HeyWhatsNew: China Is Close to Launching Its Starlink Rival, and Olympians Are Selling Their Exclusive Samsung Devices
What’s happening, Heyuppers? Welcome to this week’s edition of HeyWhatsNew, your source of the latest tech news and updates from around the world. Let’s see what went down in the week beginning 05/08/2024.
Google Has Been Violating Antitrust Laws, According to a New Ruling
A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that Google has been operating as an illegal monopoly, violating antitrust laws. The U.S. Department of Justice won the case, arguing that Google paid around $26 billion in 2021 to ensure its search engine was the default on phones and computers, effectively shutting out rivals.
The government claimed that Google has maintained its monopoly over online search and advertising by paying companies like Apple and Samsung for prime placement on devices. This strategy has helped Google become the world’s most-used search engine, generating over $300 billion in annual revenue, mostly from search ads. Google and its parent company, Alphabet, plan to appeal the ruling.
China Is Working on a Satellite Constellation to rival Starlink
The Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST) is getting ready to launch the first batch of satellites for a mega constellation aimed at competing with SpaceX’s Starlink network. This race to control Earth’s lower orbits also has military implications, potentially shifting the balance of power between nations.
Reuters reports that if the launch is successful, it would be a big step toward Beijing’s goal of creating its own version of Starlink. SSSTs “Thousand Sails constellation” is one of three massive satellite projects China is pursuing to catch up with SpaceX. SSST plans to launch 108 satellites this year and aims to have 648 in orbit by the end of 2025.
Olympic Edition Galaxy Z Flip 6 Selling for up to $10 000 on eBay
We reported last week that Samsung created and distributed a limited edition Galaxy Z Fold 6 exclusively for the 17000 Olympic athletes currently competing in Paris. In an interesting turn of events, the exclusive devices have been spotted on eBay, some sporting a price tag of around $10 000.
According to an article in the Hindustan Times, multiple listings for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Olympic Edition, still sealed in the box, have popped up online. The prices for this limited edition device range from $6,500 to $10,000, though you can bid for it at a lower price. For comparison, the standard Galaxy Z Flip 6 with 512GB storage is priced at $1,219. This special edition foldable is catching the attention of tech enthusiasts and collectors worldwide.
Elon Musk Suing Open AI Again
Billionaire Elon Musk has reignited his legal fight against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. According to an 83-page lawsuit detailed by PCMag, Musk claims he invested over $44.5 million in OpenAI between May 2016 and September 2020. Musk says he made these payments, believing that OpenAI would stay a nonprofit, open-source organization dedicated to developing and sharing safe artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity.
Now that OpenAI is for-profit, Musk argues that its AI models are kept secret for the financial gain of Altman, Microsoft, and OpenAI. He alleges that OpenAI intentionally misled him, claiming his investment was based on the firm sticking to its original, open-source mission.
Hackers Have Spotted a Vulnerability in Safari, Firefox, and Chrome
Forbes reports that hackers have found a way to exploit a critical vulnerability in major web browsers like Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, allowing them to breach private networks even behind firewalls. The flaw is tied to how these browsers handle the 0.0.0.0 IP address, a problem that’s been around for nearly 20 years. Israeli cybersecurity firm Oligo discovered that hackers are exploiting this flaw by sending malicious requests to 0.0.0.0, letting them access sensitive data. This attack has been dubbed a “0.0.0.0-day” exploit.
In response, Apple plans to block all website attempts to access 0.0.0.0 in the beta version of macOS 15 Sequoia, and Google’s Chrome security team is working on a similar fix. However, Mozilla has yet to implement a solution, citing concerns about potential compatibility issues for servers using 0.0.0.0 as a substitute for localhost.
Google Is Launching the Google TV Streamer That Is Set to Replace Chromecast
Google is phasing out its popular Chromecast, with units only available while supplies last. Instead, they’re rolling out the all-new Google TV Streamer. According to MacRumors, the Google TV Streamer lets you watch over 700,000 movies and shows from big streaming platforms like YouTube TV, Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV, plus 800+ free live TV channels.
According to the article on Bloomberg, the Google TV Streamer also comes with an AI-powered content recommendation system based on Google’s Gemini technology. It’s priced at $99.99, and you can pre-order it now, with shipping starting on September 24, 2024.
It’s been an interesting week, but that’s all we have time for this week. Join us again next time when we give you all the latest tech news updates that are set to change the world.
