Boston Dynamics
A Boston Dynamics robot.
Good morning! Here's the technology news you need to know this Friday.
1. Google's parent company, Alphabet, is trying to sell Boston Dynamics, the robotics company it bought in late 2013. Among the potential buyers are Toyota and Amazon.
2. Some Apple engineers say that they'd rather quit than help the government break security measures that Apple has placed on iPhones and iPads. Engineers have reportedly already discussed who would and who wouldn't build "GovtOS," the software the FBI has gone to court to compel the company to create.
3. Microsoft is ready to start upgrading older Windows phones to the new Windows 10 Mobile operating system. Previously, the only supported way to get Windows 10 Mobile was to buy newer phones like the Lumia 650 or Lumia 950/950XL.
4. Newly-surfaced emails from some of EMC's executives suggest that the storage company was worried about a "Blackberry moment" in 2014. The emails came well before Dell agreed to buy EMC for $67 billion (£46 billion) in October.
5. Imagination Technologies, a microchip designer that works with Apple and counts the US tech giant as its third-biggest shareholder, is making fresh redundancies. The company is cutting an additional 200 jobs on top of the 150 that were announced last month.
6. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak expressed concern over the number of Apple Watch options during an Ask Me Anything interview on Reddit. Wozniak said that he "worries a little bit" about the watch.
7. A company that makes "software robots" is set to IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Friday. Blue Prism, founded near Liverpool in 2001, raised £21.1 million ahead of its listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
8. The founder of Oculus explained why some people get sick when using his virtual reality headset. "The issue is constant deceleration and acceleration," he said.
9. Spotify has reached a deal with the National Music Publisher's Association (NMPA) that resolves a dispute over unpaid royalties. The agreement will allow music publishers to get royalties for songs on Spotify (in the US) where the ownership information was previously "unknown."
10. Airbnb hosts in San Francisco will have to pay taxes on dishes and bedsheets, under new laws being proposed by city authorities. The tax on such "business personal property" will generally be slightly more than 1% of the item's value.