Technology

Re/wind: Intel-Altera Is Really Happening, Pinterest’s Buy Button and More

Also: A mess of Google exec news and Chris Sacca sounds off on Twitter.

Jun 7, 2015, 5:30 PM UTC

Reuters / Pichi Chuang

In tech this week: Consolidation in the semiconductor industry, Pinterest’s major foray into e-commerce and more. Here’s what went down:

Intel is buying rival chipmaker Altera for around $17 billion, the third such multi-billion dollar deal among major chipmakers. The reason for all the consolidation? Investors looking for better margins.
On Tuesday, Pinterest launched its long-awaited “buy” button feature, a move first reported by Re/code in February. Also in the news: Pinterest’s head of advertising and media partnerships, Joanne Bradford, is leaving the company as part of a management reshuffle.*
Google has a new mobile ads chief, a former Google Glass team leader is moving on to other stuff and Sergey Brin offered a spirited defense of the company’s “moonshots” in an SEC filing. The company also made its first public comments on its antitrust mess in Europe (“We don’t always get it right”), and Re/code co-executive editor Walt Mossberg says Google’s new photo sharing and management service, Google Photos, is the best photo backup-and-sync service he’s ever tested.
Instagram is going to push more ads onto users’ feeds, and Facebook Messenger updated its location sharing tool in a way that suggests it integrate with third-party services like Uber. Ex-Facebook CFO David Ebersman is launching a startup focusing on mental health, and LGBTQ groups are protesting against Facebook again over its “authentic name” policy.
Ahead of WWDC on Monday, Apple’s smart home technology is trickling into the market and retailers remain skeptical of Apple Pay. Neither Apple TV hardware or software will be talked about next week, and you can check out this for a complete rundown of what to expect at WWDC. Also, if you need some company while watching the livestream, here’s what screenings are being organized.
Longtime Twitter investor Chris Sacca made public his unwelcome advice for the company, which includes buying companies in which Sacca has invested and urging the company to put more resources where they have executives who are friends with Chris Sacca.
Do you need a smartwatch? No. Well, not yet, anyway. The technology still has kinks to be worked out, including battery life and confusing software.
Marissa Mayer is rearranging the advertising deck chairs over at Yahoo, which is set to lead to the exit of executives Ned Brody and Peter Foster. The moves are a part of Lisa Utzschneider’s (a Yahoo hire from Amazon) plan to revive the company’s flagging ad sales.
In a filing, Ellen Pao made public her intent to appeal her loss in her gender discrimination lawsuit against venture capital leader Kleiner Perkins. A disclosure by Kleiner Perkins indicates she asked for $2.7 million from the firm to cover her legal fees.