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Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its internet balloon company

The Verge

Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its division that provides internet from floating balloons, according to a post on the blog of Alphabet’s X moonshot division. Loon launched its first commercial internet service in Kenya in July , comprised of a fleet of about 35 balloons that covered an area of around 50,000 square kilometers.

Internet 130
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Internet shutdowns by governments have ‘proliferated at a truly alarming pace’

The Verge

The number of government-led internet shutdowns has exploded over the last decade as states seek to stifle dissent and protest by limiting citizens’ access to the web. The first significant internet shutdown took place in Egypt in 2011, as a response to protests against then-president Hosni Mubarak. Photo by James Bareham / The Verge.

Internet 102
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Domain name registry Donuts acquired again, this time by Ethos Capital

GeekWire

The company is led by Akram Atallah , a former executive at internet nonprofit ICANN. In 2017, Donuts raised a $110 million investment to help complete the acquisition of fellow domain company Rightside Group. It has about 300 employees across four global offices.

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How technology is trying to address bias in policing — and why experts say it won’t be enough

GeekWire

Axon also updated its virtual-reality peer intervention training product and made it easier for civilians and police to submit social media and internet evidence. Another feature automatically flags body camera footage of escalating incidents, like when a firearm is removed from its holster or a Taser is used.

Policies 124
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Microsoft’s latest OpenAI investment opens way to new enterprise services

CIO Business Intelligence

And as an investor it can expect some return on its capital, although this will be limited by OpenAI’s status as a capped-profit company governed by a nonprofit. the OpenAI model on which ChatGPT is based, is an example of a transformer, a deep learning technique developed by Google in 2017 to tackle problems in natural language processing.

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Tech Moves: Expedia board director Skip Battle resigns; Madrona promotions; Vacasa’s new CFO

GeekWire

AskJeeves was acquired in 2005 by IAC, the internet media company run by Barry Diller, who is also chairman of Seattle-based Expedia Group. Cohen was most recently CFO for ANGI Homeservices, a digital marketplace created when home improvement directories Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor merged in 2017. Based in Denver, Colo.,

Groups 84
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How Signal is playing with fire

The Verge

As Wired described it in 2017, “ the idea of MobileCoin is to build a system that hides everything from everyone.”. But Signal, which is funded by a nonprofit organization and relies on donations, has forged ahead anyway. Last year, Marlinspike told me Signal had merely begun some “design explorations” around a MobileCoin integration.

Financial 140