10 things in tech you need to know today

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Friday.

1. Microsoft blew away Wall Street estimates in its most recent quarter and grew its revenue by 12% from last year. Revenue was $33.72 billion, while earnings per share was $1.37.
2. For the first time, Microsoft's cloud business unit generated more revenue than its segments that include Windows and Office. Its cloud business unit, called intelligent cloud, generated $11.4 billion in revenue, while the unit that includes Windows products, the Surface line, gaming, and search generated $11.3 billion. 
3. WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann has cashed out $700 million from his company via share sales and loans, an unusual move for a founder ahead of an IPO, according to the Wall Street Journal. Neumann has sold some of his own stake and borrowed against his remaining holdings, the newspaper reported.
4. A BuzzFeed report has detailed missteps by dating app Grindr, after its sale to Chinese group Kunlun. The firm has faced layoffs and a federal investigation over the last 18 months, according to the report.
5. Josh Browder, the 22-year-old entrepreneur behind DoNotPay, an automated legal assistant for small legal claims, has created a virtual credit card that automatically cancels people's free trials. Customers can sign up for the "Free Trial Card" with a bogus name, address, and email address and use it to register for free trials and once the trial period ends, the card will automatically decline payment.
6. Slack has reset passwords for 1% of its users because of a hack that took place in 2015. Slack publicised the breach at the time, but is now resetting passwords after an anonymous source sent the firm a batch of compromised credentials.
7. Reddit cofounder and venture investor Alexis Ohanian has said that "no one in their right mind" would build a company in San Francisco or the Bay Area. He cited the high costs of housing and doing business in the Bay Area as partial reasons why building a company there is challenging, but he also thinks younger workers are more inclined to work and start companies remotely.
8. Amazon is hiring for two roles that are part of a new team called "stealth advertising innovation" to disrupt the gaming industry. The job postings promise candidates 'unparalleled' access to Amazon's data, suggesting that Amazon may be making advertising a bigger priority.
9. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has said his home country, Japan, lacks investment opportunities and that it's just a developing country when it comes to AI. "Unfortunately there are virtually no companies that can be called global No. 1 unicorns," Son said of Japan.
10. The number of people using Facebook's Stories feature is steadily increasing, according to new data from Cowen. This trend could will likely help boost the average time users spend on Facebook — a figure that has been in decline for years.

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Contributer : Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2XWP7kF

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