Daily Tech Headlines – February 20, 2018
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Daily Tech Headlines – February 20, 2018 | |
| Number | 442 |
| Broadcast Date | FEBRUARY 20, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:04 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
Nuance ends Swype keyboard development, Elon Musk’s Boring Project gets new approval in Washington DC, and is Spotify making its own speaker?
Headlines
- Android Pay is now Google Pay for Android. The app update is now rolling out and has a redesign and some new functionality, such as the home screen which now shows you relevant stores around you where you can pay with Google Pay based on your location and previous stores where you used the service.
- Qualcomm raised its offer to buy NXP Semiconductors to $127.50 per share. This will force Broadcom, which is trying to buy Qualcomm, to reassess a stipulation in its $121 billion bid for Qualcomm that the company not raise its previous $110 a share offer for NXP. A shareholder vote is set for March 6.
- The lawsuits are a'comin - Intel now faces 32 class action lawsuits over Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities and how Intel handled the situation. The suits claim that consumers were "harmed by Intel's actions and/or omissions in connection with the security vulnerabilities."
- Two companies that track online disinformation, New Knowledge and The Alliance for Securing Democracy, claim that Twitter account bots that may have links to Russia began tweeting about the Parkland school shooting shortly after the tragedy in an effort to spark debate on divisive issues in the US. Federal and congressional investigations are looking at Russia's role in influencing the U.S. presidential election in 2016 and the role social media played.
- RIP Swype Keyboard. Nuance Communications which bought Swype for 100M in 2011, has confirmed Swype is no longer in development for Android or iOS. In response to a user on Reddit who emailed Swype developers about a bug on Android, the company said it would instead concentrate on developing AI solutions for sale directly to businesses.
- Elon Musk’s Boring Project got government approval for its plans to build an underground hyperloop between New York and Washington, DC. According to a report in the Washington Post, the Department of Transportation issued a preliminary permit last week to the Boring Company to start digging at an abandoned lot in the northeast section of DC, though details on the project scale are scarce. Last summer, Musk tweeted that he’d received “verbal [government] approval” to build a hyperloop connecting New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. The company is also seeking approval for a proposal to dig a 6.5-mile “proof-of-concept” tunnel underneath Los Angeles.
- Recycling innovator Eric Lundgren was convicted of conspiracy and copyright infringement against Microsoft by manufacturing 28,000 Windows OS counterfeit discs back in 2013, which gave him a 15-month prison sentence and a $50,000 fine. Now a federal appeals court has granted an emergency stay of the sentence. Lundgren does not deny that he made the discs, or hoped to sell them, but he does say it was merely to extend the life of secondhand computers. His appeal is pending before the 11th Circuit.
- In speaker rumors: Musically reports that Spotify may be working on a hardware product, based on a recruitment ad on Spotify’s website seeking an “Operations Manager — Hardware Product,” which would “define and manage Distribution, Supply, Logistics, fulfillment and Customer Service for Hardware Product.” Spotify doesn’t have its own virtual assistant but could potentially work with both Amazon and Google as a 3rd party to compete with Apple’s HomePod.
Links
| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – February 19, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – February 20, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – February 21, 2018" |