DOJ suit against Apple cites Amazon, Microsoft failures | Microsoft’s bold move into consumer AI

The U.S. Justice Department’s landmark antitrust suit filed Thursday morning against Apple, which accuses the company of illegally maintaining an iPhone smartphone monopoly, reads at times like a technology history lesson as it cites the failures of Amazon’s Fire Phone and Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Above: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announces the Fire Phone in June 2014. Read more.

Microsoft unveiled new AI-powered Surface PCs, the latest move by the tech giant to make its Copilot AI tools a standard for businesses. Read more.

• Microsoft’s bold move into consumer AI: S. “Soma” Somasegar, managing director at Madrona and a former Microsoft exec, offers his take on the implications of Microsoft’s decision to hire the co-founders of Inflection.ai.

Tech job market remains in flux: It’s not easy landing a gig with ongoing layoffs and hiring slowdowns — even for longtime tech leaders with decades of experience. Read more.

New pollution standards announced by the Biden administration will help both the U.S. and Washington state get closer to their goals of shifting away from gas-powered vehicles. Read more.

Drone technology could help spray away graffiti in Washington state as part of a pilot program approved by lawmakers. Read more.

• In other drone news, Seattle-based Brinc is offering a new software platform called “LiveOps” to public safety agencies to help manage and monitor drone fleets with live streaming, real-time maps, communications, and evidence storage. Read more.

Hot Links:

• Chinese e-commerce giants Temu and Shein have replaced Walmart and Target as Amazon’s key competitors. (Wall Street Journal)

• Reddit shares surged in its public debut on Thursday, but one Seattle investor is wary of the social media giant's big valuation. (CNBC; LinkedIn)

• Growing up rich: Steve Ballmer’s son Pete Ballmer, a stand-up comic in San Francisco, discusses how he spends money and why he downplayed his family’s wealth. (Business Insider)