The fight between Oracle and Google isn’t over… according to Google. The company vows to fight the most recent software ruling (in favor of Oracle) all the way to the Supreme Court.
Apple bought a company focused on AR lenses. Will the company release “Apple Glass” and pretend they were first and everyone wearing AR glasses looks cool?
Microsoft is requiring suppliers in their supply chain to give employees paid family leave. This is another example (after Apple) of how a large company can promote benefits and well being outside of their organization.
Acquisitions
- Apple buys startup focused on lenses for AR glasses
Apple confirmed it acquired Longmont, Colorado-based Akonia Holographics. “Apple buys smaller companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans,” the iPhone maker said in a statement.
Akonia could not immediately be reached for comment. The company was founded in 2012 by a group of holography scientists and had originally focused on holographic data storage before shifting its efforts to creating displays for augmented reality glasses, according to its website.
- Cognizant to Acquire SaaSfocus to Expand Salesforce Cloud Consulting Capabilities
Cognizant (Nasdaq : CTSH ) today announced it has agreed to acquire SaaSfocus, a privately-held consulting firm specializing in digital transformation, leveraging the Salesforce Platform. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to certain closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.
SaaSfocus is one of the largest independent Salesforce Platinum consulting partners in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with operations across Australia and India. The acquisition will expand Cognizant’s end-to-end digital transformation services and Salesforce cloud capabilities in these growing markets.
- Trump says Amazon, Facebook, and Google represent a ‘very antitrust situation’
“I won’t comment on the breaking up, of whether it’s that or Amazon or Facebook,” Trump said, replying to a question on whether tech companies like Facebook and Google should be regulated and potentially broken up by the US government. “As you know, many people think it is a very antitrust situation, the three of them. But I just, I won’t comment on that.” Trump reiterated his claim that “conservatives have been treated very unfairly” by Google. “I tell you there are some moments where we say, ’Wow that really is bad, what they’re doing,’” he added.
It is not clear why Amazon is included in this latest round of criticism, as it does not operate a communications platform, but it’s likely because Trump personally dislikes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post, which Bezos owns, and has criticized Amazon frequently in the past over apparent tax issues.
Cloud
- Thailand is becoming a critical country for blockchain
To understand how a small country like Thailand can move so quickly in the blockchain space, it’s crucial to understand the strategy of regulators and local companies. Unlike their U.S. peers, most Asian blockchain companies and exchanges work with local regulators right from the beginning, even as they are first building their products and growing their communities. These teams use formal and informal relationships to get buy-in from their respective local governments in order to bolster their credibility. This pattern is particularly true for Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand.
Security
- Yahoo, Bucking Industry, Scans Emails for Data to Sell Advertisers
Yahoo’s owner, the Oath unit of Verizon Communications Inc has been pitching a service to advertisers that analyzes more than 200 million Yahoo Mail inboxes and the rich user data they contain, searching for clues about what products those users might buy, said people who have attended Oath’s presentations as well as current and former employees of the company.
Oath said the practice extends to AOL Mail, which it also owns. Together, they constitute the only major U.S. email provider that scans user inboxes for marketing purposes.
Software/SaaS
- Oracle v. Google ain’t over yet — Google vows it’ll appeal to Supreme Court
The search giant said Tuesday that it’ll appeal the case to the Supreme Court, after a federal appeals court declined to rehear the case in which it determined the company’s use of Java software from Oracle went beyond the bounds of fair use. Oracle had previously asked for $8.8 billion in damages.
“We are disappointed that the Federal Circuit overturned the jury finding that Java is open and free for everyone,” a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. “We will appeal to the Supreme Court to defend this principle against companies like Oracle, whose restrictive practices threaten to stifle the work of new generations of tech developers.”
https://www.cnet.com/news/oracle-v-google-aint-over-yet-google-vows-itll-appeal-to-supreme-court/
Other
- Amazon Is Beefing With Bernie Sanders Over Its Treatment of Employees
Even Amazon’s attempt to quell concerns about its employees using the SNAP program fell flat. It starts by giving Sanders grief for referring to the program as food stamps, and then states that those numbers “include people who only worked for Amazon for a short period of time and/or chose to work part-time,” implying that part-time employees needing to rely on food stamps is reasonable.
Sanders used Amazon’s rebuttals to fuel his fire, tweeting on Wednesday that the company should “prove” its claims by “mak[ing] public the number of people you hire through temporary staffing agencies like Integrity Staffing Solutions and make public the hourly rate and benefits those workers earn.”
- Microsoft to Require Its Suppliers, Contractors to Give Paid Family Leave
The policy applies to Microsoft vendors with more than 50 employees and covers workers given substantial assignments for Microsoft. For example, a staffing agency that provides information-technology professionals to Microsoft and other clients would only have to cover employees assigned to Microsoft. It will impact thousands of workers around the country, the company said.
The paid leave benefit requirement will be capped at $1,000 a week in compensation, and Microsoft suppliers have 12 months to implement the change.
Photo by Jack Antal on Unsplash