Daily Tech Snippet: Tuesday, November 24

• The U.S releases draft regulations for drones: Proposed Regulations for Drones Are Released in the US: On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration, scurrying to prepare for hundreds of thousands of more drones flying into the air, released a list of recommendations for how to better monitor recreational use of the machines. Under the proposal, most drone owners would have to register the machines with the federal government, which would place the information in a national database, the first such requirements. The recommendations, from a task force created by the agency, would be the biggest step yet by the government to deal with the proliferation of recreational drones, which are usually used for harmless purposes but have also been tools for mischief and serious wrongdoing, and pose a risk to airborne jets. The F.A.A. is widely expected to approve the bulk of the recommendations in the next month, just in time for Christmas. On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration, scurrying to prepare for hundreds of thousands of more drones flying into the air, released a list of recommendations for how to better monitor recreational use of the machines. Under the proposal, most drone owners would have to register the machines with the federal government, which would place the information in a national database, the first such requirements. The recommendations, from a task force created by the agency, would be the biggest step yet by the government to deal with the proliferation of recreational drones, which are usually used for harmless purposes but have also been tools for mischief and serious wrongdoing, and pose a risk to airborne jets. The F.A.A. is widely expected to approve the bulk of the recommendations in the next month, just in time for Christmas. The government already has rules that limit the use of drones for commercial purposes, like delivering packages. But attention has turned to recreational use more recently, as drones, many of them the size of a laptop computer, have emerged as a must-have item for thousands of people. The Consumer Technology Association, a trade group, has estimated that 400,000 drones will be sold this holiday season in the United States.

• Deliveroo, an On-Demand Food Delivery Service, Raises $100 Million: On Monday, Deliveroo, an on-demand food delivery service based in London, announced that it had raised $100 million from investors, including DST Global, an early backer of Facebook, to help push the service into new markets, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. In total, the start-up has now raised roughly $200 million since its creation in 2012. Just about four months ago, Deliveroo raised $70 million to expand beyond its British roots. The company provides a one-size-fits-all offering for nontech savvy restaurants that includes food packaging, delivery drivers and other support so individuals can order the restaurants’ food through smartphones. As part of the new fund raising, Deliveroo expects to branch out into highly populated cities across Asia, including Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Shu said there were no plans in the short term to offer the service in the United States, though the start-up now operates in 50 cities in 12 countries, primarily in Europe. While online food delivery companies like GrubHub and Just Eat, its European counterpart, have allowed people to order food through smartphones for years, a new generation of start-ups like Deliveroo are trying to extend that offering to restaurants that do not have their own delivery logistics. That group includes Delivery Hero, based in Berlin, which also offers a fleet of drivers and other logistical support to restaurants looking to expand into online orders. Delivery Hero is valued at $3.1 billion and operates across Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Other tech companies, including Uber, the ride-booking service, now offer similar products. Yet for Mr. Shu of Deliveroo, these rivals are only a small fraction of his overall competition, which also includes people cooking for themselves at home and traditional restaurants.

• Amazon Makes Holiday Shopping Season Tough for Target and Walmart: Neither Target nor Walmart needed a reminder about the distance between their online businesses and Amazon’s. Their third-quarter sales numbers provided it anyway. Walmart’s online sales grew just 10 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 15 percent industry average, while Target’s grew 20 percent, well below the company’s stated goal of 30 percent, the companies announced last week. These numbers might not spell all-out trouble if it weren’t for Amazon’s performance during the same period: The company’s electronics and general merchandise business — basically the core of its retail operation — grew 35 percent in North America in the quarter, marking the segment’s highest growth rate in several years. The third-quarter headwinds of the traditional retailers coupled with Amazon’s momentum makes this e-commerce holiday season an even more critical one for Walmart and Target. It doesn’t help that Amazon’s huge logistics investments over the last few years mean it can flex its muscles the most during the holiday with its arsenal of express shipping capabilities when customers are often looking for last-minute gifts. If Walmart and Target going to close the gap, now has to be the time. But history isn’t on their side.