10 things in tech you need to know today
1. Google has confirmed it is launching its own wireless service. The company says it will start at a "small scale" to "show what's possible." It'll be a "virtual" network operator, buying wireless spectrum from other companies, and will scale up if successful.
2. Forbes released its annual list of the richest people in the world. There's multiple high-profile tech figures on the list, and Bill Gates is number once again.
3. Obama has slammed China's planned new rules for technology companies. Beijing is considering strict new counter-terrorism laws that would require tech companies to install "backdoors" in their software to allow government access.
4. Hilary Clinton didn't use an official government email address while serving as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. This may have been a security risk.
5. Google executive Mary Lou Jepsen has jumped ship to work for Facebook-owned virtual reality headset manufacturer Oculus Rift. Jepsen previously worked for Google's secretive Google X labs, where she led the "Display" division when Google Glass was launched.
6. Multiple people fell asleep at Mark Zuckerberg's speech at Mobile World Congress. The Facebook CEO was at the Barcelona conference to talk about Internet.org, an attempt to bring Internet to the developing world.
7. Chinese $40 billion startup Xiaomi has launched a 16 megapixel GoPro competitor. Xiaomi is often referred to as the "Apple of China," and despite boasting impressive specs, the new camera costs just $82.
8. Google is backing down on its plan to encrypt all new Android phones by default. The company had previously pledged to have all Android 5.0 Lollipop phones use strong encryption as standard, but this is no longer the case. The company says it still plans to implement default-on encryption in a "future" version of Android.
9. Amazon may soon let you ship to Cuba. A "ship to Cuba" button was added to the site for the first time on Monday, but it is not yet operational.
10. Netflix is going to launch in New Zealand and Australia on March 24. In a special deal, Netflix customers using ISP iiNet will not have to pay for the data used while streaming video on the platform.