Tech News Today for November 16, 2016
Tech News for Wednesday November 16, 2016
Facebook took a closer look at its ad metrics after the discovery three months back that it was miscalculating how long people were watching video content on the site. What they found was another four instances of miscalculation of things like overstating time spent reading Instant Articles, and the number of people interacting with Business Facebook Pages. Facebook vows to avoid more errors by creating a measurement council of its top advertisers and partners. VP of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson said “We hope to learn every single day about how we can improve the way we service our clients." Read more at marketingland.com.
No, Hell hath not frozen over, but Microsoft has joined the Linux foundation and as a Platinum member no less. If you remember Microsoft's long campaign against Linux and the open source movement, this might surprise you. But it makes sense when you know that Microsoft already participates in many Linux Foundation projects, including Node.js Foundation, OpenDaylight, Open Container Initiative, R Consortium, and Open API Initiative. And in another surprise move, Google announced today that they're joining Microsoft's open source initiative, the .NET foundation. Read more at thehackernews.com.
Google had some big news regarding VR and no, it has nothing to do with its own VR platform, the Daydream View. Instead, it showed off a new VR version of Google Earth that is available for free to HTC Vive users. In it, users can explore a large number of destinations across the globe including important historical sites and cultural treasures. Users can also fly to a number of locations for a virtual guided tour of the area. Read more at venturebeat.com.
Burrito drones? They're so last week. Welcome, our newest robot overlord from the sky, The Pizza Drone. After testing the delivery service this summer, the drone company Flirtey is now officially delivering pizza orders to residents of Whangaparaoa, about 20 miles north of Auckland, New Zealand. Dominos said they're looking to deliver in Australia, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan and Germany. Let's hope they're not using those recalled GoPro Karma drones. Read more at qz.com.
Electric cars are quiet, so much so that it's hard to know when one might be driving right up to you on the street. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a new rule that requires electric vehicles to produce some sort of noise during operation, particularly while traveling at slower speeds. NHTSA did not specify what kind of noise should be emitted when traveling below 19mph, leaving that up to the manufacturer to decide. Read more at theverge.com.
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