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GlobalFoundries lawsuit threatens sales bans against Apple, NVIDIA

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The consequences could still be serious. In one of the ITC complaints, GlobalFoundries called for import bans on many of Apple’s devices with mobile chips, including the iPhone XS, AirPods, Apple Watch Series 4 and Apple TV 4K. It would still be highly damaging for others. NVIDIA’s GPU business revolves heavily around assembly at TSMC, for instance, such as the 12-nanometer chips at the heart of the GeForce RTX line. If GlobalFoundries prevailed, these companies might have no choice but to halt sales, at least until they find alternative production channels.

In explaining the lawsuit, GlobalFoundries played heavily on the nationalism fueling the current trade war between the US and China. It characterized the lawsuits as “protecting” investments in US and European chip production while portraying TSMC as part of manufacturing’s “shift to Asia.” It also claimed that the suits would ensure a “competitive industry” for its customers.

The reality may be more complicated. While it’s true that TSMC is a dominant force in chipmaking with responsibilities for nearly half of all outsourced chip production, GlobalFoundries also bowed out of developing chips at 7nm and smaller processes. It effectively ceded competition in that space to rivals like TSMC with claims that it couldn’t afford to spend the billions of dollars needed to keep up. It’s not clear if a successful fight with TSMC would be enough to restart those efforts. As with some similarly broad legal battles, this may be as much about using patents as another source of income as it is a dispute over intellectual property.

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Netflix has shipped 5 billion discs

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There’s no doubt that the physical media side of Netflix is small by this stage. There were 14 million disc subscribers in 2011, but that fell to a mere 2.4 million by the second quarter of this year — for context, there are 151 million streaming customers. It is, however, still a money maker. Although the $46 million in quarterly profits is a pittance in 2019 (Netflix has spent more on developing individual shows), that’s clearly enough to keep it around.

We wouldn’t count on another billion. Even if all existing disc subscribers rented a title every month from here on out, it would take nearly 35 years to hit the 6 billion mark. Not that Netflix or its customers are likely to complain. It’s at least one more hurrah for the service that got Netflix started, and it serves as a reminder that streaming doesn’t quite satisfy everyone.



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Instagram tests ‘Threads’ app with automatic updates for close friends

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The social media giant has struggled for a while to create a new, standalone messaging app for Instagram. It abandoned its Instagram Direct app — still in beta — back in May. Threads appears to be Facebook’s attempt to merge the best of Instagram and Snapchat into one vessel. Much like Snapchat, Threads will allow you to automatically send updates to your entire friends list. The popularity of location sharing on social media has had its ebbs and flows — but it appears it’s making a return. Snapchat earlier this year unveiled Snap Map, a new feature that allows users to see where their friends are located.

In order for Threads not to die an untimely death like Instagram Direct, it’s likely it needs to be more than a messaging app. A variety of new features and old favorites — along with access to a curated list of close friends — could give Threads the staying power it needs.

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Bell’s self-flying cargo drone completes its first flight

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“We are excited to reach this milestone, and look forward to continuing to advance this technology for our customers,” said Scott Drennan, vice president of Bell’s Innovation team. The company will be testing the APT 70 for the rest of the year. Following that trial period, it plans to use the vehicle to conduct demonstrations — both in and out of controlled airspace — through a systems integration and operationalization contract it won with NASA.

Last year, the Fort Worth-based aerospace company began testing the APT 20, a smaller version of the APT 70 with a payload capacity of 20 pounds. Both vehicles are fully autonomous. In other words, they take off and land vertically and transition to forward flight while mid-air.

We’re still a long way from delivery drone package delivery being an option for everyday consumers, but some headway has been made this year. UPS is in the midst of FAA approval for its own commercial delivery drone system. Back in April, the FAA certified the Alphabet-owned Wing to deliver goods in the US. Amazon this summer unveiled a helicopter-airplane hybrid to be used in an upcoming Prime Air delivery service.

Bell has also teamed up with Yamato, a Japanese logistics company, to integrate its package handling system. The demonstration today displayed their systems side by side. Both companies hope to enter into service sometime in the early 2020s.

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US officials brace for ransomware attacks against election systems

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The prep includes education and recommendations as well as more immediate checks like remote penetration testing and vulnerability scans. It won’t, however, involve advice on whether or not state governments should pay ransoms. Homeland Security wants systems to be sufficiently airtight that they aren’t forced to make that choice, an unnamed official told Reuters.

It doesn’t take much to understand the potential severity. Ransomware could lock states out of their voting data at crucial moments, sparking delays and even undermining the legitimacy of the elections themselves. And since the data changes constantly, it’s not guaranteed that states’ backups will be current.

There’s no certainty CISA’s measures and others will be enough with roughly 14 months to go before the vote. Unlike in 2016, though, election workers are far more aware of the potential for data breaches from Russia and other unfriendly governments. If ransomware does hit, they could more quickly recover in the aftermath.

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Watch SpaceX’s Starhopper attempt a 150m ‘hover test’

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Ready for the next generation of SpaceX vehicles? Before the Starship launches, it’s testing out the new technology on this Starhopper test vehicle, which is scheduled to make its highest jump yet at about 7 PM ET. If all goes well, it will pop up to about 150m / 500~ feet. Check below for a live stream of the test from Boca Chica Beach, TX.

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Porsche Taycan sets four-door EV speed record at the Nürburgring

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Porsche really, really wants to convince you that the Taycan will outperform Tesla’s cars in the right circumstances. The automaker reported that its pre-production EV set a (rather specific) lap record for four-door, all-electric cars on the Nürburging-Nordschliefe, completing its 12.8-mile run of the legendary circuit in seven minutes and 42 seconds. It unsurprisingly credits not just the top speed and acceleration of the car, but also the longevity of its electric powertrain. Unlike some EVs, the Taycan has both an 800-volt system (instead of the usual 400V) and a cooling system that can sustain performance for long periods.

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Microsoft’s ‘Your Phone’ screen mirroring app is down

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This is bad timing for an outage. As The Verge explains, the Galaxy Note 10 has its own version of Your Phone, called “Link to PC.” That phone just went on sale last week, and Link to PC is reportedly unavailable as part of this outage.

Typically, the app lets you reply to texts, access files and manage phone notifications from your PC. The feature has been in Insider testing since this spring, and Microsoft began rolling it out to PCs in July. If Microsoft can get past this hangup, it’s expected to bring the screen-mirroring capability to more handsets in the coming months.

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Apple re-fixes a bug that let users jailbreak iPhones

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This current update fixes a kernel vulnerability that would have allowed an attacker to “execute arbitrary code with system privileges” on an iPhone or iPad. Apple also mentioned Pwn20wnd, the hacker that released the public jailbreak. “We would like to acknowledge @Pwn20wnd for their assistance,” the company wrote in a security update.

As you might remember from the early days of the iPhone, jailbreaking allows users to install third-party apps that aren’t available through the App Store. But doing so also puts phones at risk of spyware. So, while the iOS 12.4 bug might have given us a trip down memory lane, you’ll want to download iOS 12.4.1 as soon as possible.

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Apple reportedly shelves ‘walkie talkie’ iPhone feature

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This is the first time we’ve heard of the technology, which went by Project OGRS at Apple. It reportedly used the 900 megahertz radio spectrum, often used by the utility, oil and gas industries. Sources told The Information that it was designed to use Intel cellular modems. It’s unclear why Apple shelved the project, but it could have something to do with Apple exec Rubén Caballero leaving the company earlier this year. Sources told The Information that Caballero was in charge of the project and considered it “his baby.” It could also have something to do with Apple’s plans to switch to Qualcomm modems.

Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of the walkie talkie feature. Apple already has a Walkie Talkie Watch app. And a similar iPhone feature would likely be a popular addition.

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