Friday Tech News Roundup #21

Below are 10 tech news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Apple on Meltdown and Spectre bugs: ‘All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected’ – Apple just confirmed that nearly all of its devices are impacted by the serious vulnerabilities affecting processors made by Intel and other chip makers. Mashable

Cybersecurity agency: The only sure defense against huge chip flaw is a new chip – The tech world continues to come to grips with Wednesday’s revelation of very serious vulnerabilities associated with central processing units (CPUs) that affect, well, just about everyone with a computer. Mashable

The iMac Pro is tough to repair but has vastly improved cooling – Apple’s iMac Pro is the most powerful desktop computer Apple has ever created — well, at least until the launch of the all-new Mac Pro later this year. Mashable

Intel claims its new security updates make PCs ‘immune’ to Meltdown and Spectre CPU bugs – Intel says it and its partners have “made significant progress” in rolling out security patches and firmware updates to protect against two major CPU bugs. The flaws were disclosed by Google’s Project Zero team this week, and the industry is scrambling to issue fixes and secure machines for customers. Dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” the flaws affect nearly every device made in the past 20 years, and could allow attackers to use JavaScript code running in a browser to access memory in the attacker’s process. That memory content could contain key strokes, passwords, and other valuable information. The Verge

Burn-in test shows the iPhone X beating Samsung’s Note 8 and S7 Edge – As more phones are launched with OLED displays, burn-in problems have become even more relevant. As part of its ongoing iPhone X review, Korean tech site Cetizen tested Apple’s handset against Samsung’s Note 8 and S7 Edge in a burn-in test, and it was the iPhone that came out on top. Techspot

iOS 11.2.5 beta delivers Siri-powered, hands-free news podcasts – If you’re the type of person who tends to wake up to a cup of coffee and a newspaper, you might now be able to eliminate both of those steps if you own an iPhone. As reported by 9to5Mac, iPhone owners who opt in to Apple’s iOS 11.2.5 beta will be given the opportunity to stream a news podcast by simply saying “Hey Siri, give me the news.” Techspot

Apple just shared some staggering statistics about how well the App Store is doing – Apple has an annual tradition in early January of announcing how well its App Store is doing. Business Insider

Here’s what happens with your data when you use a Chinese messaging app – Verbal sparring between two Chinese billionaires over data privacy has shone a rare spotlight onto a topic in China that has also dogged global social media companies from Facebook to Twitter: who owns the content generated by the users and how to handle it. Business Insider

Chrome is turning into the new Internet Explorer 6 – Chrome is now the most popular browser across all devices, thanks to Android’s popularity and the rise of Chrome on Windows PCs and Mac computers. As Google continues to dominate our access to the web, information through its search engine, and services like Gmail or YouTube, Chrome is a powerful entry point in the company’s vast toolbox. While Google championed web standards that worked across many different browsers back in the early days of Chrome, more recently its own services often ignore standards and force people to use Chrome. The Verge

Intel Titan Ridge Thunderbolt controllers look to the future and the past – Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) can be pretty awesome, even if getting access to the 40 Gbps of bandwidth isn’t as straightforward as Intel has advertised. The standard has yet to really spread across the entire PC market, as it’s currently reserved primarily for relatively high-end laptops and Apple’s premium products. Intel is hoping to spread the adoption of TB3 with its just-announced JHL7x40 “Titan Ridge” series of TB3 controller chips. Techreport

10 Tech News Roundup #10

Here are 10 tech news that I found interesting.

Southeast Asia’s Sea, formerly Garena, to raise upwards of $884M in US IPO – Sea, the Singapore-based digital entertainment firm formerly known as Garena, is set to raise upwards of $884 million when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange Friday under ‘SE’. Techcrunch

Atlassian is on one heck of a run – When Atlassian went public at the end of 2015, it was a bit of an anomaly: a tech IPO whose numbers looked quite good with some profitability.

Microsoft quietly added an anti-cheat game feature to Windows 10 – Microsoft started rolling out the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update to PCs earlier this week, complete with features like Windows Mixed Reality and people integration for the taskbar. While most of the new additions are obvious, Microsoft quietly added an anti-cheat feature for games. The Verge

Tim Cook promises a new Mac mini will come some day – You thought that just because Apple hasn’t updated it in over three years, the Mac mini is dead? We don’t blame you, but according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there’s still hope for Apple’s tiny desktop computer. Mashable

Google could update Chrome to address pesky in-browser cryptocurrency miners – In-browser cryptocurrency mining is becoming a serious issue. While some sites like The Pirate Bay are open about the behavior, others (knowingly or otherwise) attempt to use your CPU cycles without your permission. Techspot

Watchdog warns of dangerous security vulnerabilities in children’s smartwatches – Safety concerns over children’s connected toys are nothing new. Wi-Fi enabled dolls such as My Friend Cayla and Barbie were found to be vulnerable to hackers, while smart Fisher-Price toys and HereO watches also featured dangerous security holes, all of which have since been patched. Now, a watchdog has warned that more smartwatches aimed at kids could be easily compromised. Techspot

Apple is slipping after reports of iPhone 8 production cutsShares of Apple are down 1.65% to $157.12 in early trading on Thursday on reports that the company has cut orders linked to its new iPhone 8. Business Insider

Malaysian authorities probing report that personal data of millions of consumers up for sale – PUTRAJAYA: Police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said on Friday (Oct 20) they are investigating claims that the private data of millions of Malaysians are being advertised for sale online. Channel NewsAsia

Where Security Meets High Performance Computing – As its power increases and its cost declines, High Performance Computing (HPC) is making an impact on the security field. The ability to use parallel processing to run at speeds of a teraflop or higher is now contributing to improved security in airports, online and elsewhere. At the same time, HPC itself creates a number of new security risks for organizations that employ it. This article looks at HPC’s impact on security. It also explores HPC’s own vulnerabilities and discusses how new solutions from Dell EMC and Intel help address them. HPCWire

Netflix: the content war – Netflix will spend US$7 billion to US$8 billion on content in 2018 as the streaming wars escalate, it said this week. That cash goes toward a mix of licensed and original programming. “Our future largely lies in exclusive original content,” said Netflix in its latest earnings report. Stranger Things is among the recent hits for Netflix’s studio. Tech in Asia