Daily Tech Headlines – May 18, 2018
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| Daily Tech Headlines – May 18, 2018 | |
| Number | 505 |
| Broadcast Date | MAY 18, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 4:33 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane |
Apple’s HomePod speaker sales are only 6% of global market, Fortnite coming to Android this summer, Cambridge Analytica files for bankruptcy.
Headlines
- LocationSmart, a data aggreggator that collects the real-time location data on millions of cell phone customers via "direct connections" to cell carriers across North America had a bug in its website that allowed anyone to see where a person is located -- without obtaining that person's consent. The site had a trial period page that lets you test the accuracy of its data. The page required explicit consent from the user before their location data can be used by sending a one-time text message to the user. However Robert Xiao, a PhD student at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University tells ZDNet that skipping the consent step still revealed locatoin data, because one of the APIs used in the "try" page was not validating the consent response properly.
- A new report from Strategy Analytics tracking smart speaker sales says Apple sold an estimated 600,000 HomePod speakers during the first quarter of 2018, which is about 6% of the global smart speaker market. Amazon shipped an estimated 4 million Echo smart speakers during the quarter, for a 43.6% market share, and Google shipped an estimated 2.4 million Google Home speakers for 26.5^ market share. Alibaba also came in ahead of Apple with 700,000 shipments, while Xiaomi trailed behind with 200,000.
- Cambridge Analytica shut down earlier this month, saying the media coverage over how it collected 87 million Facebook users' information had driven away its customers. Reuters reports that Cambridge Analytica filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, which it previously said it would do.
- The Verge got hold of a leaked copy of an internal Google video that illustrates how data could direct human behavior. The video was made in 2016 by Nick Foster, the head of design at Google's research-and-development division, X. But the video itself is being called creepy and disconcerting by some. Referring to Richard Dawkins' 1976 book, "The Selfish Gene," the video premise imagines that people have an ever-evolving online data record, which Foster calls the "Selfish Ledger." and In the future, tracking behavior can determine the direction of how that behavior will have desired result. Google tells the Verge that the video was designed to be provocative and did not relate to any products in development.
- PayPal is buying iZettle — a Swediish payments provider for $2.2 billion in an all-cash deal which is PayPal's biggest purchase to date. The deal is exapected to close in Q3 2018. iZettle’s co-founder and CEO Jacob de Geer will report to PayPal’s COO Bill Ready. iZettle filed for an IPO just over a week ago.
- Apple paid 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion) into an escrow account set up by the Irish government to hold 13 billion euros in disputed taxes. In August of 2016 the European Commission ordered Apple to pay the taxes it ruled it had received as illegal state aid. Apple and Ireland are both appealing the ruling. Last October the Commission said it was taking the matter to the European Court of Justice over delays in recovering the money.
- After rumors all week, local news station WRAL reports Apple is set to open its second headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Apple announced in January it planned to establish a second headquarters beyond its Cupertino, California, base, and hire an additional 10,000 people WRAL reports the only hurdle Apple faces in Raleigh is local legislators passing a bill to give Apple a package of tax incentives. Tech companies already in the area include IBM, Cisco, EMC, BASF, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer.
- Epic Games announced its popular game Fortnite is coming to Android phones this summer. Features will include a customizable Head Up Display, which launched earlier this week, and a new voice chat function exclusively for mobile. Epic says it's also working on other features like firing and auto-run, improving performance and introducing a battery-saving mode, and accessing in-game statistics. Fortnite landed on iOS in March. Mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower estimated the company made $15 million in in-app purchases in the first three weeks it was live on the App Store.
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| Preceded by: "Daily Tech Headlines – May 17, 2018" |
Daily Tech Headlines – May 18, 2018 |
Followed by: "Daily Tech Headlines – May 21, 2018" |