Tech News Today for August 22, 2017
Tech News for Tuesday August 22, 2017
We all know by now, contrary to logic, that unlimited rarely truly means no limits. Case in point is Verizon’s announcement that those currently on unlimited plans will have three different types of unlimited to choose from, each carrying their own unique limits of course. Not only do unlimited customers have to choose one of these plans, they have a day's notice to do so. The limits majorly target video streaming quality, something that actually was not limited prior to the new plans. Even those on grandfathered unlimited plans will see limits on video streaming and that has subscribers furious. Read more at theverge.com.
The popular iPhone weather app AccuWeather is sending location information to a data monetization firm, even when you tell the app not to track you. Security researcher Will Strafach discovered the behavior and Zack Whittaker from ZDNET confirmed that AccuWeather is sending specific geodata to a third party company called RevealMobile. The app transmits this information even when you choose "Don't Allow" at the prompt that asks if you want to allow AccuWeather to access your location when you are not using the app. The AccuWeather terms of service say nothing about using your location for ads and it's assumed that they're using it to give you the weather. Also, smart phone permissions are pretty sacred and to be sending Wi-Fi router names and unique MAC addresses when told specifically not to is a very big violation of trust. Read more at zdnet.com.
Medium has been working towards new ways for publishers on its platform to get paid. One new method takes the idea of likes and turns them into Claps that act as a tipping mechanism. An icon showing hands clapping appears at the bottom of the screen when viewing an article, and depending on just how much a reader likes the article, they can tap to clap however many times they wish. Those claps will determine which authors are liked more than others by a particular user, and that user’s subscriber fee will be divided up according to those ratios. Read more at theverge.com.
Cloud backup service CrashPlan announced that it's shutting down its home subscription service. The company says they plan to focus on small businesses and enterprise customers instead. CrashPlan, like Backblaze and Carbonite let you install an app and forget about backup. That way, even if you were backing up to a harddrive, your data would be safe if your house burned down. If you were using CrashPlan, you'll have to look elsewhere. As of August 22, CrashPlan will no longer accept new applications nor renewals of existing subscriptions. The consumer service will fully shut down on October 23, 2018 when you'll have 60 days to move your digital stuff elsewhere. (Disclaimer: Carbonite is a sponsor). Read more at theverge.com.
Megan Morrone and Jason Howell are joined today by Sarah Jeong from TheVerge to talk about the diversity problem in Silicon Valley. Tech News Today streams live weekdays at 4PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern at twit.tv/live You can download and subscribe to the show at twit.tv/tnt.