Apple tax: Downing Street says tech giant 'welcome' to come to UK after EU orders Ireland to claw back £11bn (The Telegraph)

The plot thickens; also see Apple and the EU (Beyond Devices) for a related reality check

"Britain could cut corporation tax to attract major international companies under plans being considered by Theresa May after Apple was hit with a record tax bill by Brussels.

Downing Street said it would "welcome" Apple to the UK after the European Commission took the extraordinary step of hitting the company with an £11billion fine.

In a damning report published on Tuesday, the commission found that a deal with Ireland meant the technology giant paid as little as 0.005 per cent tax on its European profits for more than a decade."

Apple tax: Downing Street says tech giant 'welcome' to come to UK after EU orders Ireland to claw back £11bn 

How Facebook’s trending news feature went from messy to disastrous. (Slate)

Later in the article: "In this case, it seems, Facebook cared more about keeping its nose clean than about serving its users. And it was willing to ship an inferior product to prove it." Also see Facebook should hire fact-checkers. Here’s what they would do (Poynter)

"The results were not pretty. “They were running these tests with subsets of users, and the feedback they got internally was overwhelmingly negative. People would say, ‘I don’t understand why I’m looking at this. I don’t see the context anymore.’ There were spelling mistakes in the headlines. And the number of people talking about a topic would just be wildly off.” The negative feedback came from both Facebook employees participating in internal tests and external Facebook users randomly selected for small public tests.

The contractor assumed Facebook’s engineers and product managers would go back to the drawing board. Instead, on Friday, the company dumped the journalists and released the new, poorly reviewed version of trending news to the public."

How Facebook’s trending news feature went from messy to disastrous.

Dropbox employee’s password reuse led to theft of 60M+ user credentials | TechCrunch

Probably an opportune time for Dropbox users to enable two-factor authentication

"Dropbox disclosed earlier this week that a large chunk of its users’ credentials obtained in 2012 was floating around on the dark web. But that number may have been much higher than we originally thought.

Credentials for more than 60 million accounts were taken, as first reported by Motherboard and confirmed by TechCrunch sources. The revelation of a password breach at Dropbox is an evolution of the company’s stance on the 2012 incident — the company initially said that user emails were the only data stolen."

Dropbox employee’s password reuse led to theft of 60M+ user credentials | TechCrunch

Google DeepMind wants to use machine learning to help treat certain cancers | The Verge

DeepMind goes deep brain; on a related note, see Computers trounce pathologists in predicting lung cancer type, severity (Stanford Medicine News Center)

"Google DeepMind is launching a project to reduce the time it takes doctors to prepare treatment for head and neck cancers. Alphabet’s London-based artificial intelligence division has partnered with the UK’s National Health Service and will be conducting the research in coordination with the University College London Hospital.

Head and neck cancers are hard to plan treatment for because of their close proximity to important parts of the body. Before any kind of radiation treatment, clinicians will prepare a detailed map of where radiation will be administered on a patient in order to avoid damaging surrounding tissue. DeepMind says planning can take doctors up to four hours for head and neck cancers, and it hopes that by applying machine learning it will be able to automate parts of the process and reduce that planning time down to an hour."

Google DeepMind wants to use machine learning to help treat certain cancers | The Verge

Google to expand Waze carpooling service in San Francisco - The Boston Globe

New Waze to (selectively) compete with Uber; also see Google is getting into the ride-share business — but it isn't a threat to Uber just yet (Recode)

"The program allows anyone using the Waze app to offer a ride to a limited pool of people trying to get to work or home.

Now, only people working at six companies, including Google, Wal-Mart Stores, and Adobe Systems, can request rides. The tests have worked well enough to encourage Waze to move into the next phase and allow anyone in the Bay Area with its app to request a ride by the end of this year, spokeswoman Julie Mossler said.

Inviting more people to hitch rides could undercut Uber, which allows people to request drivers who provide a taxi service using their own cars."

Google to expand Waze carpooling service in San Francisco - The Boston Globe

How Driverless Cars May Interact With People - The New York Times

Also see Drive.ai uses deep learning to teach self-driving cars – and to give them a voice (TechCrunch)

"The self-driving cars of the future will need to be transparent about what their intentions are, how they make decisions and what they see, said Ms. Reiley, who is a roboticist with a background in designing underwater robotics and medical systems. They will need to communicate clearly both with the world around them as well as with their passengers.

“There’s the left brain in which a lot of discussion has taken place, what algorithms and what sensors, the logical side,” she said. “A lot of the discussion around self-driving cars has no human component, which is really weird because this is the first time a robotic system is going out in the world and interacting with people.”"

How Driverless Cars May Interact With People - The New York Times

Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will not become a media company - NY Daily News

Also see Three days after removing human editors, Facebook is already trending fake news (The Washington Post) and Facebook's Trending News Is A Total Mess (Gizmodo)

"An increasing number of users are turning to social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to find their news, but Zuckerberg said his firm had no ambitions to become a content provider.

"No, we are a tech company, not a media company," said Zuckerberg, after a young Italian asked him whether Facebook intended to become a news editor.

While acknowledging the role Facebook has in supplying users with news through their connections and stressing the advantages of obtaining information from different parts of the world, Zuckerberg said Facebook was "a technology company, we build the tools, we do not produce any content"."

Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will not become a media company - NY Daily News

Alphabet’s Legal Chief Steps Down From Uber Board - Bloomberg

On a related note, see Google X's newest hire suggests it is trying to jump-start its self-driving car business (Recode)

"Drummond joined the board in 2013 when GV, the venture capital arm of Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, led a $258 million round of financing for Uber. It remains GV’s largest investment, and the two companies worked together on projects, including the ability to call a car through Google Maps.

However, relations between Alphabet’s Google unit and Uber have become strained in recent years. Bloomberg reported last year that Google had been working on a ride-hailing service using self-driving cars. Uber acquired Otto, an autonomous driving startup staffed by former Google employees, and is working with Volvo on driverless vehicles of its own, which the companies expect to begin rolling out in Pittsburgh this month. Uber has been developing its own mapping operation and is shooting street photography to create an alternative to Google’s map data."

Alphabet’s Legal Chief Steps Down From Uber Board - Bloomberg

Google and Amazon Vie for Big Inroad Into Wall Street Data Trove - Bloomberg

So cloud services are okay for, e.g., the CIA, but stock exchanges apparently have more stringent requirements

"Technology giants like Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are jumping at the chance to help build the storage for the exchanges via their cloud services. That’s intensified resistance by Wall Street, since the new database, known as the Consolidated Audit Trail, or CAT, could include personal information such as names and addresses from more than 100 million customer accounts. Brokers and banks are worried about everything from data breaches to technology firms making one of their biggest inroads yet into the financial world.
“This is a huge opportunity for Amazon and Google," said Jo Ann Barefoot, a senior fellow at Harvard University who studies fintech and a former official at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “Their involvement in this project I do think is a threat to the incumbents. If big tech firms can win more trust in Washington, that’s one of the biggest challenges facing banks.”"

Google and Amazon Vie for Big Inroad Into Wall Street Data Trove - Bloomberg

Apple Sends Invitations for September 7 Product Event - Bloomberg

For speculation about what may follow the anticipated 9/7 iPhone non-surprises, see Apple Is Working on iPad Upgrades and Refreshed Mac Lineup (Bloomberg)

"The spots of light on the invitation form the top portion of the Apple logo, with the message "See you on the 7th" below. The event will take place at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. The Cupertino, California-based company often hints about new products in its invitations. Monday’s invitation may refer to a larger version of the new iPhone that is expected to have a dual-lens camera system to improve photography.
“The real point to make is how little chance of a surprise there is,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners LP, adding that two white spots of light in the invitation were indicative of the dual lens, while the event’s date hints at the likely iPhone 7 name. “The company doesn’t seem to be able to generate surprises anymore.”"

Apple Sends Invitations for September 7 Product Event - Bloomberg

Explosion of Gig Economy Means There’s an App for Juggling Jobs - Bloomberg

From a gig economy reality check

"Snagajob is one of a slew of apps that have sprung up in recent years to serve the so-called gig economy. This year alone human-resources startups have attracted $1.2 billion in venture capital, with much of the funding going to companies designed to profit from the fluid nature of temporary or contract work, according to research firm CB Insights. In an election year dominated by concerns over economic inequality, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are pledging to generate more full-time jobs. But Silicon Valley is betting the gig economy is here to stay.
“Two or three years ago, it was pretty rare to have more than one job” says Snagajob.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Peter Harrison. “Now it’s really very common. What we are really building our business on is the blurring of the line between snagging a job and snagging a shift.”"

Explosion of Gig Economy Means There’s an App for Juggling Jobs - Bloomberg

VMware New Cloud Plan: Sell Stuff for Rival Clouds - Bloomberg

In other "hyper-converged infrastructure" news, see Nutanix Snarfs Up Two Companies To Bolster Data Center Hardware Story (Fortune)

"On Monday, the company will announce Cloud Foundation, which combines software for storage, networking and virtualization into one package, as well as the ability to use that product as a service hosted in IBM's cloud.  The company will also preview new Cross-Cloud subscription services that let customers manage and protect applications hosted in clouds from International Business Machines Corp., as well as market leader Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. 
VMware is shifting its cloud strategy after little traction and executive departures. It is focusing more on selling products that work with existing leaders, rather than trying to establish itself as an alternative to the Amazons of the world. As more companies run applications on rented servers over the internet, rather than their own data centers, providing services that link the different technologies customers use is a growing opportunity for VMware."

VMware New Cloud Plan: Sell Stuff for Rival Clouds - Bloomberg

Twitch Could Be a $20 Billion Dollar Company Inside Amazon – Backchannel

Check the full post for a game streaming market snapshot

"Since the 2014 acquisition, Twitch has come close to doubling its monthly visitors and has greatly expanded its base of streamers. It currently has more than 100 million visitors watching more than 1.7 million streamers each month.
Twitch’s live streams still have a much smaller viewership than YouTube’s videos, according to Newzoo. But Twitch’s viewers stick around longer — seven hours per month on average versus less than five for YouTube — and they are more active, posting chat messages and questions for their favorite streamers, buying animated “cheer” emotes to display in Twitch chat, and even donating money to Twitch personalities as a way to thank them during their live streams."

Twitch Could Be a $20 Billion Dollar Company Inside Amazon – Backchannel

Here’s one place in the world you can already hail a driverless taxi - The Washington Post

A major mobility milestone; also see The world’s first network of fully self-driving taxis is up and running (Recode)

"Although Uber may soon be the first company to launch a self-driving car service in the United States, it won't be the first in the world. That honor went Thursday to nuTonomy, a Massachusetts-based company that has now officially rolled out what many analysts say will transform the future of transportation and the economy.

NuTonomy's six self-driving cars are being tested in Singapore's one-north business district, a roughly 500-acre hub the city-state built for science and technology companies. Using nuTonomy's app, members of the public will be able to request a free ride in a specially modified electric vehicle manufactured by Renault or Mitsubishi."

Here’s one place in the world you can already hail a driverless taxi - The Washington Post

Facebook Takes First Step Toward Making Money From WhatsApp Deal - Bloomberg

See Looking ahead for WhatsApp (WhatsApp blog) for the big-picture perspective; also see You can stop WhatsApp from sharing your phone number with Facebook (The Verge)

"WhatsApp announced the change to its terms of service policy today. It allows businesses to communicate with users, including appointment reminders, delivery and shipping notifications and marketing pitches. In a corresponding blog post, WhatsApp said it will be testing the features over the coming months.
The policy shift may help WhatsApp generate revenue, but also could irk users drawn to its strong stance on privacy. After it agreed to be purchased by Facebook in 2014, co-founder Jan Koum pledged the deal wouldn’t change how the company handles user data. Now WhatsApp says it will begin sharing more information about its customers with the "Facebook family." The data, including a person’s phone number, could be used to better target ads when browsing Facebook or Instagram, WhatsApp said."

Facebook Takes First Step Toward Making Money From WhatsApp Deal - Bloomberg

Apple Weighs iPhone Video Editing App in Renewed Push on Social - Bloomberg

An increasingly social Apple

"The growth of Apple’s hardware business is slowing and Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is looking to the company’s services business, such as the App Store and iCloud storage, as a way to generate increased revenue. Apple has failed to successfully launch social-media services in the past, including an iTunes-focused social network called Ping in 2010. Now as Snapchat and Facebook’s Instagram and Messenger apps grow atop Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, Apple is seeking to create its own features to remain relevant, particularly for younger users.
Social media’s importance can be seen in the amount of time people spend with the apps. For example, Facebook’s mobile users are on its News Feed, Instagram and Messenger an average of 50 minutes a day, while Snapchat’s 150 million daily active users spend an average of 30 minutes per day with the photo- and video-sharing app. Of the top 10 free third-party iPhone apps in the App Store, Facebook owns three, while Snapchat owns two."

Apple Weighs iPhone Video Editing App in Renewed Push on Social - Bloomberg

IPhone Users Urged to Update Software After Security Flaws Are Found - The New York Times

Thanks to Citizen Lab and Lookout; also see This malware sold to governments could help them spy on iPhones, researchers say (The Washington Post)

"Investigators discovered that a company called the NSO Group, an Israeli outfit that sells software that invisibly tracks a target’s mobile phone, was responsible for the intrusions. The NSO Group’s software can read text messages and emails and track calls and contacts. It can even record sounds, collect passwords and trace the whereabouts of the phone user.

In response, Apple on Thursday released a patched version of its mobile software, iOS 9.3.5. Users can get the patch through a normal software update."

IPhone Users Urged to Update Software After Security Flaws Are Found - The New York Times

Future iPhones might collect fingerprints, photos of thieves (AppleInsider)

Check the full post for flowcharts and other details

"As published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple's invention covering "Biometric capture for unauthorized user identification" details the simple but brilliant — and legally fuzzy — idea of using an iPhone or iPad's Touch ID module, camera and other sensors to capture and store information about a potential thief.

In practice, the proactive security system works in much the same way as existing Touch ID verification processes."

Future iPhones might collect fingerprints, photos of thieves

Is China's Super-Bus a Scam? - Bloomberg View

Investors taken for a ride on the Transit Elevated Bus

"The bus bust has thus become a symbol of a different -- and far more damaging -- kind of Chinese ingenuity. The TEB's promoters promised investors 12 percent returns on their money, despite the fact that the prototype bus seemed likely to tip over, couldn't clear most urban bridges and wasn't tall enough to accommodate most vehicles underneath it. They could get away with it in part because those kinds of numbers are par for the course in China's P2P lending industry, which averaged returns of 13.3 percent in 2015.

Demand for such loans has exploded in recent years, growing in volume from $4.3 billion in 2013 to $71 billion in 2015. The appeal is twofold. First, China's big state-owned banks have traditionally focused their attention on other companies in the state sector, at the expense of consumers and small businesses. A budding entrepreneur, or a young couple looking to pay for a wedding, often had to rely on the goodwill and deeper pockets of friends and family, loan sharks and, more recently, unregulated "shadow" lenders that specialized in expensive, short-term loans."

Is China's Super-Bus a Scam? - Bloomberg View

Rights and the Evolution of Music Streaming | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis

On a related note, see Amazon’s rumored cheaper music service illustrates its smart-home ambitions (The Washington Post)

"One interesting thing about this market is there are two major sets of players – those who make their money solely from these music services and those who make the vast majority of their money elsewhere. Spotify and Pandora can’t afford to keep losing money in this business because it’s the only business they have. Amazon, Apple, Google, and others, however, can afford to subsidize these offerings or run them at low margins because they feed the other parts of their businesses and generate additional revenues indirectly. Apple may be in the strongest position of all here because it has a user base willing to pay for content and they can afford to run the music business at a relatively low margin, while Amazon’s customer base is highly driven by saving money and Google’s true customer base is its advertisers, not its users. Much has been made of Spotify’s lead over Apple in on-demand streaming, but Apple offers the flavor of streaming the labels like and has already signed up half as many paid subs as Spotify. That’s the key number to watch – the labels have a stake in Spotify but would arguably benefit much more in the long-term from an industry that takes a dramatic turn toward paid streaming, a goal which Apple seems a lot more likely to help them achieve."

Rights and the Evolution of Music Streaming | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis

An Exclusive Look at How AI and Machine Learning Work at Apple – Backchannel

From an extensive Apple + AI reality check by Steven Levy

"This story of Siri’s transformation, revealed for the first time here, might raise an eyebrow in much of the artificial intelligence world. Not that neural nets improved the system — of course they would do that — but that Apple was so quietly adept at doing it. Until recently, when Apple’s hiring in the AI field has stepped up and the company has made a few high-profile acquisitions, observers have viewed Apple as a laggard in what is shaping up as the most heated competition in the industry: the race to best use those powerful AI tools. Because Apple has always been so tight-lipped about what goes on behind badged doors, the AI cognoscenti didn’t know what Apple was up to in machine learning. “It’s not part of the community,” says Jerry Kaplan, who teaches a course at Stanford on the history of artificial intelligence. “Apple is the NSA of AI.” But AI’s Brahmins figured that if Apple’s efforts were as significant as Google’s or Facebook’s, they would have heard that."

An Exclusive Look at How AI and Machine Learning Work at Apple – Backchannel

Uber offers drivers free retirement planning before robots eventually take their jobs | The Verge

Perhaps Uber drivers should max-out their IRA plans for the first few years...

"Uber is touting the new services as part of its ongoing effort to help its drivers save money and plan for the future. Meanwhile in the background, the company is waging a costly fight to keep drivers classified as independent contractors, arguing that it is a technology platform that connects drivers to riders, not an employer in the traditional sense. The class action lawsuit challenging that classification appeared headed toward a $100 million settlement, until last week when a judge rejected it as unfair and inadequate.

Uber’s efforts to speed up the adoption of self-driving technology throws another wrench in drivers’ long-term prospects. Previously, CEO Travis Kalanick had said the transition between human drivers and robotic ones would be a multi-decade process. But earlier this month, the company said around 100 self-driven Volvos (which for now would include a trained driver and engineer to monitor the process) would be picking up passengers in Pittsburgh within the next few weeks."

Uber offers drivers free retirement planning before robots eventually take their jobs | The Verge

This Day in History: August 25, 1996: Netscape Creates Navio to Compete with Microsoft

Proto-Chrome OS, twenty years ago, when IE still mattered...

"Netscape Communications Corp. announced it had created a software company to enter an alliance with IBM, Oracle, and four Japanese electronics companies: Sony, Nintendo, Sega, and NEC. The new company, Navio Corp., is intended to compete with Microsoft Corp. in creating a new operating system. Netscape and Microsoft remain locked in a bitter battle over Microsoft's linking of its Internet Explorer World Wide Web browser with its Windows operating system, taking customers away from Netscape's Navigator browser. Netscape hoped the new company would develop a variety of computer applications, including video game systems, televisions, and network computers that would use its cheaper technology rather than Microsoft applications."

This Day in History: August 25 | Computer History Museum

Google will punish sites that use annoying pop-up ads | The Verge

Check Helping users easily access content on mobile (Google Webmaster Central Blog) for details

"Google is about to deal a small blow to some of the most annoying ads on mobile: pop-ups and interstitials. It’s not a stretch to argue that readers don’t like these ads. So Google is making a call that websites that use pop-ups and interstitials are worse search results and may rank them lower because of it.

There are a "hundreds of signals" that go into Google’s search result rankings, so it’s not like every website that uses these ads will feel pressured to remove them overnight. If a site with a pop-up still has the best information, it’s still likely to appear first. But this change ought to benefit one site over another when those two sites appear roughly equal otherwise."

Google will punish sites that use annoying pop-up ads | The Verge

Tesla’s new 100 kWH battery makes it the third-fastest accelerating car ever - Recode

Charging forward; also see Why Elon Musk Built a Tesla That's Race-Car Quick (Slate)

"In an industry first, the battery also enables the car to drive an estimated 315 miles on a single charge. This is the first electric vehicle to go above a range of 300 miles, according to Tesla.

“Looking at the bigger picture here, it’s just amazing that an electric car is now the fastest car in production in the world,” Musk said on a call with reporters. “I think it’s a great message to the world and really speaks to the fact that electric cars are the future. That’s just a very positive message for the electric vehicle industry as a whole beyond just Tesla.”"

Tesla’s new 100 kWH battery makes it the third-fastest accelerating car ever - Recode

Happy 25th birthday, Linux | TechCrunch

A big week for anniversaries; also see Happy Internaut Day: 25 years ago today the World Wide Web opened to the public (VentureBeat)

"Linux will turn 25 years old on August 25, the day Linus Torvalds sent out his fateful message asking for help with a new operating system. “I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things),” he wrote in the comp.os.minix message board. And the rest, as they say, is history."

Happy 25th birthday, Linux | TechCrunch

Apple Acquires Personal Health Data Startup Gliimpse | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

Investing in "a personal health data platform that enables any American to collect, personalize, and share a picture of their health data"

"The acquisition will bolster Apple’s efforts in digital health. In recent years, Apple has delved into the sector with a range of services (HealthKit, CareKit, and ResearchKit) that allow patients, clinicians, and researchers to access important health and wellness data via a range of mobile devices. That's in line with Gliimpse's mission of uniting disparate streams of health information.

What stands out about the deal is that Gliimpse is intended for patients with diseases like cancer and diabetes. Apple recently hired a top pediatric endocrinologist who developed a HealthKit app for teens with Type 1 diabetes, signaling an increased interest in applications for chronically ill users."

Apple Acquires Personal Health Data Startup Gliimpse | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

Why Microsoft's New Deal With Lenovo Matters (Fortune)

Also see Lenovo bloats up Android with Microsoft Office and Skype (ZDNet)

"Microsoft makes a lot of money from Android, thanks to its patents being used in Google’s operating system. That income has recently been faltering due to a fall in shipments of smartphones whose manufacturers have struck licensing deals with Microsoft.

However, Microsoft is still striking patent deals, and the latest one is with Lenovo. Apart from the cross-licensing nature of this agreement, announced Monday, Lenovo will also preinstall core Microsoft apps on some of its premium devices."

Why Microsoft's New Deal With Lenovo Matters

The Pentagon Takes Aim at Bomb-Carrying Consumer Drones - Bloomberg

Disconcerting drone dynamics

"“That’s the same quad copter you can get on Groupon or go down to Sam’s Club and buy for $400,” U.S. Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller said last week at a Washington forum on future warfare. The elusive nature of small drones is one reason the federal government has designated the District of Columbia a “national defense airspace” and prohibited drone flights there. A recent spate of drone-related incidents, including one last year in which a drone crashed on the White House lawn, probably didn’t help, either.
But the problem is no longer about enthusiasts with a bad sense of direction. Weaponized to various degrees of sophistication, such unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now being used in the Syrian civil war and along parts of Lebanese and Syrian borders with Israel, where Hezbollah holds sway."

The Pentagon Takes Aim at Bomb-Carrying Consumer Drones - Bloomberg

ARM has a new weapon in race to build world's fastest computers | PCWorld

New markets within ARM's reach

"ARM conquered the mobile market starting with Apple's iPhone, and now wants to be in the world's fastest computers.

A new ARM chip design being announced on Monday is targeted at supercomputers, a lucrative market in which the company has no presence. ARM's new chip design, which has mobile origins, has extensions and tweaks to boost computing power.

The announcement comes a few weeks after Japanese company Softbank said it would buy ARM for a mammoth US$32 billion. With the cash, ARM is expected to sharpen its focus on servers and the internet of things."

ARM has a new weapon in race to build world's fastest computers | PCWorld

AT&T, Apple, Google to work on 'robocall' crackdown | Reuters

Later in the article: ""The bad guys are beating the good guys with technology," Wheeler said. In the past, he has said robocalls continue "due in large part to industry inaction.""

"The strike force will report to the FCC by Oct. 19 on "concrete plans to accelerate the development and adoption of new tools and solutions," said AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson, chairman of the group.

The strike force hopes to implement Caller ID verification standards to help block calls from spoofed phone numbers and consider a "Do Not Originate" list that would block spoofers from impersonating legitimate phone numbers from governments, banks or others.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in July urged major companies to take new action to block robocalls, which often come from telemarketers or scam artists."

AT&T, Apple, Google to work on 'robocall' crackdown | Reuters

Japan's Abe Plays Super Mario in Rio to Promote 2020 Tokyo Games - Bloomberg

A multifaceted sign of the times

"It was a nice plug for video-game maker Nintendo Co., the creator of the franchise that has made the Mario franchise, Zelda and other games recognized around the world. A video preceding the premier's entrance also showed Hello Kitty and Pac-Man, characters from Japan's Sanrio Co. and Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. respectively. "I borrowed the power of Japan's characters as I wanted to show Japan's soft power," Abe told reporters in Rio in comments carried by local media.
The country is emphasizing its cultural exports amid waning economic influence. In recent years, the government has stepped up its "Cool Japan'' policy, which aims to "win the world's sympathy'' by promoting sushi, zen buddhism and manga."

Japan's Abe Plays Super Mario in Rio to Promote 2020 Tokyo Games - Bloomberg

The inside story of how billionaires are racing to take you to outer space - The Washington Post

From an extensive profile of the new space race

"Nearly five decades after the United States beat the Soviet Union to the moon, another space race is emerging, this time among a class of hugely wealthy entrepreneurs who have grown frustrated that space travel is in many ways still as difficult, and as expensive, as ever. Driven by ego, outsize ambition and opportunity, they are investing hundreds of millions of dollars of their own money in an attempt to open up space to the masses and push human space travel far past where governments have gone.

Musk, who made his first fortune on Zip2 and PayPal, and Bezos, who founded Amazon and owns The Washington Post, are the most prominent of a quartet of billionaires aspiring to open the frontier of space the way the public-private partnerships of the 19th century pushed west at the dawn of the railroad age."

The inside story of how billionaires are racing to take you to outer space - The Washington Post

Oracle funding secretive anti-Google group: report (Siliconbeat)

A tangled web surrounding the Google Transparency Project

"The project is run by Campaign for Accountability, which does not reveal its funders and has endeavored to keep invisible its connection to New Venture Fund, a deep-pocketed public interest group.

New Venture Fund is spinning off Campaign for Accountability into a new organization called Hopewell Fund, which is where the story takes an odd turn: Hopewell director Michael Slaby, a high-profile digital strategist, runs a firm that has created an election-campaign digital platform funded by Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt, raising the question of why the head of Google’s parent company has financial ties to a key player in a group bent on diminishing Google."

Oracle funding secretive anti-Google group: report

WikiLeaks Has Morphed from Journalism Hotshot to Malware Hub — Backchannel

A stark WikiLeaks reality check

"Here’s a question on the minds of many Julian Assange watchers in the last few months: What the hell happened to WikiLeaks?
What was once an inspiring effort at transparency enabled by new technologies now seems driven by personal grudge and reckless releases of information. Its uncompromising claim to radical transparency is endangering the lives of potentially millions of private individuals caught up in the leaks, and now — with the recent discovery that it is disseminating malware — even harming the people seeking WikiLeaks’ insights."

WikiLeaks Has Morphed from Journalism Hotshot to Malware Hub — Backchannel

Microsoft Visio is Coming to the iPad - Thurrott.com

macOS next, please...

"Visio is coming to the iPad. It will work on all iPads, from the iPad mini to the iPad Pro, and it will require iOS 9 or newer. It will be available in at least English, Chinese, French, German, Russian, and Spanish, during the pre-release period. You will need to sign-in with a Microsoft account.

Some key features include:

• View files from OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint, or files received as email attachments
• The Pan and Zoom experience is optimized for a small touch screen
• Turn the visibility of layers on or off
• Copy the current view of a Visio diagram as an image and paste it in another app
• Share a file as a link or attachment
• Find text in a shape
• AirPrint a Visio file"

Microsoft Visio is Coming to the iPad - Thurrott.com

PowerShell is open sourced and is available on Linux | Blog | Microsoft Azure

More evidence of big changes in Redmond

"You’ve heard Satya Nadella say “Microsoft loves Linux” and that’s never been more true than now. Nearly one in three VMs on Azure are Linux. Nearly 60 percent of third-party IaaS offers in the Azure Marketplace are open source software (OSS). We have forged strong industry partners to extend choice to our customers. We’ve announced SQL Server on Linux, as well as open sourced .NET. We added Bash to Windows 10 to make it a great platform for developing OSS. And, we’re active contributors and participants to numerous open source projects (e.g. OpenSSH, FreeBSD, Mesos, Docker, Linux and many more) across the industry.

Today, we are taking the next step in our journey. I am extremely excited to share that PowerShell is open sourced and available on Linux. (For those of you who need a refresher, PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language built on the .NET Framework to help IT professionals control and automate the administration of the Windows, and now Linux, operating systems and the applications that run on them.) I’m going to share a bit more about our journey getting here, and will tell you how Microsoft Operations Management Suite can enhance the PowerShell experience."

PowerShell is open sourced and is available on Linux | Blog | Microsoft Azure

T-Mobile wants everyone to have an unlimited data plan - The Washington Post

Also see Unlimited Data Plans Are Back—With Some Big Catches (Wired)

"T-Mobile said Thursday it's replacing its entire lineup of phone plans with just a single plan that eliminates the monthly limit on how much data you can use before incurring a penalty. While current customers can stay on their plans if they like, chief executive John Legere said the new rate plans, which become available Sept. 6, will eventually become the primary way consumers interact with T-Mobile.

"The concept of data buckets being irrelevant is a big one that will grow and grow," said chief executive John Legere. "It now shifts the whole mindset.""

T-Mobile wants everyone to have an unlimited data plan - The Washington Post

Analyst: Snapchat Is a Threat to Twitter, Not Facebook - Bloomberg

For an overall Twitter reality check, see Twitter’s Slow Execution is Killing It (Tech.pinions)

"While a lot of people on Wall Street have said Facebook Inc. should be concerned about Snapchat Inc., one analyst says it's really Twitter Inc. that ought to be more worried.
According to James Lee at Credit Suisse Group AG, it looks like the dollars that advertisers are putting towards Snapchat are being taken away from the Twitter rather than Facebook. "Snapchat’s reach-and-frequency targeting suits brand advertisers that traditionally buy a lot of TV ads," the internet analyst said in a new note, which was based on conversations he had with advertising consultants. The upshot: "the competitive impact on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is limited. However, they are seeing more pressures on Twitter.""

Analyst: Snapchat Is a Threat to Twitter, Not Facebook - Bloomberg

Uber Aims for an Edge in the Race for a Self-Driving Future - The New York Times

A big week for self-driving vehicles; also see How Uber plans to put its own drivers out of business (The Washington Post)

"A world in which cars drive themselves may come sooner than once thought.

On Thursday, Uber said that it would begin testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh in a matter of weeks, allowing people in the city to hail modified versions of Volvo sport utility vehicles to get around the city.

Uber also said it had acquired Otto, a 90-person start-up including former Google and Carnegie Mellon engineers that is focused on developing self-driving truck technology to upend the shipping industry."

Uber Aims for an Edge in the Race for a Self-Driving Future - The New York Times

Future iPhones could feature Intel processors, say analysts, as chipmaker embraces ARM | 9to5Mac

Perhaps also an opportune time for Apple to switch to its own A-series CPUs for future Macs?...

"Apple licenses ARM architecture to design its own A-series chips for iPhones and iPads. It has historically commissioned TSMC and Samsung to make these chips, though increasingly moving away from Samsung: TSMC is reported to be the only manufacturer of processors for the iPhone 7, and perhaps also for the iPhone 8.

Intel coming on board as an ARM chipmaker creates two very good reasons for Apple to consider it as a future supplier. First, Apple generally likes to have a diverse supply-chain, to avoid becoming dependent on a single supplier. Second, commissioning both Mac and iOS device chips from Intel would give Apple additional bargaining power for both product lines."

Future iPhones could feature Intel processors, say analysts, as chipmaker embraces ARM | 9to5Mac

The Shadow Brokers Mess Is What Happens When the NSA Hoards Zero-Days | WIRED

Also see NSA’s use of software flaws to hack foreign targets posed risks to cybersecurity (The Washington Post)

"A Cisco spokesperson confirmed that the NSA hadn’t previously reported the vulnerability the company is now patching. Given that the data stolen by Shadow Brokers appears to be three years old, that could mean the NSA may have used the hacking technique in secret for years—and possibly allowed it to fall into the hands of its adversaries for just as long.

Grossman argues that demonstrates the need for a more public debate over when the NSA should hoard zero days and when it should disclose them to vendors in order to improve the overall security of the internet. “I think they should be encouraged to have zero days at their disposal to accomplish their mission,” says Grossman. “But they should have a well-defined time after which they need to release them so we can properly defend ourselves.”"

The Shadow Brokers Mess Is What Happens When the NSA Hoards Zero-Days | WIRED

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac Comes With Sierra Support, Standalone Toolbox App - Mac Rumors

See this Parallels press release for more details

"New features in Desktop 12 include having Windows 10 "always on" in the background, the ability to instantly launch Windows apps, the ability to schedule incremental backups and Windows updates, the ability to assign special behaviors to Windows apps, improved integration for Microsoft Edge, Outlook, and Office 365, and Xbox app support. Additionally, Parallels has partnered with Blizzard to provide specific support for the hit game Overwatch.

Version 12 also includes 90 percent faster snapshot creation, 60 percent faster suspension of VMs, 25 percent faster shared folder performance, 25 percent faster compilation of Visual Studio projects, and up to 10 percent in battery life improvements for "certain environments.""

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac Comes With Sierra Support, Standalone Toolbox App - Mac Rumors

You Can Get a $50 Phone From Amazon, If You Don’t Mind the Ads - Bloomberg

From the Amazon product description: dual SIM and unlocked (but check the fine print, e.g., no Sprint or Verizon Wireless service, and only partial 4G LTE data on AT&T and T-Mobile)

"While America’s wireless carriers are phasing out subsidies for high-end phones, Amazon is tacking the other way. Starting last month, the retailer began offering Prime subscribers the Blu for $50 if buyers are willing to put up with ads on their lock screens. (It’s also selling a similar Motorola phone from Lenovo for $200, or $150 with ads.) Samuel Ohev-Zion, Blu’s chief executive officer, isn’t coy about who his audience is. “They’re not able to afford an iPhone,” he says.
The Blu R1 HD, which began shipping last month, has a just-OK battery and cameras and speakers that aren’t exactly cutting-edge. The 1 gigabyte of RAM and 8GB of storage space on the cheapest version of the R1 HD is a little anemic, but both can be doubled for an extra $10, putting them in line with the cheapest ($649) iPhone 6S. For $100 or less, it’s a better deal than most prepaid smartphones."

You Can Get a $50 Phone From Amazon, If You Don’t Mind the Ads - Bloomberg

The Wretched, Endless Cycle of Bitcoin Hacks - Bloomberg

From a cryptocurrency reality check

"“When users choose to store their bitcoin in a custodial wallet or exchange, they are giving the provider control over their bitcoins,” said Peter Smith, chief executive officer of Blockchain, which provides bitcoin wallets to individuals. “As a result, customers are not only subjected to the possibility that they will lose their funds via cybertheft but also that the provider can impose a tax to cover the loss of other clients, as Bitfinex is doing here.”

A more radical solution is to use technology to punish thieves. This summer, hackers siphoned off about $60 million of ethereum, the world’s second most-popular digital currency behind bitcoin. The community reacted by adopting a so-called hard fork, which effectively migrated users to a new version of ethereum in which the theft never occurred. The decision triggered a rebellion from a significant chunk of the community, who argued that nullifying the theft was a violation of ethereum’s free market ethos."

The Wretched, Endless Cycle of Bitcoin Hacks - Bloomberg

All of Google’s cloud database services are now out of beta | TechCrunch

Cloud co-opetition (check the full post for updates on Cloud SQL, Cloud Datastore, and Cloud Bigtable)

"For those who want to use Microsoft’s flagship database server in the Google Cloud, the company now also offers SQL Server images with built-in licenses (currently in beta) and the ability to bring existing licenses to its platform. Running SQL Server images incurs some extra cost on top of Google’s normal instance costs, though. That’s $0.1645 per core/hour for SQL Server Standard and $0.011 per core/hour for SQL Server Web. Using SQL Server Express, though, is free.

While Microsoft may have an edge when it comes to running SQL Server in the cloud, Google knows that it needs to offer its enterprise users the option to bring their existing applications and workloads to its cloud if it wants to wean them off Microsoft’s cloud services (which, for the time being, remain significantly more popular than Google’s among enterprise customers)."

All of Google’s cloud database services are now out of beta | TechCrunch

Major NSA/Equation Group Leak - Schneier on Security

Also see Everything you need to know about the NSA hack (but were afraid to Google) (TechCrunch)

"Okay, so let's think about the game theory here. Some group stole all of this data in 2013 and kept it secret for three years. Now they want the world to know it was stolen. Which governments might behave this way? The obvious list is short: China and Russia. Were I betting, I would bet Russia, and that it's a signal to the Obama Administration: "Before you even think of sanctioning us for the DNC hack, know where we've been and what we can do to you."

They claim to be auctioning off the rest of the data to the highest bidder. I think that's PR nonsense. More likely, that second file is random nonsense, and this is all we're going to get. It's a lot, though. Yesterday was a very bad day for the NSA."

Major NSA/Equation Group Leak - Schneier on Security

Intel blew it on mobile. Now it's trying to avoid missing out on virtual reality. - Recode

Final paragraphs from an Intel reality check; in other Intel news, see Intel Licenses ARM Technology to Boost Foundry Business (Bloomberg)

"If there was a big positive to take away from Tuesday’s opening, it was that at least the PC giants understand their predicament.

Analyst Patrick Moorhead said the fact that Intel and Microsoft appear to be on the same page is key. Microsoft and Intel talked up cooperation around virtual reality, including establishing a new set of guidelines so device makers can build a VR-ready system.

"Historically, more has been accomplished with the two working together than against each other. Intel and Microsoft were not aligned in smartphones or tablets, and the result was negative for both," he said."

Intel blew it on mobile. Now it's trying to avoid missing out on virtual reality. - Recode

Ford’s Road to Full Autonomy — NewCo Shift

Ford CEO Mark Fields explains the company's plan to make fully autonomous vehicles available in a ride-hailing or -sharing service within 5 years; also see Ford Promises Fleets of Driverless Cars Within Five Years (NYT)

"As little as four years ago, our approach was aligned with the thinking of most automakers today, which is taking incremental steps to achieve full autonomy by advancing driver assist technology. This is not how we look at it today. We learned that to achieve full autonomy, we’d have to take a completely different pathway.
So, we abandoned a stepping-stone approach and created a dedicated “top down” engineering program to deliver fully autonomous vehicles and the new mobility solutions and business opportunities that a fully autonomous vehicle could deliver."

Ford’s Road to Full Autonomy — NewCo Shift

A Charming Alternative Universe of You, Your Friends and No News - The New York Times

Escape different

"In the few weeks since the introduction of Stories, Instagram seems to be on the path to becoming a different kind of place — a network where you can experience the most intimate and endearing moments of your friends’ and acquaintances’ lives in an environment blessedly free of the news.

This might sound corny. But as more of our digital spaces become stuffed with news — and, perhaps more alarmingly, suffused with an anxiety to always put forward your best self — there seems to be a growing appetite for honest, unself-conscious personal sharing online. That is helping to fuel not only Instagram Stories but also Snapchat, which recently surpassed the unceasingly newsy Twitter in daily use, and Musical.ly, a two-year-old app on which young people (mostly) make music videos."

A Charming Alternative Universe of You, Your Friends and No News - The New York Times

Putting a computer in your brain is no longer science fiction - The Washington Post

Check the full article for an overview of related brainy ideas

"The implanted devices try to replicate the way brain cells communicate with one another. Let’s say, for example, that you are having a conversation with your boss. A healthy brain will convert that conversation from short-term memory to long-term memory by firing off a set of electrical signals. The signals fire in a specific code that is unique to each person and is a bit like a software command.

Brain diseases throw off these signaling codes. Berger’s software tries to assist the communication between brain cells by making an instantaneous prediction as to what the healthy code should be, and then firing off in that pattern. In separate studies funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency over the last several years, Berger’s chips were shown to improve recall functions in both rats and monkeys."

Putting a computer in your brain is no longer science fiction - The Washington Post

How Many of Our Vehicles Could Be Electric? How Does 87% Strike You? - Bloomberg

87% would be a good start; for another timely transport trend, see Uber and Lyft Want to Replace Public Buses (Bloomberg)

"With all the limits on electric vehicles—battery life, cost, the availability of charging stations—you might expect that at most 50 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads could be replaced by more-sustainable cars.
Buckle up: It’s 87 percent, MIT reckons, in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Energy. Such a proportion, if it were the case today, would lead to a 60 percent reduction in total U.S. gasoline consumption and a 30 percent decrease in the 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions emitted by all American transportation in 2014.1 Transport represents 26 percent of America’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
That's huge. It's also a thought experiment. Currently 0.7 percent of vehicles in the U.S. are electric, and plug-in electric vehicle sales declined 17 percent from 2014 to 2015."

How Many of Our Vehicles Could Be Electric? How Does 87% Strike You? - Bloomberg

Google to move Hangouts On Air to YouTube Live (Engadget)

In other Google+ disintegration news...

"Several years ago when Google+ launched, one of its key features was Hangouts, a video chat program that allowed several people to chat online at once. Hangouts grew so popular that it eventually spun off a public-facing option called Hangouts On Air, where would-be stars could interact with their adoring fans. Indeed, actual public figures like Tyra Banks, Brad Pitt and even the President have taken to Hangouts On Air in the past to answer queries. But come September 12th however, that option will be no longer, at least on Google+. Instead, users will be prompted to use YouTube Live, Google's other live video product, to broadcast in real-time."

Google to move Hangouts On Air to YouTube Live

Google Duo Makes Video Calling Between Operating Systems Easier - The New York Times

Looks like it's time for Apple to release Facetime for Android; in the meantime, as noted in the final paragraph of the article, Duo is more likely to be a competitive threat to Skype and Facebook Messenger. Also see Google Debuts New Chat App to Rival Skype, FaceTime (Bloomberg) and Google launches Duo video-calling app, a dull cross-OS FaceTime rival (TechCrunch).

"“You shouldn’t have to worry about whether your call will connect, or if your friend is using the same type of device as you are,” Google said in a statement, in a veiled jab at Apple. “It’s no wonder that nearly half of U.S. adults never make video calls on mobile.”

All of this feeds into Google’s strategy to attract iPhone users over to Android. Google’s apps generally work better on Android devices than on iPhones, so the more that people get hooked on Google’s core apps, the less incentive there is to stay loyal to Apple."

Google Duo Makes Video Calling Between Operating Systems Easier - The New York Times

Google learns that cool isn’t cheap - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from an Alphabet strategy reality check (which overlooks the fact that Verizon is also spending $Bs to compete with Google in Internet advertising...); also see ‘Wireless fiber’ could give us gigabit Internet speeds with no cables at all (The Washington Post)

"Yet now, with just half a dozen cities hooked up, the Wall Street Journal reports that Google is applying the brakes out of concern that the process costs way too much money. But how could the company not have seen this coming? Consider that it cost Verizon Communications Inc. $23 billion to string its Fios fiber optic network to about 18 million homes over the past decade. In Boston Verizon is vowing to replace virtually all of the city’s copper phone lines over the next six years at a cost of at least $300 million.

Verizon, unlike Google, is a telecom company born and bred. It already has millions of miles of wire in the ground and it co-owns nearly every telephone pole in Boston. Still, Verizon will need hundreds of millions and most of a decade to get the job done. Even for people who know what they’re doing, wiring a city is very expensive and very difficult. Apparently, this was news to Google."

Google learns that cool isn’t cheap - The Boston Globe

Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple 'is sort of a lonely job' | The Washington Post

From an extensive interview; also see We read that 10,000-word interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook so you don’t have to (Recode)

"Do you have a concern about privacy as you push into AI?

No. I think that talented people can come up with fantastic ways of using AI without violating privacy. There’s a new technology called differential privacy which essentially looks at large data sets to predict user behaviors and requests without going to the precise individual, which might violate privacy.

Now there are some things that we do look at — like if you buy songs, it’s a reasonable expectation that we know what songs you buy because you buy them from us. And we use that information with machine learning to recommend other songs you might like.

What about augmented or virtual reality?

I think AR [augmented reality] is extremely interesting and sort of a core technology. So, yes, it’s something we’re doing a lot of things on behind that curtain that we talked about. [Laughs.]"

Tim Cook, the interview: Running Apple 'is sort of a lonely job' | The Washington Post

Dan Rather Wants to Be Your Facebook Friend - The Atlantic

Closing quote: "“I don’t want to preach about it, but certainly it causes me to re-dedicate myself to do quality journalism. I don’t profess to understand the Facebook phenomenon. I don’t understand it. I’m constantly in awe of the potential of it. We’re no longer in the early stages of the digital revolution, but who knows what’s ahead.”"

"“To find oneself speaking, metaphorically at least, to almost 20 million people—this last 24 hours has been the closest thing I have felt to the heyday of the CBS Evening News,” he said. “Particularly given the startling reaction to this most recent post, which I will tell you staggers me—frankly, I feel like I’ve been transported to very deep outer space.”

Rather also feels like he’s experienced the future of journalism firsthand, he says. Facebook is in many ways deeply problematic for journalism’s business model. It exerts enormous influence on the economics of the news industry, commands a monstrous portion of online advertising revenue, and has upended the distribution of the news itself. But if the medium is the message, as the old McLuhanian adage goes, surely the story is to some extent the audience. Or to paraphrase Rather, the best reporting in the world isn’t worth a damn unless people actually see it. Right now, Facebook is where the people are."

Dan Rather Wants to Be Your Facebook Friend - The Atlantic

Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquires SGI for $275 million | VentureBeat | Enterprise | by Jordan Novet

Tbd if HPE will next acquire what's left of Netscape from Verizon/AOL (although some of the Netscape server products ended up at Oracle, via iPlanet)

"Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which split from HP last year, today announced that it has acquired SGI, a company that makes servers, storage, and software for high-performance computing, for $275 million in cash and debt.

SGI (originally known as Silicon Graphics) was cofounded in 1981 by Jim Clark, who later cofounded Netscape with Marc Andreessen. Following a years-long decline, and after being de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange, SGI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. That year it was acquired by Rackable Systems, which later adopted the SGI branding. SGI’s former campus in Mountain View, California, is now the site of the Googleplex."

Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquires SGI for $275 million | VentureBeat | Enterprise | by Jordan Novet

Facebook rolls out code to nullify Adblock Plus’ workaround | TechCrunch

Bottom line: "Neither side is likely to relent, though, so we’re in for a war between Facebook’s elite engineering team and a crowdsourced army of ad blocking hackers."

"On Tuesday, Facebook announced it had blended the HTML of its ads on the web into its content so they’d still appear to users with ad blocking software. The company argued that by providing users with more opt-outs of ad targeting, it was addressing a top concern of ad block users, executing on its mission to connect people to businesses as well as each other, and that it’s wrong to avoid compensating websites for their ad-supported services.

Within hours, the leading blocker software company Adblock Plus quickly vowed to crowdsource a workaround from its community. Today it released that update to its filter that it claims once again removes Facebook’s ads. But now Facebook is accusing it of ensnaring legitimate content from friends and Pages, and is rolling out the code necessary to thwart Adblock Plus’ workaround."

Facebook rolls out code to nullify Adblock Plus’ workaround | TechCrunch

Microsoft is buying a company that lets viewers control video game live streams | The Verge

For more Beam background, see Startup Spotlight: Teenager heads up Beam to help game streamers interact with viewers (GeekWire)

"Today, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire live streaming service Beam, a Seattle-based company that lets users influence and interact with a video game being streamed by another player. Beam launched in January to compete against well-established game streaming services from Twitch and YouTube. It set itself apart by taking a core concept made popular by streamers — the notion of letting players control a game from afar — and turning into a unique streaming platform."

Microsoft is buying a company that lets viewers control video game live streams | The Verge

Report Envisions Bitcoin’s Technology at the Heart of Global Finance - The New York Times

Blockchain != Bitcoin; later in the article: "The report does not make a single mention of Bitcoin."

"The 130-page report from the forum is the product of a year of research and five gatherings of executives from several major institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, Visa, MasterCard and BlackRock.

The report estimates that 80 percent of banks around the world could start distributed ledger projects by next year. Large central banks are also studying how the blockchain will alter the way money moves around the globe.

Most banks have already put together blockchain working groups and released research reports hailing the potentially transformative effect of the technology."

Report Envisions Bitcoin’s Technology at the Heart of Global Finance - The New York Times

Where the Database Market Goes From Here – tecosystems

Excerpt from a timely DBMS market dynamics reality check

"By necessity, most of the major emergent non-relational database platforms of the last decade – projects such as Cassandra, Hadoop, MongoDB or Redis – were specialized in their design. In order to compete with the incumbent general purpose relational database platforms, their focus was asymmetric. Of all of the technology categories, database buyers have perhaps the least tolerance for risk. Which means that to justify using something other than the tried and true relational database technologies that had evolved and been improved over decades, alternatives couldn’t just be a little bit faster or a little bit more accessible: they had to be an order of magnitude improvement or more.

This, plus their built-from-scratch nature, inevitably produced a host of new database software that was highly differentiated from the traditional relational databases in approach, scale and function. Which is how we ended up with a database market composed of half a dozen or more relatively distinct categories.

Inevitably, however, these specialized platforms will seek to become less specialized over time. Much as lightweight, developer–friendly MySQL steadily added features such as stored procedures and triggers due to enterprise demand, many of today’s vertical non-relational stores will trend back towards their general purpose, relational ancestors."

Where the Database Market Goes From Here – tecosystems

The Smart Home Assistant | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis

Check the full post for a review of potential market leaders and IFTTT is coming to an app near you (IFTTT blog) for details on IFTTT embedding

"There’s been a lot of talk recently about advancements in the smart home arena, especially about new ways to control smart home devices. I’ve frequently heard Amazon’s Echo referred to as a smart home device and, just this week, web service IFTTT announced new partnerships which are intended to allow smart home devices to connect in an automated fashion to other devices and services. However, what we’re still missing when it comes to the smart home is a true smart home assistant – a counterpart, if you will, to the smart assistants that come baked into every modern smartphone operating system. This post dives into what that means in practice and who might be best positioned to deliver on this vision."

The Smart Home Assistant | Tech.pinions - Perspective, Insight, Analysis

Mossberg: The 9.7 inch iPad Pro might be your lightest laptop, thanks to Logitech - Recode

Walt Mossberg is ready to leave his laptop behind; tangentially, see Google Docs finally works properly on the iPad Pro (The Verge)

"Between the right-sized iPad Pro and the new Logitech Create, I think using an iPad instead of your laptop for productivity as well as consumption is finally a pleasure. If you can afford the price, and love the iPad, the solution is now out there, at Logitech.com and Amazon. I love a good gadget."

Mossberg: The 9.7 inch iPad Pro might be your lightest laptop, thanks to Logitech - Recode

Elon Musk Says SolarCity Will Sell a Roof Integrated With Solar Panels - Fortune

Also see Elon Musk raises the (solar) roof (SFGate), which notes "“You don’t want to put panels on a roof you’re going to replace,” Musk said. “So what if we could offer you a roof that looks way better than a normal roof? A roof that last longer than a normal roof?”"

"Musk says his goal is for SolarCity to sell solar roof and battery products that make homeowners so excited that they want to show their neighbors. SolarCity plans to launch two new products before the end of the year, and presumably the solar roof will be one of them.

“It’s a solar roof, as opposed to a module on a roof. . . it’s not a thing on a roof, it’s the roof,” said Musk. He added: “it’s something that will be a standout.”"

Elon Musk Says SolarCity Will Sell a Roof Integrated With Solar Panels - Fortune

Apple Said to Plan First Pro Laptop Overhaul in Four Years - Bloomberg

Check the full article for a summary of anticipated new MacBook Pro features; for a broader innovation reality check, see Apple and a bunch of others are falling into a product rut (Boston Globe)

"The updated notebooks will be thinner, include a touch screen strip for function keys, and will be offered with more powerful and efficient graphics processors for expert users such as video gamers, said the people, who asked not to be named. 
The new computers have been in advanced testing within Apple since earlier this year, said one of the people, who didn’t want to be identified discussing products before their release. The MacBook Pros aren’t likely to debut at an event currently scheduled for Sept. 7 to introduce next-generation versions of the iPhone, according to one of the people. Apple spokesman Bill Evans declined to comment."

Apple Said to Plan First Pro Laptop Overhaul in Four Years - Bloomberg

Virtual Reality Classrooms Another Way Chinese Kids Gain an Edge - Bloomberg

Digital Ritalin?

"This is the Fuzhou hive of NetDragon Websoft Holdings Ltd. a hack-and-slash videogame maker and unlikely candidate to transform learning via headset-mounted virtual reality teachers. It’s one of a growing number of companies from International Business Machines Corp. to Lenovo Group Ltd. studying how to use technology like VR to arrest a fickle child’s attention. (And perhaps someday to make a mint from that data by showing them ads.)

China - where parents have been known to try anything to give their kids an edge and tend to be less obsessive about privacy - may be an ideal testing ground for the VR classroom of the future. As it’s envisioned, there’ll be no napping in the back row. Lessons change when software predicts a student’s mind is wandering by spotting an upward tilt of the head. Dull lectures can be immediately livened up with pop quizzes. Even the instructor’s gender can change to suit the audience, such as making the virtual educator male in cultures where teachers are typically men."

Virtual Reality Classrooms Another Way Chinese Kids Gain an Edge - Bloomberg

Delta identifies cause of computer crash that crippled flights Monday - The Washington Post

I'm guessing some extra AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform architects and salespeople are spending time in Atlanta this week

"What happened, in fact, was that the Delta computers that control everything from reservations and boarding passes to crew and gate assignments toppled like a row of dominoes when one thing went wrong early Monday. 

A power control module malfunctioned, causing a surge that cut off power to the airline’s main computer network. When that happens, the system is designed to switch in the blink of an eye to backup computer systems. On Monday, however, some of the backups did not kick in.

“When this happened, critical systems and network equipment didn’t switch over to backups,” Delta Chief Operating Officer Gil West said in a statement. “Other systems did. And now we’re seeing instability in these systems.”"

Delta identifies cause of computer crash that crippled flights Monday - The Washington Post

P&G to Scale Back Targeted Facebook Ads - WSJ

Digital advertising evolution

"“We targeted too much, and we went too narrow,” he said in an interview, “and now we’re looking at: What is the best way to get the most reach but also the right precision?”

Mr. Pritchard said P&G won’t cut back on Facebook spending and will employ targeted ads where it makes sense, such as pitching diapers to expectant mothers. He said P&G has ramped up spending both on digital sites and traditional platforms. One category the company is scaling back: smaller websites that lack the reach of sites such as Facebook, Google and YouTube."

P&G to Scale Back Targeted Facebook Ads - WSJ

Facebook Blocks Ad Blockers, but It Strives to Make Ads More Relevant - The New York Times

See A New Way to Control the Ads You See on Facebook, and an Update on Ad Blocking (Facebook Newsroom) for details and options

"To shut down the blockers, Facebook is taking aim at the signifiers in digital ads that blockers use to detect whether something is an ad. Facebook’s desktop sitewide changes will then make ad content indistinguishable from non-advertising content. For blockers to get around these changes, Facebook said they would have to begin analyzing the content of the ads themselves, a costly and laborious process.

Still, Facebook will continue to let people have some control over the ads they do and do not see. On Tuesday, the company also introduced an overhauled version of its ad preferences tool, which lets people opt out of seeing certain types of ads on the site. That will help Facebook serve more relevant ads, rather than bombard people with ads they do not want.

“We want people to help us do a better job with ads, rather than to fundamentally alter the way the service is rendered,” Mr. Bosworth said."

Facebook Blocks Ad Blockers, but It Strives to Make Ads More Relevant - The New York Times

Think Amazon’s Drone Delivery Idea Is a Gimmick? Think Again - The New York Times

From a drone delivery reality check

"“It’s a vastly easier problem — flying than driving,” said Keller Rinaudo, the co-founder of Zipline, a drone-delivery start-up that will begin deploying a system to deliver medical goods in Rwanda this fall. “If we had regulatory permission, we’d be delivering to your house right now,” he added, referring to the San Francisco Bay Area.

If Amazon’s drone program succeeds (and Amazon says it is well on track), it could fundamentally alter the company’s cost structure. A decade from now, drones would reduce the unit cost of each Amazon delivery by about half, analysts at Deutsche Bank projected in a recent research report. If that happens, the economic threat to competitors would be punishing — “retail stores would cease to exist,” Deutsche’s analysts suggested, and we would live in a world more like that of “The Jetsons” than our own."

Think Amazon’s Drone Delivery Idea Is a Gimmick? Think Again - The New York Times

Playing The Long Game Inside Tim Cook's Apple | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

Apparently unaware of the many sleep-related iOS apps...

"The experience now being sold by Apple has expanded far beyond that. As Cue says, grinning at the ambition: "We want to be there from when you wake up till when you decide to go to sleep." Cook himself is only slightly less brash. "Our strategy is to help you in every part of your life that we can," he says, "whether you’re sitting in the living room, on your desktop, on your phone, or in your car."

It’s impossible to understand Apple’s future, and Cook’s challenge, without acknowledging that the experience Apple sells today is not just a collection of devices, but a web of hardware, software, and services that is itself connected to other webs of apps and services made primarily by other companies. These other webs include everything from the "app economy," which already runs on Apple software and devices, to emerging ones such as the connected home and car as well as wearable computing. To achieve its goal of serving its customers all day long, Apple must do more than ensure that its own products work brilliantly—it also must attempt to make them work seamlessly with these many other disparate networks. It must be a notable, reliable player in ecosystems that it doesn’t own itself."

Playing The Long Game Inside Tim Cook's Apple | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

This is the end of Hulu as we know it - The Washington Post

Also see Hulu Is Killing Off Its Free TV Service, But Yahoo Will Lap Up the Crumbs (Gizmodo)

"After years of serving the Internet thousands of shows for free, Hulu is cutting off support for its no-cost streaming video service. To keep watching, viewers will either need to start paying for a plan or go through one of Hulu's commercial partners.

More on the latter in a second but first: Hulu's decision to terminate free streaming is a major step as it tries to gain more traction against other streaming video heavyweights, such as Netflix, YouTube and Amazon. Together, those three account for nearly 57 percent of all Internet traffic consumed in North America during peak hours. Hulu's share stands at a measly 2.7 percent."

This is the end of Hulu as we know it - The Washington Post

Walmart Rewrites Its E-Commerce Strategy With $3.3 Billion Deal for Jet.com - The New York Times

Also see Walmart’s $3 Billion Jet.com Buy Still Leaves It Way Behind (Wired)

"The purchase, and a shuffling in the executive ranks that comes with it, are Walmart’s clearest acknowledgments yet that its online strategy is not working. It also sends a strong message to the rest of the consumer and retail industry: When it comes to competing against Amazon, not even the mightiest brick-and-mortar stores can go at it alone.

“The other retailers are going to be looking up to it and saying, ‘You know, absolutely, we’ve been failing at doing this,’” said Jharonne Martis, a retail analyst at Thomson Reuters. “Bringing in an expert might be the key to it.”"

Walmart Rewrites Its E-Commerce Strategy With $3.3 Billion Deal for Jet.com - The New York Times

When a Malfunction on Land Keeps a Fleet of Delta Planes From the Sky - The New York Times

Oops; also see Delta computers crash, causing delays and cancellations. Experts say it shouldn’t have happened (The Washington Post)

"“In the case of Delta, whatever occurred was clearly a catastrophic failure, and it is alarming that the backup system didn’t kick in,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group.

Delta said the problem was touched off by a power failure about 2:30 a.m. Eastern, shutting down computers and grounding flights for about six hours before the airline began to bring its systems back online. (As it happens, the culprit inside Delta — a failed switchgear, an item similar to a circuit-breaker box in a house — is a piece of equipment typically installed to guard against breakdowns.)"

When a Malfunction on Land Keeps a Fleet of Delta Planes From the Sky - The New York Times

Walmart is buying Jet.com for $3 billion and will announce the deal on Monday - Recode

A new runway for Jet

"Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is set to acquire two-year-old online retailer Jet.com in what appears to be the largest-ever acquisition of an e-commerce company, according to multiple sources familiar with the transaction.

The deal is expected to value Jet at right around $3 billion, according to these people. Some senior Jet executives, including co-founder and CEO Marc Lore, will have incentive bonuses on top of that.

Lore will continue to run Jet as well as Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce operations after the acquisition closes."

Walmart is buying Jet.com for $3 billion and will announce the deal on Monday - Recode

Once Taunted by Steve Jobs, Companies Are Now Big Customers of Apple - The New York Times

Work different

"Apple’s iPhones and iPads have become the preferred mobile computing devices for corporations, as industries from insurers to airlines aim to ditch bulky PCs and give their employees the ability to do their jobs from anywhere using smartphones or tablets.

For Apple, which is struggling to reverse declining sales of its iPhones and Macs and has seen overall revenues drop for two quarters in a row, the corporate market is a surprising bright spot. Sales of high-end iPads to business customers in particular have been strong. Nearly half of all iPads are now bought by corporations and governments, according to the research firm Forrester."

Once Taunted by Steve Jobs, Companies Are Now Big Customers of Apple - The New York Times

Facebook at Work interview with Julien Codorniou and Kyle McGinn - Business Insider

From an extensive Facebook at Work overview

"The man heading up Facebook at Work is Julien Codorniou, who previously led the company's platform partnerships team.

"I used to work at Microsoft, I have a passion for enterprise software," Codorniou says. "When it was the time to start building a proper growth team for Facebook at Work, when the product was ready to be tested, I volunteered to do it. When it became clear that we had a very nice opportunity there, I decided to go full-time and build the global team."

And that team is, unusually for Facebook, almost entirely based in London (with some support from Tel Aviv). It's the first major Facebook product that wasn't made in the US. Codorniou mentions Facebook's offices in New York and Seattle as other places where the company works on products outside of its Menlo Park HQ, but says that "we wanted to see if we could build a significant initiative for Facebook outside of the US.""

Facebook at Work interview with Julien Codorniou and Kyle McGinn - Business Insider

Microsoft: a Gartner cloud computing leader across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS | Blog | Microsoft Azure

Check the source for a handy Gartner MQ summary table and see AWS, Microsoft Azure clear leaders in Gartner’s IaaS Magic Quadrant (SiliconAngle) for the latest IaaS quadrant diagram; in other cloud news, see Rackspace Rises After Report It’s Close to Being Sold to PE Firm (Bloomberg)

"While we are proud of our continued leadership in cloud infrastructure, we are committed to delivering the breadth and depth of cloud solutions to support our customers’ natural path to cloud adoption. Microsoft is the only vendor recognized as a leader across Gartner’s Magic Quadrants for IaaS, PaaS and SaaS solutions for enterprise cloud workloads. We are in a unique position with our extensive portfolio of cloud offerings designed for the needs of enterprises, including Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings like Office 365, CRM Online and Power BI and Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). And Microsoft’s cloud vision is a unified story that we’re executing on with the same datacenter regions, compliance commitments, operational model, billing, support and more. The ability to deploy and use applications close to data with consistent identity and a shared ecosystem, means greater efficiency, less complexity, and cost savings."

Microsoft: a Gartner cloud computing leader across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS | Blog | Microsoft Azure

Mercedes Is About to Unveil an Entire Fleet of Electric Vehicles - Bloomberg

E-competition; on a related note, see Everyone Despises SolarCity Deal, Except Tesla Shareholders (NYT)

"In addition to the e-cars, Mercedes parent Daimler AG is planning its first all-electric heavy-duty delivery truck by the start of the next decade. The company has also promised electric versions of each of the vehicles in the Smart city-car brand.
“When Tesla started coming up many years ago we decided at the time, and I believe correctly, that the technology wasn’t quite ready,” Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler’s trucks chief, said in an interview last week at the urban e-truck’s unveiling. “Now we believe the time has come to earn money in e-mobility over the next five to 10 years.”"

Mercedes Is About to Unveil an Entire Fleet of Electric Vehicles - Bloomberg

Amazon’s latest weapon in the e-commerce wars: Its own air force - The Washington Post

Now operating a fleet of 40 planes leased from air-freight companies

"Whatever Amazon’s long game is on logistics, it is clear that it is looking to make a splash with the inaugural flight of Amazon One. The company is flying the aircraft on Friday in the Seafair Air Show, an annual event near its headquarters in Seattle. The side of the plane is emblazoned with the words Prime Air, and its underside features the Amazon logo. The curved Amazon arrow appears on the tail. The plane’s tail number — N1997A — is a prime number, a gimmick the company says is meant as a nod to its Prime customers. Eleven of its leased planes have already been in the air ferrying goods, but this plane is the first to be splashed with Amazon branding. The rest of the fleet will be getting the logo treatment soon."

Amazon’s latest weapon in the e-commerce wars: Its own air force - The Washington Post

Identity crisis threatens to sideline Hadoop as the leader of Big Data | SiliconANGLE

Tangentially, see Big Data leader Hortonworks’ shares plunge 25 percent on Q2 sales miss (SiliconAngle)

"Hadoop’s success has spawned unintended ecosystem consequences. The Hadoop moniker has always applied to a collection of open source Big Data tools that any one of several vendors curated, led by Cloudera, Hortonworks, and MapR. But we’ve seen a tremendous proliferation of similar, innovative open source tools that are creating alternative ecosystems, such as Spark, Kafka, Mesos, S3 and Cassandra, among dozens of others.  The rapid surge of this new set of tools threatens to sideline Hadoop as the “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” for the evolving Big Data ecosystem.
Hadoop’s identity crisis is creating challenges for big data professionals, because the ecosystem now encompasses such a broader menu of tools that it waters down the ecosystem’s coherence"

Identity crisis threatens to sideline Hadoop as the leader of Big Data | SiliconANGLE

Mossberg: TVs are still too complicated, and it’s not your fault - Recode

A timely TV tribulations checkpoint

"I don’t have buyer’s remorse … yet. The OLED thing is great, and I may even be able to dump the Roku because Amazon is built into the TV (I’ll keep the Apple TV because I’m invested in iTunes, Apple Photos and AirPlay).

But I kept thinking, while being barely helped at Best Buy, and then stumbling to explain the UI to my very smart wife, that it was no wonder that my old TV adviser, Steve Jobs, thought toward the end of his life in 2011 that the TV as a device was ripe for disruption.

He never got a chance to do it. But somebody should. Even a cartoon bird and a promising operating system still make LG’s $2,800 TV harder to use than it should be."

Mossberg: TVs are still too complicated, and it’s not your fault - Recode