Skip to main content

10 things in tech you need to know today

china weddingREUTERS/William Hong

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.

  1. Google has announced its Stadia gaming service is now free to anyone who signs up with a Gmail address. Until now, users needed to subscribe to the $9.99-a-month Pro version of the service, which lets you stream games at 4K HDR and provides access to a selection of games. 
  2. Google has banned the Zoom app from all employee computers over 'security vulnerabilities.' The company sent an email to all employees with the Zoom app on their computers and told them that the app would stop working this week.
  3. The UK's unicorn founders issued a dire warning that COVID-19 will crush promising tech startups without financial help. Deliveroo, Darktrace, and Graphcore are all valued above $1 billion and were among the 12 startups that cosigned a letter demanding access to support from the UK government.
  4. Zoom has turned to Facebook's former security chief to help fix its mounting privacy issues. Alex Stamos, Facebook's former security chief, announced that he will be working with Zoom as an outside consultant to help the growing video-chat platform improve its security, privacy, and safety.
  5. Airbnb is already looking to raise another $1 billion to see it through the coronavirus crisis. According to Bloomberg, the company is still on the hunt for further investment and is weighing up different types of debt, from first-lien debt to convertible notes.
  6. Zoom is being sued by a shareholder accusing the company of hiding security and privacy flaws in its app. Shareholder Michael Drieu accused the company of overselling its privacy standards and failing to disclose that calls were not end-to-end encrypted.
  7. Buzzy fintech startups have seen a boom in downloads since the start of coronavirus lockdowns in Europe, but experts predict an eventual market shakeout. Research from Finch Capital indicates that the challenger banking space will see one or two key players emerging in Europe and the US respectively.
  8. Wing, Alphabet's drone company, says it's seeing a significant uptick in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Toilet paper is one of the top three items being demanded right now, the firm said, while Wing is also delivering soup, baby food, and over-the-counter medicines from Walgreens. 
  9. Google's Gmail service was down for more than 2,000 users on Wednesday morning, according to the website Down Detector. Google's status website acknowledged the disruption, and said it had fixed the problem late Wednesday morning.
  10. Couples living in Wuhan, China were so eager to marry after the city's strict lockdowns ended that they flooded and crashed the marriage application system. A local marriage application system run by Chinese tech platform Alipay saw a 300% increase in traffic, causing a temporary logjam. 

Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Watch Elon Musk unveil his latest plan for conquering Mars

See Also:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Second stimulus checks update: Here’s the latest as Democrats push for more payments

A second stimulus check from the IRS would be nice, but don’t count on it just yet. The bill faces an uphill battle in a Republican-led Congress. Democrats in the House of Representatives put forth a new stimulus package proposal yesterday, and—good news!—it includes a second round of stimulus checks for Americans hurt by the ongoing global pandemic. For example, the 33 million people currently jobless due to COVID-19. Read Full Story
Post a Comment
Read more

Protesters stormed the US embassy in Baghdad and torched parts of it on New Year's Eve

AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images Protesters have stormed the US embassy in Baghdad, setting fire to a reception area. The demonstrations were sparked by US attacks on a militia in Iraq and Syria Sunday, in which 25 were killed. President Trump in a tweet accused Iran of being behind the attack on the embassy, and said the US had launched the strikes in retaliation for an attack in which a US contractor was killed.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Supporters of Shia militias in Iraq have stormed the US embassy in Baghdad, setting fire to a guard tower and reception area, according to reports.  An Associated Press reporter at the scene reported seeing flames rise from inside the compound, and at least three US soldiers on its roof. See the rest of the story at Business Insider NOW WATCH: How Ocean Spray cranberries go from the bog to your Thanksgiving table See Also: Greta Thunberg will interview David Attenborough in a special edition of the BB...
Post a Comment
Read more

The future of flying? AI that shames you into being a better passenger

The AI-powered airport of the future is full of promise–and peril, writes Teague futurist Devin Liddell. The first biometric airport terminal is already up and running, thanks to Delta’s collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Transportation Security Administration, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Similar systems are now operational at Dubai International Airport , at least for first- and business-class passengers. While groundbreaking, these systems—powered by artificial intelligence—are early exemplars of the emerging technological transformation of airport and airline operations. They are working preludes to artificial intelligence’s eventual forays throughout the passenger experience. Part of these forays will be driven by technology; we’ll have increasingly smarter and capable tools for independently managing enormous complexities and creating new efficiencies. Another part will be driven by new c...
Post a Comment
Read more