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Jason Snell / Six Colors : Apple's performance in 2019 across hardware, software, and services is rated and critiqued by a 65-person panel, including writers, developers, and podcasters   —  It's time for our annual look back on Apple's performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2UmiGxA

IDC : Global tablet shipments declined 1.5% YoY to 144M units in 2019; Apple's shipments grew 15.2% YoY to 49.9M units during the year   —  The worldwide tablet market declined 0.6% year over year during the fourth quarter of 2019 (4Q19) as global shipments fell to 43.5 million units … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2OiUvMT

Andrea Noble / Route Fifty : FCC approves $20.4B Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to deploy rural broadband but Democratic FCC commissioners warn it won't help many areas that need internet   —  In this April 30, 2015 photo, Sylvia Fonseca, 16, works in the computer lab at Cuyama Valley High School in California. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2UquAqD

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable : Roku says it has settled its carriage dispute with Fox to distribute Fox channels on the Roku platform ahead of the Super Bowl   —  At midnight tonight, it was expected that Roku would remove the FOX Now, FOX Sports, FOX News, FOX Business, FOX Nation, Big 10 Network, and FOX Soccer apps from the Roku Channel Store and existing devices. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/38YMgO0

Sarah Buhr / TechCrunch : The Bouqs, a US-based flower delivery startup, raises $30M from Japanese company Yamasa to expand in Japan, bringing its total raised to $74M   —  The Bouqs plans to take a slice of Japan's $6 billion flower market this year with a $30 million strategic growth round from Japanese enterprise business investor Yamasa. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2GJF8sA

Josh Nadeau / Fast Company : A Russian law requiring all smartphones to pre-install Russian-made software, which goes into effect in July 2020, could force Apple to quit the country   —  In November 2019, Russian parliament passed what's become known as the “law against Apple.”  The legislation will require … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36L6c5i

Bloomberg : One Medical, a concierge-like primary healthcare startup, closes up 58% on its first day of trading, after raising $245M in its IPO, and is now valued at $2.7B   —  - Listing values tech-driven health clinic firm at $2.7 billion  — Company's One Medical clinics expanding to Atlanta, Portland from Techmeme https://ift.tt/31gyVxD

Tara Bannow / Modern Healthcare : One Medical, a concierge-like primary healthcare startup, closes up 58% on its first day of trading, after raising $245M in its IPO, and is now valued at $2.7B   —  Membership-based primary care platform One Medical's stock price jumped nearly 60% on its first day of trading Friday … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2GJkY1S

Margaret Harding McGill / Axios : Founding president of the Internet Association, Michael Beckerman, to step down after eight years and join TikTok as VP of US public policy in March   —  The president of tech trade group the Internet Association is stepping down to run TikTok's Washington policy shop, the organizations said Friday. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3aTQmZo

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat : Gabi, which lets users upload their home, car, or renters insurance policies to compare them with other providers and find better offers, raises $27M Series B   —  Gabi Insurance has raised $27 million in funding to disrupt insurance brokers and get you better rates for car, homeowner's, or renter's insurance. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2RLqMOR

Jared Newman / Fast Company : In a carriage dispute, Roku drops all Fox apps from its platform ahead of the Super Bowl; NFL confirms that Roku's free NFL app will still stream the game   —  Last night, Roku made a surprise announcement that it was dropping all Fox apps from its platform, claiming that the two companies' distribution agreement was expiring. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2uOgc0y

Tim Baysinger / The Wrap : Hulu CEO Randy Freer is leaving the streaming service as Disney continues the reorganization of its direct-to-consumer business   —  Streaming service will become further aligned under Direct-to-consumer head Kevin Mayer  —  Hulu CEO Randy Freer will leave the streaming service amid … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2S52wpK

VICE : Ajit Pai says FCC has concluded “that one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law” by selling user location data and will consider fines   —  More than a year after a Motherboard investigation revealed that wireless carriers were collecting and selling user location data … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2u6JyXK

Olga Kharif / Bloomberg : TokenAnalyst: five mining entities - AntPool, BTC.com, BTC.top, F2 Pool, and ViaBTC, all based in China, control 49.9% of Bitcoin network's computing power   —  - Chinese mining pools control about 50% of network, report says  — Miner concentration could threaten Bitcoin's security, safety from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2UibylZ

Andrew Allemann / Domain Name Wire : California AG asks ICANN for information about .org TLD price caps removal; ICANN says it is cooperating, asks Public Interest Registry to delay .org TLD sale   —  Office that oversees California non-profits demands extensive documentation.  —  The California Attorney general … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2tZHalQ

Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News : Utah-based Neighbor.com, a peer-to-peer self-storage marketplace, raises $10M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz   —  Neighbor.com, a Lehi, Utah-based peer-to-peer self-storage marketplace, has closed on a $10 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).  —  Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3b1W3ok

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch : In latest transparency report, Amazon says it got 1,841 subpoenas, 440 search warrants, and 114 other court orders for user data in H2 2019, down 4% from H1   —  Just as Amazon was basking in the news of a massive earnings win, the tech giant quietly published — as it always does … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Sk54kb

AlleyWatch : Aquant, which extracts data from customer comments, technician notes, enterprise CRM and ERP systems to deliver insights to service teams, raises $30M Series B   —  While we typically associate customer service with today's demanding consumers and the emergence of popular DTC brands … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/38VudIn

Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire : Amazon's 2019 taxes: $1B+ in federal income tax expense, $2.4B+ in other federal taxes, $1.6B+ in state and local taxes, and ~$9B sales taxes collected   —  Amazon disclosed new details about its U.S. taxes for 2019 in public financial documents and a blog post Friday morning … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2UcXjih

Garrett M. Graff / Wired : Profile of Virginia senator Mark Warner, the former telecoms entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is now committed to regulating Big Tech   —  A former telecoms entrepreneur, the Virginia senator says that saving the industry (and democracy) might mean blowing up Big Tech as we know it. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2vweeSD

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch : Moda Operandi, a New York-based online marketplace for luxury fashion, accessories, and home decor, raises $100M co-led by NEA and Apax Partners   —  Moda Operandi, an online marketplace for luxury fashion, accessories and home decor, is today announcing a high-priced event of its own … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2teXkqU

Craig Chapple / Sensor Tower Blog : European mobile consumers spent ~$11.2B across App Store and Google Play in 2019, up 18.9% YoY, accounting for 13.5% of global app revenue, which exceeded $83B   —  European mobile consumers spent an estimated $11.2 billion across the App Store and Google Play during 2019, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data shows. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Oh246L

Chris Giles / Financial Times : OECD says 137 countries have committed to reach an agreement on a rewrite of international tax rules for tech giants and other multinationals by the end of 2020   —  The chances of securing a global agreement on a digital levy by the end of the year were revived on Friday after the countries involved agreed … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3aTv5iF

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat : Facebook Gaming launches a toolkit for creators, letting them remove comments, mute viewers for short periods, or ban people from the stream, in real time   —  Facebook is launching a dashboard and toolkit for streamers and video makers so they can more easily manage their communities, including viewers who don't follow the rules. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/390S8q5

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch : Social Captain, which helps boost follower counts on Instagram, exposes thousands of Instagram passwords in its web page source code   —  A social media boosting startup, which bills itself as a service to increase increase a user's Instagram followers, has exposed thousands of Instagram account passwords. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Uc2kI8

Reuters : Sources: FBI has probed Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group for its possible role in hacks of US residents, companies and intel gathering on governments since 2017   —  (Reuters) - The FBI is investigating the role of Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group Technologies in possible hacks on American residents … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2Ofm4qt