Tech News Today for September 5, 2017
Tech News for Tuesday September 5, 2017
Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and other tech companies have responded to the President’s decision to rescind Obama's immigration order that would shield some children of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Apple's Tim Cook has sent a letter to employees (250 of who are Dreamers) saying they will advocate for a legislative solution. Meanwhile Microsoft says it will pay legal fees to fight deportation for its employees. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used his platform to call this a sad day for our country. Read more at blogs.microsoft.com and businessinsider.com.
WhatsApp has been a Facebook owned property since 2014, and in that time doubled the messaging app’s monthly user count to 1.3 billion users. It’s about time Facebook makes some money off of it. WhatsApp will soon charge large scale businesses by offering ways to reach their customers with important and useful information, like flight times and delivery confirmations. Small and medium sized business will have access to a free app integrating similar tools and features so they can better communicate with their customers. The free app is still in the works and as yet unreleased. Read more at wsj.com.
Not interested in a new thousand dollar plus iPhone? How about the Android One Mi A1 from Xiaomi? The aim of the Android One program was to put quality, affordable phones in the hands of more people in developing countries. The program's been dormant for a while, but it lives on with the Mi A1, the first partnership between Google and Chinese phone maker Xiaomi. The phone has a dual camera, 2x optical zoom, and a 5.5 inch display. It's available in 40 markets and will cost around 234 US dollars, although it won't be available in the US anytime soon. Read more at arstechnica.com.
Rovio, the company that brought you a million and one things based on Angry Birds, including a motion picture, is aiming to go public with an IPO where it hopes to raise $36 million to aid in future growth. The company’s revenues nearly doubled during the first half of 2017 compared to last year. Not a bad turnaround after Angry Birds fatigue hit hard in 2014 that resulted in the layoff of 110 employees. But Rovio took a stab at producing the Angry Birds movie and apparently that fatigue was fleeting cause it pulled in $350 million in worldwide box office receipts. Read more at venturebeat.com.
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