Tech News Today for February 13, 2017
Tech News for Monday February 13, 2017
Google wants to give you one more reason to use its Maps app. Now you can make organized lists of places you've been or places you're going, plans trips, and share them with friends. The company has just launched Lists which aims to make Google Maps not just a tool to help you get somewhere, but to help you figure out where you want to go. Read more at blog.google.
Facebook has been in talks with record labels going back as far as 2015 with rumors pointing to a possible music streaming service, but that never materialized. Now it sounds like Facebook is still negotiating with labels to secure the rights to copyrighted music so its users can legitimately use that music in their own uploaded videos. Read more at techcrunch.com.
Nearly a year after Prince's death, all of the singer's music on the Warner Brothers label is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. Prince was notorious in his lack of support for streaming services. Before their full release, Prince's music was only available on Tidal. Read more at time.com.
Apple iPhone rumor time! First, the upcoming iPhone was said to possibly include wireless charging for the first time, and now Apple is officially listed as a member of the Wireless Power Consortium. That is a strong hint that some upcoming Apple device could include the Qi charging standard. However a report last year from Bloomberg hinted that Apple might be working on its own standard that would allow the phone to be wirelessly charged when not resting on a charging mat. Read more at theverge.com.
Another rumor is that the new iPhone would have a curved OLED screen, similar to that found on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge and the Note 7 (may it rest in pieces.) Samsung has reportedly earned an order from Apple for 60 million OLED panels, on top of another 100 million panels Apple reportedly purchased last April. Together, that would mean that Samsung might be the main supplier of displays for the new iPhone. Read more at cnet.com.
In what appears to be a part of the HBO show Silicon Valley, Bloomberg reports that Google paid some self-driving car employees so much money that they quit. According to sources, the company had a compensation system that multiplied salaries and bonuses based on meeting milestones, even though the self-driving car project is still a long way away from generating any income. Some of those who took off with their millions included the founders of Otto, which was bought by Uber and Argo AI, and was just acquired by Ford. Read more at bloomberg.com.
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