Here is the top trending news from the world of technology. News that every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.
1)
Google in talks to buys marketing software firm HubSpot
There have been rumors going around in the market that Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is in talks to acquire marketing software HubSpot. Mind you, this won’t be just another acquisition as HubSpot is valued around $32 billion, which would technically make it Google’s biggest acquisition in its history. HubSpot’s software focuses on customer relationship management, which can potentially offer new business opportunities for Google’s cloud computing business, Google Cloud. Alphabet might also be looking for new areas for growth, especially since its online advertising business is facing more competition. Overall, it’s still early days and Alphabet hasn’t made a formal offer yet. But it will be interesting to see if this potential deal goes through.
2)
OpenAI Training Sora on YouTube Videos is Copyright Violation, YouTube CEO claims
Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, has stated in a recent interview that using YouTube videos to train OpenAI’s video generation tool, Sora, would violate YouTube’s terms of service. Mohan argued that YouTube creators who upload their videos on YouTube have expectation that their content should not be used for other purposes without their permission. There is every likelihood that YouTube might take action against OpenAI if they find evidence of terms of service violation. However, OpenAI hasn’t so far confirmed or denied using YouTube data for Sora. Previously, they admitted using copyrighted data for training models, highlighting the difficulty of building such technology without copyrighted content.
3)
Disney Plus to start clamping down on Password Sharing from June
If you’re a Disney Plus subscriber and you’ve been sharing your password with your family and friends then there is bad news for you guys. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger has announced that Disney Plus will soon start cracking down on password sharing. The crackdown will begin as a test in a few select countries in June while a wider global rollout is expected by September, 2024. The company is expecting that this bold move will help in increasing its subscriber numbers in a big way. Its arch rival Netflix was able to add nearly 22 million subscribers after it started cracking down on password sharing in later half of 2023. It will be interesting to see whether or this move will benefit the Disney+ in the same way.
4)
Waymo’s Self Driving Car are now Delivering Uber Eats Orders
In an interesting development in the world of self-driving cars and food delivery, Waymo and Uber Eats have announced a collaboration where Waymo’s self-driving cars will be used to deliver Uber Eats orders in the Phoenix metro area. This would include areas like Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler. This is the first time Waymo vehicles have been used for Uber Eats deliveries. If you’re placing an Uber Eats order in the Phoenix area, you might see a notification that your food could be delivered by a self-driving car. However, if UberEats users want their food to be delivered only through humans then they have the option to do so.
5)
X warns of losing followers as bot crackdown looms
If you see in coming weeks that your followers on ‘X’ has sharply or marginally come down then don’t be surprised. That’s because Elon Musk’s microblogging platform has just announced that it will be cracking down on spam and bots once again. Therefore, if you have bot followers or inactive accounts following you, they might be removed during this exercise. However, if you feel that your account was wrongly targeted then X will offer a form to appeal this decision. Overall, this bot sweep might cause a temporary dip in follower count, but it’s ultimately for the better health of the platform.