Innholdsfortegnelse for #367 i Techlife News

Telecommunications equipment maker CommScope is paying $5.7 billion for Arris International as it prepares for the entrance of faster 5G service to the wireless market. Arris makes modems and boxes for the wireless industry, including cable operators. Equipment makers and telecommunications companies like Verizon are all gearing up for 5G, which is expected to allow for higher and faster data rates and better connections between multiple devices. Under the deal announced Thursday, CommScope Holding Co. will pay $31.75 per share for Arris International Plc. and assume the company’s debt, bringing the total buyout price to about $7.4 billion. Also, asset manager The Carlyle Group is helping to finance the deal with a $1 billion investment in CommScope.…

The former CEO of Intel is being named as the top executive at CDK Global, a company that provides technology to auto dealers. Brian Krzanich resigned from Intel in June after the company learned that he had carried on a consensual relationship with an employee. He had held the top job at the tech company for just over five years. He joined Intel Corp. in 1982 as an engineer. Companies have become more diligent about enforcing rules governing intercompany relationships in the #MeToo-era. Krzanich, 58, replaces Brian MacDonald at CDK Global, which has annual revenue of about $2 billion. Based outside of Chicago in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, CDK provides technology and marketing services to auto dealers in more than 100 countries. It serves about 30,000 retailers and most automotive manufacturers.…

Every Who down in Whoville gets a new Grinch this season. Why, you may ask? The idea defies reason. Does the classic need help from a hot Cumberbatch? Or is this strange union a bizarre mismatch? The Grinch is the story you learned as an infant, starring a Christmas-hating heel and his doggie assistant. The fuzzy green villain hopes to make holiday gloom. Just like a wicked witch, but without the broom. He targets presents intended for tots. Oh, how horrific is this nasty crackpot. Seuss never explained what prompted this act. Perhaps the Grinch wore shoes that were too compact? (Or maybe, just maybe, his head had been whacked?) Should he consult a cardiologist chart? The answer is clear: It’s because of his heart. In ”Dr. Seuss’The Grinch ,”…

Verizon is undergoing a significant restructuring under new CEO Hans Vestberg, including its dominant wireless division, as it prepares to roll out its 5G technology. Three months after Vestberg took control, Verizon said that the New York company will be organized into four groups at the start of the year: Consumer, Business, Media, and Global Network & Technology. Verizon Consumer Group will include the company’s wireless and wireline businesses for consumers and will be led by Ronan Dunne. The remaining units include The Verizon Business Group and the Global Network & Technology organization. Vestberg said in a prepared statement that Verizon seeks to optimize opportunities in the new 5G era though its restructuring. Several other companies are preparing for the rollout of faster 5G service, including key rival AT&T. The…

LIGHTER, BRIGHTER, AND MIGHTIER Having only just unveiled a range of new iPhones and the Apple Watch Series 4, many thought Apple was set for the festive season. However, the Cupertino firm stayed true to tradition and held their ‘More in the Making’ event this October, introducing a bunch of new hardware for everyday and professional users alike, including an all-new MacBook Air made from 100% recycled aluminum that’s lighter, brighter, and mightier than ever before. This week, we unbox the new device and explore how it not only sports a breathtaking all-glass design but is also helping to save the planet… STUNNING RETINA DISPLAY Over the past five years, Apple has slowly been upgrading its hardware lineup to include Retina displays, first with the MacBook Pro and since with…

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers and Chicago-area scientists are working to create a communications network that can withstand hacking. The University of Illinois announced last month that it will be joining the Chicago Quantum Exchange in its effort to explore quantum technology, an emerging field of physics and engineering that involves studying matter and energy at a small scale. Experts believe work in the field could eliminate cybersecurity risks and further pharmaceutical discoveries. “This new branch of science was really born here in Illinois,” said U of I Chancellor Robert Jones. “This Chicago Quantum Exchange is a huge step forward in ensuring that the revolution in innovation and discovery that will come in this field will be anchored right here where it all started.” The exchange was started last…

A NASA spacecraft has made its first close approach to the sun, just 2 1/2 months after liftoff. The Parker Solar Probe flew within 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the sun’s surface Monday night. Its speed topped 213,000 mph (342,000 kph) relative to the sun, as it penetrated the outer solar atmosphere, or corona. No spacecraft has ever gotten so close to our star. NASA won’t re-establish contact until Parker is far enough from the sun to avoid radio interference. NASA’s Nicola Fox says scientists “can’t wait to get the data.”The observations could unlock some of the sun’s mysteries. Assuming it survives the harsh solar environment, the spacecraft will make 23 even closer approaches over the next seven years. The next is in April.…

Tightening its control over popular anonymous chat apps, the Russian government has approved regulations that would identify users by their cellphone numbers. The measures signed this week by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev are part of Russia’s moves to clamp down on smartphone messenger services, such as Telegram, that authorities claim are used by criminals and terrorists. Mobile phone network operators will be required to confirm the authenticity of a user’s phone numbers within 20 minutes. If a number cannot be verified, messenger services are required to block users from their platforms. The Russian government will also require network operators to keep track of which messenger apps their users have registered for. The decree goes into effect after 180 days. Over the past few years, Russia has adopted legislation aimed at…

A Chinese state-owned company says it is developing a stealth combat drone in the latest sign of the country’s growing aerospace prowess. The CH-7 unmanned aerial vehicle also underscores China’s growing competitiveness in the expanding global market for drones. China has won sales in the Middle East and elsewhere by offering drones at lower prices and without the political conditions attached by the U.S. The CH-7’s chief designer Shi Wen says the aircraft can “fly long hours, scout and strike the target when necessary.” “Very soon, I believe, in the next one to two years, (we) can see the CH-7 flying in the blue skies, gradually being a practical and usable product in the future,” Shi told The Associated Press. Shi said manufacturer Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation plans…

If a tree falls in the Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, it doesn’t matter if there’s no one around. You can hear it anyway. That’s because researchers have hidden dozens of wireless sensor nodes, microphones and cameras among the cattails and cedars of this Plymouth, Massachusetts nature preserve. Sounds picked up from the marsh and nearby woodland feed into an artificial intelligence system that can identify frogs or crickets, ducks or a passing airplane. One goal is to help scientists better understand changing climates and improve wildlife restoration techniques. Beyond that, though, researchers want to use the collected data to help power an online virtual reality world — a kind of alternate universe modeled on live conditions in the marsh, but populated with fanciful creatures invented in a computer science lab. Could…

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has rejected a request to appear before an international parliamentary committee delving into the questions around fake news. The rebuff came after Damian Collins, the head of the U.K. parliament’s media committee, joined forces with his Canadian counterpart in hopes of pressuring Zuckerberg to testify, as he did before the U.S Congress. Facebook rejected the invitation to appear before the so-called “international grand committee” session Nov. 27, arguing it wasn’t possible for Zuckerberg to appear before all parliaments. Collins says pressure is building, with counterparts in Australia, Argentina and Ireland having joined the grand committee in the time since Zuckerberg was invited. He says “five parliaments are now calling on you to do the right thing by the 170 million users in the countries they represent.”…

The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Donald Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, “That’s enough!” and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of “placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern,” calling it “absolutely unacceptable.” The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for…

THE SEARCH GIANT NO LONGER SITTING SO COMFORTABLY When you retrieve your iPhone from your pocket in preparation for a long journey on the road, which mapping application do you load up first? Whereas Google Maps might have once been the straightforward choice, Apple Maps has made significant leaps in functionality since the application’s belated debut in 2012. By 2015, the adoption level of Apple Maps was more than treble that ofGoogle Maps on iPhones and iPads – and things now look set to get even better. In an interview with TechCrunch in June, Apple announced that it was rebuilding its own Maps app “from the ground up”, giving it a wealth of new data sourced independently by Apple. The new Maps has since brokencover with iOS 12 – and…

Nearly eight months after one of its autonomous test vehicles hit and killed an Arizona pedestrian, Uber wants to resume testing on public roads. The company has filed an application on with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to test in Pittsburgh, and it has issued a lengthy safety report pledging to put two human backup drivers in each vehicle and take a raft of other precautions to make the vehicles safe. Company officials acknowledge they have a long way to go to regain public trust after the March 18 crash in Tempe, Arizona, that killed Elaine Herzberg, 49, as she crossed a darkened road outside the lines of a crosswalk. Police said Uber’s backup driver in the autonomous Volvo SUV was streaming the television show “The Voice” on her phone…

After a yearlong search for a second home, Amazon is now reportedly looking to build offices in two cities instead of one, a surprise move that could still have a major impact on the communities it ultimately selects. Virginia officials and some state lawmakers were recently briefed by the head of the state’s economic development office that Amazon was considering splitting up its second headquarters, according to a person familiar with the matter. Officials in Virginia believe there’s a strong likelihood Amazon will pick Crystal City in northern Virginia as one of its sites, but the company has not said anything definitive, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “They’re a real secretive company,” the person said. One of the other areas the online…

Two U.S. government agencies are giving conflicting interpretations of a safety study on cellphone radiation: One says it causes cancer in rats. The other says there’s no reason for people to worry. No new research was issued this week. Instead, the National Toxicology Program dialed up its concerns about a link to heart and brain cancer from a study of male rats that was made public last winter. The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees cellphone safety, disagreed with the upgraded warning. And “these findings should not be applied to human cellphone usage,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, FDA’s chief of radiological health. What’s most important is what happens in humans, not rats, said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. “The incidence of brain tumors in…

SoftBank Group Corp. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son denounced Monday the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but defended the Japanese technology giant’s investment fund, which includes Saudi money, as work that needs to be finished. Speaking at an earnings news conference, Son called the death an attack on “a precious life but also on journalism and the freedom of speech.” Son is partnering with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and about half of his $100 billion Vision Fund, established in 2016, comes from the kingdom. The fund has been investing in various companies, solar projects and artificial intelligence. Khashoggi, a 59-year-old columnist for The Washington Post, was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey on Oct. 2, although details are still unclear. “It is a reality a horrible…

European Union authorities say they have cleared Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets, provided Disney sells off some TV channels it controls in Europe to maintain competition. The EU’s executive Commission said this week it gave its approval to the deal. Disney’s $71.3 billion deal to buy the 21st Century Fox assets, which include Marvel’s X-Men and Avengers franchises, is part of its plan to compete with tech companies such as Netflix and Amazon as the entertainment industry moves into the digital streaming era. Disney shareholders and U.S. regulators had already approved the Fox bid. The European Commission said Disney agreed to sell off all factual TV channels it controls in Europe to address concerns the combined company would have eliminated competition between two big wholesale suppliers.…

For the past few years, the smartphone industry has been searching for a breakthrough to revive a market mired in an innovation lull and a sales slump. A potential catalyst is on the horizon in the form of flexible screens that can be folded in half without breaking. Samsung and several rivals are preparing to roll out such screens to make devices more versatile for work and pleasure. The foldable screens could increase display space to the size of a mini-tablet, but fold like a wallet so they revert to the size of regular phones. But there are questions about price and durability. If the new phones fulfill their makers’ ambitions, they will become a leap ahead for an industry whose origins can be traced to the old flip phones…

Bryan Cranston has confirmed that a “Breaking Bad” movie is in development, though he’s not sure he’s in it. Following reports that “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan is prepping a two-hour movie connected to the AMC series, Cranston on Wednesday called into the sports talk radio show “The Dan Patrick Show” and confirmed the project is indeed in the works. Cranston said he hasn’t yet read the script and that his character, Walter White, may not even be in it. Cranston said he would “absolutely” return to the character if he was in it. The two-hour spinoff is set to begin shooting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in mid-November under the code name “Greenbrier.” Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” prequel series “Better Call Saul” last month concluded its fourth season.…

For a fundamentally nerdy subject, net neutrality is pushing a lot of political buttons. The latest salvo is over a California law that restores a ban on cable, wireless and other broadband providers from impeding people’s ability to use their favorite apps and services. The federal government had rescinded that ban, and the Trump administration is seeking to block California’s effort as an imposition on federal prerogatives. Though net neutrality started off more than a decade ago as an insight into how to make networks work most efficiently, it has taken on much larger social and political dimensions lately. The issue has emerged as an anti-monopoly rallying point and even a focus for “resistance” to the Trump administration. “Any time the cable companies and the Trump administration are on one…

Apple’s faithful customers aren’t snapping up iPhones quite as enthusiastically as anticipated heading into the crucial holiday shopping season. But the latest models costing $1,000 and more are popular enough to keep propelling profits ever higher for the world’s most prosperous company. The mixed bag emerged in the quarterly results Apple released amid jitters about how the company and the rest of the technology industry will fare in the face of myriad threats to growth. Those include increased government regulation, the escalating U.S. trade war with China and the specter of rising interest rates crimping economic growth. Apple’s performance for the July-through-September period and its revenue outlook for holiday season evidently weren’t enough to ease investors’ concerns. The Cupertino, California, company rattled Wall Street even more by unexpectedly announcing that…

Tennessee and Alabama will get their largest solar power projects yet, to supply a Facebook data center with 100 percent renewable energy. Officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority announced an agreement with two developers to build the electricity providers. John Bradley, TVA’s senior vice president of Economic Development, said that First Solar in Colbert County, Alabama and NextEra Energy Resources in Lincoln County, Tennessee, will produce 377 megawatts between them to supply Facebook’s data center in Huntsville, Alabama. Doug Perry, TVA vice president of Commercial Energy Solutions, says the federal utility plans on investing $8 billion in renewable energy over the next 20 years.…

Americans take out roughly $50 billion in payday loans a year, each racking up hundreds of dollars in fees and interest. But a small and growing service that allows its users to take an advance on their paycheck might be giving the payday loan industry a run for its money. San Francisco-based financial technology company Even made headlines late last year when Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, announced it would start offering Even’s service as part of its employee benefits package. Along with providing tools that allow employees to track their spending and save money, Even features Instapay, which allows users to advance some of their next paycheck up to 13 days before payday. Because the Even user is tapping into his or her already accumulated hours, Even doesn’t…

Earth’s protective ozone layer is finally healing from damage caused by aerosol sprays and coolants, a new United Nations report said. The ozone layer had been thinning since the late 1970s. Scientist raised the alarm and ozone-depleting chemicals were phased out worldwide. As a result, the upper ozone layer above the Northern Hemisphere should be completely repaired in the 2030s and the gaping Antarctic ozone hole should disappear in the 2060s, according to a scientific assessment released Monday at a conference in Quito, Ecuador. The Southern Hemisphere lags a bit and its ozone layer should be healed by mid-century. “It’s really good news,” said report co-chairman Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “If ozone-depleting substances had continued to increase, we would have seen huge effects.…

President Xi Jinping promised this week to open China’s growing consumer market wider at an import fair meant to help defuse complaints Beijing abuses the global trading system. But he offered no response to U.S. and European complaints about technology policy and investment curbs. The China International Import Expo is part of efforts to develop China-centered trading networks while resisting pressure to roll back industry plans that Washington, Europe, Japan and other governments say violate its market-opening obligations. “It is our sincere commitment to open the Chinese market,” Xi said in a speech to a VIP audience that included Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Xi promised to cut costs for importers and improve consumer spending power to help boost imports. The president made no mention of the standoff with U.S.…

Chinese authorities have begun deploying a new surveillance tool: “gait recognition” software that uses people’s body shapes and how they walk to identify them, even when their faces are hidden from cameras. Already used by police on the streets of Beijing and Shanghai, “gait recognition” is part of a push across China to develop artificial-intelligence and data-driven surveillance that is raising concern about how far the technology will go. Huang Yongzhen, the CEO of Watrix, said that its system can identify people from up to 50 meters (165 feet) away, even with their back turned or face covered. This can fill a gap in facial recognition, which needs close-up, high-resolution images of a person’s face to work. “You don’t need people’s cooperation for us to be able to recognize their…