Microsoft on Tuesday reported earnings that narrowly topped analysts' expectations, even as results were hurt by a strong dollar amid strong cloud sales, However, it warned it saw a slowdown in PC sales and ad spending in September that it expects to persist through the current quarter.
Why it matters: Microsoft offers a look into a wide swath of the economy, with its Xbox unit tied to consumer spending, Azure cloud and Office linked to business spending and its Bing business providing insight into online ad spending.
Google's parent Alphabet reported earnings that missed expectations in its quarterly report Tuesday, though touted growth in its search and cloud businesses.
While many people in California felt a moderate earthquake Tuesday, some smartphone users actually got a heads-up before it happened thanks to technology developed at the University of California, Berkeley.
Why it matters: Android warned users just a few seconds before the quake, but experts hope the technology will eventually give people enough time to find shelter or to duck and cover.
Two weeks out from Election Day, U.S. officials are staring down a complex map of election security concerns that go beyond the now-expected foreign hack-and-leak operations.
The big picture: Heading into this year's election, a web of domestic and foreign disinformation campaigns, physical threats to poll workers, and 2020 election deniers running for political office are complicating election security officials' jobs.
Poynter's digital literacy project MediaWise is broadening its training to battle online misinformation in Spanish.
Why it matters: Per a Nielsen report last year, Latinos spend more time than other groups on most social media apps and messaging, where poorly sourced information can go viral and Spanish-language misinformation often sits unchallenged.
Pressure is growing for the U.S. to develop a plan to quickly build internet lifelines for people living in conflict zones or under repressive regimes.
Why it matters: The absence of a strategy has led to a reliance on the ad hoc goodwill of private companies, such as Elon Musk's donation of Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine.
A majority of people surveyed by creator economy company Patreon say they feel "screwed" by large tech platforms and their algorithms, per a new survey shared exclusively with Axios.
Driving the news: In Patreon's survey of more than 1,500 creators (some of whom do not use Patreon), 70% say they feel social media platforms put them at a disadvantage, but 60% say they are reliant on those platforms to showcase their work.
