Daily Tech Headlines – July 14, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – July 14, 2016 | |
| Number | 26 |
| Broadcast Date | JULY 14, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 8:41 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Google gets a third European antitrust investigation, Microsoft wins case over Irish data, and Nest launches an outdoor camera.
Headlines
- The European Commission announced a preliminary decision that Google breached EU antitrust rules by requiring some large partners to use AdSense exclusively between 2006 and 2009. Exclusivity was gradually replaced after 2009 with requirements for premium placement/minimum ads and the right for Google to authorize competing ads. Google has 10 weeks to respond. The Commission is also issuing a supplementary statement regarding charges that Google broke antitrust rules by placing its own comparison shopping search results above those of others. The EC dismissed Google's contention that sites like Amazon and Ebay should be considered competitors. The EC considers these merchant sites separate from comparison shopping services. Google has 8 weeks to respond to this new statement. And finally Google has been given extra time until this autumn to respond to antitrust charges against Android.
- The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversed a lower court decision, ruling that Microsoft does not need to comply with a US government search warrant asking for contents of an email account stored on an Irish server. Circuit Judge Susan Carney said warrants issued under the federal Stored Communications Act reach only data stored within the United States.
- Nest launched an outdoor security camera called the Nest Cam Outdoor. Similar to the Nest Cam Indoor, it has 30fps 1080p video and 103-degree field of view, with 8 infrared LEDs for night vision. It also has a speaker and microphone for two-way communication and comes in an IP65 rated weatherproof box. It has a magnet for easy installation. It connects by WiFi and a screw-in 25-foot power cord which secures the camera. If you pay for Nest Aware service the camera can alert you when it sees a person. You can pre-order now for $199 with shipping sometime in the Autumn. And for you old school DropCam Pro users, the camera finally supports 1080p video.
- Nintendo announced the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic. The mini-NES will have 30 classic games pre-installed, including Final Fantasy, Excitebike, Techmobowl, and Super Mario Brothers. The unit will also come with a replica controller, which can be connected to a Wiimote for use with the Wii's Virtual Console. The mini-NES arrives on November 11th for $59.99.
- The 5.5-inch Alcatel Idol 4s, which received Android Authorities Best of Mobile World Congress award, will launch August 3rd for $399.99. It comes with a fingerprint sensor, VR goggles, JBL headphones and a case. Those who pre-order starting July 15th will get a $50 discount.
- Razer announced a mechanical keyboard case for the iPad Pro. Its Ultra-Low-Profile Mechanical switch takes 70 grams of force per key, which TechCrunch's Stefan Etienne points out is close to a normal keyboard. It has a metal kickstand, detachable polycarbonate case, Bluetooth connectivity and 10 hour battery life at maximum brightness, 600 hours with backlighting off. The Razer Mechanical Keyboard Case is available worldwide for $169.
- Twitch is launching a closed beta of its new HTML5 based player meant to replace Flash. Select users will see it at first and more users will get it over the course of the summer.
- Messaging app Line issued its stock on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday at $32.84 raising $723 million. It jumped after the open of the market by as much as 36%. Line will list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday. Parent company Naver still owns 80.8% of Line after the offerings.
- Pokémon Go arrived in its fifth market, the UK on Thursday. The popular game is available in the iOS app store and Google Play store.
- Amazon Web Services acquired Cloud9, a San Francisco startup that offers an Integrated Development Environment for Web and mobile developers to collaborate. Cloud9 supports around 40 different programming languages and can test code across around 300 combinations of browsers and OS. TechCrunch notes it includes Soundcloud, Atlassian and Salesforce among its clients. Cloud9 will continue to offer its own services while building new tools for AWS.
- The US Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to approve a plan to prepare the US market for 5G wireless service. The FCC will conduct auctions for rights to use spectrum for the faster service. 5G service is expected to go live by 2020.
- The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in Samsung Electronics vs. Apple on October 11th. At issue is how damage awards should be applied in patent cases, not the patents themselves. The court will consider wether an award should be based on the infringer’s profits from the entire device or only those profits attributable to the patented component. Apple won the case that started in 2011 that Samsung had infringed on designs used in the iPhone.
- Reuters reports a congressional report released Wednesday reveals employees of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation covered up network intrusions in 2010, 2011 and 2013. A 2013 FDIC memo accused China as responsible for the intrusions but no evidence supports the claim. The memo also could not determine exactly what files had been accessed. Witnesses cited in the Congressional report say the FDIC's technology division head Russ Pittman instructed them not to disclose information about the intrusions so as not to effect the confirmation of FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg. Gruenberg is scheduled to testify on Thursday before the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
- Google's Android Pay launched Thursday in Australia. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is among the 28 financial institutions signed up. Westpac is not yet among them.
- Microsoft will roll back the amount of free OneDrive storage to 5GB on July 27th. Microsoft announced this rollback earlier this year, and provided users with the opportunity to opt-out of the change in January.
- C-SPAN will stream its coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions on Facebook Live. 21 other media organizations, including CNN, Yahoo!, Fox News, The New York Times and local stations, will use a studio called the "Facebook Lounge" for live broadcasts. While Facebook has reportedly paid more than $50 million for publishers and celebrities to use Live, none of the media partners will receive payment for the use of Live or the Facebook Lounge at the conventions.
- At a press conference, Ireland's Minister of Finance, Michael Noonan, told reporters that he expects a ruling on an investigation into Apple's tax shelters in Ireland by early October. Noonan met with the European Commission's anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager on Tuesday to discuss the investigation. If Apple loses the ruling, it could be forced to pay substantial back taxes. Apple and Ireland reject the accusation.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – July 13, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – July 14, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – July 15, 2016" |