Tech Roundup: Microsoft Journal, Twitter Edit Button & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

• Google readies to hide and block Play Store apps that don't target an Android API within two years of the latest major Android release, effective November 1, 2022.
• TikTok owner ByteDance gets accused of scraping content from Instagram and Snapchat to make fake accounts on an older version of the video app called Flipagram, later renamed Vigo Video.
• Tesla chief executive Elon Musk purchases 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, representing 9.2% stake worth US$ 2.89 billion (out of a total 800,641,166 shares) in the social media platform.
• Chipmaker AMD announces proposals to acquire networking chip maker Pensando for US$ 1.9 billion in an all-cash deal to better compete with rivals NVIDIA and Intel.
• Music streamer Spotify begins testing a new "Featured Curators" feature that promotes popular user playlists alongside its official Spotify playlists.
• South Korea says Google can't block developers from providing an in-app link to an outside website to buy digital goods under the country's app payment law.
• Twitter officially confirms it's been working on an edit button since last year, with plans to launch "in the coming months" with its Twitter Blue premium monthly subscription service; tweaks embeds for deleted tweets, displaying empty white blobs in place of the textual content, stating it is "to better respect" when users have opted to delete their tweets.
• Dropbox Shop, which lets creators sell digital content directly to customers, launches an open beta in the U.S. with more store customization options and tipping.
• Meta adds the ability to share videos from third-party apps directly to Facebook Reels.
• Google brings estimated toll road prices, map details like stop lights and stop signs to its Maps service; adds support for emoji reactions in Google Docs, rolls out a step-by-step guided tour of privacy and security controls in Chrome and delays plans to transition users of G Suite legacy free edition to Google Workspace by a month to June 1, 2022.
• Apple confirms it has been piloting a feature that lets third-party app developers like Disney+ automatically charge users for subscription price hikes, raising concerns about special treatment meted out to a closed circle of developers; to unveil next generation software at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6.

• Microsoft to enable Windows 11 PCs to boot straight to Windows 365 Cloud PCs and switch between cloud and native desktops using the virtual desktops feature; unveils system-wide improvements to Teams video calls in Windows 11, a refreshed File Explorer with tabs, favorites, improved sharing options, and a new homepage, and graduates its digital note-taking app Journal to a full-fledged Microsoft Windows application.
• Plex updates its app with new watchlist, discovery and a universal search feature across a user's streaming services, as the company says it has 13 million monthly active users.
• Amazon's planned internal messaging app would block union-related words, including "union," "restrooms," "grievance," "diversity," "slave labor," and "pay raise," among others, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept; company says "This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all."
• Intel suspends all business operations in Russia and says it has implemented business continuity measures to minimize disruption to its global operations.
• Chipmaker Intel acquires AI-based workload optimization startup Granulate in a deal worth US$ 650 million.
• Web browser Opera debuts new Opera VPN Pro subscription for Android for US$ 2.99 per month, enabling users to choose from over 3,000 different private network servers in over 30 locations worldwide, while granting device-wide protection.
• Ride hailing service Uber to add trains, buses, planes and car rentals to its U.K. app this year via software integrations with airlines, bus and rail operators, and car rental companies, expanding beyond booking rides, bikes, boat services and scooters, as part its efforts to become a superapp and "a one-stop-shop for all your travel needs."
• Indian social media startup Too adds a voluntary self-verification service that allows users to self-verify their profiles "in seconds" using their government-approved identity cards.
• South Korea's Communications Commission mandates Google to allow third-party apps to link to third-party payment systems; comes as the tech giant blocked "non-compliant" apps from publishing updates and warned that the apps would be removed from the Play Store on June 1, 2022.
• Amazon to increase its Music Unlimited plan on Prime from US$ 7.99/month to US$ 8.99/month and its Single Device plan from US$ 3.99/month to US$ 4.99/month on May 5.
• Pinterest announces a comprehensive policy to ban ads and posts featuring climate change misinformation or disinformation, a first for a major online platform.