The whole world watched Felix Baumgartner leap from the sky, 24 miles up, breaking the sound barrier and our minds in the process. If you haven’t seen it yet, then fix that right now. After, though, come back and check out the best tech news of the day.
Long-Time Chip Partnership Between Apple and Samsung Crumbling
To say that the relationship between Apple and Samsung has been ‘strained’ as of alte would be the understatement of the year. With a billion-dollar patent lawsuit still being fought over, the Korea Times is reporting that “Apple…has made it clear it will no longer use its rival’s technology, according to a senior Samsung official.” It appears that Apple will move future chip production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). (CNET)
Microsoft Kicks Off Billion-Dollar Ad Campaign, Surface a No-Show
Sunday was pretty dang awesome for football fans across the country, but while they were watching the Seahawks shock the Patriots, they also got the first taste of Microsoft’s massive ad campaign. The ads showed a number of different Windows 8 devices from OEMs like ACER, Samsung, Lenovo and Sony. But what football fans weren’t shown was Microsoft’s own Windows 8 tablet, the Surface, which is set to launch on October 26, the same day as Windows 8. (WSJ)
EU Demands Google Change Privacy Policy
The monolithic powerhouse that is Google has been taking its share of licks lately. Last week, Reuters reported that the FTC is moving ever-closer to bringing an antitrust case against the company, and today the European Union’s data protection authorities said they have issues with Google’s newest privacy policy, and requested in a letter that Google clarify its actions when pulling data from across its many services. “Combining personal data on such a large scale creates high risks to the privacy of users,” says the letter, signed by 24 of EU’s 27 data regulators plus those of Croatia and Liechtenstein. (Reuters)
Is it True? iPad Mini Pricing, Models Appears to Leak
German mobile site MobileGeeks seems to have got its hands a pic of an inventory system describing the pricing and models of Apple’s upcoming iPad Mini, with the pricing coming betwee around $300 and $800. While it should go without saying that even if the source of the leak is legitimate, these prices could still change. But what is interesting is that it lists various models of tablet that have cellular capability, which contradicts a previous report by The Guardian that said the iPad Mini would be Wi-Fi only, a measure which would allow Apple to bypass the drawn-out process of getting FTC approval for 3G or 4G LTE connectivity. (ZDNET)
Photo Credit: Fighting Hartebeest by malczyk, on Flickr
Posted on 10/15/2012 at 12:00 AM
