Daily Tech Headlines – September 21, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – September 21, 2016 | |
| Number | 75 |
| Broadcast Date | SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 9:23 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Google backtracks on Allo privacy, AT&T announces multi gig wireless project, Apple looks into buying McLaren Automotive.
Headlines
- Google released it's new messaging App Allo for iOS and Android. It includes the Google Assistant which can help you find restaurants, get information about trips and more. End to end encryption is available in the app but only if you use the incognito mode for your conversation. When Google announced Allo it said that no Allo conversation would be logged or stored. However in the release version all non-incognito messages will be stored by default unless a user deletes them. The Verge reports Google made the change to improve Google Assistant's smart replies feature which generates suggested responses for you.
- IHS Market estimates the materials and manufacturing costs for the iPhone 7 at $224.80 up 18% from the 6S. The base price of the iPhone 7 is $649, the same as the 6S was at launch. Apple added a new display, home button, processor and camera plus water resistance, a haptic motor and a larger battery. By comparison IHS estimates Samsung's Galaxy S7 costs about $265 to make.
- Tuesday, AT&T revealed details of Project AirGig which aims to deliver low-cost multi-gigabit wireless Internet. The project would install plastic antennas on existing power lines, creating an electromagnetic field to guide signals. AT&T Labs hopes to launch field trials sometime next year and followup within the year with limited rollouts in select countries, targeting rural and other underserved areas.
- AT&T's Randall Stephenson announced the company's DirecTV Now service will launch before the end of the year. DirecTV Now will provide more than 100 premium cable TV channels over the Internet in the US. The service will allow two streams per household with more streams possibly available for purchase. AT&T may also bundle with wireless or broadband Internet service. No other details were given. Stephenson says the company is 90% done with deals for content.
- The European Commission has revised its proposal to end roaming charges there. Previously the proposal ended roaming charges for Europeans within the EU for up to 90 days a year. The 90-day limit has been removed with a more loose provision against abuse and requiring people to use SIM cards from countries where they live or have "stable links." Carriers can also ask for an exemption from the rules if they can show it hurts their business is suffering losses because of it. The proposal now heads to the European Parliament.
- Apple made macOS Sierra available for general download Tuesday. The big addition is Siri for the desktop available as an app for your dock and menu bar. It also lets you sync your Desktop and Documents folders with iCloud, optimize storage using iCloud, use Apple Pay on the web, get tabs in more apps, and picture-in-picture in Safari, PLUS real-time collaboration in iWork apps. You can also unlock your Mac with an Apple Watch. And those of you frustrated by the lack of stickers in iMessage on the desktop will be frustrated no more! Though you can only view them not send them.
- The Financial Times reports Apple approached automaker McLaren to discuss an acquisition or strategic investment. McLaren is best known for Formula One racing but also makes road cars including its P1 hybrid. It also supplies parts to carmakers and racing teams.
- Verizon and Sprint have started selling new safe Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. AT&T and T-Mobile both say they will begin selling the new versions of the Note 7 Wednesday as well. Samsung said Tuesday it had provided 500,000 Note 7s to US retailers for people who already purchased one with a defective battery. Samsung committed to have all replacement models shipped to stores by the end of September. The company stated that 25% of Note 7 owners have already exchanged the recalled units.
- The Nashville Metro Council in the US state of Tennessee gave approval to an ordinance that would allow companies to move equipment on utility poles to install their own equipment. Google Fiber had pushed for the ordinance in order to avoid delays. Previously Google would have had to wait for the owner of each piece of equipment to send their own personnel to move it to make way for the install. AT&T is suing the city of Louisville, Kentucky over a similar ordinance also pushed for by Google Fiber.
- Tesla rolled out a security update to its Model S sedan after security researchers at Tencent in China demonstrated remote access to the car. The hack could access the brakes on a moving Model S, open the trunk, and activate the windshield wipers. It required the car in question to have a browser active and be connected to a compromised WiFi hotspot. Tesla sent out the over-the-air security patch within 10 days of the exploit being disclosed to them.
- Tesla also released Version 8 of Autopilot Tuesday night which includes a major change to how object detection works. Radar will help camera sensors detect objects. The new system might have avoided the crash that killed Josh Brown on May 7th.
- Finland's court of appeal ordered two Uber drivers Wednesday to give up earnings of 12,250 and 2,800 euros for not having a valid taxi license. Uber is legal in Finland as long as all Uber drivers hold such a license. The government has presented a bill to remove annual permit quotas and fare restrictions to speed up the process of issuing licenses.
- Netflix CFO David Wells told an audience at the Goldman Sachs conference Tuesday that Netflix is on track for half its content offering to be made up of Netflix originals within the next few years. Wells said not every show needs to be a home run either saying they can live with singles and doubles. This is a baseball metaphor which means not every show has to be a huge hit. Wells also said of customers who cancel Netflix, between 33% and 50% eventually return to subscribe to the service.
- Twitter has reached a partnership with Bloomberg to stream all three US Presidential debates in the same way it streams Thursday Night Football. The two companies will share revenue from ads delivered in the pre and postshows. The first debate is slated for 9 pm ET next Monday at Hofstra University in New York.
- Pokemon Co.'s CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara announced the company plans to make Pokemon games for Nintendo's forthcoming NX console system. He did not disclose if new titles would be ready for the systems planned March 2017 release. Mr. Ishihara also said he hopes to expand Pokemon Go to both China and South Korea, but stated the limited availability of Google Maps in the two countries would need to be addressed before any launch.
- ProPublica published a report showing that Amazon does not always show the cheapest price when a customer searches for an item. The authors, Julia Angwin and Surya Mattu, looked at 250 popular items over several weeks, and found that almost 75% of the time, Amazon listed its own product or an Amazon-affliate as the "Buy Now" default. The study also found Amazon did not list shipping costs for its own products in a price comparison listing that included shipping costs for other vendors.
- Adobe announced it earned $0.75 per share in Q3 with revenue of $1.46 billion. Analysts had expected earnings per share of $0.72 and revenue of $1.45 billion. Adobe set record quarterly revenue for the third consecutive quarter. While the company has stopped disclosing raw subscriber numbers to its Creative Cloud service, the digital media business, which lumps together Creative Cloud and Document Cloud, ended the quarter with $3.7 billion in annualized recurring revenue, up 8.5% from Q2.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – September 20, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – September 21, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – September 22, 2016" |