Microsoft and video-game chat company Discord have ended takeover talks after Discord rejected a $12 billion bid, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a people familiar with the matter. From the report: Discord is now focused on a potential public listing in the long term, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Several other companies also tried to buy Discord in recent weeks, the people said. The identity of these companies couldn't immediately be learned. San Francisco-based Discord is best known for its free service that lets gamers communicate by video, voice and text. People stuck at home during the pandemic have increasingly used its technology for study groups, dance classes, book clubs and other virtual gatherings.

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At today's Spring Loaded event, Apple unveiled a new version of the iPad Pro, equipped with the M1 chip that was first introduced on the company's Mac line. TechCrunch reports: The new chip sports an 8-core CPU, with performance up to 50% faster than the A12Z Bionic found on the previous generation. There's also an 8-core GPU, which it claims is up to 40% faster. The system can be decked out to up to 16 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage. The device further blurs the line between the company's tablet and desktop offerings, as well as improved battery life now listed as "all day." The Pro also adds Thunderbolt support to the USB-C, which allows for a number of new features including external display support and wired transfers up to 40 Gbps. As reported, the new tablet (12.9-inch only for now) features an improved display â" Liquid Retina XDR, according to Apple's marketing terms. Among other things that brings much improved high dynamic range. The display is powered by 10,000 micro-LED. That allows for a hugely improved contrast ratio and 1,000 nits of brightness, without hammering the battery life. The 11-inch version starts at $799 and the 12.9-inch, which adds the Liquid Retina display, starts at $1,099. Pre-orders on the tablets starts April 30 and the product is set to start shipping in the second half of May -- along with a number of other products introduced at today's show.

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The Federal Trade Commission has signaled that it's taking a hard look at bias in AI, warning businesses that selling or using such systems could constitute a violation of federal law. From a report: "The FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive practices," the post reads. "That would include the sale or use of -- for example -- racially biased algorithms." The post also notes that biased AI can violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. "The FCRA comes into play in certain circumstances where an algorithm is used to deny people employment, housing, credit, insurance, or other benefits," it says. "The ECOA makes it illegal for a company to use a biased algorithm that results in credit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because a person receives public assistance." The post mirrors comments made by acting FTC chair Rebecca Slaughter, who recently told Protocol of her intention to ensure that FTC enforcement efforts "continue and sharpen in our long, arduous and very large national task of being anti-racist."

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At 4:15 PM Eastern.

That the verdict is coming in so quickly that imho means it's a guilty verdict. Here's why.

1. Given the strength of the evidence and the fact that there are four black people on the jury, it couldn't be unanimous acquittal.
2. If it was a divided jury, they couldn't be adjourning so quickly, the judge wouldn't let them.
3. Therefore the only situation that makes sense, at this point, is a unanimous decision to convict.

Facebook wants you to believe that the scraping of 533 million people's personal data from its platform, and the dumping of that data online by nefarious people, is something to be "normalised." The Register: A blundering Facebook public relations operative managed to send a journalist a copy of an internal document detailing the social network's strategy for containing the leaking of 533 million accounts -- and what the memo contained was infuriating though unsurprising. Belgian tech journalist Pieterjan van Leemputten asked the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company some questions about the theft and dumping online of account data earlier this month. Miscreants had helped themselves to 70GB of names, phone numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, and more from people's Facebook profiles, thanks to a security weakness in the platform. Having stolen the data in 2019, crims bought and sold it among themselves before one shared it via a Tor-hidden site in early April, inviting anyone to come and help themselves to it all. Yet when van Leemputten asked Facebook's mouthpieces to respond, what he got in return was quite unexpected. As he told The Register: "Facebook accidentally sent me an internal email where they literally state that they will frame the recent 533 million data leak as a 'broad industry issue' and that they want to normalize this." The memo added, "To do this, the team is proposing a follow-up post in the next several weeks that talks more broadly about our anti-scraping work and provides more transparency around the amount of work we're doing in this area."

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Now that Apple's lost item finder AirTag has officially been introduced, competitor Tile is going on record ahead of its testimony in front of Congress tomorrow about how it perceives Apple's latest product. In a statement, Tile CEO CJ Prober said today: "Our mission is to solve the everyday pain point of finding lost and misplaced things and we are flattered to see Apple, one of the most valuable companies in the world, enter and validate the category Tile pioneered. The reason so many people turn to Tile to locate their lost or misplaced items is because of the differentiated value we offer our consumers. In addition to providing an industry leading set of features via our app that works with iOS and Android devices, our service is seamlessly integrated with all major voice assistants, including Alexa and Google. And with form factors for every use case and many different styles at affordable prices, there is a Tile for everyone. Tile has also successfully partnered with top brands like HP, Intel, Skullcandy and fitbit to enable our finding technology in mass market consumer categories like laptops, earbuds and wearables. With over 30 partners, we look forward to extending the benefits of Tile to millions of customers and enabling an experience that helps you keep track of all your important belongings. We welcome competition, as long as it is fair competition. Unfortunately, given Apple's well-documented history of using its platform advantage to unfairly limit competition for its products, we're skeptical. And given our prior history with Apple, we think it is entirely appropriate for Congress to take a closer look at Apple's business practices specific to its entry into this category. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues further in front of Congress tomorrow.

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Geico, the second-largest auto insurer in the U.S., has fixed a security bug that let fraudsters steal customers' driver's license numbers from its website. From a report: In a data breach notice filed with the California attorney general's office, Geico said information gathered from other sources was used to "obtain unauthorized access to your driver's license number through the online sales system on our website." The insurance giant did not say how many customers were affected by the breach but said the fraudsters accessed customer driver's license numbers between January 21 and March 1. Companies are required to alert the state's attorney general's office when more than 500 state residents are affected by a security incident. Geico said it had "reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name." Many financially driven criminals target government agencies using stolen identities or data. But many U.S. states require a government ID -- like a driver's license -- to file for unemployment benefits. To get a driver's license number, fraudsters take public or previously breached data and exploit weaknesses in auto insurance websites to obtain a customer's driver's license number. That allows the fraudsters to obtain unemployment benefits in another person's name.

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Apple has finally given the world a dramatic new iMac redesign, aimed at the company's long-standing goal of "making the computer disappear." From a report: Naturally, the latest version of the 24-inch all-in-one desktop is built around the company's new proprietary M1 chips. The screen sports a 4.5K Retina Display, coupled with a 1080p camera -- a first for the Mac line, and a sign the company is taking both audio and video more seriously as these products are serving as a kind of life line for the work from home crowd. True Tone is, naturally, on board for better color balance, and sound have been improved with six-speaker setup. The new devices are significantly thinner -- with overall volume reduced by half, according to the company. The rear is also flat, instead of curved. All told, the company says it's up to 85% faster than the last model, coupled with a GPU that's up to twice as fast and 3x the machine learning. Around back are two Thunderbolt ports and a new magnetic power adapter that also delivers Ethernet. The system comes in seven colors. It starts at $1,299.

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Apple has launched a Tile-like item tracker that will work with the company's software and services. From a report: Dubbed AirTag, the small circular tag will allow you to track items within Apple's "Find My" app on iOS. Much like Tile, Apple's AirTags will be useful for tracking items like keys or wallets, and you'll be provided with notifications when you're separated from your item. The AirTag itself is a small puck-like device that includes a built-in speaker, accelerometer, Bluetooth LE, and a user-replaceable battery. Apple says the tracker should last for a year of battery life, and you can use an NFC tap to activate a lost mode. AirTag will be available for $29 on April 30th, or $99 for a four-pack of the devices. Apple is also working with accessory makers to create luggage tag and keyring enclosures for the AirTag itself.

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The White House unveiled on Tuesday a 100-day plan intended to protect the U.S. power grid from cyber-attacks, mainly by creating a stronger relationship between U.S. national security agencies and the mostly private utilities that run the electrical system. From a report: The plan is among the first big steps toward fulfilling the Biden administration's promise to urgently improve the country's cyber defenses. The nation's power system is both highly vulnerable to hacking and a target for nation-state adversaries looking to counter the U.S. advantage in conventional military and economic power. "The United States faces a well-documented and increasing cyber threat from malicious actors seeking to disrupt the electricity Americans rely on to power our homes and businesses," Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. Although the plan is billed as a 100-day sprint -- which includes a series of consultations between utilities and the government -- it will likely take years to fully implement, experts say. It will ask utilities to pay for and install technology to better detect hacks of the specialized computers that run the country's power systems, known as industrial control systems. The Edison Electric Institute, the trade group that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, praised the White House plan and the Biden administration's focus on cybersecurity. "Given the sophisticated and constantly changing threats posed by adversaries, America's electric companies remain focused on securing the industrial control systems that operate the North American energy grid," said EEI president Tom Kuhn.

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What if the place you live became uninhabitable because of climate change?

Today's theme song: Green Acres.

Magic Leap's next augmented realty headset is on track to be unveiled later this year. From a report: In an interview with Protocol published on Tuesday, CEO Peggy Johnson said the Magic Leap 2 will be released through an early adopter program at the end of this year and will be more generally available in early 2022. Johnson said the new headset, which is intended for enterprise customers, will be lighter and have an improved field of view over the Magic Leap One. "For frontline workers, the product has to be something comfortable that they can wear all day long," Johnson told Protocol. "So we've made the product half the size, about 20% lighter. But most importantly, we've doubled the field of view. That's a hard thing to do. The optics around that are complex, but we have a very talented engineering team." Past stories on Magic Leap: Magic Leap, Which Has Raised Over $2B, Lays off 1,000 Employees and Drops Consumer Business Translation From VC-Backed PR Jargon To English of Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz's Statement That He's 'Stepping Down'

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Today's song: Keep the Customer Satisfied.

PayPal plans to set up a local wallet in China focused on cross-border payments. From a report: In January, the U.S. fintech company became the first foreign firm with 100% ownership of a payments platform in China. But until now, PayPal's been quiet on its plans. Hannah Qiu, the China CEO for PayPal, told CNBC that the company is looking to launch a domestic wallet. But instead of it competing with the dominant players Alipay and WeChat Pay for domestic payments, PayPal will focus on cross-border payments. In a panel session hosted by CNBC at the Boao Forum for Asia in the province of Hainan in China, Qiu elaborated on the plans. "Our future business is mainly on cross-border transaction. Our value is more from overseas. In our overseas market, there are over 377 million individual users and over 20 million corporate users," Qiu said in Mandarin remarks translated by CNBC.

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