JOMO: A daily digest of interesting tech, product and design news

[Akshay.Kanade]

Netflix<$2 | JOMO for 14th Dec

In today’s JOMO: ‘Cheap’er Netflix, NFT Shoes and Disney goes all silent on Youtube

In the news

Instagram surpasses 2 billion monthly users while powering through a year of turmoil - CNBC

Netflix lowers prices in a bid to woo Bharat - Livemint

The basic plan that allows access to all content on anyone device is priced at Rs. 199 versus Rs. 499 earlier.

Dont know about the ‘wooing Bharat’ part, but who doesn’t like a discount!

Startups, funding etc

Nike acquires virtual sneakers and crypto collectibles startup RTFKT - Engadget

Earlier this year, RTFKT teamed up with 18-year-old artist Fewocious to release three NFT sneakers for $3,000, $5,000 and $10,000. Within just seven minutes, over 600 people purchased their own virtual pairs for a total of US$3.1 million.

From bored monkeys to cool shoes. Seen it all this week. And it’s only Tuesday

Flipkart, Walmart invest $145 million in Ninjacart in online grocery push - ET

New products, features, launches

Oppo announces Air Glass ‘assisted reality’ device - Verge

Oppo describes the Air Glass as an “assisted reality” product, as opposed to augmented reality, meaning it projects 2D information into your field of view rather than overlaying 3D objects onto the real world. (Yes, sort of like Google Glass.)

The Log4J Vulnerability Will Haunt the Internet for Years - Wired

To exploit Log4Shell, an attacker only needs to get the system to log a strategically crafted string of code. From there they can load arbitrary code on the targeted server and install malware or launch other attacks. Notably, hackers can introduce the snippet in seemingly benign ways, like by sending the string in an email or setting it as an account username.

Interesting read

Snap paid $250 million to creators on its TikTok clone this year - TC

Now, Snap says that 65% of Spotlight submissions use a Snapchat creative tool like an augmented reality lens — in particular the Cartoon Style 3D Lens, which went viral this summer, generated 2.8 billion impressions in just its first week on the app.

Related: Snap launches Story Studio, a standalone video editing app for mobile

YouTube TV warns it may lose all Disney-owned channels amid contract dispute - Ars Technica

“We’re now in negotiations with Disney to continue distributing their content on YouTube TV …. Our deal expires on Friday, December 17, and we haven’t been able to reach an equitable agreement yet, so we wanted to give you an early heads up so that you can understand your choices,” the Google-owned YouTube wrote in a blog post.

Well well. Disney not answering your mails Youtube? Clearly the battle lines are drawn and Disney has all the content cards

How hologram tech may soon replace video calls - BBC

When Swiss watch boss, Christoph Grainger-Herr, was unable to fly to a global trade show in China because of Covid-19 restrictions, he decided to beam in Star Trek-style instead. Appearing in 4K resolution, he was able to talk to, and see and hear the people who were physically attending the event. “We beamed him from his office in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, to the event in Shanghai,” says David Nussbaum, the boss of US holograms firm Portl.

Sounds all hunky dory this, but, these folks said the same thing about a year back. So ya. Also remember this scene from Kingsman?

Cool Products, websites and tools

GitHub Wrapped

Your year in code

Want one for design. Figma, éscoutes-tu?

Poll for the day

So are you sold on a cheaper Netflix?

Still expensive

Not enough content

Yes!

Already have a subscription

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Google: ‘Go jab or Go home’ | JOMO for 15th Dec

In today’s JOMO: India bets big on semiconductors, Google says ‘Go jab or Go Home’ and how Shein beat Amazon anticlimax

In the news

No jab, no job: Google will fire unvaccinated employees - Ars Technica

The document said employees who haven’t complied with the vaccination rules by the Jan. 18 deadline will be placed on “paid administrative leave” for 30 days. After that, the company will put them on “unpaid personal leave” for up to six months, followed by termination.

India outlines $10 bln plan to woo global chip makers - Reuters

Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told a news briefing the plan would help develop “the complete semiconductor ecosystem - from the design of semiconductor chips to their fabrication, packing and testing in the country”.

If done right, this could lead to a step change for India

Cryptocurrency Bill may not be introduced in Winter Session - ET

What an anti-climax

Startups, funding etc

Innovaccer valued at $3.2 billion in $150 million funding - TC

The startup, which began its journey in India, has developed a cloud software layer that works on top of the existing systems employed by healthcare facilities and enables patients’ data to be fetched and perform analysis on.

JusPay raises $60 mn from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 & others at $460 mn valuation - Livemint

New products, features, launches

Oppo’s Find N is an impressive first folding phone - Verge

No, it isnt cheap: starts at $1200. But yes, waaaay cheaper than the $1799 that Samsung asks for the Z Fold 3

Interesting read

How Shein beat Amazon at its own game — and reinvented fast fashion - Rest of World

Over the summer, when a roughly $16 criss-cross crop top from Amazon went viral, TikTok users began pointing out that it was available for only $13 on Shein and as low as $3.83 on AliExpress.

Very insightful read

Poll for the day

At what price would you buy a foldable phone?

Wouldn’t buy at any price

<$800

<$600

(multiply by 80 for approx Rs price)

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Groped on Meta | JOMO for 16th Dec

In today’s JOMO: Meta has a groping problem, The Greater Fool and Adidas says to Nike: ‘whatever you can….’

In the news

Apple Scraps Office-Return Deadline Without Setting New Date - Bloomberg

Apple Inc., facing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and a fast-spreading new variant, is delaying its corporate return-to-office deadline from Feb. 1 to a “date yet to be determined.”

The metaverse has a groping problem already - MIT

A woman was sexually harassed on Meta’s VR social media platform. She’s not the first—and won’t be the last.

Hey Mark: you have a problem. Better fix it.

Adidas is launching an NFT collection with exclusive access to streetwear drops - Verge

Startups, funding etc

Reddit files to take the company public - Verge

The company has been rumored to be considering an IPO for some time, and in August announced it had raised a $700 million round of funding at a valuation of more than $10 billion.

India’s Byju’s in talks to go public via SPAC deal at $48 bln valuation - Reuters

Heard of the Greater Fool theory? No? Well hold tight…

India’s ShareChat raises $266 mln for valuation of $3.7 bln - Reuters

New products, features, launches

TikTok to diversify its ‘For You’ feed, let users pick the topics they want to avoid - TC

The company now says it’s working to implement new technology to interrupt “repetitive patterns” on its app and is also developing a tool that would allow users to have a say in the matter by letting them pick which topics they want to avoid.

First create the tech to enable ‘repetitive patterns’, then build the tech to disable ‘interrupt’ those same patterns

Spotify Is Launching Podcast User Ratings, Playing Catch-Up to Apple - Variety

TikTok tests PC game streaming app that could let it take on Twitch - TC

Interesting read

Who pays when an Uber driver is killed? - TC

The brother of an Uber driver who was killed during an armed robbery in San Francisco has published a letter to the ride-hailing giant demanding access to his brother’s Uber account, $4 million in immediate aid for the victim’s family and better pay for all Uber drivers.

The next time you take an Uber, do think about it. And also think about Uber’s valuation ($77.85bn)

Poll for the day

What do you think of BYJU’s $48bn ‘valuation’?

Inflated

Worth it

Dont get me started

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Droned out | JOMO for 17th Dec

In today’s JOMO: DJI gets blacklisted, Tiktok is on Discord and Windows is losing Control… Panel

In the news

U.S. blacklists world’s largest commercial drone firm for Uyghur surveillance - Axios

The U.S. is cracking down aggressively on virtually any company — American or Chinese — believed to be complicit in the Chinese government’s genocide of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest region of Xinjiang. DJI is accused of providing surveillance drones to authorities that operate mass detention camps in Xinjiang.

India antitrust watchdog suspends Amazon’s 2019 deal with Future, imposes fine - TC

‘Buy now, pay later’ stocks tumble after U.S. consumer watchdog launches probe - CNBC

U.S.-based Affirm’s shares closed down by 11% Thursday, while Australian companies Afterpay, Zip and Sezzle on Friday dropped 8%, 6% and 10%, respectively.

Startups, funding etc

No-code data pipeline platform Hevo raises $30 million led by Sequoia Capital India - TC

New products, features, launches

Well, TikTok has a Discord now - TC

“This server’s just like your for you feed: it’s made for you, some of its comments are spicy, and your parents have no idea what it is”

Microsoft is pushing the Control Panel aside in its latest Windows 11 updates - Verge

Interesting read

Celebrity SPACs Leave Famous Winners Looking More Like Losers - Bloomberg

Not counting the SPAC tied to former President Donald Trump, which minted a phenomenal gain of more than 400%, the rest of the group averaged an 11% drop through Dec. 13, with rapper Jay-Z’s 84% plunge the worst of the bunch. Only two managed gains of more than 10%, trailing far behind the S&P 500’s 24% rally.

That week went by fast. 2 to go. Have a nice weekend!

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Money Money Money | JOMO for 20th Dec

In today’s JOMO: 3 big deals, Everyone has a Gen Z problem and TikTok… Kitchens

Also we want some feedback on JOMO: If you love it, this is a good time to tell us why. And if you hate it, well this is a definitely a great time to tell us, HERE. Bhar diyo, pleeez

In the news

Disney and YouTube TV cut a deal to bring back ESPN, FX, and other channels - Verge

“We are pleased to announce that after a brief disruption, we have reached a new distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV for continued carriage of our portfolio of networks,”

Hehe, looks like Disney was testing how far YT will go. Wait till next year, or till the deal reaches renewal time, for more drama

Startups, funding etc

India’s Cars24, a used-vehicle sales platform, raises $400M, now at a $3.3B valuation, to double down on growth - TC

Also…

Indian fintech giant Razorpay valued at $7.5 billion in $375 million funding - TC

And…

OfBusiness raises $325 Mn at around $5 Bn valuation - Entrackr

Three massive fund raise announcements in a day. Wow

Self-driving startup Vay to launch commercial teledriven service in Hamburg in 2022 - TC

Teledriven aka a valet to deliver and pick up your car.

New products, features, launches

TikTok Kitchens will bring viral culinary creations to fans - Verge

TikTok is partnering with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) to launch TikTok Kitchens, a delivery-only service that will cook up some of the trendiest recipes on the app

Has to be an April Fool’s joke. Right? Seriously?

Design, Research, UX

Frame 2021: design by the numbers - Figma

Aside from Roboto, Figma’s default font, Inter, Open Sans, and SF Pro Text were the post popular fonts. Since 2019, Montserrat slipped from the top spot to number four on the list.

Interesting read

Spotify Has a Gen Z Problem. Or Is It an Opportunity? - Bloomberg

Executives at Spotify are worried that the youngest generation of listeners isn’t using its product enough. Don’t take it from me. Take it from co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek. “We could be doing better in that group,” he told me in November, right after he cited a quote from Intel’s legendary CEO Andy Grove – “only the paranoid survive.”

Electric vehicles ask a lot of their tires—here’s why - Ars Technica

“We like to design [the tire] as the car is being designed,” explained Ian Coke, director of quality at Pirelli. That means getting started with the OEM several years before the car is due on sale, when it’s still just a concept being developed. “Or if you’re Tesla, six weeks, because they work in a different way,” he laughed.

Cool Products, websites and tools

Travelcase

Workations simplified, quick guides from travel influencers

Made in Softr

5 Minutes Daily Sketching Community

Feel creative and happy with 5 minutes of daily sketching

Tweeter

Here’s why we are temporarily closing down areas without 10-minute delivery service

Grofers, now Blinkit, founder’s note on them ditching non 10 min delivery pincodes

Poll for the day

Do you want 10 min delivery?

Why even??

Yes! Absolutely

It’s alright: a good to have, not a want or need

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

You have arrived at your destination | JOMO for 21st Dec

In today’s JOMO: MapMyIndia ‘arrives’, Musk pays some taxes and a token mess

In the news

Google pushes developers to adapt Android apps for Chromebooks - ArsTechnica

The number of people using Android Apps on Chromebooks grew 50 percent year over year. In May, Google reported that use of the 10-year-old operating system (OS) grew 92 percent over the last year

Tech firms say tokenisation will cause mayhem, urge RBI to postpone it - ET

“We are asking for more time. No one wants to wake up to mayhem on January 1,” said Sijo Kuruvilla George, executive director of ADIF, which represents companies such as Paytm and BharatMatrimony.

Absolute geniuses running the show. Grab some popcorn, this is going to be fun. Unless ofcourse you are a small internet business that relies on subscriptions

Startups, funding etc

MapmyIndia sees stellar debut despite market volatility, lists with 53% premium - Moneycontrol

The initial public offering of MapmyIndia saw tremendous demand from investors as the offer was subscribed 154.71 times during December 9-13

Indian e-commerce startup Snapdeal files for IPO - TC

Airtable acqui-hires Walrus.ai’s founding team - TC

The two companies argue that their overall vision was very much aligned. While the Walrus team aimed to make building end-to-end software tests easier by helping users write their tests in plain English, Airtable wants to turn all of its users into app developers.

Interesting read

Oracle follows Microsoft into healthcare push with Cerner — is Salesforce next?

Oracle Corp. on Monday confirmed plans to acquire Cerner Corp. for nearly $30 billion, pushing into the healthcare space a few months after another software giant, Microsoft Corp., made a similar acquisition, leaving analysts to wonder what other software companies will look to buy their way into hospitals.

Elon Musk says he’ll be paying $11bn in tax this year - BBC

Last week, Mr Musk was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. That prompted Senator Warren to tweet: “Let’s change the rigged tax code so ‘The Person of the Year’ will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.”

Cool Products, websites and tools

11 great shows from 2021 to stream on Netflix - Verge

Not really a cool website, but a useful list, incase you need it

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

3rd time unlucky | JOMO for 22nd Dec

In today’s JOMO: CES ‘no show’ for 3rd year, Tesla games and TikTok gets more traffic in 2021 than…. Google!

In the news

T-Mobile, Twitter, Meta scrap CES 2022 plans in Vegas due to COVID-19 - CNET

CES will take place virtually and in person from Jan. 5 to 8, 2022.

US probes potential of drivers playing video games in Teslas- AP

The probe, which covers all four Tesla models, the S, X, Y and 3, was opened “to evaluate the driver distraction potential of Tesla ‘Passenger Play’ while the vehicle is being driven.” Investigators “will evaluate aspects of the feature, including the frequency and use scenarios of Tesla “Passenger Play.”’

Investigating the obvious here.

India sees chipmakers starting local manufacturing in 2-3 years - ET

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is working on developing an entire ecosystem for the chip manufacturing industry and will start taking applications under the incentive schemes from Jan.1, 2022

Amazon’s AWS logs third outage this month, affecting Slack, Epic Games Store, Asana and more - Verge

Startups, funding etc

Swiggy in talks to invest in Rapido as part of a larger financing round - ET

“Fundamentally bike taxis and food-delivery are highly complementary in nature. As much as 80% of the deliveries happen during lunch and dinner time. So what has happened is there is idle capacity during mornings and evenings. Bike-taxis are the opposite.”

Interesting read

TikTok Got More Traffic Than Freakin’ Google in 2021 - Gizmodo

The video-sharing platform just pushed Google aside to become the most popular website in the world, according to web performance and security company Cloudflare’s 2021 Year in Review internet traffic rankings.

The secret Uganda deal that has brought NSO to the brink of collapse - FT

For years, the Israeli spyware maker thrived through scandal. Then, US diplomats in Uganda got hacked by Pegasus

Closer home…. well… less said the better

Tweeter

You don’t own “web3.” - Jack Dorsey

You don’t own “web3.” The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into…

Poll for the day

If you could, would you like to play games in a car?

Why? Why??

Oh ya, sure

Only if I’m not driving!

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Kid games | JOMO for 23rd Dec

In today’s JOMO: Andreeseen and Jack Dorsey play games on Twitter, a TV you can Taste and ‘Alexa, are you OK?’

In the news

Jack Dorsey blocked on Twitter by Marc Andreessen after Web3 comments - CNBC

“I’m officially banned from Web3,” Dorsey tweeted Wednesday alongside a screenshot showing he had been blocked by Andreessen.

Boo? Is it just me or does it feel like both these gentlemen want attention? Well they sure are getting it

Startups, funding etc

Nikola shares surge 20% after company delivers its first EV truck, says more to come - CNBC

New products, features, launches

Take a look at this delicious lickable screen to see the future we knew was coming - Verge

If you’ve ever thought, “This 4K HDR OLED TV is great, but I sure wish it tasted better when I licked it,” we may be getting closer to a world where that’s the case — a professor has created a device he calls “Taste the TV,” according to Reuters, and it does exactly what the name implies.

Interesting read

Alexa is nagging you more because Amazon knows you don’t care about its new features - Verge

If you regularly use an Alexa device, you’ve probably been upsold by Amazon’s assistant at some point. Ask Alexa to carry out some basic task like setting a timer, and it will finish its response with a cheery “By the way, did you know I could [insert feature you’ve never heard of here].”

From 360 Hz monitors to 8,000 Hz keyboards, 2021 was the year of the hertz - Ars Technica

Cool Products, websites and tools

The Huawei P50 Pocket is a great Galaxy Z Flip 3 alternative that you can’t buy - XDA

Quite the looker. Check out the video

Poll for the day

Do you use a voice assistant?

Yes, on my phone

Yes, have a separate device

Both of the above

None of the above

<did that feel like a competitive exam?>

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Happy vs Merry | JOMO for 24th Dec

In today’s JOMO: Did you know the British say Happy Christmas and the Americans use Merry Christmas? What does that have to do with tech news? Nothing. <Well, it is Christmas eve and so a rather slow news weekend>

In the news

Tesla will stop letting people play games in cars that are moving - Verge

Fun fact: the earlier version had a popup ‘I am a passenger’ which allowed you to play, even when the car was moving. Also, based on a Linkedin comment our earlier poll received, some ppl find this not at all dangerous. Probably cos they already do it, with an Xbox/Playstation in the back!

Chinese tech giant Baidu says it could be 6 years before it can fully deliver its metaverse - CNBC

Beijing-based Baidu plans to hold its annual developers’ event Monday in the virtual world of its metaverse app, XiRang. The company claims it will be China’s first metaverse conference.

Startups, funding etc

Purple Dot, a waitlist and pre-order platform for the fashion industry, raises $4M - TC

UK startup Purple Dot has an ecommerce ‘waitlist and pre-order’ platform, allowing fashion brands to only produce the exact volume of goods ordered, thereby cutting down waste.

Something tells me this, and the segment, is going to be pretty big, pretty soon

Interesting read

This is our first look at Android 13 “Tiramisu” and some of its upcoming features - XDA

Ola’s dream of world’s biggest e-scooter factory hits hurdle - ET

Customers waiting for their bikes are already voicing their unhappiness. When Ola began taking orders in September, it said deliveries would begin in October, which later got pushed to November and then to Dec. 15. Many disgruntled customers – some of whom paid the entire 99,999 rupees ($1,323) upfront – have taken to social media.

No wonder CoD was invented in our country

Poll for the day

Do you use CoD?

Yes, always

Sometimes, especially for new sites

Always pay upfront

That’s it folks for this week.
And ya, a Happy and Merry Christmas to you!

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Double standards | JOMO for 27th Dec

In today’s JOMO: Didi plays big brother with employees, Dutch regulators like dating apps (more) and Indian startups bag a cool haul of dough in 2021: $36bn worth

In the news

Didi blocks employees from selling shares indefinitely - FT

Didi’s big investors will still be able to start selling their shares on Monday. This includes SoftBank’s Vision Fund, Didi’s single largest shareholder, which paid $11.8bn for a 20.1 per cent stake in 2019. The stake is now worth $5.4bn

Will they… won’t they?

Apple must let dating apps offer alternate in-app payment options, says Dutch regulator - Verge

Why only dating apps you may ask. Check the Top Grossing App in Netherlands for a clue

Startup world mourns the loss of Narendra Gupta and Pankhuri Shrivastava - ET

Narendra Gupta, 73, who cofounded Nexus Venture Partners, one of India’s oldest venture capital firms, passed away on December 25, a day after Pankhuri Shrivastava, 32, who founded women-focused social community platform ‘Pankhuri’.

New products, features, launches

This ambitious smart ring hopes to one day monitor chronic illnesses - Verge

The Movano Ring will measure all the basic metrics, including heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, respiration, temperature, blood oxygen levels, steps, and calories burned. However, instead of a raw data dump, Movano says it’ll distill how your metrics relate to each other “take a more proactive approach to mitigating the risks of chronic disease.”

Interesting read

Indian startups bag record $36 billion funds in 2021 - ET

However, the bulk of the investments were directed towards pre-IPO financing rounds in companies such as Zomato, Ola, Policybazaar and Paytm, with the top 10 deals totalling upto $5.58 billion

Lots of interesting data points to chk out

Poll for the day

Would you wear an always on health tracker?

• Yes
• No
• Already do

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Alexa Challenge goes wrong | JOMO for 28th Dec

In today’s JOMO: Alexa talks to a 10 yr old…. and things go wrong, some much needed advice for SharkTank India and why investors are bullish on India’s startups for 2022

In the news

Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to put penny in plug socket - BBC

Amazon has updated its Alexa voice assistant after it “challenged” a 10-year-old girl to touch a coin to the prongs of a half-inserted plug. “Plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs,” the smart speaker said.

Startups, funding etc

Indian neobank Jupiter raises $86 million to launch lending and wealth management services - TC

Tiger Global, QED and Sequoia Capital India co-led the two-year-old startup’s Series C round, Gupta told TechCrunch in an interview. The new round values the startup at $711 million, up from about $300 million in its August Series B funding.

Interesting read

Why investors remain bullish on India’s start-up outlook for 2022 - CNBC

Still, there will likely be appetite for future IPOs, according to Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Indian brokerage platform Zerodha. The bigger question, however, would be how those companies would fare in the longer term

35 non-founders in Rs 100-crore Esop club - ET

“With buybacks happening, employees see the opportunity of wealth creation being real,” said Harshil Mathur, cofounder and CEO of Razorpay. “Contrary to the popular misconception that if a company allows Esop buybacks soon, employees will sell and leave, they actually stay longer and do not sell their options in a rush.”

Tweeter
‘A short thread to help makers of shark tank potentially learn from and do a runtime fix of the format.’- Ashish Sinha, Founder NextBigWhat

TL;DR for #SharkTankIndia team:

• Respect the founders.

• You (=VC) need founders as much as they need you

• Don’t be an asshole (applies to both founders and VCs)

• Don’t get investors who have no long-term skin in the game. They don’t care abt their reputation (as investors)
  

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

No steering, no problem | JOMO for 29th Dec

In today’s JOMO: A taxi with no steering wheel, Insta’video’ and an AI powered meme maker that’s not bad at all

In the news

Apple puts Foxconn India plant on probation after protests over food and accommodation conditions - TC

Foxconn’s factory in the state of Tamil Nadu employs about 17,000 people. Protests erupted in the factory last week after hundreds of women who work at the plant and live in one of the hostels had to be treated for food poisoning and more than 100 were hospitalized

Instagram will ‘double down’ on video in 2022 and focus on Reels - Engadget

“We’re going to have to rethink what Instagram is because the world is changing quickly and we’re going to have to change with it”

Startups, funding etc

Zetwerk raises $210 mn from Greenoaks Capital, others at $2.7 bn valuation - Livemint

New products, features, launches

Waymo plans fleet of self-driving, all-electric robotaxis with Chinese automaker Geely - Verge

Waymo says future models will have an interior without steering wheel or pedals — just a screen (presumably to let riders check on the progress of their journey).

Look ma… no steering wheel

Fiverr rolls out new Pinterest-like personalized discovery feature - TC

Cool Products, websites and tools

makememe.ai

Make a meme in under 5 seconds by providing a description

Tried this: Problems are easy. Impressed with the result (see below)

Blobby
The cutest habit tracker ever

If you say so

Poll for the day

Instagram will have more videos in 2022

• Yaay
• Naaa
• I dont use Instagram

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Better than Bitcoin | JOMO for 30th Dec

In today’s JOMO: An altcoin that gave 1300% returns, Google pays for customers and the Smartphone of the year awards

In the news

Korea pushes Google, Apple to pull play-to-earn games from stores - Tech in Asia

An important development as what Korea does, other markets have followed

Startups, funding etc

OneCard raises $75 Mn at over $720 Mn valuation - Entrackr

The Pune-based company had already raised $35 million in two tranches in its Series B round led by Sequoia and QED Fund in 2021.

Interesting read

This Altcoin Smoked Bitcoin and Ether With 1,300% Gain This Year - Bloomberg

Among the three largest digital tokens by market value, Binance Coin, or BNB, significantly outperformed its two larger rivals Bitcoin and Ether. The coin – issued by crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. – gained roughly 1,300% in 2021, according to Arcane Research. By comparison, market leader Bitcoin increased 65% while Ether, the second-biggest token, rose 408%.
Better than Bitcoin | JOMO for 30th Dec

In today’s JOMO: An altcoin that gave 1300% returns, Google pays for customers and the Smartphone of the year awards

In the news

Korea pushes Google, Apple to pull play-to-earn games from stores - Tech in Asia

An important development as what Korea does, other markets have followed

Startups, funding etc

OneCard raises $75 Mn at over $720 Mn valuation - Entrackr

The Pune-based company had already raised $35 million in two tranches in its Series B round led by Sequoia and QED Fund in 2021.

Interesting read

This Altcoin Smoked Bitcoin and Ether With 1,300% Gain This Year - Bloomberg

Among the three largest digital tokens by market value, Binance Coin, or BNB, significantly outperformed its two larger rivals Bitcoin and Ether. The coin – issued by crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. – gained roughly 1,300% in 2021, according to Arcane Research. By comparison, market leader Bitcoin increased 65% while Ether, the second-biggest token, rose 408%.

Google and Tech Rivals Tap Cash Reserves to Realize Cloud Ambitions - WSJ

Google has taken equity stakes over the past year in companies including Univision Communications Inc. and CME Group Inc.,i n turn winning multiyear commitments to its cloud service worth as much as $1 billion or more. Google now claims 6% of the cloud market, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier, though still far behind Amazon’s 41% share and Microsoft’s 20%.

Rather interesting strategy to pay to get customers

The relentless 2021 news cycle in one chart - Axios

The single topic to receive the highest percentage of Google searches all year was the Olympics, during the week of its opening ceremonies. Next came searches about stimulus checks at the very start of the year, followed by searches related to Trump during the week of Jan. 6.

Videos and Podcasts

Smartphone Awards 2021! - MKBHD

Some surprises

Poll for the day

Which is your favourite smartphone of 2021?

• S21 Ultra
• iPhone 13
• Google Pixel
• Other

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

Google and Tech Rivals Tap Cash Reserves to Realize Cloud Ambitions - WSJ

Google has taken equity stakes over the past year in companies including Univision Communications Inc. and CME Group Inc.,i n turn winning multiyear commitments to its cloud service worth as much as $1 billion or more. Google now claims 6% of the cloud market, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier, though still far behind Amazon’s 41% share and Microsoft’s 20%.

Rather interesting strategy to pay to get customers

The relentless 2021 news cycle in one chart - Axios

The single topic to receive the highest percentage of Google searches all year was the Olympics, during the week of its opening ceremonies. Next came searches about stimulus checks at the very start of the year, followed by searches related to Trump during the week of Jan. 6.

Videos and Podcasts

Smartphone Awards 2021! - MKBHD

Some surprises

Poll for the day

Which is your favourite smartphone of 2021?

• S21 Ultra
• iPhone 13
• Google Pixel
• Other

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Apple’s New Year Gift | JOMO for 31st Dec

In today’s JOMO: Apple gets a New Year’s Gift it did not want, how Tesla navigated the chip shortage and saying bye bye to Blackberry, for good this time

In the news

India antitrust watchdog orders investigation into Apple’s business practices - TC

The Competition Commission of India said it is of the prima facie view that the mandatory use of Apple’s in-app payments system for paid apps and in-app purchases “restrict[s] the choice available to the app developers…

Timing. For the record, Apple has less than 2% market share in India

BlackBerry will die on January 4th — for real this time - Verge

As of January 4th, any phones or tablets running BlackBerry’s own software will “no longer reliably function”. Whether on Wi-Fi or cellular, there’ll be no guarantee you can make phone calls, send text messages, use data, establish an SMS connection, or even call 9-1-1.

Remember Blackberry?

New products, features, launches

Samsung’s leaked Galaxy S22 Ultra is just straight up a Galaxy Note now - Verge

Gotta love how these are still called ‘leaks’. That said, it’s quite the looker

Interesting read

How Elon Musk’s Software Focus Helped Tesla Navigate Chip Shortage - WSJ

Faced with shortages earlier this year, for example, Tesla was able to quickly rewrite the software necessary to integrate alternative chips into its vehicles, the company’s chief executive officer, Mr. Musk, has said.

Tech debt is not a burden, it’s a strategic lever for success - Reforge

Just like with debt in real life, if you take on debt right now, you can get something of higher value today and pay it off over time. This means you should view tech debt as a strategic lever for your organization’s success over time.

Long read, incase you are up for a rehaul in the new year

Cool Products, websites and tools

Try What’s Good

A review site, without the reviews

Try: ‘a good coffee’

Tweeter

The number of people having severe heart issues in my extended circle is terrifying. - Nithin Kamat, Co-Founder Zerodha

Some great, sensible advice on cutting off work messages post 6PM

Poll for the day

So, are you looking forward to 2022?

• Absolutely!
• Cant get any worse, can it?
• Not really

That’s all folks for this… year! Wish you a tremendous, fun filled, prosperous 2022. Boy am I happy to say bye bye to 2021.

Happy New Year!

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Apple Vision? | JOMO for 17th Jan

Aaaaand we are back!

In today’s JOMO: Michelin Star… NFTs, Oppo == OnePlus and figuring out a name for Apple’s AR/VR headset

In the news

Safari 15 bug can leak your recent browsing activity and personal identifiers - Verge

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to get around the issue, as FingerprintJS says the bug also affects Private Browsing mode on Safari. You can use a different browser on macOS, but Apple’s third-party browser engine ban on iOS means all browsers are affected.

Spain leads European crackdown on crypto promotions - FT

Spain is imposing restrictions on influencers’ promotion of cryptocurrencies as European authorities struggle to get to grips with the unregulated sector. In an apparent first for the EU, Spain’s national securities market commission has been given the power to regulate crypto advertising.

Good on you Spain. Vamos!

Netflix raises prices on all plans in US - Verge

Significant move at a time when new user additions are plateauing. Btw worth checking out the comments: users dont seem happy

Education institutes ordered to cut ties with edtech firms - ET

A senior official explained that universities were outsourcing content creation to edtech players, some were asking faculty for such companies to teach and certain edtech companies also also awarding degrees

Well well well.

Startups, funding etc

INDmoney raises $75M for its super finance app in India - Techcrunch

New products, features, launches

Apple Vision? Apple Reality? What Apple Could Name Its AR/VR Headset - Bloomberg

As Apple Inc.’s first mixed-reality headset runs behind schedule, here’s a look at what the company could name the product

Oppo’s next flagship leaks with OnePlus-esque Hasselblad branding - Verge

Not sure present and prospective OnePlus users will be too pleased with this

Interesting read

China’s robotaxis charged ahead in 2021 - TC

An overview of China’s robotaxi services offered by AutoX, Baidu, Deeproute.ai, Didi, Momenta, Pony.ai, and WeRide, and the progress they made in 2021

Quietly and over some objections, a national digital vaccine card has emerged - NBC News

The SMART Health Card is voluntary and minimal by design to protect personal information. About 80 percent of vaccinated people in the U.S. most likely have access to it.

Maybe CoWIN, and other state initiatives, have something to learn here? Worth a read

World’s ‘first NFT restaurant’ is coming to Manhattan next year - Morning Brew

Sure, an NFT restaurant sounds goofy, but if you think of it more as a social club, like Soho House, it makes a little more sense. Flyfish is betting that people will buy its tokens as a way to signal their social status, similar to a luxury watch or vehicle. If it’s at least a little bit successful, expect more NFT restaurants to follow.

Yeh toh hona hi tha. Can we now have Michelin Star NFT restaurants too please?

Cool Products, websites and tools

UX Awards 2021 - UXHack

Plug… Check out the winner, incase you missed them

Poll for the day

What should Apple’s VR/AR headset be called?

• iView
• Apple Vision
• iGlass
• DKDC (Dont know dont care)

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Microsoft’s Candy ‘Crush’| JOMO for 18th Jan

In today’s JOMO: Microsoft loves Candy Crush maker, Nobody Cares and Meta wants to know when your nose twitches

In the news

Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion - Verge

“We’re investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all,” says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The move will make Microsoft the 3rd largest gaming company. Yes, you read that right: ‘gaming company’. Nadella playing all the right cards

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya says ‘nobody cares’ about Uyghur genocide in China - CNBC

Palihapitiya went on to say that he cared about supply chain issues, climate change, America’s crippled health-care system as well as the potential economic fallout of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

To be fair, reading beyond the headline gives real context to what he wants to say. But logical statements do not a great headline make… so we have this. What he also said: “Until we actually clean up our own house,” the idea of “morally virtue-signaling about someone else’s human rights record is deplorable.”

Startups, funding etc

Sebi clears Delhivery IPO - ET

New products, features, launches

Twitter expands misinformation reporting feature to more international markets - TC

In addition to the U.S., Australia and South Korea, where the feature had already gone live, Twitter is rolling out the reporting option to users in Brazil, Spain and the Philippines.

Notice an important omission? India? Twitter? Are you listening?

Interesting read

Facebook patents reveal how it intends to cash in on metaverse - FT

Pupil movements, body poses and nose scrunching are among the flickers of human expression that Meta wants to harvest in building its metaverse, according to an analysis of dozens of patents recently granted to Facebook’s parent company.

Yikes! At this point I’m just hoping and praying Meta’s metaverse is a dud, because if it isn’t, we have a very dystopian future incoming

Why is LinkedIn so cringe?

One of the funniest running jokes on Twitter is people trolling cringey LinkedIn newsfeed content: humble brags, faux inspiration, hustle porn, buzzwords galore and more.

Brilliant breakdown. I’d very much like to see a Twitter India and startup version of this. There is just so much cringe to talk about

A new use for AI: summarizing scientific research for seven-year-olds - Verge

Ryan says that although tl;dr papers is undoubtedly a very fun tool, it also offers “a good illustration of what good science communication should look like.”

Poll for the day

Do you think Linkedin is cringe?

Oh yes

It is what it is

No, love it

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Shark ‘Tanked’ | JOMO for 19th Jan

In today’s JOMO: A shark gets tamed, some valuable passwords and collateral damage

In the news

Fintech founder Ashneer Grover takes a leave of absence after reports of questionable conduct - TC

Grover initially labeled the recording as “fake” in a tweet, which he later deleted. A Kotak Mahindra Bank spokesperson said the company was evaluating actions against Grover and confirmed the authenticity of the call.

‘Leave of absence’

Airlines Cancel Some Flights Ahead of U.S. 5G Wireless Launch - WSJ

Flight suspensions occur even as AT&T and Verizon agree to limit signals within 2 miles of runways to address air-safety concerns

Sony shares tank over 12% after Microsoft and Activision’s $68.7 billion tie-up plan - CNBC

Investors fear Microsoft’s announced acquisition of Activision will bring more competition to Sony’s PlayStation division and take away key games from the Japanese giant’s platform.

Collateral damage.

Startups, funding etc

Softr’s Series A is a reminder that the no-code boom continues - TC

Softr is a good example of the trend, with the startup raising $13.5 million in a Series A that it announced this week.

Canadian password manager 1Password valued at $6.8 billion in new funding round - CNBC

1Password, the Toronto-headquartered password management app, says it has raised $620 million at a $6.8 billion valuation, making it one of Canada’s most valuable tech firms.

New products, features, launches

Google kills YouTube Originals, its original video content group - Ars Technica

The YouTube division was founded six years ago to make exclusive, original content for the pay-per-month YouTube Premium service. Now, the group is being shuttered, and YouTube’s global head of original content, Susanne Daniels, is leaving the company in March.

Opera launches a dedicated crypto browser - TC

The aim is to “simplify the Web3 user experience that is often bewildering for mainstream users,” Opera EVP Jorgen Arnensen said in statement.

Cool Products, websites and tools

Framer Sites Beta

Design real websites right on the canvas, publish in seconds

Framer to Webflow… here I come

Poll for the day

Have you used a no-code tool?

Yes

No

Not yet, but interested

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Amazon’s got Style | JOMO for 20th Jan

In today’s JOMO: Google says pay up, Insta launches subscriptions and Amazon’ first physical clothing store

In the news

IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes - Gizmodo

Online tax filers in the United States will soon be required to submit a selfie to a third-party identity verification company using facial recognition tech in order to file their taxes or make IRS payments online.

Soon… coming to India

Russia proposes ban on use and mining of cryptocurrencies - Reuters

Google requiring all ‘G Suite legacy free edition’ users to start paying for Workspace this year - 9t5Google

After getting free Gmail, Drive, Docs, and other apps for the past several years, companies/people will need to start paying for those Google services and the ability to use your own custom domain (instead of just gmail.com).

New products, features, launches

Amazon’s first clothing store lets you summon clothes to the fitting room - Verge

Amazon Style is a new kind of physical store from the online shopping giant that will focus on clothing, footwear, and other fashion accessories, the company announced today. It’s due to open at The Americana at Brand shopping mall in Los Angeles later this year, where it will be Amazon’s “first-ever physical apparel store.”

Absolutely brilliant! Worth checking out the launch video

Instagram launches early test of creator subscriptions in the US - TC

Through the Subscriptions product, creators can choose their own price point for access to their exclusive content. There are eight price points to choose from, starting at $0.99 per to month to as much as $99.99 per month

Great to see Insta move beyond ads

Interesting read

Streaming music report sheds light on battle between Spotify, Amazon, Apple, and Google - Verge

Spotify was the largest music streaming service in the world as of the second quarter of 2021 with a market share of 31 percent, with Apple Music in second place at 15 percent, and Amazon Music and Tencent Music each tied at third with 13 percent apiece.

Poll for the day

Which music streaming service do you use?

• Spotify
• Apple Music
• Amazon Music
• Other

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Firesale | JOMO for 24th Jan

PS: The next few days (weeks?) will have a lot of market news, not so good news at that. Might be a good idea to take a break from reading about it, if you dont feel like it

In today’s JOMO: Tech stocks take a dive, in US, India and everywhere, Google Pay hits reset and translating Wordle

In the news

$130 billion wiped off crypto markets in 24 hours as bitcoin, ether drop to multi-month lows - CNBC

Investor calls for Peloton to fire CEO, consider selling company - TC

The letter concludes, “The ride for Mr. Foley is over. This Board must now independently chart a new path for Peloton.”

Speaking of letters and CEOs under pressure….

Startups, funding etc

’We are adequately capitalised’: Zomato CEO to employees amid market fall - BS

Not sure about you, but I’d worry if my CEO sends a mail every time the company stock falls/jumps. Maybe it’s a Zomato thing to just, well, be in the news *. For the initiated, volumes on Zomato trades jumped 4 times. Meanwhile…*

Indian food delivery giant Swiggy raises $700 million at $10.7 billion valuation - TC

Invesco led the Bengaluru-headquartered startup’s Series K round, which according to a source familiar with the matter values the seven year-old startup at $10.7 billion. Swiggy was valued at $5.5 billion in July last year.

The ’source familiar with the matter’ seems to have forgotten to mark to market

Ola Electric valued at $5 billion in new funding - TC

In the meantime, Bounce, a fellow Bengaluru-headquartered startup, has unveiled its own electric scooter that many analysts say promises to pack more than Ola’s offering.

Bikes delivered by Ola? Zilch. That said the 2 wheeler EV space is sure going to be interesting with a mix of traditional players and ‘new age’ players

New products, features, launches

Google Pay resets strategy again with new leader, might get into crypto - Ars Technica

Despite the just-canceled plans to launch a Google bank account, Google’s president of commerce (and another former PayPaler), Bill Ready, now tells Bloomberg, “We’re not a bank—we have no intention of being a bank.”

Btw this is Google Pay US, although this undoubtedly will have repercussions in India

Interesting read

Google is building an AR headset - Verge

The search giant has recently begun ramping up work on an AR headset, internally codenamed Project Iris, that it hopes to ship in 2024. Early prototypes being developed at a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area resemble a pair of ski goggles and don’t require a tethered connection to an external power source.

World Wide Wordle: What it takes to bring the viral game into other languages - Rest of World

As the game has gone viral around the world, over a dozen Wordle-inspired games have launched in languages other than English, including Spanish, German, Urdu, Hungarian, and Japanese.

Cool Products, websites and tools

Automator for Figma

Automate your Figma tasks in one click

Can be handy. Free trial available

Pallo

Manage your personal and business finances in one place

Nice story on why the creator built this

Poll for the day

Have you played Wordle?

Yes!

No

Word what?

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more

[Akshay.Kanade]

Netflix’s India frustrations | JOMO for 27th Jan

In today’s JOMO: Adobe takes on Deepfakes, a Cred Store and ‘Why Netflix boss is frustrated with Indian market’ (that is literally the headline)

In the news

Spotify picks Joe Rogan over Neil Young - Verge

‘Spotify has become the home of life threatening COVID misinformation,’ Young said. This week, Neil Young published an open letter demanding Spotify remove his music because he didn’t want to share the platform with podcaster Joe Rogan. It appears Young is getting his wish, as Spotify is now removing his music, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Well well well. Cash is king for Spotify, misinformation be damned

Tesla announced record profits, delayed Cybertrucks - Morning Brew

While Tesla isn’t introducing any new models this year, other automakers are picking up the slack. Thirty new EV models will be introduced to the US market this year, more than two times the amount that’s currently available

Startups, funding etc

DealShare turns unicorn; raises new round at $1.6 Bn valuation - Entrackr

DealShare directly competes with CityMall, Meesho (via Farmiso) and a few others

UBS steps up U.S. push with $1.4 bln Wealthfront purchase - Reuters

Swiss bank UBS has agreed to buy U.S.-focused automated wealth management provider Wealthfront, which has more than $27 billion in assets under management

New products, features, launches

iPhones might soon be able to accept contactless payments - XDA

Apple is planning a new service that would allow small businesses to accept payments directly through their iPhones, without external hardware

The flex of a walled garden: that’s billions of devices now able to do contactless payment. But, only amongst themselves. Also, why did Apple wait all this while?

The.com launches a low-code, collaborative website builder that uses customizable ‘blocks,’ not templates - TC

Quite a handful, to be totally honest. Interesting onboarding though: The.com

As fintech Cred diversifies, it is betting on video commerce and group buying - ET

According to an internal seller communication sent by Cred earlier this week, its team is “working on building and launching various product features on store that aim to boost user engagement and thereby screen time, retention and ultimately transactions. Some of the features that are work in progress are group buying, video commerce, etc”

Okkkk… this is interesting. One would have guessed this would eventually happen

Interesting read

Adobe’s effort to catch deep fakes hits key milestone - Axios

As part of its effort to fight deepfakes, a coalition of tech companies co-led by Adobe has finalized the details for a standard way to verify how a photo or video was captured and to document any subsequent edits.

Excellent development. Quite a mouthful though: Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA)

Gig workers ride solo during third wave - ET

India’s gig workers — who primarily operate as delivery staff for major online platforms — have raised red flags over what they say is a lack of proactive assistance from their employers in terms of second-dose vaccinations as well as an alleged failure to supply adequate protective and safety equipment, in light of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A gathering storm…

Why Netflix boss is frustrated with Indian market

On an investor call last week, he bemoaned the California-based firm’s lack of success in India. “The great news is in every single other major market, we’ve got the flywheel spinning. The thing that frustrates us is why we haven’t been as successful in India. But we’re definitely leaning in there,” he said.

Content. Content. Content. And ofcourse your ‘premium’ pricing. And piracy. And….

Cool Products, websites and tools

Stonly No-Code Digital Adoption

A set of no-code tools for interactive onboarding & adoption

Poll for the day

Why do you think Netflix isnt ‘successful’ in India?

Pricing too high

Poor Indian content

Piracy

How would I know?

Curated from:

Morning Brew, Verge, Techcrunch, Techmeme, CNBC, Hacker News, Product Hunt and more