Tech News Today for September 21, 2016

Tech News for September 21, 2016

The Financial Times says that Apple is in talks to acquire British Formula One Car maker MacLaren. MacLaren then denied the rumors of acquisiton talks, but the Financial Times stands by its story. The New York Times also says Apple is planning to acquire Lit Motors, the makers of a self-balancing motorcycle. Apple, a public company, declined to comment. It's worth noting that MacLaren is not a public company, so the person who denied the rumors is not required to be briefed on all talks. Read more at ft.com. McLaren says Apple is not going to buy them (read more at theverge.com), but The Financial Times stands by their story..

Last night, Google officially began the rollout of its latest entry into its messaging portfolio, the much anticipated Allo, a mobile only chat service which does mean there is no web interface at this time. Allo’s design shares a lot in common with competing messaging apps like WhatsApp, but sets itself apart in some ways with the integration of Google’s Assistant chatbot. This means that a user can send a message within any conversation to @Google to ask it questions and that information is shared with everyone within the conversation. Read more at engadget.com.

Last week we spoke to Fast Company about Google's new Community. It looks like they've launched one of its first features. The brand new YouTube Heroes program will use volunteers to help flag inappropriate content. What's in it for you besides the personal joy of wearing the virtual student crossing guard sash? Perks! YouTube has gamified the whole volunteer moderator process, by offering rewards at different levels that you unlock thru your super hero skills. Read more at techcrunch.com.

AT&T is about to test a new technology next year that will bring gigabit-per-second speeds to homes thanks to infrastructure that is already abundant: Power lines. AirGig isn’t the first attempt at turning power lines into the delivery mechanism for internet transmission, but this time around, armed with hundreds of patents, AT&T hopes to someday offer it throughout the US and in other parts of the world where theres power infrastructure but not yet high speed internet. Read more at att.com.

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