Daily Tech Headlines – January 16, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – January 16, 2018 | |
| Number | 417 |
| Broadcast Date | JANUARY 16, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 3:29 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Google undersea cables, Facebook news test, free satellite Internet.
Headlines
- Google said Tuesday it's adding five regions and will commission three new submarine cables in 2019 for cloud infrastructure. The Netherlands and Montreal regions will open this quarter followed by Los Angeles, Finland and Hong Kong. The undersea cables will connect Chile to Los Angeles, the US to Denmark and Ireland and Hong Kong to Guam. Google has direct investment in 11 cables.
- Myce.com reports that Google Cast devices like Chromecast can temporarily interfere with multiple routers. TP-Link and Linksys have confirmed the issue. Recent Android updates cause devices to flood the network with packets looking for cast devices when they come out of sleep mode. Linksys and TP-Link have issued firmware updates to address the problem. Google is also working to address the issue.
- IBM and shipping company Maersk are partnering on a new company to commercialize blockchain technology. The idea is to help stakeholders in supply chains track freight and replace paperwork with tamper-proof digital records. Tests have been conducted with Dupont, Dow Chemical, Swiss food processor Tetra Pak, and various ports and customs offices. Maersk will own 51% of the company which is building on IBM's Hyperledger Fabric.
- Congressional aides told Reuters that US lawmakers are urging AT&T to cut commercial ties with China's Huawei and oppose plans for China Mobile to enter the US market. AT&T abandoned plans to carry Huawei's latest handset earlier this month.
- Democrats have convinced Republican US Senator Susan Collins to support a resolution to reinstate the Open Internet guidelines which the FCC recently voted to change. Collins vote gives them 50 in the 100-member Senate meaning they would need one more to pass the resolution. The resolution would also need to pass the House and be signed by the President both of which are unlikely.
- Evan Blass posted on Twitter that according to a C-level executive at a major casemaker, the Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9+ will launch 2/26 with Pre-orders starting March 1st and Shipping beginning March 16. Samsung is expected to make an official announcement at Mobile World Congress which begins February 26.
- Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 8.1 on January 9 and the last path to a free upgrade to Windows 10 ended Tuesday January 16th. This last path was meant for users of assistive technology.
- The New York Times reports that Facebook's test of separating News from user posts caused a fake news story to spread in Slovakia, one of the test markets of the new approach. Slovakian police issued a statement rejecting the story, but that statement did not appear in users' news feeds because of the new separation.
- Quika, a company led by satellite provider Talia is launching free satellite Internet service in Afghanistan, Iraq and much of Africa starting in Q2, with more countries to follow. The low-latency Ka-band data will be supported by paid services for corporate customers.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – January 15, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – January 16, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – January 17, 2018" |