Re/code
Now the “pre-revenue” company is ready to start making money. Discord just announced plans to start selling games to its millions of registered users. Games will be sold in two ways, Recode writes. “Users who pay $5 a month for premium Discord features will get access to an ‘all-you-can-eat buffet’ of games, or they will be able to buy games à la carte.”
Variety
Select Samsung Android phones are now supporting videogame sensation ‘Fortnite,’ Variety reports. Yet, “Other Android phone owners will have to wait until later this month to download and play the battle royale game on their devices,” it writes, citing comments from Epic Games president Tim Sweeney.
Venture Beat
Apple says 75 health institutions are now supporting iOS Health Records -- its initiative to make medical records mobile and more easily sharable. “Apple opted to support an open health data-sharing standard called Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) that notably won’t be final until the end of this year,” Venture Beat notes.
Variety
Roku reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, and revealed that it is on the verge of profitability. “During the quarter that ended on June 30, Roku generated revenue of $156.8 million, compared to $99.6 million during the same quarter last year,” Variety writes. “Net losses came in at $0.1 million compared to $13.38 million a year ago … This translates to losses of $0.0 per share.”
9To5Google
Facebook debuted two AR games in Messenger this week, and more are on the way. Putting the launch in context, 9To5Mac notes: “Three months ago Snapchat launched a new social AR gaming feature called Snappables -- multiplayer games that can be controlled with facial expressions.”
The Verge
Early reviews of Magic Leap’s debut augmented-reality headset are less than magical. “It still seems a long way from realizing the promise of the medium -- and it hasn’t shown that it can bridge that gap,” The Verge writes. That said, “Whether or not it’s cooler than most people think, the Magic Leap One is cooler than the vast majority of mixed reality in 2018.”
Engadget
Mozilla is testing Advance, a new Firefox feature that recommends stories based on users’ current page and recent Web history. “The extension uses machine learning technology from Laserlike to identify common traits in the trusted sites you visit and offer new pieces in a sidebar,” Engadget writes. “If you’ve been reading many football articles, for instance, Firefox may suggest a piece about a recent player trade.&rdquo
CNBC
The Chinese government is threatening to use Apple as a bargaining chip in its trade war with the Trump administration, CNBC writes, citing a state-backed news publisher. “The opinion piece highlights how Apple made $9.6 billion in revenues in China in the June quarter, which helped the U.S. giant to recently hit a $1 trillion valuation,” CNBC writes. “But the continuing trade war between the U.S. and China could leave Apple and other U.S. firms vulnerable as ‘bargaining chips’ for Beijing, according to the article.”
Nieman Lab
Roughly two months after GDPR took effect, more than 1,000 U.S. news sites and approximately a third of the top newspaper publishers are not yet available in Europe, Nieman Lab calculates. That’s despite the fact that they’re still not in compliance with the ruled despite being given two years to prepare for them, Nieman Lab writes.
CNN.com
The age of mobile voting appears to be upon us. “West Virginians serving overseas will be the first in the country to cast federal election ballots using a smartphone app,” CNN writes. “But election integrity and computer security experts expressed alarm at the prospect of voting by phone, and one went so far as to call it ‘a horrific idea.’”