Daily Tech Headlines – May 8, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – May 8, 2018 | |
| Number | 497 |
| Broadcast Date | MAY 8, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:37 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
Microsoft increases revenue options for app developers, Google Research rebrands to Google AI, Walmart ends its Uber and Lyft delivery partnerships.
Headlines
- Microsoft announced better terms for Windows developers selling apps in its Microsoft store, reducing its share of the revenue it collects from third-party Windows apps that aren't games. The new terms give developers 95% of sales, and 85% if Microsoft helps surface the app through Spotlight or as part of a collection. For game apps, Microsoft will still collect 30% of revenue for apps on a non-subscription basis and 15 per cent of subscription-based game apps. No word on exactly when these changes will go live.
- Google's Research department, which includes computer vision, healthcare and machine learning, is rebranding under the name “Google AI” which will include all all research.google.com channels and affiliated Twitter and Google+ channels.
- Twitter for Android's application package shows code for encrypted Direct Messages, or DMs. A “Secret conversation” option could help Twitter better compete with encrypted communication apps like Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp. APKs often contain code for unlaunched features that companies are testing before the features go live, though there's no guarantee they will. Of note, 18 months whistleblower Edward Snowden asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for an encrypted DM features, which Dorsey said was “reasonable and something we’ll think about.”
- Android appears to now be recognizing Amazon's voice assistant as a possible Google Assistant substitute the same way it does Microsoft’s Cortana. So you can set Alexa to be your default Assist app instead of Google Assistant. You'll need Amazon's Alexa app, then make the switch in Settings>Apps>Default apps>Assist & voice input. After a long-press on your home button, your new Amazon default assistant will fire up.
- Square is launching Square for Restaurants, a software platform for restaurant operations that handles booking tables and managing the after-meal check. Square acquired on-demand food-delivery business Caviar back in 2014 for a reported $90M, which is part of the new restaurant system. Square says its software has the ability to update menus and floor layouts remotely, with performance tracking, tip splitting and fraud protection as well. Square for Restaurants is the company's third point of-sale-offering, after launching Square for Retail and Square Appointments for service-based businesses.
- Sources tell Reuters that Walmart's online grocery delivery partnerships with Uber and Lyft have ended. As recently as March, Walmart said Uber would be a partner in its plans to deliver groceries to more than 40 percent of the country. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the news but didn't give details about the abrupt end, only that the company will use alternative delivery service providers in the four markets where it had previously used Uber. Walmart's partnership with Lyft was limited to Denver.
- The Wall Street Journal reports Xiaomi is dialing back its initial public offering target from a 100B valuation to 80-90B. Bloomberg previously reported the impending Hong Kong-based IPO. Sources say the lower IPO target is in part because Xiaomi makes 90% of its money from selling selling hardware, unlike China's top Internet companies Alibaba and Tencent.
- Nintendo's Nintendo Switch online subscription service which is due to roll out in September will offer "Save Data Cloud" backup. Cloud saves are available with Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus as well, along with Steam and others. Users will get access to a library of 20 NES games at launch, and Nintendo says more will be added "regularly." The service will be called "NES - Nintendo Switch Online," with launch titles including tSuper Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda.
- Equifax submitted a "statement for the record" to the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday with new details on the data breach the company first reported on September 7, 2017. Millions of driver's license numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses were also exposed in connection with names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Equifax now details that the stolen data did not come from a single, centralized database but from a collection of databases associated with Equifax's Web applications and payment systems.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – May 7, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – May 8, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – May 9, 2018" |