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WP Engine Sends Automattic a Cease and Desist Letter Over Mullenweg’s Comments

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WP Engine sends cease-and-desist letter to Automattic over Mullenweg’s comments

WordPress hosting service WP Engine shipped on Monday letter requesting to stop and desist to Automattic after its CEO Matt Mullenweg called WP Engine “cancer for WordPress” last week.

The notice asked Automattic and Mullenweg to retract their comments and stop and desist from making statements against the corporate.

WP Engine, which (like Automattic itself) commercializes the open-source WordPress project, also accused Mullenweg of constructing threats against WP Engine ahead of last week’s WordCamp summit.

“Automattic CEO Matthew Mullenweg has threatened that if WP Engine does not agree to pay Automattic — his for-profit subsidiary — a very large sum of money before his September 20 keynote speech at WordCamp US, he will engage in what he calls ‘nuclear, scorched earth warfare’ against WP Engine within the WordPress community and beyond,” the letter reads.

“When his outrageous financial demands were not met, Mr. Mullenweg followed through on his threats, repeating false statements that defamed WP Engine to its employees, customers, and the world at large,” the letter added.

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The letter went on to assert that Automattic last week began asking WP Engine to pay “a significant percentage of its gross revenues — in fact, tens of millions of dollars — on an ongoing basis” for a license to make use of trademarks equivalent to “WordPress.”

WP Engine defended its use of the “WordPress” trademark under fair use laws and said it was consistent with the platform’s guidelines. The letter also includes screenshots of Mullenweg’s text messages to WP Engine’s CEO and board members, which apparently state that Mullenweg will argue for a ban on WP Engine in his WordCamp keynote if the corporate doesn’t comply with Automattic’s demands.

Automattic didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Mullenweg, a co-founder of WordPress, criticized WP Engine last week for generating profits without giving much back to the open-source project, in addition to disabling key features that make WordPress such a powerful platform.

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Last week in blog postMullenweg said that WP Engine devotes 47 hours a week to this purpose. “Five for the Future” investment commitment to contribute resources to WordPress’ sustainable growth. By comparison, he said Automattic contributes about 3,900 a week. He acknowledged that while those numbers are only an “approximation,” there may be a big gap in contributions, though each corporations are similar in size and generate about half a billion dollars in revenue.

IN separate blog postHe also added that WP Engine offers customers a “cheap knockoff” of WordPress.

Notably, Automattic invested in WP Engine in 2011, when the corporate raised $1.2 million in funding. Since then, WP Engine has raised over $300 million in equity, nearly all of which got here from a $250 million investment from private equity firm Silver Lake in 2018.


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Uber customers can now earn Delta Skylile from rides or deliveries

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Members of Delta Skys within the United States can now start earning points after they go along with Uber or order via Uber Eats as a part of the recently announced exclusive partnership between each corporations.

The reference to Delta was designed to further adapt the large riding at airports, which was historically a lucrative segment for Uber. The riding company also announced on Tuesday plans to expand the brand new product to the airport at a reasonable price to Atlanta at successful launch in New York.

The game at Uber airport appears at a time when market uncertainty, lower consumer trust and increased borders control lead many Americans to Reverse expenditure on travel This 12 months.

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Perhaps such uncertainty signifies that now, greater than ever, customers given prices must find ways to play the system. Uber customers who joined the waiting list will have the option to attach their accounts from Tuesday and everybody else can start Thursday.

Here’s how Uber users with memberships of Delta Skyles can accumulate miles after connecting their accounts:

  • Uber Je: 1 mile per dollar spent on orders over USD 40.
  • Airport rides: 1 mile per dollar spent on Uberx rides on the airports.
  • Premium rides: 2 miles for dollar spent on Uber Comfort or Uber Black.
  • Uber Reserve: 3 miles for a dollar spent on Ubers reserved prematurely.

Uberr, riders cannot arrange miles by booking on the airport, but Uber spokesman said that the shopper would get skymes from a journey, which supplies the best prize.

In addition to the flexibility to get miles, Uber and Delta, they integrate in other ways. Customers who buy a flight using the Fly Delta application will have the option to cope with Uber reserve reservation in order that they can reserve a ride to the airport airport. And this 12 months, Skymile members who log in to Wi -Ifi during their flights will receive a 30% discount on reserving Uber for pickup after they land.

(Tagstotransate) delta

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Palantir Exec defends work in the company’s immigration supervision

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One of the founders of the Y startup accelerator Y Combinator offered this weekend the Palantir Data Analytical Company that doesn’t describe the controversial analytical company, running the company’s director to supply a broad defense of Palantir’s work.

Then it appeared forward federal applications He showed that American immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) – the task of conducting the aggressive strategy of the deportation of the Trump administration – pays Palantir $ 30 million for creating What does this call the immigration system operating systemSo immigration to assist ICE resolve who to direct to the deportation, and likewise offer “real -time visibility” in self -complacency.

Y founding father of Combinator Paul Graham divided the headlines about the Palantir contract on the subject of XWriting: “It is now a very exciting time in technology. If you are a first -rate programmer, there is a huge number of other places where you can work, and not in a company building infrastructure of a police state.”

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In response, the global business head of Palantir Ted Mabrey wrote that “he is looking forward to the next set of employees who decided to submit a request to Palantir after reading your post.”

Mabrey didn’t discuss the details of the current work of Palantir with ice, but said that the company began cooperation with the Internal Security Department (in accordance with which ICE works) “in an immediate response to the assassination of agent Jaime Zapata by Zetas in an effort called Fallen Hero surgery. “

“When people live because of what you built and others were not alive, because what you built was not good enough yet, you develop a completely different view on the meaning of your work,” said Mabrey.

He also compared Graham’s criticism with protests on the Google Maven project in 2018, which ultimately prompted the company to stop the work of drone photos for the army. (Google then signaled that he again became more open to defense works.)

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Mabrey called everyone interested in working for Palantir to read the latest book CEO Alexander Karp “The Technological Republic”, which claims that the software industry must rebuild its relationship with the government. (The company was Recruitment at university campus With signs declaring that “the moment of counting arrived west”)

“We employ believers,” Mabrey continued. “Not in the sense of the homogeneity of religion, but in the internal ability to imagine in something greater than you

Graham then Pressed Mabrey “To publicly commit himself on behalf of Palantir, so as not to build things that help the government violate the US constitution,” although he confirmed in one other post that such a commitment “would not have legal force.”

“However, I hope that if (they make a commitment) and a Palantir’s employee is one day asked to do something illegal, he will say” I didn’t join for it “and refused,” wrote Graham.

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Mabrey in turn compared Graham’s query In order for “or” you promise to stop beating a trick in court, but he added that the company “has made so many ways from Sunday”, ranging from the commitment to “3,500 thoughtful people who polish only because they believe that they make the world a better place every day because they see their first hand.”

(Tagstotransate) palantir

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Congress has questions about 23andme bankruptcy

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Low-angle view of logo on facade of personal genomics company 23AndMe in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California, October 28, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

3 The leaders of the Energy and Trade Committee said that they’re investigating how 23ndme’s bankruptcy can affect customer data.

Representatives of Brett Guthrie, Gus Biliakis and Gary Palmer (all Republicans) He sent a letter On Thursday, Joe Selsavage, Joe Selsavage, ask a variety of questions about how 23andme will serve customer data if the corporate is sold.

The letter also says that some customers have reported problems with deleting their data from the 23ndme website, and notes that corporations directly for consumption, reminiscent of 23andme, are generally not protected by the Act on the portability and accountability of medical insurance (Hipaa).

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“Considering the lack of HIPAA protection, a patchwork of state regulations covering genetic privacy and uncertainty related to customer information in the case of transmitting the sale of company or clients data, we are afraid that this best -confidential information is threatened with a player,” representatives write.

23andme, which has decided to violate data For $ 30 million last 12 months, he applied for bankruptcy in Chapter 11 in March, and the co -founder and general director Anne Wojciki said he was resigning from the corporate’s private bidder.

(Tagstotransate) 23andme

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