Tech News Weekly (Video LO)

Network World says the Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on D-Link, a company that makes routers, smart plugs, security cameras, and baby monitors, claiming unfair practices. The suit claims that D-Link engaged in unfair or deceptive acts, and that they failed to take reasonable steps to secure their products, making them vulnerable to hackers.Samsung's 2016 calendar year seemed to be defined by many as the year of exploding Note 7s. It turns out, even in light of all that negative attention, Samsung is projecting record profits in its Q4 2016 earnings thanks to its strong positions in the OLED and chip industries.Sources tell TechCrunch that Chinese drone-maker DJI now owns a majority stake in high-end Swedish camera company Hasselblad, which means your future quadcopter could come with a pretty fancy camera.This has been the CES that Amazon built, sort of. Alexa is EVERYWHERE, including coming soon to Ford vehicles by way of its SYNC 3 technology. Ford drivers will soon be able to use Alexa to control their media, check the weather, and control smart home devices while driving.According to a regulatory filing, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other Apple execs are taking pay cuts due to the company's lousy year. This is the first time the company has missed sales goals since he took over the company as well as the first miss in the past fifteen years. Lindsey Turrentine and Father Robert Ballecer discuss home automation and voice controlled devices at CES Sam Machkovech talks Nintendo Switch, Nvidia, and other announcements from CES. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Guest: Sam Machkovech Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Apple's growth in iPhone sales may be slowing, but its app store revenue is doing gangbusters. The company says they paid developers $20 billion dollars throughout the year and even broke records on New Year's Day.Quartz reports that the US department of Labor is suing Google over disclosure of compensation data and documents. Google could be barred from all federal contracts for not divulging confidential employment information from thousands of employees.Google announced that it is opening up its Assistant AI to Android TV and beyond.Nvidia unveiled its new Shield TV streaming box with 4K streaming capability. Additionally, Google Assistant is in the box, facilitated by a remote with a built in microphone. Nvidia also showed off the Nvidia Spot, a hybrid microphone speaker that can extend access to Assistant throughout the home.Corning showed off a concept car made partially of Gorilla glass. Corning glass is thinner, lighter, and more scratch resistant than the glass that car-makers usually use. The Corning glass dashboard and center console contains fiber optic controls, but it's also flexible which means it's easier to produce.The resolution wars continue as Dell showed off its new Ultrasharp 32 Ultra HD 8K Monitor at CES, a 31.5" monitor at 7680x4320 resolution with 280 pixels per inch. Expect the monitor to hit store shelves later this year for $4,999. Kurt Wagner from Recode discussed how Facebook's employee culture embraces secrecy of internal projects, effectively keeping leaks from hitting the media. Fr. Robert Ballecer shows off a few of his favorite gadgets from the Pepcom show floor at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Guest: Kurt Wagner Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

As the Republican-led Congress begins a new session this week, Politico reports that the GOP has adopted new rules banning and imposing hefty fines for livestreaming or otherwise broadcasting protests on the House floor.Apple removed the New York Times app from its app store late last month at the request of the Chinese government, which cited that the chinese and english language versions of the app violated local regulations. Those regulations were not explicitly defined in the request.The Wall Street Journal says consumers spent $967.6 million in mobile games for iOS and Android over the holidays. This figure is up more than 50 percent since last year. Nearly 90% of all gross app revenue came from games.Tesla announced that it missed its target for 2016 vehicle deliveries by about 4,000 vehicles, seeing a slowdown in production during the last quarter thanks to changes to the Autopilot software. But today, Tesla also started producing batteries at its Gigafactory in Nevada, which is under construction and currently only around 30 percent complete.Medium, The publishing platform started by the founder of Twitter and Blogger, announced layoffs today. In a post on his struggling platform, Ev Williams said they will let go a third of their employees, close their offices in New York and DC, part ways with transitional executives, and refocus on a "less proven" way to pay writers. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

The consumer electronics show is gearing up to begin on Thursday, but product announcements are already rolling in. Including a number of smart assistants for the home, similar to Amazon's Echo. Lenovo and Mattel, yes the toy maker, proved that the category is about to take off showing off their own smart assistants at this year's show.Mark Zuckerberg's yearly challenge to himself for 2017 is something more than simply creating a home AI system. Like a politician, Mark plans to visit all 50 states throughout the year to talk with people about how they live their lives, and how those lives have been affected by technology.Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance in Japan is about to put IBM's Watson Explorer AI to work as an insurance claim worker, replacing 34 human employees in the process. The move is expected to increase productivity by 30%, saving the company around $1.1 million per year.A new report by TrendForce says that mobile payments are about to encounter significant growth in 2017. $585 billion was spent using mobile payment services last year, and the report shows that the market should see a jump of around 25% throughout 2017. Hosts: Jason Howell and Ron Richards Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Research by Security Research Labs shows how easy it is to abuse flight reservation systems, with three systems making up 90 percent of all reservations worldwide and utilizing 70's and 80's era technology to do it. As a result, weakened authentication makes it easy for anyone to capture personal and booking information using relatively simple methods.Tesla is rolling out the first big update to its Enhanced Autopilot system, but only to the first 1000 cars in its fleet for starters. The enhancements include Traffic Aware Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warnings, and Low Speed Autosteer. Elon Musk says Autopilot 2.0 will reach feature parity to 1.0 in the first half of 2017.Bitcoin apparently had a new years resolution: To reach higher than $1000, and it did that thanks to a good year that saw it climb 125 percent in 2016. It reached $1,022 on the Bitstamp exchange, which is the highest it's been since the Mt. Gox hack in late 2013 saw its value plunge from its all time high of $1163 to less than $400.At the top of many people's New Years resolutions list is likely to strike a better work/life balance. In France, employment law is helping all of its workers do just that by affording workers the right to disconnect from technology during off-hours. Employers with 50 or more workers are now required to work with employees to negotiate ways that they can switch off when not at work. Russell Holly from VRheads discusses how virtual reality can be used to help gamers get in shape. Hosts: Jason Howell and Ron Richards Guest: Russell Holly Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Alex Kantrowitz from Buzzfeed, Selena Larson from CNN, and Dave Gershgorn from Quartz join Megan Morrone and Jason Howell to talk about the biggest Artificial Intelligence stories from throughout the year.Artificial Intelligence had a major coming out party throughout 2016. It became a household name in many ways, and moved from this thing we saw coming, to something that seems to be consuming all aspects of technology.The White House said that AI would spur economic growth, but at the cost of millions of jobs, and those changes could be right around the corner.In some ways, institutional bias can be introduced into the production of AI systems, influencing the products we use that rely on those systems.AI is beginning to make its way into the medical field, with Baidu launching a chatbot called Melody that helps doctors treat their patients through text conversations.The next generation of computer hacking could involve tricking AI into thinking it is seeing something that it's not. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Guests: Alex Kantrowitz, Selena Larson, and Dave Gershgorn Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Kurt Wagner from Recode joins Jason Howell and Megan Morrone to discuss the year's biggest social media stories. Snapchat had its biggest year, but encountered many speed bumps along the way. Facebook had success with live video, but continuously stumbled as it dealt with the impact and influence of fake news. Instagram emulated some of the successes of Snapchat, and effectively revitalized its service in new ways. Twitter struggled to increase its user count, and tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer. Hosts: Megan Morrone, Jason Howell, and Kurt Wagner Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica joins Megan Morrone and Jason Howell to pick apart the biggest gaming news from 2016. Virtual Reality legitimized itself with the release of the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive, and Playstation VR. 4k and HDR came to consoles by way of the Xbox One S and the Playstation 4 Pro. Pokemon Go burst onto the scene, but quickly trailed off. Super Mario Run for iOS might be a big transitional point for Nintendo. Finally, a look at the biggest games from 2016, as well as the most anticipated releases expected for 2017. Hosts: Megan Morrone, Jason Howell, and Sam Machkovech Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Tim Stevens from CNET Roadshow joins Megan Morrone and Jason Howell to talk about all of the biggest stories from 2016 in the auto technology space. General Motors invested heavily in Lyft to secure its own spot in the race to ride hailing. Tesla unveiled the consumer-friendly Model 3, and people were willing to wait years to get one. Comma.ai unveiled its self driving car kits, only to pull them when NHTSA asked for safety information. Android Auto aimed to make phone technology in the car a bit safer. Uber began to test its self-driving fleet in Pittsburg, Ohio. Chevrolet showcased its Bolt, though it met a number of delays on the way to market. Hosts: Megan Morrone, Jason Howell, and Tim Stevens Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Megan Morrone, Jason Howell, and Iain Thomson from The Register take a look at some of the biggest security and privacy stories from 2016. The Internet of Things has proven to be a powerful vector for widespread Internet attacks. The DNC is hacked by purported Russian Government hackers and sets a precedent for election hacktivism. Yahoo and Adult Friend Finder hacks put many millions of user details at risk. NSA spy tools are put up for auction by the Shadow Brokers. The UK passes the Investigatory Powers Bill, broadening its surveillance powers in unprecedented ways. A terror attack in San Bernardino sparks a months long debate around backdoors and encryption, and Apple refuses to play ball. Messaging services double down on encrypted communication for its users. Hosts: Megan Morrone, Jason Howell, and Iain Thomson Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

For the first time, Consumer Reports says it does NOT recommend Apple's new MacBook Pros based on poor battery performance and reliability. After testing all three models, Consumer Reports determined that battery results were too inconsistent between trials.Those visiting the US have begun to notice a new section of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization form that asks for a person's online presence information. The optional section asks travelers to identify their online identities from a list of services.A Virgin American flight, worried about explosive batteries, was nearly diverted while in flight when an attendant spotted a wifi hotspot on board named "Samsung Galaxy Note 7." Someone finally stepped forward, revealing that they did not in fact own a Note 7, but their phone's SSID was named as such.Nintendo is going to continue making games for mobile devices. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said in an interview that the company plans to release 2-3 new games every year starting in 2017.Twitter has reportedly overcharged video ad buyers up to 35 percent from November 7 to December 12. Twitter reached out to and issued refunds to affected advertisers this week. Twitter says it was a technical error that resulted from an update to its Android client. Hosts: Jason Howell and Ron Richards Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Iain Thomson from The Register joins Jason Howell to talk about Uber's announcement that it will halt its San Francisco pilot program for its self driving vehicles after revoking Uber's registration for 16 of its autonomous vehicles. Uber says it will redeploy its vehicles elsewhere.Google confirmed that it plans to launch two new flagship wearable devices in the first quarter of 2017 along with Android Wear 2.0. The new lineup of watches will be OEM branded after a collaboration with Google.Microsoft signed a $927 million dollar contract with the US Department of Defense, providing IT support to the US Defense Information Systems Agency. Microsoft will not in fact be opening up its source code to the DoD, which was originally reported when the story broke.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg held a live video end of year sit down to look back at 2016 and during the chat, Zuckerberg said the company is "not a traditional media company", a change from its opposition to the term in recent years.Canada's telecom regulator declared that high-speed internet is in fact a basic service, and all Canadian citizens are therefore entitled to broadband internet services. Speed mandates are set at 50 megabits per second down and 10 megabits per second up, 10 times faster than current targets.Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica discusses gender roles in Super Mario Run, the Friday the 13th video game that's faithful to the movie's heritage, and a review of the new Assassin's Creed film. Hosts: Jason Howell and Iain Thomson Guest: Sam Machkovech Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

The EU's highest court ruled that indiscriminate collection of citizen emails is illegal. Collection resulting from serious crimes like terrorism would still be justified, according to the ruling. Challenges to the law are expected as a result of the ruling.A new House Judiciary Encryption Working Group report says weakening encryption with backdoors would be against the national interest. The group says the issue of encryption-forcing criminals to "go dark" is overblown. Many are seeing this as a victory for Apple in their fight with the FBI that began back in February of this year.Twitter CTO Adam Messinger joins the ever growing list of executives to leave the company this year. Also departing is VP of Product Josh McFarland, who announced he's joining venture capital firm Greylock Partners.TechCrunch says Uber is on course to lose nearly 3 billion dollars in 2016, despite explosive revenue growth and the sale of its chinese market. The ride-hailing service has not gone public yet, and with a 68 billion dollar valuation, it's currently the world's most valuable private company.The White House released a report about artificial intelligence concluding that millions of jobs occupied by lower-skilled workers will be replaced by AI leading to a widening divide in socioeconomic classes, yet will ultimately lead to a better economy with more efficient production of goods, higher average wages and fewer hours for workers. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Guest: Geoffrey Fowler Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Uber says it's working to fix a flaw in the programming that makes self-driving Ubers make unsafe right-hook-style turn through a bike lanes, endangering cyclists.The European Union charged that Facebook knew full well how to integrate its service with WhatsApp when it acquired the messaging service back in 2014 for $22 billion. Facebook faces a potential fine of 1 percent of total revenue.Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says that inside Apple, the Mac is getting treated like an ugly stepchild. Mac designers have reportedly lost clout inside the company and in a push to make the Mac more like the iPhone the company reorged so that there is no longer a dedicated Mac OS engineering team.Smile Vector is a new Twitter bot that scours the Internet for profile shots of celebrities, and then utilizes artificial intelligence to warp their once static image into motion video that shows their face evolve into other expressions they never made. A glimpse into our AI-laden future.Through a partnership with drone company Flirtey, 7-11 has officially completed 77 autonomous drone deliveries to customer homes in Nevada through regular weekend deliveries. That's a lot of slurpees. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Facebook Messenger rolls out a new update that enables group video chat of up to 50 total users simultaneously, though only the most active six will be shown on screen at once. You can also use a number of Snapchat-esque masks when chat gets boring.The Wall Street Journal says Super Mario Run is not meeting investor's expectations, despite making between an estimated $4 million and $8.3 million worldwide in its first 24 hours. The stock has fallen 11% since the app came out due in part to bad reviews, but also to worry about the game's payment model.Airbnb is looking to invade your travel planning even further by someday offering air travel booking capabilities. Sources say the company is aiming to launch the new feature before an IPO takes place sometime in the next 18 months.This year Mark Zuckerberg spent 150 hours creating an Internet of things for his home, but so far the project is more of a personal experience of getting back to simple coding than it is a new iOT platform for everyone.Waymo, Alphabet's self driving car division, showed off a new Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan sporting Waymo's self driving technology. One hundred of these vehicles will hit the road starting in 2017 as Waymo continues to test its technology.Hope Reese from TechRepublic talks about workers who make their living using Amazon's Mechanical Turk. As we move into an information society, the future of work is uncertain. One dystopian vision of what work will look like exists right now with the more than 500,000 clickworkers getting paid pennies as they log hours in Amazon's program. Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell Guest: Hope Reese Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.