Week in Review for the Week of 4/22/2019
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| Week in Review for the Week of 4/22/2019 | |
| Number | 823 |
| Broadcast Date | OCTOBER 27, 2019 |
| Episode Length | 5:19 |
| Hosts | Rich Stroffolino |
Samsung delays the launch of the Galaxy Fold, the FAA approves Wing to operate as an airline in the US, and the EU moves forward with the Common Identity Repository.
Headlines
- On Monday, Samsung announced it was delaying the launch of the Galaxy Fold device indefinitely to ensure it "measures up to the high standards" of the company. Originally scheduled to launch April 26, Samsung said they will announced a new release date in the coming weeks. A teardown by iFixit called the design of the Fold "alarmingly fragile," with a sturdy hinge but a 7mm gap between the bezel and OLED screen. On Thursday, iFixit removed the teardown after Samsung requested the partner that provided the device to do so. iFixit stated it will repost the teardown after retail devices are available.
- SiriusXM launched dedicated streaming service with two tiers SiriusXM Essential and Premiere. Essential available now at $8 a month and provides access to 200+ channels including all music, comedy and news offerings. Premiere adds in two Howard Stern channels as well as NBA, NHL and NCAA sports and costs $13 a month starting in mid-May. The services can be played on smartphones, smart speakers, game consoles, and streaming video devices.
- Tim Ingham at Music Business World reports that according to industry sources, Amazon is in talks with record labels to launch a high fidelity music streaming platform, with one major label already onboard. The service will reportedly cost around $15 a month, offer a "better than CD quality" bitrate, and will launch by the end of 2019.
- The Sri Lankan government blocked access to social media and messaging platforms on Sunday following suicide attacks that killed more than 290 people. The block was put in place to prevent the spread of misinformation to foment further violence, and according to the Defense Ministry, the block is temporary until investigations into the attack are concluded. The digital rights organization NetBlocks reports that Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber, Snapchat and YouTube are among the effected platforms. Sri Lanka instituted a similar block in March 2018 out of concern that militant organizations were using them to coordinate ethnic unrest.
- Alphabet's drone arm Wing is the first drone operator to be granted FAA approval as an airline, securing the legal authority to start dropping products to customers from the air. Wing plans to begin routine deliveries of small consumer items in two rural communities, Blacksburg and Christiansburg, in Virginia within months, and start finding retail partners in both towns. Companies that receive government permission must also be majority owned by U.S. citizens due to rules imposed by the DOT.
- The European Parliament has voted to move forward with the Common Identity Repository (CIR), a biometrics-tracking, searchable database of EU and non-EU citizens that includes border-control, migration, and law enforcement data systems, unifying records on more than 350 million people. CIR will aggregate names, dates of birth, passport numbers, and other identification details along with biometric data like fingerprints and facial scans and make it all available to EU border and law enforcement authorities. The CIR is poised to be one of the biggest tracking databases in the world, similar to what's used by the Chinese government and India's Aadhar system.
- The Telegraph reports that during a National Security Council meeting, the UK Prime Minister has approved the use of Huawei equipment in non-core parts of 5G networks in the country. A recent report by the UK's by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre Oversight Board said it could only provide limited assurance that risks to national security posed by Huawei parts could be mitigated.
- Lot of earnings reports out this week, here are the highlights: AT&T announced TV subscribers fell 544,000 and DirecTV Now subscribers fell 83,000. AT&T aded 80,000 wireless phone subscribers. Amazon reported $3.6 billion in net income, beating analyst expectations and setting an all-time quarterly record. PayPal reported Venmo now has 40 million users, the first time reporting on the platform specifically. Facebook beat analyst expectations with $15.08 billion in revenue, but is setting aside $3 billion for a possible FTC fine. They also reported that Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories and WhatsApp status each have 500 million daily active users. Microsoft posted strong earnings in the quarter which saw their market cap briefly exceed $1 trillion. And in Nintendo earnings guidance, they announced a private beta for Mario Kart Tour is coming to Android, and not to expect a new Switch console to be announced at E3.
- At a board meeting Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted not to change its eligibility rules for feature-length films. Any movie that has at least a seven-day theatre run will remain eligible. Stephen Spielberg had led a movement to increase that requirement in order to disqualify Netflix movies which do not get the usual 90-day theater-exclusive run. Once change that was approved was renaming the foreign film category to International.
- A state court in Tamil Nadu, India moved to reverse its ban on the Tik Tok app. The court had previously ruled the app encouraged pornography and caused Apple and Google to remove it from their stores in India. The Federal IT ministry will request Apple and Google reinstate Tok Tok to their stores there. It does not appear that this latest decision will be appealed.
Links
| Preceded by: "Amazon In Talks On High-Fidelity Music Service" |
Week in Review for the Week of 4/22/2019 |
Followed by: "Demographic Info on 80 Million US Households Found on Unsecured Server" |