Google’s Fitbit acquisition is official
Following regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the pond, Google this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of wearables pioneer, Fitbit. Google’s use of the vast amount of user health data has long been the key sticking point of r.....»»
US President-Elect Biden Starts New Twitter Account, Criticizes Policy on POTUS Account
"This will be the account for my official duties as President," tweeted U.S. president-elect Joe Biden on Thursday — but from a new account at @PresElectBiden (which will transition to @POTUS after Wednesday's inauguration). But Bloomberg repo.....»»
EFF, Cory Doctorow Warn About the Dangers of De-Platforming and Censorship
Last week Cory Doctorow shared his own answer for what Apple and Google should've done about Parler: They should remove it, and tell users, "We removed Parler because we think it is a politically odious attempt to foment violence. Our judgment is sub.....»»
Quixotic Californian Crusade To Officially Recognize the Hellabyte
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: In 2010, Austin Sendek, then a physics student at UC Davis, created a petition seeking recognition for prefix "hella-" as an official International System of Units (SI) measurement representing 1.....»»
FDA blindsided as Trump Admin cripples agency on its way out
It's “a full-frontal assault on public health," one official said. Enlarge / Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg) The US Food and Drug Administration is under siege from the Trump A.....»»
Group Nine’s SPAC goes public
Group Nine Media revealed last month that it was forming a SPAC (short for special purpose acquisition corporation) in order to raise money for acquisitions. The company has now moved forward with those plans, announcing last night that it had priced.....»»
Lessons from Top Hat’s acquisition spree
Top Hat, a startup that digitizes textbooks and turns them into an interactive experience for college students, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired yet another business: Fountainhead Press. The acquisition marks Top Hat’s third scoop of a p.....»»
Google Removing Inadvertent Ability for Chromium Browsers To Access Chrome Bookmarks, Sync
Besides the intended differences, web browsers based on Chromium offer an underlying experience that's mostly identical to Chrome. Google recently discovered that users of third-party Chromium browsers have inadvertently been able to access data and.....»»
Fortnite-maker Epic Games sues Apple and Google in UK
Epic Games escalates a row over the fees Apple and Google charge app developers......»»
Google now owns Fitbit, vows not to use tracker health data for ad targeting
After months of discussions between Google, Fitbit, and the EC, a deal has finally been struck, and Google officially owns Fitbit. This news was announced separately today by both Fitbit itself and its new search giant overlord. Fitbit's post largely.....»»
2020 was Earth"s second-hottest year, just behind 2016
It's official: 2020 ranks as the second-hottest year on record for the planet, knocking 2019 down to third hottest, according to an analysis by NOAA scientists......»»
Australia rebukes Google for blocking local content
The tech giants are fighting the Australian government over plans to make them pay for news content......»»
Google Closes the Fitbit Acquisition, Pledges To Not Use Data For Ads
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Today Google's senior VP of Hardware, Rick Osterloh, announced Google has closed its acquisition of Fitbit. The $2.1 billion deal was announced back in November 2019, which kicked off a regulator.....»»
Medical Study Suggests iPhone 12 With MagSafe Can Deactivate Pacemakers
AmiMoJo shares a report from 9to5Mac: When Apple revived MagSafe with the iPhone 12 lineup, one question brought up was how these latest devices with more magnets would interact with medical devices like pacemakers. Apple's official word was that iPh.....»»
Daily Crunch: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line
Samsung lowers prices with its latest Galaxy S phones, Google completes its Fitbit acquisition and Beyond Meat is coming to Taco Bell. This is your Daily Crunch for January 14, 2021. The big story: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line Samsung’s new.....»»
These are the best Google Nest Camera deals for January 2021
We monitor Google Nest Camera deals closely and update this post on a regular basis, so check back often......»»
2020 was one of the warmest years in history and indicates mounting risks of climate change
It’s official. 2020 was one of the warmest years on record either edging out or coming in just behind 2016 for the warmest year in recorded history according to data from US government agencies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.....»»
Home services platform Porch acquires four companies
Only a few weeks after its SPAC IPO, Porch today announced that it has made four acquisitions, worth a total of $122 million. The most important here is probably the acquisition of Homeowners of America for $100 million, which gets Porch deeper into.....»»
Google says it’s closing the Fitbit acquisition—uh, without DOJ approval?
Google doesn't have DOJ approval, but it says it has waited long enough. The Fitbit Inspire 2, which Osterloh seems interested in. [credit: Fitbit.....»»
The Galaxy S21 is official, gets an across-the-board $200 price drop
You get the Snapdragon 888, dynamic refresh rates, and bigger fingerprint readers. from left to right, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the S21+, and the S21. [credit:.....»»
Google tries to allay Fitbit-deal privacy fears
The deal was subject to regulatory scrutiny, with worries about how data would be used......»»