10 things in tech you need to know today
Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Friday.
- Alphabet's chief legal officer David Drummond responded to accusations that he had a child with a Google employee and emotionally abused her, saying there are "two sides" to the story. Drummond said he was "far from perfect," in a personal statement first reported by BuzzFeed News on Thursday.
- Apple sent out invites for its big iPhone announcement next month. This year's iPhone is expected to be called the iPhone 11 and may come with a triple-lens camera.
- A documentary that explores how Bill Gates' brain works is coming to Netflix in September. The three-part documentary, called "Inside Bill's Brain," will explore how Gates' mind works, and follow his quest to solve global issues like climate change, hunger, and poverty.
- A YouTuber who was reportedly connected to the Christchurch shooter had his channel deleted then reinstated. In a recent blog post, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said part of the platform's commitment to "openness" would require YouTube to allow videos that are "controversial or even offensive."
- Microsoft won a big victory with an $8 billion Pentagon cloud-software contract. The $8 billion Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract was awarded to CSRA LLC and its contractor teaming partners Dell Marketing LP and Minburn Technology Group LLC, companies that all plan to use Microsoft Office 365.
- React, a popular open source project that started at Facebook, is adopting a new code of conduct after several people on Twitter called out racism in the community. Starting last week and over the weekend, a series of heated online events known as #Reactgate unfolded on Twitter.
- Apple will finally help independent repair shops fix broken iPhones. Apple is launching a new program that enables independent repair shops to get access to the company's materials and tools for performing out-of-warranty iPhone repairs.
- Elon Musk and Jack Ma clashed during an intense debate on the future of artificial intelligence and life on Mars. Elon Musk said in future humans will communicate so slowly with computers that it will sound like whale speech to AI.
- Peloton insiders will have 20 votes per share - twice as many as those at other startups - but CEO John Foley may not wield all the power after the IPO. Governance experts and institutional investors tend to frown on super-voting shares, because they shield corporate managers from accountability.
- The hot Silicon Valley coding bootcamp Lambda School is paying a $75,000 fine for not registering properly with the state of California. Austen Allred, CEO and co-founder of Lambda School, says that this was a mistake on the company's part, and that it's more than willing to work with the BPPE and any other regulatory body.
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