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Sequoia Capital Slashes Crypto Fund as It Downsizes Amid Startup Crunch Published on July 29, 2023 at 12:10AM Sequoia Capital pared back the size of two major venture funds, including its cryptocurrency fund, as part of a dramatic downsizing the storied venture firm is undertaking amid a broad startup downturn. From a report: Sequoia cut the size of its cryptocurrency fund to $200 million from $585 million, according to people familiar with the matter. It also slashed the size of its so-called ecosystem fund, which invests in other venture funds, to $450 million from $900 million, the people said. Sequoia told fund investors in March it made the decision to reduce the funds to better reflect the changed market. The cryptocurrency fund, for example, will focus more on backing young startups after an industry crash wiped out opportunities to back larger companies. By paring back the fund sizes, Sequoia is lowering the amount of committed capital required from investors, known as limite...

NYC Wants Unsafe Lithium-Ion E-Bike Batteries To Be Stopped At the Border Published on July 28, 2023 at 04:30AM Following a rash of deadly fires, consumer advocates and fire departments, particularly in New York City, want the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to confiscate lithium-ion electric bikes that don't comply with regulations at the border. The ultimate goal is for unsafe e-bikes and poorly manufactured batteries to be taken off the streets and out of homes. The Associated Press reports: "We've been sounding the alarm for months," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said a day after an exploding battery ignited the Chinatown e-bike shop fire last month. "We need real action, not only on the state level, but on the federal level." With some 65,000 e-bikes zipping through its streets -- more than any other place in the U.S. -- New York City is the epicenter of battery-related fires. There have been 100 such blazes so far this year, resulting in 13 ...

Senate Panel Advances Bill To Childproof the Internet Published on July 28, 2023 at 03:50AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Congress is closer than ever to passing a pair of bills to childproof the internet after lawmakers voted to send them to the floor Thursday. The bills -- the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and COPPA 2.0 -- were approved by the Senate Commerce Committee Thursday by a unanimous voice vote. Both pieces of legislation aim to address an ongoing mental health crisis amongst young people that some lawmakers blame social media for intensifying. But critics of the bills have long argued that they have the potential to cause more harm than good, like forcing social media platforms to collect more user information to properly enforce Congress' rules. KOSA is supposed to establish a new legal standard for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, allowing them to police companies that fail to prevent kids from seeing harmful content on...

Apple 'Punishing' iPad Pro Buyers With New Pencil Software Lockdown Published on July 28, 2023 at 02:50AM Apple's increasing use of "serialization," which pairs hardware components with the logic board using proprietary software locks, is making simple repairs on devices like iPads and iPhones harder and more expensive. In a recent Forbes article, a repair expert claims the Apple Pencil won't work properly on the iPad Pro if the display is replaced with a non-genuine Apple part, or even a screen from another iPad. From the report: This has now been extended to the displays of fifth and sixth generations of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch and third and fourth generation 11-inch tablets, repair expert Ricky Panesar, founder of iCorrect.co.uk, told me. While repairing a customer's device, Panesar found that the Apple Pencil wasn't delivering straight lines when the iPad display was replaced with a screen from another Apple iPad. "We found with the newer ver...

Meta's Reality Labs Has Lost More Than $21 Billion Since the Start of 2022 Published on July 28, 2023 at 02:10AM schwit1 shares a report from CNBC: Meta reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said that its Reality Labs unit, which develops virtual reality and augmented reality technologies needed to power the metaverse, logged a $3.7 billion operating loss. Last year, Meta's Reality Labs unit lost a total of $13.7 billion while bringing in $2.16 billion in revenue, which is driven in part by the company's sales of Quest-branded VR headsets. Reality Labs lost $3.99 billion during the first quarter. That puts its total losses at about $21.3 billion since the beginning of last year. Meta said in its earnings report that it expects operating losses in its Reality Labs unit "to increase meaningfully year-over-year due to our ongoing product development efforts in augmented reality/virtual reality and investments to further scale our ecosystem." Despite Rea...

Android Phones Can Now Tell You If There's an AirTag Following You Published on July 28, 2023 at 01:32AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When Google announced that trackers would be able to tie in to its 3 billion-device Bluetooth tracking network at its Google I/O 2023 conference, it also said that it would make it easier for people to avoid being tracked by trackers they don't know about, like Apple AirTags. Now Android users will soon get these "Unknown Tracker Alerts." Based on the joint specification developed by Google and Apple, and incorporating feedback from tracker-makers like Tile and Chipolo, the alerts currently work only with AirTags, but Google says it will work with tag manufacturers to expand its coverage. For now, if an AirTag you don't own "is separated from its owner and determined to be traveling with you," a notification will tell you this and that "the owner of the tracker can see its location." T...

LinkedIn Seems To Be Working on an AI 'Coach' for Job Applications Published on July 28, 2023 at 12:20AM LinkedIn appears to be developing a new AI tool that can help ease the effectively robotic task of looking for and applying to jobs. From a report: According to a new leak, the Microsoft-owned company seems to have a new "LinkedIn Coach" assistant in testing that could support you through the application processes, teach you new skills, and help you network on your LinkedIn network. The news comes from app researcher Nima Owji, who uncovers features from various developers that haven't been deployed yet. In an email, LinkedIn spokesperson Amanda Purvis tells The Verge the company is "always exploring" new ways to improve user experience on the platform. Purvis adds that the company "will have more to share soon." Read more of this story at Slashdot.