Facebook is Building its Own Cryptocurrency-Based Payments System

Facebook is developing its own payment system based on cryptocurrency. The Wall Street Journal reported that the social network is bringing in finance firms and online merchants to support its efforts.

The effort, should it succeed, threatens to upend the traditional, lucrative plumbing of e-commerce and would likely be the most mainstream application yet of cryptocurrency. It comes as the social-media giant is under intense pressure from regulators, users and shareholders to address privacy shortcomings. At the heart of the initiative, under way for more than a year and code-named Project Libra, is a digital coin that its users could send to each other and use to make purchases both on Facebook and across the internet, according to people familiar with the matter.

Warren Buffett Pleased With Apple's Earning Report

Warren Buffett was pleased with Apple’s latest earnings report. He told CNBC that his company, Berkshire Hathaway, ‘haven’t changed our [Apple] holdings.” It holds around $50 billion worth of Apple stock.

“I was pleased with what they reported,” Buffett said, while noting he never makes investment decisions based on a single quarterly report. “What they talked about and reported is consistent with the reason we own $50 billion-plus of Apple.” Berkshire owned more than $40 billion worth of the tech giant as of end of last year, according to its 2018 annual letter. The conglomerate decreased its stake in Apple by nearly 3 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2018, but Buffett said at the time that the selling wasn’t under his direction.

Man Swallows AirPod - And It Still Worked

A man in Tawain recently fell asleep listening to his AirPods. When he awoke, he could on find one. The Daily Mail reported that the missing AirPod was found in his stomach…and it still worked.

Ben Hsu fell asleep with the pair of wireless headphones still in his ears but woke up unable to find one of them. Using an iPhone tracking feature he discovered the device was still in his room and heard its beeping sound following him around. He said: ‘I checked under my blanket and looked around but couldn’t find it – then I realized the sound was coming from my stomach.’ The Navy recruiter, from Taiwan’s south-western port city of Kaohsiung, said he did not feel any discomfort.

News+: Stories of Being the Neighborhood Tech Support

In CNET’s latest issue of its magazine, Dan Ackerman shares some stories from his days as the neighborhood tech guy. Warning: This is a PDF magazine, and the story starts on page 42.

It’s a big responsibility being the first responder for domestic technology emergencies, but most of us secretly relish knowing that our friends and neighbors think we’re so smart (especially when we usually just Google the answer, like they should have done in the first place).

This is part of Andrew’s News+ series, where he shares a magazine every Friday to help people discover good content in Apple News+.