pro leak reveals how Apple will beat the Samsung Galaxy S20 (Tom's Guide) New AMD Side Channel Attacks Discovered, Impacts