EU Wants a Single Data Market to Challenge Big Tech

The European Union introduced a way to challenge the likes of Big Tech by creating a single market for data.

Measures to achieve that goal include an array of new rules covering cross-border data use, data interoperability and standards related to manufacturing, climate change, the auto industry, healthcare, financial services, agriculture and energy.

Other rules in the coming months will open up more public data on geospatial, the environment, meteorology, statistics and companies’ data across the bloc for companies to use for free.

Facebook Settles Dispute Over Facial Recognition Tech

Facebook has settled a dispute over its use of facial recognition technology, BBC News reports. It will pay $550m to users in Illinois who claimed it was against the state’s privacy laws.

The lawsuit against Facebook was given the go-ahead in 2018 when a federal judge ruled it could be heard as a class action (group) case. The appeals court disagreed with Facebook’s attempts to stop this, and in January the Supreme Court also declined to review its appeal. The social network told the BBC: “We decided to pursue a settlement as it was in the best interests of our community and our shareholders to move past this matter.” Facebook began using facial recognition in the US in 2010 when it automatically tagged people in photos using its tag suggestions tool. The tool scan a user’s face and offered suggestions about who that person is.

Apple TV+ Was DOA And Should End

At Forbes, the writer and analyst John Koetsier outlined his view that Apple TV+ was DOA. He believes the should company cut its losses and end the streaming service. I totally disagree. Given recent awards success, I actually think it is gaining credibility, not losing it. However, it’s always worth reading dissenting opinions.

Now, with 25th mover advantage firmly in its not-so-hip pocket, Apple is trying to present Apple TV (the app, not the service or the device) as a hub for all your video entertainment, whether it’s on Netflix or Amazon Prime or rented from iTunes or — very infrequently — streamed from Apple TV+ (the service, not the app or the hardware). And yes, this is confusing, because Apple TV is hardware: a set-top box. Apple TV is an app on iPhones and Macs. And Apple TV+ is a paid service with Apple-exclusive video entertainment on multiple platforms, including Roku.

117 Emoji Coming This Year, Like a Mammoth, Dodo, Worm, and More

The Unicode Consortium has approved the first group of new emojis for 2020, known as Emoji 13.0. They feature 117 of the fun symbols, including a mammoth, dodo bird, worm, and a lot more.

As with all new emoji releases, the appearance of each emoji varies by platform. Images shown on this page (and tweet thread) are original designs created by Emojipedia in a glossy style to show one potential way these may look when implemented on major platforms such as iOS, Android, WhatsApp, or Twitter.

How the Windows Team Was “Blinded” by the iPad

Former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky wrote a blog post about how his team were caught off guard by the iPad.

The success of iPhone (140K apps & 3B downloads announced that day) blinded us at Microsoft as to where Apple was heading. Endless rumors of Apple’s tablet *obviously* meant a pen computer based on Mac. Why not? The industry chased this for 20 years. That was our context.

It’s a good read. Everyone expected Apple to compete with netbooks. They did, but not by creating their own Mac netbook.

Satirical News Site ‘The Onion’ Comes to Apple Podcasts

The Onion is debuting a daily news podcasts called The Topical is coming to Apple Podcasts and other platforms. No word on whether it will be real news or a comedy podcast.

Leading media experts agree our subservience to the written word has ended, and all future generations will passively absorb information from The Onion’s podcast each day. In fact, an emerging consensus suggests this could be the last sentence you ever have to read if you click below right now to listen to The Topical, thereby freeing yourself from a dying culture’s benighted era of literacy.

Apple Podcasts: The Topical

Apple Store in India May Not Happen in 2020

Apple plans to launch an online store in India in the third quarter of 2020. However, according to Techcrunch, a much anticipated physical store there might not open this year.

The source said the company was still working on the logistics of setting up the store and that the quarter between July and September was the new deadline. Apple CEO Tim Cook would likely plan an India trip for the announcement, the source said. The company’s first official physical store in India, to be situated in Mumbai, will take an additional few months of time for setting up and might not be ready by this year, the source said.

Here’s What the ‘Race to 5G’ Really Means

Karl Bode writes about corporations talking about the “race to 5G”, saying that it’s more like a race to bigger profits.

The “race” rhetoric is largely an illusion created by companies eager to do the bare minimum in exchange for as many subsidies, regulatory favors and tax breaks they can grab. This mindless regulatory capture has resulted in a US Telecom sector that routinely ranks in the middle of the pack in every metric that matters. While 5G will be a good thing when deployed at scale, it’s foolish to think the new wireless technical standard will address the deeper rot that plagues the sector.

Mr. Zuckerberg Goes to Brussels

Mark Zuckerberg is to head to Europe to try and stop EU lawmakers implementing tough new regulations on his firm, Bloomberg News reports. The Facebook CEO’s Brussels visit will coincide with his attendance at the Munich security conference.

The Belgian capital has for years been at the forefront of regulating large U.S. tech companies, with strict competition enforcement and its flagship privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation, which entered into force in 2018. Facebook currently faces a slew of probes by national data protection regulators. At the same time, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, is looking into possible antitrust issues around how the company collects user data and has criticized the social media giant’s handling of the spread of disinformation on its platform.

Focus - Website and Application Blocker for MacOS Unlimited Plan: $29.99

We have a deal on Focus, a website and application blocker for the Mac that’s designed to help you stay on task. Focus sits in your menu-bar and helps you block distracting websites, domains, or apps. It also features schedules and timers, password protection, productivity stats, BASH scripting support, and more. I’m linking to our deal for an Unlimited Plan for $29.99, but there are also less expensive plans called Productivity and Professional.