Tech News Today (MP3)

The Washington Post says border agents don't have the right to look at your social media accounts. According to a letter obtained by journalists, Customs and Border Patrol are not allowed to search through any data that's stored only in the cloud and that includes social media data. Border agents ARE allowed to inspect anything "physically resident on an electronic device transported by an international traveler."

TechCrunch reports that Google's Life Science division is testing a unique new way to get rid of mosquitoes. More mosquitoes. DeBug Fresno is Alphabet-owned Verily's first foray into solving the global health impact of disease-carrying mosquitoes. The 20 million mosquitoes they plan to release in Fresno carry a bacteria, and they're also sterile males. When they mate with females the eggs won't hatch.

You can now pay nearly $3000 for an Android Smart Watch made by Louis Vuitton, but Business Insider says you'll have to call Louis Vuitton on the telephone if you want one. The Tambour Horizon runs Android 2.0 and with built-in flight tracking and city guide features. Its designed for global travelers.

Plus, Star Wars Land is coming to Disney Land and Disney World in 2019. How one museum is teaching people art through text messages, and Lauren Hockenson from the Nothing Matters podcast is here to talk about the latest news from Nintendo.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Lauren Hockenson

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Sources tell Marc Gurman from Bloomberg that Facebook will release a $200 Wireless Oculus VR Headset next year. The device, code-named Pacific will look like the Rift, but will reportedly be lighter and have better graphics than the Samsung Gear VR headset since it will run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processor.

Engadget's Devindra Hardiwar's sources say Amazon is working on a competitor to Apple's yet-to-be released HomePod. The upgraded Amazon Echo will reportedly feature a cloth covering, better sound, and an improved microphone.

Axios reports that Dev Bootcamp, one of the first coding schools, is going under. The school was founded in 2012 in San Francisco and acquired by test prep company Kaplan in 2014. In a Facebook post, Dev Bootcamp, which had grown to locations in 6 cities, wrote that its business model was unsustainable.

Mikah Sargent from iMore joins us to discuss all these stories, plus the science behind a battery-free cell phone, what Apple plans to do with lasers in the new iPhone, and how to create a smart home on a budget.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Amazon concluded its Prime Day sale and broke its own records, with sales that were 60 percent higher than last year's event, and more than Amazon's own Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales last year. The sale brought in record numbers of new Prime members, and the Echo Dot was the single most popular product sold during the sale.

Today Microsoft announced a new free iPhone app for people with visual impairments. It's called Seeing AI and its mission is to narrate the world around you, using artificial intelligence.

Microsoft is ending support for Windows Phone 8.1, marking the end of the Windows Phone timeline. Microsoft is still supporting Windows 10 mobile, however, most recently with the roll out of the Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update.

Plus, the robot lawyer who will get you out of paying your parking tickets will now let you solve all kinds of other legal problems. And Elliot Harmon from the EFF tells us why we need to care about net neutrality right now.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Elliot Harmon

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Microsoft is looking to improve broadband internet connectivity in rural America with a $10 billion dollar pilot program called the Rural Airband Initiative that should reach 23.4 million Americans who don't have access to high speed internet. The plan involves identifying unused white space frequencies in rural areas and repurposing for high speed internet.

According to one CNBC analyst, Amazon's Prime Day could lead to $10 billion in lost productivity. The math works like this. Approximately 85 million Prime members spend about a minute on Amazon every time a new round of deals pop up during the 30-hour event.

Facebook is readying a worldwide rollout of ads in the Messenger home tab. Facebook has been testing the feature in a beta locked to Thailand and Australia since last January, and the ads beta is expected to roll out to all in the coming weeks.

Plus, we discuss facial recognition software in China, what its like for women working in VR and how to turn caterpillars into cannibals.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Doree Shafrir

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Amazon has quietly started offering in-home installation of smart home devices, treading on Best Buy's Geek Squad turf. Amazon Smart Home Services is live in seven markets, and has a focus on smart home installations that integrate Amazon's voice assistant platform into the home.

Twitter announced new advanced filter settings for your personal war against trolls and bots. You can now mute any user who doesn't follow you, or any user who has a brand-new account. All of these measures are designed to control how much hate speech and misinformation you see, while simultaneously not blocking anyone's free speech.

Facebook announced another drop in the price of the Oculus Rift VR headset down from $499 to $399, and that includes an Oculus Touch controller! However, this price drop is for a limited time as the deal only lasts during the "Summer of Rift" promotion that should last through the end of the Summer.

We also talk to Adam Burakowski from The Wirecutter about how to find the best deals on Amazon Prime Day and Rob Reid tells us about his new science fiction publishing experiment and his new podcast with Tom Merritt.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guests: Rob Reid and Adam Burakowski

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Alphabet has decided to drop 3 of 4 patent claims as part of its lawsuit against Uber, as the ride hailing company no longer uses the technology that those patents covered. Uber considers this a victory, saying it weakens Alphabet's case, pointing out that Waymo is over-promising and can't deliver on its claims.

The Information's sources say that Jawbone is entering into liquidation proceedings, though the company has not yet commented. CEO Hosain Rahman and a number of Jawbone employees have reportedly jumped ship to form a new company, Jawbone Health Hub, which is expected to create health products and services.

Samsung says that its Q2 operating profit has hit new heights, rising around 72 percent from this point last year to around 14 trillion won, or $12.11bn. Samsung's memory chip division is expected to be a boon for the company through the end of the year as the memory chip market is booming at the moment.

Plus, Xiaomi is bouncing back big time, Comma has a new dongle to track the sensors in your car, artists using ethereum blockchain for their releases, and Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica joins us to discuss the new Spiderman movie and why it's so darn good.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Ron Richards

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.

Microsoft will lay off 10 percent of its sales force in an effort to reorganize the way it sells its cloud platform, Azure. The jobs will likely be mostly outside of the US and some affected workers will be given other jobs within the company in what Frank Shaw, corporate VP of communications and jargon, says are intended to evolve the skill sets Microsoft needs.

In other layoff news, SoundCloud is laying off 40 percent of its staff, according to a blog post by the company's founder, Alex Lyung. The decade old music and podcast streaming service will close offices in San Francisco and London, but Lyung says SoundCloud will still be available 190 countries globally.

Tesla's stock has fallen almost 17 percent this week, despite the news that that the cheaper Model 3 is three weeks ahead of schedule. The Wall Street Journal notes that delivery of Model S cars and Model X sport-utility vehicles were lower than analysts expected due to a battery supply issue, causing many prominent analysts to give the company a "sell" rating.

Jason Snell from MacWorld and Six Colors joins us to talk about all of these stories, plus iPhone rumors for this year and next, how iOS 11 will improve podcasts, and a service that will give you free energy bars in the back of your Lyft or Uber, in exchange for your personal information.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Snell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Baidu announced its autonomous driving alliance with partners including Ford, Daimler, Intel, Nvidia, TomTom, 12 Chinese automakers, universities, suppliers, startups, and local governments. Like Waymo, Silicon Valley and Beijing-based Baidu wants to develop the technology and AI to power self-driving cars, not create the cars themselves.

Snapchat is updating its app today with a few cool features, including Backdrops that separates you from the background and places imagery behind you. Voice Filters are being broken out from Stories to alter voices in all posted video. And Paperclip lets users attach a link to a website onto videos or images shared to friends.

Nokia and Xiaomi have signed a business collaboration agreement and a patent agreement which will give Xiaomi Nokia patents and give Nokia Xiaomi's network infrastructure equipment.

Plus, Ticketmaster will be tracking ticket holders with inaudible tones, Facebook is developing a group video chat app, the flying car industry got a boost, and Katie Roof from Techcrunch joins to talk about the recent spate of sexual harassment stories that are quickly changing silicon valley's VC industry.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Katie Roof

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

iPhone rumors, Microsoft layoffs, Kangaroo detection in driverless cars, and the author of the popular blog McMansion Hell tells us how she defended her right to mock turrets.

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has sources who say that the upcoming and as yet unannounced iPhone 8 might see the end of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. In its place would be a front facing 3-D sensor for advanced facial recognition that is less likely to be tricked as similar 2-D offerings by other manufacturers.

Sources at TechCrunch say Microsoft is laying off 'thousands' in a global sales and marketing reorg as the company downsizes its boxed software program. Several execs sent memos to staff today that mentioned the reorg, but not the layoffs.

Windows 10 users who are looking forward to the Timeline feature will have to wait, according to Microsoft exec Joe Belfiore. Timeline, which allows users to pick up where they left off inside an app regardless of device or platform, is being pushed back beyond the Fall Creators Update.

We also talk about the timeline for the new Tesla Model 3, an update on that car-eating elevated bus we told you about last year and which driverless car companies have kangaroo detection and which do not. Plus, the author of the blog McMansion Hell is here to tell us how she fought Internet Giant Zillow and won.

Hosts: Megan Morrone and Jason Howell

Guest: Kate Wagner

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-today.

Thanks to CacheFly for the bandwidth for this show.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies could face fines of up to 57 million dollars in Germany if they fail to remove illegal, racist, or slanderous comments within 24 hours of receiving report of the offense.

The Washington Post says Twitter is prototyping a new feature that would allow its users to actively flag tweets containing misleading information and fake news in an attempt to control the network effect that comes from bot tweeting, among other related problems. Twitter says they currently have no plans to launch this product.

ReCode reports that Facebook is changing its algorithm to reduce the reach of anyone who posts fifty times a day or more, regardless of the content of the links. Facebook VP Adam Mosseri says they've identified a small group of people, not bots, who post spammy links, which he says are likely to contain low quality content such as clickbait, sensationalism, and misinformation.

Plus, Project Fi might get supported by a non-Google phone, the Surface Mini that never was is shown off in leaked photos,and Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica talks about Blizzard's remaster of Starcraft and the fate of CastAR.

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.