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Now, the e-commerce giant already has a pay-per-visit 24-7 telehealth service |
called Amazon Clinic, |
but they craved more. |
So they casually spent $3.9 billion earlier this year |
to acquire primary care provider One Medical. |
With this acquisition and its previous buyout of Whole Foods, |
Amazon now controls sources of food and medicine. |
Two things literally we can't live without. |
Perhaps Amazon will get into the oxygen business next, |
buy a bunch of land covered in trees, |
call it the Amazon Forest, |
and then sue South America for copyright infringement. |
You did good today, sport. |
Come on, |
let's get you some Quick Bits. |
A federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit |
alleging that Honda, General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen |
violated Washington state privacy laws |
by using their onboard infotainment systems |
to intercept, record, and download text messages and call logs. |
Not because the judge determined they weren't collecting that information. |
In fact, they still are. |
It's because the law requires proof |
that plaintiff's reputations, personal safety, and businesses were threatened. |
Look, just because your neighbor is standing outside your bedroom window with a camera |
doesn't mean he's doing anything wrong, right? |
Prove it. |
Omegle, the randomized chat service best known |
for sketchy interactions between minors and adult strangers, |
is shutting down after settling a lawsuit |
alleging sketchy interactions between minors and adult strangers. |
It's the end of an era. |
I was one of those adult strangers. |
Just kidding. |
For the past 14 years, |
Omegle has been a popular source of entertainment, |
viral YouTube videos, and emotional trauma. |
The site was originally envisioned as a way to use the wide open nature of the internet |
to connect its users to new and varied ideas and experiences, |
something it achieved arguably too well. |
The ongoing Epic trial has revealed how much money Google has given potential competitors |
to convince them to launch their games on the Play Store. |
Activision Blizzard was given $360 million |
for all their games in 2020, |
and Epic turned down $147 million for Fortnite, |
opting instead to launch the Android version |
through its own website back in 2018. |
20 other developers were offered similar deals in 2019 |
as part of Google's Project Hug. |
Bear hug. |
Google even cut special deals with Netflix and Spotify. |
I used to pride myself on the quality of my hugs, |
but now I just feel inferior. |
How can I even cuddle my wife anymore? |
Qualcomm and its partner Iridium announced an end to Snapdragon Satellite, |
the satellite communication service for Android that never even launched. |
Originally announced in January |
with a promise of being Apple's emergency SOS via satellite, but better, |
it seems smartphone manufacturers elected not to include the technology in their devices. |
Iridium says they'll try to partner with smartphone OEMs and other chip makers, |
but for now, |
we'll have to deal with Tim Cook's stupid smug face, |
handsome jerk. |
Oh, you don't have satellite? |
Well, that sucks for you. |
Barbara, let's go. |
And you've heard of Apple TV+, Disney+, and Paramount+. |
Get ready for NASA+. |
The streaming service recently launched by the space agency of the same name. |
It's available on Android, iOS, and many smart TVs, |
and offers award-winning original series ad-free |
for the low cost of actually nothing. |
It's actually free. |
It's completely free. |
But like, if you wanted to convince your local representatives |
to give them more money to the Artemis program, |
no pressure at all. |
It's just Prada spacesuits don't grow on trees, you know? |
And neither does tech news. |
So make sure you come back on Monday for another hearty helping. |
We'll make it with love and just a sous-son of sarcasm. |
It gives |
it more body. |
Uh, you came here because you want tech news, |
and I know that. |
And that's why I have that ready for, |
I have it ready for you right here. |
It's just, one second. |
Apple doesn't want to allow iPhone users |
to install apps from outside of the app store, AKA side loading, |
but according to Mark Gurm's together strong Gurman, |
the company looks like it's doing the tech giant equivalent |
of gritting its teeth and wincing in anticipation |
of getting a very painful temporary tattoo. |
See, the EU's Digital Market Act requires gatekeeper companies like Google and Apple |
to open up their software ecosystems by March, 2024. |
The Gurman, financial filings from Apple, |
as well as code found in the iOS 17.2 beta, |
all point to Apple preparing to allow side loading on iPhones before that deadline, |
so in the next few months. |