Mea Sorta Culpa
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has responded at last to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has rocked the social network in just about every way possible, from users closing accounts to a steep drop in its stock price. The high-profile Facebook founder first posted a long backgrounder on his own Facebook page, then took to the airwaves and interwebs in a series of interviews with the New York Times, Wired, CNN, and others.
His bottom line response: He’s very sorry about all this, and Facebook will work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Zuck reiterated his previous explanation that the initial request for data on 50 million Facebook users was a legit request that they honored, but it was what happened AFTER the data was out of their hands that has resulted in the PR disaster.
If you want to tighten up the rules about who gets to see YOUR Facebook data, we’ve got tips for resetting your settings, as well as a step-by-step guide to permanently deleting your account if that’s what you really want to do.
No way in the USA for Huawei?
Chinese electronics and smartphone giant Huawei had big, big plans for elbowing their way into U.S. markets this year, but they’ve now been dealt a second serious setback that could see them abandon those ambitions. Following news earlier this year that AT&T would NOT start selling their phones after it looked like a deal was imminent, major retail chain Best Buy is also now saying they will no longer sell the company’s handsets.
Digital Trends has reviewed several Huawei handsets, including the halo Mate 10 Pro, and we found the devices to be worthy competitors to phones from Samsung and LG. But the US government isn’t so sure about Huawei, especially after the House Intelligence Committee said Huawei and ZTE posed national security threats and banned US companies from buying products from both back in 2012.
Apparently, they haven’t forgotten about that and it was reportedly political pressure that led AT&T to back away from the company in January. So what now? You can still get Huawei phones and smartwatches through numerous vendors online, including Amazon and Newegg. But, not Best Buy. Time will tell if Huawei, the number three smartphone maker in the world, will ever crack the U.S. market.
Cold power
Drones are being put to work more than ever, and someday, they may even deliver a package to you. Some… day. But for now, they take great photos and video, take Youtuber Casey Neistat snowboarding and de-ice wind turbines in Latvia. The cool thing about it? It uses an electrical tether along with batteries for power, so it literally has unlimited flying time.
The tech-filled multi-rotor drone is made by Latvian company Aerones, which made drone headlines last year for lifting a skydiver into the air for some free- fallin’ fun. But the deicing thing is a bit more practical application, and it’s way cheaper to use a drone than a helicopter with people on board.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
