Again, could Gaming, and Microsoft specifically, be the thing that cracks the App Store open? More hints of consolidation in the semiconductor industry that is massively in flux. A major milestone in self-driving cars has been passed. Could hybrid cable-fiber networks compete with 5G. And in the weekend longreads suggestions, what operating systems do NASA’s spacecraft actually run on?

Sponsors:

• ForHims.com/tech
• Monday.com/ride

Links:

• Microsoft told employees it plans to release a browser-based app for the Xbox Game Pass streaming service next year that will get around Apple App Store rules: 'We absolutely will end up on iOS' (BusinessInsider)
• Microsoft app store playbook swipes at Apple, Google (Axios)
• AMD Is in Advanced Talks to Buy Xilinx (WSJ)
• Waymo Begins Fully Driverless Rides for All Arizona Customers (Bloomberg)
• Google Assistant finally works with some third-party apps (Engadget)
• Comcast says gigabit downloads and uploads are now possible over cable (ArsTechnica)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• Inside the US campaign to cut China out of the tech supply chain (NikkeiAsia)
• Why media formats (like Snapchat Stories and TikTok music videos) become hits? (Medium/Eric Feng)
• THE MASK BARONS OF ETSY (The Verge)
• A Major Online Learning Platform Was Created by a Subterranean Religious ‘Cult’ Whose Leader Has Been Accused of Violence and Abuse (OneZero)
• Definitely not Windows 95: What operating systems keep things running in space? (ArsTechnica)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.