Mobile Tech Weekly

By Dr. Paul Cesarini

All things related to mobile technology, all the time, ...with a few diversions

Android News
Google just spent $40 million for Fossil’s secret smartwatch tech
The Verge - Nick Statt
Including some members of Fossil’s R&D group Google and watchmaker Fossil Group today announced an agreement for the search giant to acquire some of Fossil’s smartwatch technology and members of the research
Technology
OrCam’s MyMe uses facial recognition to remember everyone you meet
TechCrunch - Romain Dillet
Meet the OrCam MyMe, a tiny device that you clip on your T-shirt to help you remember faces. The OrCam MyMe features a small smartphone-like camera and a proprietary facial-recognition algorithm so that
Technology
California dealers try to stop Volvo’s car subscription service
The Verge - Sean O'Kane
A state dealer group calls it a ‘clever, but illegal, marketing ploy’ in a new filing A trade group representing California car and truck dealerships has filed a petition with the state’s New Motor Vehicle
Startups
Squad is the new screensharing chat app everyone will copy
TechCrunch - Josh Constine
Squad could be the next teen sensation because it makes it easy to do nothing… together. Spending time with friends in the modern age often means just being on your phones next to each other, occasionally
Technology
Why Gen Z Loves Closed Captioning
medium.com - Lance Ulanoff
“Everyone does it.” These were the words from my college-aged daughter when I caught her lounging on our couch, streaming Friends with 24-point closed …
PC Gaming
Biostar’s newest solid state drives won’t break the bank
pcgamer.com - Paul Lilly
Now that solid state drive pricing is within reach of value-conscious builders, Biostar is making its move with its new S100 Plus series, which are …
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Costco might launch its own streaming service for 'average Americans' to compete with Netflix and Amazon
Business Insider - Kate Taylor
Costco is reportedly considering creating a streaming service aimed at "average Americans." Mark Greenberg, a TV industry veteran most recently linked to Walmart, held talks with Costco about "building
CES
Microsoft CTO: Cortana doesn’t need a smart speaker to succeed
VentureBeat - Khari Johnson
Microsoft’s AI assistant Cortana can find success in ways that don’t require a popular smart speaker, CTO Kevin Scott told VentureBeat in an interview this week in San Francisco. While some manufacturers
Long-form Journalism
Rekindled yet again, Nokia’s next-gen phones offer more than just nostalgia
Digital Trends - Julian Chokkattu
When Pekka Rantala looks out the window from his office at HMD Global’s headquarters in Espoo, Finland, he sees a big, yellow brick building. It was …
Technology
Walmart abandons plans for video-streaming service and will focus instead on Vudu
CNBC - Alex Sherman
Here's a plot twist — one company is deciding not to launch a new streaming video service. At a time when NBC, Disney, AT&T, Viacom, Apple and others …
Social Media
ACLU sues 7 government agencies over social media surveillance
Axios - Haley Britzky
The American Civil Liberties Union and its Northern California branch filed a lawsuit Thursday against 7 government agencies for concerns over social …
Social Media
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
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar's parent company sues Pinkerton over Red Dead Redemption 2 characters
destructoid.com - by Peter Glagowski
Late last week, detective agency Pinkerton sent a cease and desist letter to Red Dead Redemption 2 publisher Take-Two over the use of the Pinkerton …
Social Media
Is the "10 Year Challenge" on Facebook a privacy scheme disguised as a meme?
kmov.com - CBS NEWS
(CBS News) -- It's the simple meme that's taking over your social media feeds: the "10 Year Challenge," where users upload side-by-side photos of …
Mobile Gaming
'Westworld Mobile' game pulled following Bethesda lawsuit
Engadget - Jon Fingas
The game shuts down entirely on April 16th. It's now clearer just how Behaviour Interactive and Warner Bros. resolved that Bethesda lawsuit over Westworld Mobile's similarity to Fallout Shelter... and
Backblaze updates its backup service
TechCrunch - Frederic Lardinois
Backblaze started out as a backup solution for consumers, but over the course of the last few years, it also added cloud storage and other services to its lineup. Today, however, the company is going to
Google
Is Google an evil genius?
The Economist
AS A CHILD, Shoshana Zuboff accompanied her grandfather as he walked through his factory, greeting workers. He was an inventor and had made his …
Technology
Nintendo’s Switch Online is slowly turning into an amazing classic games service
The Verge - Andrew Webster
A link to the past Nintendo is terrible when it comes to the internet, and in a lot of ways, the Switch Online subscription service is no different. There are annoying restrictions around cloud saves,
Fake News
Facebook tackles Russians making fake news stories
BBC News - BBC World
Facebook has removed 500 pages and accounts allegedly involved in peddling fake news in Central Europe, Ukraine and other Eastern European nations. The action ends efforts by two separate groups to "manipulate
Monster 773 million-record breach list contains plaintext passwords
Ars Technica - Dan Goodin
Widely circulated "Collection #1" was used in automated credential stuffing attacks. Have I Been Pwned, the breach notification service that serves as …
Apps
Google Play starts manually whitelisting SMS and phone apps
Ars Technica - Ron Amadeo
To protect user privacy, Google starts policing apps using SMS and phone permissions. Google is implementing major new Play Store rules for how …
Apps
Google provides timeline for Play Store's 64-bit transition
TechSpot - Shawn Knight
The big picture: The competition phased out 32-bit apps well over a year ago but Google has continued to support the older architecture, likely due …
Android News
Alleged Galaxy S10+ prototype caught live on bus, revealing hole-punch design with dual front cameras
androidpolice.com - Richard Gao
It turns out that public transportation is useful not just to get from A to B, but also for spotting unreleased devices. A photo of an alleged Galaxy …
Apple
Apple's stock is the one for 'the next decade,' former retail head Ron Johnson declares
appleinsider.com - Roger Fingas
By Apple's original retail head Ron Johnson urged investors to buy the company's stock on Wednesday, calling it a good long-term bet, and arguing that …
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Smart Battery Case fits iPhone X, works with iOS 12.1 and later [Updated]
9to5Mac - Chance Miller
Update: Ritchie now says the iPhone X he tried to use with the iPhone XS Smart Battery Case was not updated to iOS 12.1.3. Since updating, the iPhone X does work with the iPhone XS Smart Battery Case,
Technology
Jeff Bezos is launching a new conference dedicated to AI, optimism, and Amazon
The Verge - James Vincent
The event is an extension of Amazon’s semi-secret MARS conference, but will include plenty of self-promotion For the last couple of years, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has held an annual invite-only event where
Gear & Gadgets
How to access a remote computer using Google Remote Desktop
The Verge - Barbara Krasnoff
Take control You bought your parents / grandparents / other relatives a new computer, set it up, and showed them all of its nifty new features. You’ve gone home, knowing that you’ve made them very happy.
Fool me once...
CNET - by Marrian Zhou
Don't get duped by online scams.
iPad Mini
iPad mini 5 and New Entry-Level iPad Said to Launch in First Half of 2019
MacRumors - by Tim Hardwick
Apple is said to be launching two new tablets in the first half of this year, including the rumored "iPad mini 5" as well as a likely replacement for its current entry-level iPad. DigiTimes made the claim