Futurum’s Olivier Blanchard covers Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and how it could deliver the missing piece in Google’s product ecosystem — and perhaps make Apple nervous in the process. Why? Aside from Google’s wearables business suddenly absorbing Fitbit’s nearly 30 million active users worldwide, Google also finally has the tools to become an implementer of its own Wear OS platform.
Red Hat Buys StackRox to Strengthen Security and Hybrid Cloud
Red Hat buys cloud startup StackRox. This is the company’s first deal since the IBM acquisition in 2019 and focuses on bolstering Red Hat’s OpenShift Kubernetes and hybrid cloud capabilities.
AWS Gets Greenlight for Huge Data Center Campus in Northern Virginia
AWS gets the greenlight for another data center campus in Northern Virginia to accommodate the booming cloud business.
Leave Amazon out of Big Tech Regulation — it Doesn’t have a Monopoly
Calls for regulation have accelerated as Capitol Hill ramps up what it sees as anti-competitive behavior to widespread abuse of technology hurting privacy, security and democracy.
Google and Nokia Strike a Five-Year Cloud Deal
Google Cloud and Nokia strike a five-year cloud deal where Nokia plans to fully migrate its on-premise IT infrastructure to Google Cloud. This is a significant telecom win for Google and reaffirms the trend of the major cloud players’ focusing on industry verticals.
Google Announces Google Tables for Automated Work Tracking
Google announces Google Tables for automated work tracking. Work tracking proves to be a hot topic last week as Microsoft announces Workplace Analytics for its Microsoft Teams at its Ignite Event as well.
Amazon Luna Launches, The Rise of Cloud Gaming — and What That Means for the Future
Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Luna, the company’s new cloud gaming service. With a play anywhere offering, on devices you already own, there’s every reason to expect Amazon Luna’s invitation for early access will be eagerly snapped up. One of my favorite things about this offering is the Twitch integration that’s purportedly coming to Luna, allowing gamers to broadcast while gaming. This integration will also allow Twitch viewers (who subscribe to Luna) to go from watching a game streaming on Twitch to playing on Luna. Microsoft xCloud, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and Google Stadia are all officially on notice that there’s a new player in the cloud gaming space in town.
US Antitrust Action against Google Could Come Sooner than Expected
At the heart of Google’s US antitrust troubles is the search giant’s staggering advantage in online search: Google processes roughly 90% of all online searches in the US. But there’s a difference between hypercompetitive behavior and anticompetitive behavior, and I believe that’s what this case is about. As this plays out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google rubbing up against the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent ruling in FTC vs. Qualcomm. Interesting times ahead, to be sure.
3 Ways Immersive Technologies Benefit Businesses Remote Operations
Let’s take a look at the areas of business that could see the biggest impact from implementing immersive technologies.
Xoogler School — Former Googlers’ Virtual Tech School Offering is the Right Thing at the Right Time
Xoogler School, a virtual tech school offering run by a group of ex-Google employees, caught my eye this week. Named after Google shorthand for former employees, Xoogler’s virtual tech offering is an eight-week course that will let students learn from a wide variety of folks who have spent time in the trenches at Google, arguably one of Silicon Valley’s most sought-after tech companies to work for. If you’ve got a college student weighing his or her options as it relates to college this fall, especially if he or she is interested in the technology space, it’s probably worth checking this out. Note that early applications are being accepted now.