Daily Tech Headlines – August 30, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – August 30, 2016 | |
| Number | 59 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 30, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 6:55 |
| Hosts | Rich Stroffolino |
Apple gets fined by the EC, voter records got hacked, and the FAA lays down the drone laws.
Headlines
- Early this morning EU antitrust regulators order Apple pay the Irish government 13 billion euros in taxes. The European Commission ruled that by routing profits through Ireland, Apple had engaged in illegal state aid. According to the EC, Apple paid a tax rate of 0.005 and 1 percent on European profits. Apple and the Irish government have already announced they will appeal the decision.
- Uber Technologies Inc disclosed that board member David Drummond stepped down from his position with the company. Drummond, the senior vice president of corporate development of Alphabet Inc, stepped down amid concerns over conflict of interest between the two companies self driving car ambitions. Drummond has been with Alphabet since 2002 and is the chairman of the company's investment efforts, including Google Ventures, which invested $250 million in Uber in 2013. He joined Uber's board in 2013. Uber does not currently have any plans to fill the board vacancy.
- FBI warns that hackers are targeting state election systems
- Hack Brief: As FBI Warns Election Sites Got Hacked, All Eyes Are on Russia
- A “flash” alert bulletin from the FBI’s Cyber Division disclosed evidence that foreign hackers penetrated the voter databases of Arizona and Illinois in recent weeks warning election officials to enhance computer security. The FBI bulletin listed eight separate IP addresses that were the sources of the two attacks noting that one of the IP addresses was used in both intrusions and used widely available penetration testing tools. The hackers obtained 200,000 voter records from the Illinois board of elections.
- The Federal Communications Commission has decided not to appeal a federal appeals court ruling allowing states to limit expansion of municipal broadband. The ruling from earlier this month overturned the FCC's argument that their Congressional mandate to promote local telecom competition allowed them to preempt state law. The cities of Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina have yet to determine if they will appeal the ruling.
- Fitbit announced updates to two of its fitness tracks, the Charge 2 and Flex 2. The Charge 2 features a 1.5-inch display, big enough to display the time as well as fitness stats at the same time. The Charge 2 also features interchangeable bands, can pair with a phone's GPS to track exercise routes, and uses its optical heart rate monitor to check estimated VO2 max. The Flex 2 is 30% thinner than its precursor, and can track swimming activities in up to 150 feet of water. The device also supports text and phone notifications. The Charge 2 and Flex 2 will be available in the fall for $150 and $99 respectively.
- The FAA’s rules on commercial-drones went into effect yesterday. Operators must keep their drones within visual line of sight at and fly only during the day. Twilight flying is permitted if the drone has anti-collision lights. No flights are allowed higher than 400 feet above the ground nor over people who are not directly participating. Maximum speed is 100 mph and drones can carry packages as long as the combined weight of the drone and the load is less than 55 pounds. Waivers are available for those who need to fly outside of those restrictions.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit originally brought by the Federal Trade Commission in 2014 against AT&T. The suit centered around AT&T's throttling of customers who paid for unlimited data plans after exceeding certain data thresholds. The court agreed with AT&T's argument that the FTC did not have jurisdiction as the company was regarded as a common carrier. The FTC has not determined if they will appeal the ruling.
- The BBC passes along a report from Iranian state media that the country has completed its first phase of its planned "national internet", originally announced in 2010. The government said the goal of the project was to create isolated domestic intranet that can be used to promote Islamic content and raise digital awareness among the public. Communications and information technology minister Mahmoud Vaezi stated the new network will replace the previous system of filters and blocks on the Internet at large, and provide greater cybersecurity for the country. The first phase provides access to government services and domestic webpages. The government plans to add domestic video content by February 2017.
- After a year in isolation near a barren volcano in Hawaii, 6 volunteers emerged from an experiment to simulate potential living conditions on Mars. The NASA-funded Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation subjected the participants to limited resources and delayed communications to test the physical and psychological impacts of isolation. There are two more scheduled simulated missions, beginning in January 2017.
- Sony launched a crowdfunding campaign on its First Flight website for the FES Watch U, the companies second e-paper watch. The device features e-ink displays on both the face and wristband, and users can customize both. Sony estimates battery life at 3-weeks on a charge. Device is available for ¥44,710 yen, assuming Sony meets its 20 million yen goal by October 7th. Units are scheduled to ship in April 2017.
- Google opened up registration for its inaugural Google Play Indie Games Festival. The event will be held on September 24th in San Francisco, and highlight 30 games, half of which have not yet been released to the public. The event is free, and attendees will get to play the unreleased titles, as well as voting for their favorites. Google plans to schedule similar events in other regions.
- In unsurprising news, Apple sent out invitations for a September 7th event, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco at 10 a.m. Pacific. It is presumed the successor to the iPhone 6S will be announced at the event.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – August 29, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – August 30, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – August 31, 2016" |