Ken Yeung

Technology Editor @flipboard. Former journalist @venturebeat and @thenextweb. Marketer and photographer. More info: thelettertwo.com.

Flips

World News
First victims of Christchurch shootings laid to rest, as police say gunman had planned another attack
The Washington Post - By Anna Fifield
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Sixteen-year-old Hamza Mustafa and his father, Khaled Mustafa, who had arrived in New Zealand only a few months ago after escaping the war in Syria, were laid to rest Wednesday,
World News
Spy cameras secretly live-streamed 1,600 hotel guests for subscribers. Then police caught on.
The Washington Post - By Deanna Paul
Four individuals were booked by authorities in Seoul on Wednesday for live-streaming secretly obtained video feed from dozens of local hotel rooms, South Korean police said. The Korean Herald reported
Google Summons the Power of YouTube and the Cloud in Bid to Shake up Gaming
thelettertwo.com - March 20, 2019 | by Ken Yeung
At this year’s Game Developers Conference, Google introduced its game-streaming service called Stadia touted as an industry wake-up call and taking …
U.S. Politics
The Democrats’ Donor-Measuring Contest
POLITICO - By BILL SCHER
The DNC made small donors a debate threshold. And now many Dems are starting to regret it. Bill Scher is a contributing editor to Politico Magazine, and co-host of the Bloggingheads.tv show “The DMZ.”
Technology
Amazon is aggressively blocking ads for unprofitable products as part of a plan to bolster its bottom line
CNBC - Eugene Kim
As Amazon steps up its effort to show Wall Street it can generate profits, the e-commerce giant is aggressively blocking money-losing products from …
Apple
New Paid Apple News Service Said to Feature Wall Street Journal
The New York Times - By MIKE ISAAC
SAN FRANCISCO — The Wall Street Journal plans to join a new paid subscription news service run by Apple, according to two people familiar with the plans, as other publishers chafe at the terms that the
Technology
An Android Vulnerability Went Unfixed For Over Five Years
WIRED - Lily Hay Newman
With more than 2 billion users, Android has a staggering number of devices to protect. But a "high-severity" bug that went undetected for more than …
Technology
Oculus Rift S will debut soon as $400 sequel to the PC-based Rift VR headset
VentureBeat - Dean Takahashi
Facebook has unveiled the Oculus Rift S, a new virtual reality headset for the PC that represents a major upgrade to its 2016 product, the Oculus Rift. Nate Mitchell, the head of virtual reality products
Opinion
The White-Extinction Conspiracy Theory Is Bonkers
The New York Times - By FARHAD MANJOO
“The Great Replacement” is a racist and misogynistic conspiracy theory that holds that white people face existential decline, even extinction, because of rising immigration in the West and falling birthrates
Walmart
Walmart's Chief Technology Officer Jeremy King is leaving the company
CNBC - Lauren Thomas
Walmart's chief technology officer, Jeremy King, is leaving the company, according to a memo obtained by CNBC. King's role has been to revamp the …
Technology
‘The Inventor’ Misses Elizabeth Holmes’s—And Silicon Valley’s—Most Insidious Crimes
VOGUE.COM - Bridget Read
We’re in the midst of scammer fever, and Elizabeth Holmes is the craze’s reigning queen—what with her bizarre, Romy White–style baritone, and her black turtlenecks and drama-club makeup that looks like
Technology
What latency feels like on Google's Stadia cloud gaming platform
TechCrunch - Lucas Matney
After peppering Google employees with questions regarding Stadia’s latency, pricing and supported devices, to mostly no avail, I got my hands on one of their new controllers and pressed play on the Doom
Technology
At IPO road show, Lyft executives look to lower insurance costs
Reuters - By Ross Kerber
BOSTON (Reuters) - Lyft Inc executives are focused on cutting insurance costs and will phase in self-driving vehicles on simple routes first, they said at a road show for investors ahead of the ride-hailing
Technology
In Andrew Yang, the Internet Finds a Meme-Worthy Candidate
The New York Times - By KEVIN ROOSE
If you visit the online betting market PredictIt, you’ll see a long list of 2020 Democratic candidates, ranked in order of their odds of winning the party’s nomination for president, according to the users.
Bill de Blasio
Amazon and Union at Odds Over Firing of Staten Island Warehouse Worker
The New York Times - By NOAM SCHEIBER
Amazon’s plan for a major corporate presence in New York ran headlong into concerns about the company’s labor practices in the city. The giant project fell apart, but the labor friction lives on. A former
Social Media
Snapchat admits age checks 'do not work' during grilling by MPs
The Telegraph - By Mike Wright
Snapchat has admitted its age verification process “do not work” as it told MPs children under 13 are able to use the site. Senior executives at the company said they felt a government-backed scheme was
News
GoFundMe blocks controversial cancer clinic from fundraising
Fast Company - Rina Raphael
GoFundMe has become a go-to for hospital and treatment bills. In fact, one-third of the crowdfunding platform’s campaign are medical fundraisers. But, there are limits—and the company is attempting to
Google
Google's decade-long antitrust battle in Europe
Reuters - Reuters Editorial
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google was hit with a 1.49-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) fine on Wednesday, the third antitrust sanction from the European Union in two years after a record-breaking 4.34 billion euro
Technology
As It Speeds Toward IPO, Lyft Faces Federal Lawsuit For Disability Discrimination
Forbes - Bérénice Magistretti
This morning, the Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a federal lawsuit against Lyft at The United States District Court for the Northern District of California. According to the complaint, the San
$Jamie Dimon: Tech giants should get prepared for 'full monty' of regulatory onslaught$
Administrative Law
Jamie Dimon: Tech giants should get prepared for 'full monty' of regulatory onslaught
CNBC - Hugh Son
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that tech giants should gird themselves for the type of regulatory onslaught that the big banks experienced …
Apple
Apple is jumping into streaming video with a huge library of shows and films
The Verge - Andrew Liptak
Feel-good dramas, epic science fiction, and thrillers Apple is getting ready to launch a TV and movie streaming service, and that means putting together an expansive catalog of original content. The company
Technology
Postmates launches a free group delivery option
The Verge - Jacob Kastrenakes
Postmates is launching a new delivery option that comes without its sometimes pricey service fees: essentially, carpooling for your food. The new delivery option, called Postmates Party, allows you to
Technology
San Francisco Wants to Ban All E-Cigarette Sales
Gizmodo - Matt Novak
The city of San Francisco has proposed a new ban on all e-cigarettes that haven’t been approved by the FDA from being sold in the city. The catch? No …
Advertising Industry
Google starts ‘subscriptions lab’ for local publishers to develop paid content
Digiday - Max Willens
Google is adding to its year-old Google News Initiative with a new program that promises to help local media develop paid content products. The GNI …
Unreal Engine
Tim Sweeney announces $100 million Epic MegaGrants fund for game developers
VentureBeat - Dean Takahashi
Epic Games just completed giving out $5 million in grants to developers. And now it’s going to get started again with a $100 million fund dubbed Epic MegaGrants. These funds will be awarded to developers
Technology
Comcast teases mysterious new service unveiling Thursday
CNET - Joan E. Solsman
Smart-home hub? Game streaming? An NBCUniversal streaming service?
Technology
Facebook Messenger now has message threads
VentureBeat - Kyle Wiggers
Facebook Messenger aficionados, good news: It just got easier to respond to your best buds’ messages with hot takes. Facebook today announced that message replies — one step short of threaded messaging,
Streaming
Netflix Will Test Character-Driven Video Previews for Its Kids Content
Variety - Janko Roettgers
Netflix is getting ready to try a new thing to help younger viewers discover new shows: The video service will start testing character-driven video …
Long-form Journalism
Inside Airbnb’s ‘Guerrilla War’ Against Local Governments
WIRED - Paris Martineau
"Read my lips: We want to pay taxes,” Chris Lehane, Airbnb’s global head of public policy, told the nation’s mayors in 2016. In the years since, the …