Daily Tech Headlines – March 13, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – March 13, 2018 | |
| Number | 457 |
| Broadcast Date | MARCH 13, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:29 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
President Trump blocks Broadcom’s proposed Qualcomm acquisition, security researchers reveal 13 alleged flaws in AMD Ryzen and EPYC chips, two new Fitbit watches available for preorder.
Headlines
- The White House issued a statement Monday that President Trump has nixed Broadcom's proposed buyout of Qualcomm, citing national security concerns. Both companies were ordered to immediately abandon the proposed deal. The order also prohibits all 15 of Broadcom's proposed candidates for Qualcomm's board from standing for election. This development follows The U.S. Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States expressing concerns about the transaction in a March 5 letter addressed to Broadcom and Qualcomm lawyers.
- Fitbit announced new wearables: the Fitbit Versa and the Ace, both available for preorder today. The Versa runs the upcoming Fitbit OS 2.0 and starts at $200. The Fitbit Ace is the company’s first wearable for kids and will hit retail stores in Q2 2018 for $100.
- Axios reports Facebook is getting ready to launch a news section for its Watch - as in, watch video - platform and sources say the company's testing different video partnerships with around 10 publishers. Campbell Brown, Head of News Partnerships for Facebook, said in a statement to Axios that “Timely news video is the latest step in our strategy to make targeted investments in new types of programming on Facebook Watch... As part of our broader effort to support quality news on Facebook, we plan to meet with a wide-range of potential partners to develop, learn and innovate on news programming tailored to succeed in a social environment."
- MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe is walking back comments he made last week that "we watch how you drive home." In an interview with Variety, Lowe said "I said something completely inaccurate as far as what we are doing...We only locate customers when they use the app." Lowe also posted an apology to MoviePass customers on the company's website, along with an updated privacy FAQ.
- CTS-Labs, a security company based in Israel, said Tuesday its researchers found 13 critical security vulnerabilities that would let attackers access data stored on AMD's Ryzen and EPYC processors, and be able to install malware on them. AMD's Ryzen chips power desktop and laptop computers, while EPYC processors are found in servers. The researchers gave AMD less than 24 hours to respond before publishing the report, even though standard vulnerability disclosure calls for 90 days notice, so companies have time to address flaws. When Spectre and Meltdown security flaws that affect Intel chips were announced in January, AMD said it was not affected because of its chip architecture differences.
- Kitty Hawk, the flying taxi company funded by Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO-ed by Google X founding director Sebastian Thrun, launched ‘Cora’, a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) personal copter drone hybrid that will carry a passenger. Cora will be launched in New Zealand, which is ideal given its sparse population and fewer flight restrictions. Cora has a 36′ wingspan with 12 rotors and is battery powered. It can fly up to 62 miles and carry one or two passengers.
- The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the TSA in an effort to extract more info about its procedures and motivations. The ACLU wants to know why the TSA launched stricter screening procedures for domestic passengers' electronic devices last year, how the TSA records its findings, and what the equipment the TSA uses to search phones and laptops and what kind of training the officers who conduct electronic searches get. This is the second FOIA the ACLU filed, its first attempt was in December 2017.
- YouTube first intro'd a dark theme for its desktop app last year, and now YouTube's iOS app is getting a dark mode as well, with an Android version on the way. With the setting enabled, YouTube’s background turns from white to black, as the theme suggests. YouTube says its dark theme will cut down on glare and allow viewers to take in the true colors of the videos they watch on mobile.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – March 12, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – March 13, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – March 14, 2018" |