Fri. 12/18 – Chinese Drone Maker DJI Blacklisted By The US

Drone maker DJI is blacklisted by the commerce department. Group video comes to Echo devices. Twitter launches Spaces. Sony offers refunds for Cyberpunk 2077. Coinbase files to go public. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

Sponsors:

• Masterworks.io, promocode RIDE to skip the waitlist
• Calderalab.com use code TECHMEME (all one word, all caps) at checkout 

Links:

• US government adds DJI to Commerce blacklist over ties to Chinese government (The Verge)
• Amazon launches group video and audio calling for Echo devices (The Verge)
• Twitter launches its voice-based ‘Spaces’ social networking feature into beta testing (TechCrunch)
• Sony is pulling Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and offering full refunds (The Verge)
• Source Code newsletter
• A moment of reckoning: the need for a strong and global cybersecurity response (Microsoft Blog)
• Coinbase announces IPO in a milestone for the crypto industry (Fortune)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• Where Tech Workers Are Moving: New LinkedIn Data vs. the Narrative (Big Technology Newsletter)
• Why I Decided to Leave Substack (A Media Operator Newsletter)
• New WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar is moving to shake up Hollywood. Insiders are questioning if he has what it takes to turn around the entertainment giant without destroying it. (Business Insider)
• Can’t get a PlayStation 5? Meet the Grinch bots snapping up the holidays’ hottest gift. (Washington Post)
• How AltaVista, our first good search engine, fell into the digital abyss (Tedium)
• My $200,000 Sushi Dinner (NYTimes)

Link to today's easter egg on YouTube