Week of News blurbs
Added 2018-04-26 17:59:20 +0000 UTCHere's the news that was left out of the Hot Takes this week. Looks like we'll go back to including it next week.
NEWS
Google launched changes to Gmail Wednesday. Among the new features are message-specific two-factor authentication, self-deleting messages, the ability to revoke sent messages and the ability to restrict forwarding copying or downloading. You can also hover over an email to take actions without opeing the message, including snoozing it. Gmail will also resurface emails it thinks have a time-sensitive nature. There's also a visual redesign that adds tasks, notes and calendar to the sidebar And the Web version of Gmail now has an offline mode. The changes will rollout slowly and users will be asked before it changes for them. Google is also launching a Google Tasks app. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/25/17277360/gmail-redesign-live-features-google-update
Snap released a new version of its Spectacles sunglasses, which are slimmer, water resistent, and now come in three jewel tones: onyx (black), ruby (red), and sapphire (blue). They’re available to order starting today at Spectacles.com for $150 — $20 more than the previous model. Spectacles go on sale today in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France, available May 3rd in the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Ireland. A Snap spokesperson also confirmed the company plans to test a new ad format called, Commercials, six-second ads that run in select Snapchat Shows, but not in Ciscover or users' personal stories. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/26/17279434/snapchat-spectacles-pricing-availability-snap-wearable-camera
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Brad Stone report their sources say Amazon has been working on a project called Vesta to build a domestic robot. Gregg Zehr, who runs Amazon’s Lab126 hardware research and development division is supposedly overseeing the project. The Lab 126 jobs page does have several listings for jobs involving robotics. Supposedly the robot may end up in employee homes by the end of the year and be available to consumers in 2019.
Alibaba has bought chip-maker Hangzhou C-SKY Microsystems, a leading supplier of embedded CPU cores for Internet of Things devices. Alibaba said it showed its commitment to the cloud-based IoT space. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-csky-m-a-alibaba/alibaba-buys-chinese-chipmaker-to-aid-iot-biz-help-drive-local-chip-sector-idUSKBN1HR0VY
Amazon announced a new service that gives its couriers access to your car in partnership with General Motors and Volvo, and is now rolling to 37 cities in the US for Prime members who also own a GM or Volvo vehicle that has a model year of 2015 or newer, with an active OnStar and Volvo on Call account. A source tells the Verge Amazon signed a 2-year contract with both GM and Volvo. The cpmpany also says it plans to add other automobile brands over time. Packages that weigh over 50 pounds, are larger than 26 x 21 x 16 inches in size, require a signature, are valued over $1,300, or come from a third-party seller also are not eligible. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/24/17261744/amazon-package-delivery-car-trunk-gm-volvo
Facebook released an updated version of its Community Standards guidelines so users can better understand how content moderators handle objectionable material. One example is the definition of harassment, which Facebook says means users can't send a message that "calls for death, serious disease or disability, or physical harm" or "claims that a victim of a violent tragedy is lying about being a victim." Users previously could only request an appeal if their Facebook profile, Page or Group was taken down, but can now challenge the removal of individual pieces of content. Users can also appeal Facebook's decision to preserve content they report as a violation of the company's rules. https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-releases-internal-guidelines-for-taking-down-posts/
Nintendo sold 17.79M Switch consoles in its last financial year after raising expectations from 10 million in the year that started April 2017. Nintendo made 178 billion yen ($1.62 billion) in operating profit for the year, a 505% increase over the prior year. Revenue increased 116% to 1.06 trillion yen ($9.66 billion). Nintendo also sold more than 10 million copies of Super Mario Odyssey, 9 million copies of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and 6 million copies of Splatoon 2, and more than 5 million units of the SNES Classic Edition. Nintendo announced that its president and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima will be stepping down, and board member Shuntaro Furukawa will take the helm. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/26/17283938/nintendo-switch-earnings-fy-2017-2018-forecast
The Wall Street Journal reports Apple is having problems getting enough OLED displays from LG, an alternative supplier to Samsung for iPhone screens. While it may be true that Apple is cutting its supply orders with LG, it's unclear if this means an overall supply cut for iPhone production or just issues with LG's process. https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/20/sloppy-report-depicts-apple-as-struggling-with-lg-as-an-alternative-to-samsung-oleds-on-new-iphones
Samsung's latest quarterly earnings report points to iPhone X sales being weak, saying revenue from its display unit was “affected by slow demand for flexible OLED panels.” Samsung is the exclusive supplier for the iPhone X. Apple is set to report its earnings for the March quarter next week. In Apple's last earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone X was the single best-selling iPhone model every single week since its release. http://bgr.com/2018/04/26/iphone-x-samsung-oled-displays-not-selling-well/
The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Tuesday that the US Patent and Trademark Office's review procedure called "inter partes" is constitutional. The review allows the USPTO to reconsider a patent grant without making the parties spend money fighting in Federal Court. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-patent/u-s-supreme-court-upholds-legality-of-patent-review-process-idUSKBN1HV1VF
The Verge reports Google is working on a new messaging feature called Chat. It will be the name of Google's Rich Communications Service or RCS messaging option. RCS is a standard meant to replace SMS. Chat will appear in the Android Messages app. In addition Google is pausing development on its messaging app, Allo. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/19/17252486/google-android-messages-chat-rcs-anil-sabharwal-imessage-texting
Germany's supreme court has dismissed a case brought by publisher Axel Springer against Eyeo over AdBlock Plus. The court found AdBlock Plus was legal and overturned previous decisions that operating a whitelist was tantamount to unfair competition. Springer intends to take the case to Germany's constitutional court on the grounds that ad blockers violated press freedom by disrupting online media and their financial viability. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-trial-adblocking/german-supreme-court-rules-ad-blockers-legal-in-defeat-for-springer-idUSKBN1HQ277
Photo storage site SmugMug has purchased Flickr from Verizon's Oath. Oath of course is the combined company of AOL and Yahoo. SmugMug said Flickr will continue to operate separately. SmugMug was founded in 2002 and Flickr was founded in 2004. It sold to Yahoo in 2005. https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/20/flickr-smugmug-acquisition/
Amazon has introduced the Echo Dot Kids Edition that adds a parental control dashboard and different colored cases. Among the features are a one-year subscription to the Free Time Unlimited bundle of kids audiobooks, apps and shows, child-friendly answers to questions and an explicit lyrics filter. It's available for preorder now for $79. https://www.buzzfeed.com/mathonan/amazon-alexa-for-kids?utm_term=.kxYaNpEz0#.praNO3Pm9
Microsoft's next edition of Windows 10, codenamed Redstone 5, will offer a Lean Edition for devices with limited storage. Microsoft will remove unnecessary components like reg-edit and Internet Explorer that are not usually used on cheap laptops and tablets. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/25/17279042/microsoft-windows-10-lean-edition
Instagram is rolling out a new data download tool to users, accessible through the app’s privacy settings, to let users export their photos, videos, Stories, profile, info, comments, and messages.The new tool allows Instagram to comply with the data portability rule in European Union’s GDPR privacy law that goes into effect on May 25th. Instagram users can also now upload multiple photos and videos at once. Whatsapp announced it's also adding a data download tool. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/24/instagram-export/
-- http://fortune.com/2018/04/24/instagram-stories-upload-mulitple-photos/
Facebook reported revenue $11.97 billion earnings per share of $1.69 beating analysts estimates. Daily Active Users grew 3.57%, which is faster than last quarter and monthly active users grew 3.28% a little slower than last month. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/25/facebook-q1-2018-earnings/
