Daily Tech Headlines – March 7, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – March 7, 2018 | |
| Number | 453 |
| Broadcast Date | MARCH 7, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 3:42 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
Amazon announces lower-cost Prime memberships for Medicaid recipients, Microsoft will repackage Windows 10 S into a mode on Windows 10, US foreign investment panel calls for investigation into Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm.
Headlines
- Amazon announced it'll offer a low-cost version of its Prime membership program to qualifying recipients of Medicaid for $5.99 per month. Amazon first started offering discounted Prime service for customers on government assistance in June 2017, including U.S. customers with a valid EBT card.
- Security researcher Troy Mursch from Bad Packets Reports has identified 48,953 WordPress sites that have been infected with crypto-jacking scripts that allow hackers to secretly use a browser's CPU power to mine crypto. Coinhive was found to be the most widespread malware with 81% of all recorded cases. The remaining 19% are spread between various Coinhive alternatives, such as Crypto-Loot, CoinImp, Minr and deepMiner.
- Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore confirmed on Twitter that the company will move Windows 10 S from a dedicated operating system to a special “S Mode” for versions of Windows 10 next year. The new S Mode will lock down any copy of Windows 10 so it can only run apps from the Microsoft Store. Rumors suggest the company is planning a new “S Mode” for Windows 10 Home, Enterprise, and Pro versions of the operating system. Windows 10 Pro customers with S Mode enabled on their device will have to pay $49 to get access to a full version of Windows 10 Pro.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a government panel that reviews mergers that could result in a foreign company controlling an American business, has called for an investigation of Broadcom's proposed acquisition of Qualcomm, saying the hostile takeover bid could threaten US national security and weaken Qualcomm's technological leadership. Broadcom announced an unsolicited bid of $130 billion for Qualcomm back in November.
- Apple has confirmed to The Verge it will stop taking new iTunes LP submissions from music producers. The format was launched in 2009 for users to buy albums with bundled elements, like videos and bonus tracks. Existing iTunes LPs will continue to be available, and users will still be able to download any previous or new purchases of iTunes LPs at any time via iTunes.
- Consumers spent more money on games consoles and related services last year than at any time since 2011, according to a report from iHS Markit. In 2017, $41 billion was spent on hardware, games content and services, an 18% year-on-year rise. Game hardware sales were up 33% in 2017 following the launch of the Nintendo Switch, Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro at the end of 2016, and Microsoft's Xbox One X.
- BlackBerry is suing Facebook for patent infringement over its messaging features in WhatsApp and Instagram. BlackBerry claims it tried for years to reach an out of court agreement. BlackBerry is also suing Nokia over wireless communication tech and has settled suits with Qualcomm and Blu Products.
- Microsoft is changing Cortana! Slightly. You can now activate the digital assistant with the command “Cortana” along with “Hey Cortana” command. The change is currently live in the Invoke speaker but has yet to update on iOS, Android, or Windows 10.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – March 6, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – March 7, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – March 8, 2018" |