So I know what some of you are going to say. Why are you talking about Huawei again? Because it’s what so many in business and IT support talk about. In fact, someone posted a looming question. Is Huawei dead?
So I just say a Yahoo podcast. They interviewed Chinese best selling author and economist Gordon Chang. Already, Huawei had to cancel their laptop debut, thanks to US restrictions and this US vs. China trade war. Huawei also wants Verizon to pay fees on over 200 patents. That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, if ever. Then you also have Google moving business out of China. But Chang believes this is only the beginning.
Chang reminded us Oracle is closing down their research facilities in China. That alone is going to cost China 1,600 jobs. But what does this have to do with Huawei? Chang said if President Trump doesn’t give more exemptions from his executive order, then Huawei is a dead company. Those are his words, not mine. Because if they don’t resolve this trade issue, then laptop debuts and patents might be the least of their worries. Chang says this will affect their server business. Oh, I almost forgot. Huawei is putting their PC on hold as well.
Also keep in mind, Huawei will have little, if any support, from American tech companies if this keeps on. This mean Huawei won’t get software, chips, anything from Silicon Valley. But wait…there’s more. Chang doesn’t see this trade war stopping any time soon. Neither does anybody else. Then look at the Hong Kong protests this week. We can expect more American businesses to leave China before too long. Plus, most insiders believe this trade war is more than about money. It’s about pride and nationalism. And how much conflict starts over that? Can Huawei come back? Or is Huawei dead?
So Monday, I talked about a merger between two software data companies. But nobody’s really raising Cain about that. However, this potential merger could effect everybody. And lots of people, from IT service to US senators are ticked off. It’s US States vs. T-Mobile.
So T-Mobile is the third largest phone company in the US. But they plan to purchase Sprint, the fourth largest phone company in the US. This merger will cost $26 billion, and many are not happy. In fact, ten states filed a lawsuit to fight this merger. This includes states from all walks of life, like the powerful New York and California. It also includes deep red states like Mississippi. Then it includes border states like Virginia and Wisconsin.
Their lawsuit argues this merger will just about kill competition in the phone market. It’s already small. But this merger will make it even smaller. Furthermore, these state attorney generals say it will cost T-Mobile and Sprint customers well over $4 billion a year. Also keep in mind this is on the eve of the Department of Justice’s decision. Because when it comes to mergers of this size, the Dept. of Justice has to approve it. We’ll see what happens.
It looks like this merger could go either way, either approval or denial. Most of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) approve of the merger. But anti-trust voices in the US gov’t want to block the deal. But these states vow to fight on and do whatever it takes to stop this merger. Stocks for both phone companies are taking a dive. So I’m guessing the stockholders don’t want it. Much of the public doesn’t want this either. Because even our computer repair clients complain this merge will jack up prices. It will also give less competition in an industry that already has too little of it. That what US States vs. T-Mobile boils down to. What does this means to you?
So according to the CPB (US Customs and Border Protection), a security breach took place on May 31. This data breach stole photos and car info that travel in and out of the US. This is a security alert: Licence and traveler images stolen.
First, they sent the photo to a sub-contractor network. Then, the hackers used a cyber attack to steal them. They did not hit the CPB’s networks during this breach. But they did compromise drivers licence photos and licence plate images. They also say this sub-contractor, whoever it is, copied and sent out images without the CPB’s permission or approval.
One CPB spokesperson says this breach affected around 100,000 people. They want to assure that they took no passport info. All airline and airline passenger info is also safe. But keep in mind this is fresh off the Perceptics incident. Someone broke in their data, this government sub-contractor. Then, their contents ended up on the dark web. However, and thankfully, none of the CPB’s stolen info got on the dark web. Or should I say, it’s not up there yet. This is all the CPB is telling us right now. But you can best believe other people are not keeping silent.
Because those from politics to IT support are speaking out against this kind of security breach. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) said we need to prevent this in the future. An ACLU spokesperson said this breach is a reminder that the government should not be using facial recognition technology. But there is a point here. When it comes to this security alert: licence and traveler images stole, there is only one real defense. That is prevention, prevention, and more prevention. Because once a cyber crime like this happens, then it’s awfully hard to catch these crooks. It’s also hard to find the info they took. How long do you think it will be before they recover these things? Do you think they will ever catch anyone?
So we have another major merger to talk about in the IT service world. It’s been a while since the last big one. But in the 2019 world, you know one is coming, and it’s now here. Salesforce buys out Tableau.
Salesforce is a huge, major customer-manager software making firm based in San Francisco. Tableau is an interactive visual data software firm, located in Seattle. So the deal is this: Salesforce Buys out Tableau for 15.7 billion dollars. All of it will be in stocks. However, Tableau will keep it’s name. Also, their headquarters will remain in Seattle.
So what is so special about Tableau, a company not many people ever hear of? One is, they help people on any skill level work with analytics and data. Therefore, it’s a great teaching tool in this ever changing industry. They also have great clientele, like Netflix and Verizon. Both companies approved this deal. And as it appears, one side of stocks is taking it better than the other side. I say this because Tableau stocks are jumping over 30% so far today. Meanwhile, Salesfore stocks are slipping slightly. However, both CEO’s are glowing about this plan.
Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky says this merger will help people everywhere help people see and understand data. Also, Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff said this move will help both companies engage and serve customers. I hope they are right. But I will give them credit. This doesn’t sound like a merge of domination like some of the others do. When you read mergers like Disney buying up Star Wars and Marvel Comics. To me, that reads like Disney is trying to own the world. I don’t see that happening with Salesforce and Tableau. Instead, I see both companies really trying to do what’s best for it’s employees and customers alike. Or am I being naive? Is this merger more about domination and less about the greater good?
So in the IT support world, few things are more controversial than facial recognition technology. Some say we need it for security. But many say it’s a blatant privacy invasion. However, Microsoft tackles it’s own facial recognition.
They do so by wiping out it’s MS Celeb database. So their database used to contain 10 million facial images of around 100,000 people. But not anymore. Because they’re deleting these images even as I speak. Maybe Microsoft did this on their own power. Or maybe others are pressuring them to take these images down. Because FT.com ran a scathing article recently.
They ran an investigation not just on Microsoft, but on all facial recognition technology. They argued MS Caleb had the faces and other info on people like security journalists and authors. In fact, they’re even cynical about this deleting of MS Caleb. Because FT.com argues these photos will never go away. Because they will always be floating somewhere on the Internet, especially during this social media era. However, Microsoft responded to FT.com. They say deleting their data is a matter of protocol. They also say MS Caleb was for academic purposes. But here’s the question I have. If it’s for academic purposes, then why were 100,000 people on your database? Well, at least they’re coming off now.
But this isn’t the first time Microsoft stood up to facial recognition technology. Because last year, Microsoft President Brad Smith asked US Congress to better regulate this kind of IT tech. Smith testified of the abuse it could lead to if it’s not regulated. That’s what so many Americans are worried about. I include myself in that. In this age, crooks and sociopaths can abuse any kind of technology. Look at some of these events of this past decade. I’m glad Microsoft tackles it’s own facial recognition. What if it gets into the wrong hands?
