10 things in tech you need to know today
Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.
1. Toyota is investing $500 million in Uber at a $72 billion valuation as part of a self-driving-car partnership. Uber's tech will be integrated into custom-built Toyota vehicles that will be used for a network of self-driving cars, with the first pilots scheduled for 2021.
2. Some Apple insiders are referring to 2018 as an iPhone "S" year, in reference to Apple's old system of introducing a new phone design one year and then speed upgrades - the S year - the next. According to Bloomberg, Apple could launch three new iPhones this year, all sporting a screen that covers the entire front of the device.
3. Marketers are poring over legal documents to make sure they don't screw up using data on Facebook. Facebook is shutting down its Partner Categories ad program and replacing it with Custom Audiences, which will still allow third parties to work with brands in building audiences - but puts the data protection onus on marketers.
4. Tesla CEO Elon Musk began to have second thoughts about taking his company private when advisors began lining up big-name investors, like rival car firms. According to the Wall Street Journal, Musk also regretted losing the small-fry shareholders who had been his biggest champions.
5. Facebook banned Myanmar's top army official for 'serious human rights abuses' as it tries to atone for its role in spreading misinformation in the country. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is among the 20 Burmese individuals and organisations now barred from Facebook.
6. Officials identified gamers Elijah Clayton and Taylor Robertson as the two victims who died in the Madden shooting in Jacksonville. The gaming community rallied on social media to pay tribute to the victims.
7. Tinder's cofounder Sean Rad has said he had 'no choice' but to sell his stock in the dating app maker a month before he left the company. According to The Verge, Rad was fired from Tinder's parent firm and would have lost the chance to exercise his options within 30 days.
8. Microsoft introduced an ambitious subscription plan that makes the Xbox the best deal in gaming. The "Xbox All Access" plan starts at $22 a month for US players, giving subscribers an Xbox One console, two years of Xbox Live Gold service, and two years of Xbox Game Pass.
9. Y Combinator's ambitious basic income experiment has been delayed. In 2016, Y Combinator - the largest startup accelerator in Silicon Valley - said it would provide participants with money for five years after an initial pilot, but the pilot is taking a lot longer than anticipated.
10. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey reviewed the buzzy new alternate reality device, Magic Leap One, and was absolutely brutal. Luckey called the device, "a tragedy in the classical sense...less of a functional developer kit and more of a flashy hype vehicle that almost nobody can actually use in a meaningful way."
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