Bookmarks (7555)

Scott Stein / CNET: Hands-on with a non-functioning Surface Duo prototype, which has two 5.6-inch OLED screens forming a 8.1-inch display, bound together by a unique hinge  —  Exclusive: Microsoft's dual-screened Android phone shoots for practicality and productivity.  I didn't get to use it yet …

Becky Ferreira / New York Times: As Amazon joins SpaceX and OneWeb in launching satellite constellations, astronomers worry about the effects on astronomical observations and image quality  —  The F.C.C. approved the company's 3,236-satellite constellation, which aims to provide high-speed internet service around the world.

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat: Finnish startup Varjo, which develops high resolution VR/XR headsets and VR technologies for enterprise applications, raises $54M Series C  —  Varjo, a Finnish startup developing virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (XR) technologies for the enterprise, has raised $54 million in a series C round of funding.

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC: Tencent Q2 profit beat estimates, surged to $4.7B, up 37% YoY, on revenue of $16.53B, up 29%; online game revenue was $5.5B, up 40% YoY  —  - Tencent reported results for the three months to-June on Wednesday that beat analyst expectations in one of the fastest revenue-growing quarters in two years.

Tom Warren / The Verge: Microsoft is launching its Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone on September 10 for $1,399, with preorders starting today in the US  —  Microsoft is launching its Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone on September 10th, priced from $1,399.  After months of Microsoft executives teasing …

Debby Wu / Bloomberg: Foxconn says it plans to split its supply chain between the Chinese and US markets as trade ties fracture, declares that China's time as world's factory is over  —  - Hon Hai planning separate supply lines for the two big markets  — Company's earnings outperformed expectations but warns on Q3

Yimou Lee / Reuters: Foxconn reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit of $778.54M for Q2, up 34% YoY, on revenue of $38B, says revenue from smartphones dropped ~15% YoY  —  TAIPEI (Reuters) - Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer (2317.TW), reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit …

Martha Pskowski / VICE: A look at growing movements by gig economy workers in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador, protesting the conditions at UberEats, Rappi, and iFood  —  Militant strikes and protests against dangerous working conditions and low pay have spread through Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire: Routable, a startup focused on streamlining B2B payments, comes out of stealth with $12M Series A from Y Combinator, Founders' Co-Op, and others  —  Routable, a fintech startup with Seattle roots, came out of stealth mode this week and announced a $12 million Series A funding round.

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: Microsoft fixes 17 critical and two zero-day flaws, including an actively-exploited RCE flaw in IE that can compromise PCs when users visit malicious sites  —  Microsoft says attackers have used a Windows zero-day to spoof file signatures and another RCE in the Internet Explorer scripting engine to execute code on users' devices.

Francoise Brougher: Former Pinterest COO provides a detailed account of her claims about gender discrimination and toxic workplace culture and recommendations for the company  —  Pinterest has always been about aspiration.  It is a platform for sharing beautiful images, curating galleries of an idealized world.

Theodore Schleifer / Vox: Biden's VP pick Kamala Harris, who has close ties with tech execs and has dodged questions about breaking up Big Tech, is likely to generate excitement in SV  —  Sen. Kamala Harris has had a close relationship with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.  Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat: Simpplr, which develops AI-powered intranet software for employee directories, raised $10M Series B led by Norwest Venture Partners  —  Simpplr today raised $10 million for its AI-powered intranet platform that is designed to streamline communications.  CEO Dhiraj Sharma says the funds …

Sara Harrison / The Markup: While US adoption of the Google-Apple Exposure Notification API has been slow, 16 nations have used it in apps; Ireland's has 1.4M downloads since early July  —  Contact tracing—monitoring who's getting COVID-19 and tracking down anyone who might have been in contact with that person so they can quarantine …

Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech: Samsung Display reveals new generation of variable refresh rate mobile display panels, making its debut in the Note20 Ultra, helping lower device power usage  —  By now we've become quite familiar with high refresh-rate displays in the mobile space, as the first pioneering 90Hz devices …

Samuel Axon / Ars Technica: Parallels Desktop 16 adds support for Big Sur, 3D in Metal, and zoom and rotate gestures on multitouch trackpads, and claims 20% faster DirectX performance  —  Windows on Apple Silicon is still a question mark, though.  —  Parallels Desktop 16 launched on the Mac today.

Manish Singh / TechCrunch: Incomlend, which operates a trading platform to connect exporters and importers with investors, raises $20M Series A led by Sequoia Capital India  —  Incomlend, a Singapore-headquartered startup that operates a trading platform to connect exporters and importers with investors …

Sam Nussey / Reuters: SoftBank reports quarterly net profit of ~$12B, up 12% YoY, and a $2.8B gain in Vision Fund; by July, Vision Fund's $75.2B in investments was worth $71.5B  —  TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp broke with tradition on Tuesday and declined to disclose operating profit in its quarterly results …