Technology readings

By Enrique Dans

Relevant technology-related news, curated daily by Enrique Dans (https://enriquedans.com)

Technology Policy
Sorry, Ajit: Comcast lowered cable investment despite net neutrality repeal
Ars Technica - Jon Brodkin
Comcast cable network spending dropped 3 percent to $7.7 billion in 2018. Comcast's cable division spent 3 percent less on capital expenditures last …
Tech Industry
Verizon says some of its media assets are so useless it won’t try to sell them
Recode - Peter Kafka
The wireless giant is shutting down some of its AOL and Yahoo properties. It’s also laying off 800 people. Have you heard of WakingNews? I hadn’t either, until today. Turns out it’s a Verizon-owned, Android-only
Food Companies
The world’s largest packaged food company will ditch single-use plastic
Fast Company - By Mark Wilson
Nestlé will say goodbye to straws and some plastic bottles by 2025. But hopefully we’ll see a lot more out of the company soon. The world’s largest packaged food company is finally taking some drastic
Tim Cook
CEO of IBM Says Hiring Based on Skills Instead of College Degrees is Vital for the Future of Tech
Gizmodo - Matt Novak
What does the future of getting a job in the tech industry look like? According to the CEO of IBM, Ginni Rometty, it’s important that tech companies …
Technology Policy
Billionaires in Davos hate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 70% tax on the rich
The Washington Post - By Hamza Shaban
When billionaire chief executive Michael Dell was asked on Wednesday whether he would support a proposal put forth by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to tax millionaires at a 70 percent tax rate
Seattle, WA
Meet Scout
aboutamazon.com
At Amazon, we continually invest in new technologies to benefit customers. We’ve been hard at work developing a new, fully-electric delivery system – …
Technology (India)
Waymo says it will build self-driving cars in Michigan
Reuters - By Joseph White and Shariq Khan
(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving vehicle unit said on Tuesday it plans to build a plant in Michigan to transform vehicles into autonomous cars for Waymo's ride services business. Waymo has
Tech Industry
Corporate America Is Getting Ready to Monetize Climate Change
Bloomberg - Christopher Flavelle
Bank of America Corp. worries flooded homeowners will default on their mortgages. The Walt Disney Co. is concerned its theme parks will get too hot …
Waymo
Google self-driving spinoff Waymo to put factory in Michigan
Associated Press - By DAVID EGGERT and TOM KRISHER
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Google’s self-driving car spinoff Waymo said Tuesday it will bring a factory to Michigan, creating up to 400 jobs at what it describes as the world’s first plant “100 percent” dedicated
20th Century
Is Big Tech Merging With Big Brother? Kinda Looks Like It
WIRED - David Samuels
A friend of mine, who runs a large television production company in the car-mad city of Los Angeles, recently noticed that his intern, an aspiring …
Technology (Australia)
Come on Mr Dyson, future-proof your company against what?
The Guardian - Nils Pratley
Sir James Dyson picks his moments. In October, with negotiations with the EU heating up, the company said it would build its whizzy new electric cars in Singapore. Now, with the Brexit temperature at Dyson
Technology (Australia)
Dyson to move company HQ to Singapore
The Guardian - Rupert Neate Wealth correspondent
Sir James Dyson, the British billionaire inventor and outspoken Brexiter who called on the government to walk away from the EU without a deal, is moving the headquarters of his vacuum cleaner and hair
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a sleeper hit
Quartz
In the roughly four years since Apple launched its mobile payments service, Apple Pay, the company has managed to convince just about every major bank and retailer to let customers use their bank accounts
Huawei
The US and Canada are signalling there won’t be a reprieve for Huawei’s executive yet
Quartz
With less than 10 days to go before a deadline to seek the extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the US is on the verge of submitting a formal request for her, Canada’s top diplomat to the US said.
Business Intelligence
Netflix Flexes
stratechery.com - Ben Thompson
Bird Box, the Netflix original film, started streaming on December 21 while I was on vacation.1 That perhaps explains why the majority of my exposure …
Technology
3 Keys That Will Help You Survive the Fourth Industrial Revolution
ReadWrite - Brad Anderson
On the heels of the steam engine, mass production, and electronic and digital technology comes the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Stemming from digital roots, this new era brings a wave of change that once
Tech Industry
Google Considering Pulling News Service From Europe
Bloomberg - Natalia Drozdiak
Google is considering pulling its Google News service from Europe as regulators work toward a controversial copyright law. The European Union’s …
Science
Carbon capture system turns CO2 into electricity and hydrogen fuel
newatlas.com - Michael Irving
If we're going to reach the goal of keeping Earth from warming more than 1.5° C (2.7° F) this century, it's not enough to just reduce our carbon …
Technology
How Huawei Wooed Europe With Sponsorships, Investments and Promises
The New York Times - By ADAM SATARIANO and RAYMOND ZHONG
LONDON — When new employees join Huawei, they are given books about the Chinese telecommunications company’s achievements. One featured accomplishment is how the company has thrived in Europe. A chapter
Internal Combustion Engine
The death of the internal combustion engine
medium.com
It had a good run. But the end is in sight for the machine that changed the world The EconomistBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing Aug 10, 2017 “Human …
Technology
Stop Trusting Viral Videos
The Atlantic - Ian Bogost
A controversial video of Catholic students clashing with American Indians appeared to tell a simple truth. A second video called that story into question. But neither shows what truly happened. In a short,
Technology
Facebook employees busted leaving 5-star reviews for Portal on Amazon
The Verge - Chaim Gartenberg
Whoops Facebook’s Portal smart displays have had an uphill battle, trying to convince people to willingly give the notoriously security-lax social media company another avenue into their homes. But it
Electric Motorcycles
Ducati CEO confirms ‘The future is electric’, says electric Ducati is coming
Electrek - Micah Toll
As major motorcycle manufacturers around the world grapple with a new era of EVs, Ducati could be the next to roll out an electric motorcycle. That’s according to the company’s CEO who just confirmed commitment
Technology
Poor cloud strategy can lead to unintended silos
TNW - Stephan Fabel
The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the last few years, IT has undergone a massive shift as hybrid cloud and multi-cloud have become entrenched in most organizations. By housing application
Technology
French data protection watchdog fines Google $57 million under the GDPR
TechCrunch - Romain Dillet
The CNIL, the French data protection watchdog, has issued its first GDPR fine of $57 million (€50 million). The regulatory body claims that Google has failed to comply with the General Data Protection
Social Media
Digital detoxes are a solution looking for a problem
Quartz
With New Year’s resolutions in full swing, many people may have chosen to cut down on their tech use—or even give it up altogether. The growing popularity of such “digital detoxes” is encouraged by a of
Technology
AI is sending people to jail—and getting it wrong
MIT Technology Review - by Karen Hao
Using historical data to train risk assessment tools could mean that machines are copying the mistakes of the past. AI might not seem to have a huge …
Google
Google is the most popular search engine in most of the world except Russia — here's why
CNBC - Katie Brigham
In all corners of the world, if you're looking to do an internet search, chances are high that Google is your go-to. The company has cornered the …
Technology
The case against behavioral advertising is stacking up
TechCrunch - Natasha Lomas
No one likes being stalked around the Internet by adverts. It’s the uneasy joke you can’t enjoy laughing at. Yet vast people-profiling ad businesses have made pots of money off of an unregulated Internet