Commies Inside Twitter, Wikidot Hacked, And Apple’s AR Glasses: What Happened This Week?
Kicking Monday blues out, we have Uber Eats, now testing autonomous delivery. So you may be in for a pleasant surprise with your next order. But that’s not all there is to this weekly tech news roundup.
If that’s not tech enough, then you should watch MKBHD create a video thumbnail from scratch using AI. And among the sad news, Wikidot was hacked, and the website says the Russians did it. On that note, let’s dive into our weekly tech news roundup.
Weekly tech news roundup
Commies have infiltrated Twitter
I’m not making this claim. One of Twitter’s senior engineers made this claim on camera. It is terrifying to think an entire social media platform is infested with a single ideology.
However, the credibility of this claim is as good as any other. Firstly, the choice of words shows the person resents ‘commies,’ so the claim itself becomes biased.
Next up, the ‘journalist’ who recorded this fiasco didn’t try to hide the engineer’s identity, which could mean the end of his career, at least with big tech companies.
But controversy surrounds Twitter as Musk asks for proof of the 5% spam account count, and Twitter’s CEO says it removes half a million spam accounts per day.
#Elongate
Elon Musk could write a book on turning severe accusations into a joke. The Tesla founder is accused of flashing his private parts at a flight attendant and then paying hush money, so she doesn’t sue.
Just a couple of hours into it, Musk tweeted about his old wish to name a scandal around his as ‘Elongate.’ It’s all fun and games till a billionaire uses his followers to swing a severe matter into a game.
While Musk’s Twitter takeover is halted, for now, Twitter continues to bleed senior management as three more key employees left the company this week, taking the count to 5.
Wikidot and Google
If you didn’t know, Wikidot is a Wiki hosting provider, and it was hacked earlier this week. The company website says all traces lead to Russian actors.
Coming to Google, the $1.4 trillion search giant has filed for bankruptcy in Russia. This happened as Russia seized Google’s local bank account, and now the platform is withdrawing its paid services from the country.
While filing for bankruptcy in Russia, Google opened its new bay view office in the U.S. The Pixel phone also bagged a 380% growth in the North American market.
What happened at Apple this week?
Apple is one of the biggest tech companies and is almost always making headlines. This week, Apple reportedly showed off its mixed reality headset to its board of directors.
The company has also decided to automatically renew subscriptions despite a price rise. However, Apple being Apple, the decision shouldn’t burn a hole in your wallet.
The Apple rumor mill is also churning hard, and it says that the company will use a colored e ink display on the foldable iPhone. An iPhone with a cover e-ink panel is a good idea for power efficiency.
Other than leaks and developments, Apple got sued by the parents who claim AirPods bust their kid’s eardrums. Apple also suspended their work from office policy amidst rising COVID cases, but it seems it was too little too late.
Lastly, researchers have created malware that can keep working even if the infected iPhone is switched off. How creepy is that!
Netflix’s bad luck continues
This week, Netflix laid off 150 employees in a cost-cutting effort. A survey also pointed out that Netflix is bleeding out and losing more long-term subscribers over time.
Streaming is a competitive space, and Netflix’s loss means an open market for other services. Now, Disney Plus is introducing an ad-supported plan to rope in even more subscribers for much less.
New tech this week
The juiciest part of our weekly tech news roundup. Here’s everything new that came out this week or is rumored to come out soon enough.
Launches from this week
- Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 launched as Qualcomm’s next-gen flagship mobile SoC.
- Samsung launches a Pokémon Galaxy Buds Case, but you probably can’t buy it.
- ASUS launches new ROG Strix Scar 17 SE and ROG Flow X16 gaming laptops.
- OnePlus Ace Racing edition launched in China.
- Lenovo C14 Chromebook receives a spec bump.
Upcoming launches
- Huawei Mate Xs 2 foldable is making a global debut.
- Realme Pad X with Snapdragon 870 chip launching on 26 May.
- Xiaomi Mi Band 7 is launching on May 24.
Leaks and renders
- Nvidia RTX 4090 specifications and release date.
- DJI Avata drone in the making.
- Xiaomi 12 Ultra back panel shows seven camera cutouts.
- Oppo Reno 8 Pro+ spotted on TENAA.
The seventh weekly tech news roundup- What else?
This is where we talk about the unconventional bits in tech that don’t happen every day. India’s Madras High Court listened to a case over WhatsApp for the first time.
In another judgment, the court asked India’s IT Ministry, MeitY, to give reasons for blocking a website, which is also a first.
There’s also a report that says pollution killed 9 million people in 2019 alone, which is an alarming number. Another study rolled out that claims taking a break from social media will make you happier and reduce anxiety.
If you’re an Audi enthusiast, you’ll be happy to know that the company has tied up with Apple to give Apple Music integration in Audi cars from this year.
Lastly, we have an FTC policy that says it’ll go after ed-tech companies that use children’s data for surveillance. In today’s time, this is a crucial policy to safeguard children.
And that’s all there is for this weekly tech news roundup. Do let us know if you think we missed something in the comments. Happy weekend!
