Ah, don't you just love computers with the plastic and the wiring and they got lights
and stuff? I don't know, I just think they're cute.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney finally has his first big win after spending three years
crusading against Apple and Google's app stores instead of making the Epic Game Store
not suck so it wouldn't depend on exclusive games. Hey, but to each their own.
On Monday, the jury in the Epic v. Google trial unanimously agreed with Epic's argument
that Google illegally used monopoly power and anti-competitive business deals to ensure
the Play Store remains dominant in the Android app distribution market, thereby crushing
Epic's plans to bypass the Play Store tax. Now this may be confusing, given that Epic lost in court, making basically the same
argument against Apple, who bears a much stronger resemblance to this guy.
But Epic's case against Google was actually made easier, since Google does allow third
party app stores on Android, while doing everything they can behind the scenes to ensure
those all fail. Google was also hurt by the fact that its executives wrote things down, allowing incriminating
documents to be obtained by Epic's covert task force of elite Fortnite hackers.
This security system is mid, no cap. Bruh.
If you want a full deep dive on this, I did a full deep dive in this tech clonker.
I think it's pretty good. Now this development could fundamentally change the app store landscape for both Apple and
Google. Of course, Google will appeal the ruling, and if it sticks, it'll be years before
the changes affect end users. But Tim Sweeney is good at the long game.
Fortnite has survived, and as evidenced by a recent launch of games within a game like
Lego Fortnite, which is actually Minecraft, it's actually blossoming into a metaverse
of its own, one that won't have to hand over a cut of its Android revenue to Google.
So what's next? Well, according to Tim, he's taken the fight back to Cupertino so he can lose again.
Speaking of antitrust and Apple, early next year, EU regulators are likely to serve Apple
with a ban on app store rules that block music services from steering users away from the
app store and towards other subscription options. It's also theoretically possible that the European Council could fine Apple up to 10%
of annual sales as part of the decision, but a fine of that scale would be extremely
unusual. After all, the mark of a good threat is that you never have to follow through.
EU regulators are also investigating how Apple restricts access to mobile payment features
on its devices, prompting Apple to offer opening up its tap and go system to Apple pay competitors.
For some reason. Meanwhile, the right to repair movement is gaining traction in North America, and the
European Parliament recently voted near-unanimously to pass new, aggressive right to repair legislation.
Apple, by pure coincidence, is expanding its self-repair program to more devices, including
the iPhone 15 and newer M2 MacBook models.
M-DOO. It's also released a relatively sophisticated web-based diagnostic tool that will give users
access to the same testing abilities as Apple authorized service providers.
This diagnostic tool is currently available only in the US, but will be expanding to
Europe next yearâ¦ or else.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is accusing Tesla of false advertising regarding
its so-called full self-driving feature, a feature that does not and cannot fully automate
a car, but sure does sound like it can. In response, Tesla's lawyers are arguing that the DMV implicitly condoned its marketing,
because Tesla started using the term autopilot in 2014 and full self-driving in 2016, and
the DMV chose not to take action until 2021.
Tesla also claims that California's false advertising rules for autonomous vehicles
inappropriately restrict constitutionally protected speech that is truthful and non-misleading.
That might be relevant if it weren't for the fact that unprotected speech that is dishonest
and very misleading is exactly what they're currently accused of.
Tesla recently escaped a class action lawsuit for alleged false advertisement, but that's
largely due to a forced arbitration clause embedded in Tesla's terms and conditions.
Today, Tesla also issued a recall of over 2 million cars, which is basically all of them
in the US, for a partial defect in Tesla's autopilot controls, which the Highway Traffic
Safety Administration found didn't sufficiently ensure that drivers were paying attention
and then prevent them from using it under inappropriate conditions.
Of course, by recall, regulators just mean an over-the-air patch to the infotainment system.
In case you weren't already worried that automated safety regulators are dangerously
behind the times. It was recently discovered that every quick bit emits low-level radiation.
Don't worry, you folks at home are perfectly safe. I, however, have six months to live.
I've been doing this a while. In response to a concerned post by a Chinese user, AMD has clarified that while yes, overclocking
Horizon Threadripper 7000 does blow a hidden fuse to indicate that the chip has been used
with overclocking, but that doesn't necessarily void its warranty.
According to AMD's standard terms of sale, damage that directly results from overclocking
may not qualify for repair under warranty, but an overclocked chip is still covered by
warranty for replacement or repair for other issues.
Nothing has changed, so overclockers can relax and keep overing those clocks.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has hit Google subsidiary Fitbit with a 7.3
million USD fine for making misleading claims to at least 58 customers about its warranties.
While the fine is only 3.8% of Fitbit's $190 million net income last year, it's also over
$120,000 per customer lied to.
Fitbit representatives reportedly told several customers they only had 45 days to return
a faulty device. They told another that they couldn't receive a refund because the device wasn't purchased
directly from the Fitbit website. According to Australian law, goods sold in the country must hit a certain threshold of
quality and fit to purpose, or the customer must be offered a repair, replacement, or
refund. The FTC has released a warning advising citizens to be cautious when scanning QR codes, given
their increased use in scams and distribution of malware.
Pictures of QR codes embedded in phishing emails can easily bypass normal security checks,
where a direct link to a malicious site would be quickly detected.
You're also likely to find QR codes on restaurant tables, shop Windows, posters, and parking
lot kiosks, which just makes it easy for a scam artist to just paste their own code
over the authentic one. Also, why do we call them scam artists?
This is like sandwich artists all over again. It's just mustard, dude.
You're not Picasso. Valve has asked Steam Deck owners to please stop inhaling the device's exhaust fumes.
A writer for Kotaku has elected to ignore the health and safety advice, because they
can't stop, quote, smelling the hot, plastic-y, almost fruity scent.
Apparently, a non-zero amount of people on Reddit feel strongly about the scent, with
one commenter lamenting the day their deck stopped smelling.
Or maybe his olfactory nerve finally died of deck poisoning.
I'm so happy I had to write that. Why do we love what's bad for us?
And an AI companion robot has been dividing New York's elderly community.
What show is this? Is this local news? Alright, here we go.
Early Q has been given out to hundreds of lonely seniors as part of an initiative by the New
York State government's Office for the Aging. While many seniors seem to enjoy the company, others liken to the robot's reminders and
prompts to nagging, and even call the device's tone rude.
Man, if one of them says kids these days, I'll finally win elderly catchphrase bingo.
And you'll win more tech news if you come back on Friday for another episode of TechLinked.
Don't forget, this is me reminding you, better see you there, okay.