Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep you apprised of all things relevant in the world of technology and startups, here are some noteworthy tech news items that didn’t get a full column this week but certainly deserve a glance.
Dropbox Announces Project Infinite
One of the things that always pissed me off about Dropbox was that I had to physically sync my files between the cloud and my local hard drive. I didn’t want to store 500GB of backup files on my hard drive, meaning I had to log onto the Dropbox site to manage them. Clunky to say the least. Now Dropbox is working to allow users to manage all their files from the desktop, even the ones that are only stored in the cloud. This may just convince me to go back to Dropbox.
Cyclist Banned For Using Bike With Hidden Motor
I may not like cycling as a sport, but I certainly have to hand it to them for finding creative ways to cheat. Femke Van den Driessche was banned from cycling for six years after it was discovered that her bike had a hidden motor that could be activated via Bluetooth. Of course, she claimed the bike belonged to a friend. Riiiiiight.
Big Name Car Companies Form Giant Lobbyist Group
Ford, Google, Uber, Lyft, and Volvo announced on Tuesday the formation of the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets. In addition to sounding slightly like something out of 1984, the group will serve to lobby for and advocate on behalf of autonomous driving. The coalition plans on working with lawmakers to develop effective regulations for self-driving cars.
Every Phone In India To Have Panic Button
In an effort to increase women’s safety, India’s Ministry of Communications and Technology has announced that starting in 2017, every phone sold must have a panic button. On standard mobile phones, that panic button would be triggered by holding down the 5 or 9 button. On smartphones, users would hit the power button three times in quick succession. Activating the panic button would automatically place an emergency call. It’s hard to not see this becoming common throughout the world.
Dead Body Found At Apple Headquarters
In a sad turn of events, the body of young man was found in a conference room at Apple headquarters earlier this week. A gun was also found next to the body. There were some indications of a possible suicide, but no definitive results have been released yet.
Edward Snowden Releases Bizarre Music Video
When he’s not leaking international secrets, Edward Snowden appears to be collaborating on electronic music. When he’s not collaborating on electronic music, he is releasing completely bizarre music videos to accompany said music. Snowden’s latest video is like Jason Bourne meets the Matrix. It’s just weird.
Comcast Purchases DreamWorks Animation For $3.8 Billion
After weeks of rumors, Comcast announced that it is purchasing DreamWorks for $3.8 billion. This gives Comcast access to movies like Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda, and How To Train Your Dragon. How did Comcast make this announcement? By having reporters call in, forcing them to wait for 2 hours, and then having someone from the Philippines make the announcement.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!
Stephen Altrogge is a freelance writer based in Tallahassee, Florida. He writes about tech, marketing, faith, and lots of other things. He’s married to Jen and has three young girls. Every day he consumes more coffee than the entire population of Colombia. He knows more about Star Wars than any respectable man should, and he runs more than any sane man would. He once attempted to eat a 2 pound hamburger in under an hour. He failed.
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Is Snowden going to turn into one of those guys that just comes out of nowhere anytime he feels he has not been in the news enough? Sometimes that is OK, but a music video?
OK, we get it, Comcast has a shit load of money. Now they have Dreamworks and you are most likely going to have to “upgrade” to get to watch any of the movies!