Daily Tech Headlines – September 27, 2016
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| Daily Tech Headlines – September 27, 2016 | |
| Number | 79 |
| Broadcast Date | SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 8:06 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
Google’s new operating system, Disney after Twitter, India gets data saving services from Google.
Headlines
- Android Police says it has confirmed independent sources saying Google is developing a 12.3-inch laptop running the combined Android ChromeOS "Andromeda" operating system. The laptop is called Bison or Pixel 3 internally and would include a fingerprint sensor and stylus support. Android police is confident that Andromeda is distinct from bringing Android apps to ChromeOS but instead an attempt to merge ChromeOS features into Android. The target release of the laptop is Q3 2017 for around $799 though anything could change. 9to5 Google's sources also confirm the laptop as well as a Huawei Nexus tablet that will run Andromeda and come out before the laptop.
- Bloomberg reports that Disney has engaged a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter. In August, Disney acquired a 33% stake in the streaming media company BAMTech, which powers Twitter's livestreaming efforts. Salesforce is reportedly working with Bank of America to consider a bid.
- Google announced a number of new products in India Tuesday. The YouTube Go app allows offline viewing along with options to control quality and download time. And downloads will now pause if connectivity is lost rather than fail. You can share videos over Bluetooth as well. No launch date was announced. The new Chrome for Android update will let users download webpages and some video and music for offline access. Google says Chrome's data saver feature is being improved and already saves 337TB of data every week in India. Google also announced that Allo and Google Assistant will support Hindi by the end of the year. And Google is expanding its free wifi in train stations. Google Station will expand to 100 locations beyond public transport buildings in partnership private companies like cafes and malls. Some of these may be monetized with ads or access fees.
- Lenovo confirmed layoffs in its Motorola Mobility division amounting to "less than two percent of its [Lenovo's] approximately 55,000 employees globally". Since August of last year, the company has laid off more than 700 employees from the division. Lenovo confirmed they are committed to keeping Motorola based out of Chicago.
- In the next major update to Windows 10, Microsoft will introduce Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge, which runs the Edge browser in a lightweight virtual machine. This will isolate sensative data and processes from the rest of the system, such as network credentials and password hashes. In Windows 10 Enterprise, Admins will be able to whitelist sites to not use virtualizaed instances. Application Guard will only be available for Edge initially, scheduled for general release sometime in 2017.
- Germany's Hamburg data protection agency ruled that WhatsApp sharing user data with Facebook constitutes "an infringement of national data protection law." Facebook is ordered to stop the practice and delete all data previously transferred from WhatsApp. The sharing announced in August allowed some user data including phone numbers to be shared with Facebook to deliver more targeted ads and friend suggestions as well as combat spam. Facebook said it will work with the Hamburg DPA to resolve the issue.
- The Philadelphia 76ers purchased pro e-sports competitor Dignitas and League of Legends team Apex. Dignitas has a roster of roughly 2 dozen gamers competing in Counter Strike, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, and Smite. As part of the deal Apex will merge into Dignitas.
- Apple has agreed to start selling Sonos speakers at its retail locations starting October 5th. Starting today the Play:1 and Play:5 will go on sale at Apple.com in the US Tuesday. International web sales will start in the coming weeks. Sonos purcahsers at Apple will get a three-month gift card for Apple Music.
- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) filed a lawsuit against YouTube-mp3.org, the first attempt by the music industry to prosecute stream ripping services. The suit, filed in California federal court, alleged that YouTube-mp3 accounts for "upwards of 40% of all unlawful stream ripping that takes place in the world." The complaint seeks a judgement for statutory damages and to prevent web hosts, domain-name registrars and other third parties from facilitating access to the site.
- Xiaomi announced the Mi 5S and 5S Plus featuring improved cameras. The 5.15-inch Mi 5S has a full HD display with a Snapdragon 821 processor, 3GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage or 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. It has a 12-megapixel camera on the back and a 4-megapixel camera on the front along with a 3200 mAh battery and fingerprint sensor. The 5S plus is 5.7 inches with a fast processor and pairing 4GB of RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB RAM with 128. It has a 3800mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and dual 13-megapixel rear cameras. The phones go on sale Thursday in China at Xiaomi.com and JD.com. Prices range from ￥1999 ($300) for the base 5S to ￥2599 ($389) for the top end 5S Plus.
- Spotify launched a new feature called Daily Mix that creates a “bottomless” playlist based on your music history. It mixes about 75% songs it knows you like with about 25% new songs it thinks you might. Users who are new and haven’t listened to anything won’t get a Daily Mix until they’ve been listening for about two weeks.
- Microsoft and Bank of America announced they are creating their own financial transaction service that uses blockchain technology and runs on Microsoft Azure. The companies hope to make transactions faster, cheaper, safer and more transparent.
- At the Paris Motor Show, mapping company Here announced the Open Location Platform, aimed at sharing sensor info between cars for better live traffic data. The system would use front facing cameras to read road signs, look for accidents, and road closures, while other sensors would feed speed, weather, and braking data. Here plans to launch the platform in the first half of 2017 using data from Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, who collectively own the mapping company, with plans to open the service to other manufacturers.
- Twitter has decided not to comply with an order from a court in Turkey to block an account for “instigating terrorism.” The account belongs to Washington DC-based Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov. Twitter notified Zeynalov of the request and noting the company may file a petition of objection.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – September 26, 2016" |
Daily Tech Headlines – September 27, 2016 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – September 28, 2016" |