Today's top tech news: Google loses $10 million, Pichai gives up stock award and Reliance Jio cuts jobs

^{(Source: NASA)}

Scientists tried to prove the theory of cold fusion three decades ago, claimed they succeeded, and got horribly debunked when nobody could recreate the results. In 2015, Google felt that the judgement may have been passed too soon and decided to have a go at getting cold fusion to work themselves only to fail — and lose $10 million in the process.

Why you should care:

The successful proof of cold fusion would mean an endless and abundant supply of energy at the world’s disposal. It would be the optimal solution to the ‘energy crisis’ that a lot of countries around the world, including India, are facing.

^{Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio CEO (Source:BCCL)}

As Reliance Jio is gaining users, it’s also shedding some of its staff. Nearly 5,000 employees were reportedly asked to leave the company, including 50 that were on the permanent payroll.

Why you should care:

Unemployment is a burgeoning problem in India. The intense competition in the telecom industry since Jio’s entry has companies reeling from the financial stress. In fact, Jio’s the only telco giant making any profit right now. The situation only seems to be worsening as Jio’s competitors saw a massive fall in subscribers in March.

^{A woman uses her Apple iPhone and laptop in a cafe in New York City (Source: Reuters)}

Google and Facebook normally make the headlines when its comes to user privacy but Apple, a company that prides itself on its data security, has been accused of sharing user’s location data with tracking companies. Geoffrey Fowler, who published his findings in the Washington Post, observed that nearly 1.5 GB of data was shared with third parties from the iPhones 5,400 data trackers.

Why you should care:

Data security is one of Apple two selling points, the other being the phone’s unique design which under the threat of getting more ordinary by the day. Even the device’s tagline is, ‘What happens on your iPhone stays on your phone.’ If these allegations hold true, Apple troubles might be about to get even worse.