Oracle Behind Spate of Google Antitrust Lawsuits

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Oracle Behind Spate of Google Antitrust Lawsuits

Google is under siege as it faces multiple lawsuits from the DOJ and coalitions of states, a situation it may have Oracle to thank for.

Oracle and Google have been locked in a legal battle since the former bought Sun Microsystems and the Java platform. When Google developed its Android mobile operating systems (OS), it intentionally made Android compatible with the Java libraries.

Google made the decision in an effort to jumpstart Android’s popularity by piggybacking on one of the most popular programming languages in history. The thinking was that programmers would welcome using a programming language they were already proficient in, as opposed to developing for the iPhone which required learning Objective-C, a language rarely used outside of Apple’s ecosystem.

At the time, the move was met with enthusiasm, including from Sun Microsystems. CEO Jonathan Schwartz even offered his personal congratulations:

“I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of others from Sun in offering my heartfelt congratulations to Google on the announcement of their new Java/Linux phone platform, Android. Congratulations!

Once Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems three years later, in 2010, the tune immediately changed. Oracle sued Google for infringing on Java copyrights the company now controlled. The case has continued for the past decade, with both sides chalking up victories, and ultimately leading to arguments before the Supreme Court in October. The ramifications of the case could have far-reaching consequences for the software and tech industry.

It appears, however, that Oracle is simultaneously fighting a completely different battle with Google, helping push regulators toward the current antirust cases.

According to Bloomberg, Oracle sent officials in at least twelve of the states currently suing Google a “black box” presentation that outlined Google’s data privacy practices. Specifically, the presentation showed how Google tracked users’ data, including their location, even when the users’ Android phones were not being used.

Ken Glueck, Oracle’s top Washington lobbyist and the man behind the antitrust campaign against Google, was thrilled with the action the states were taking.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Glueck told Bloomberg. “As far as I can tell, there are more states suing Google than there are states.”

Obviously, any campaign on Oracle’s part was not the sole motivating factor. Google was already under investigation by some individual states, and the company had been under fire for years over its privacy and monopoly practices. Many believed a major lawsuit was inevitable.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that regulators and investigators had an ally in Oracle, and the company may have provided just the push some of those regulators and investigators needed to move forward.

Oracle Behind Spate of Google Antitrust Lawsuits
Matt Milano

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Elon Musk Tried to Sell Tesla to Apple

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Elon Musk Tried to Sell Tesla to Apple

Elon Musk has revealed that he tried to set up a meeting with Tim Cook to sell Tesla to Apple during the Tesla 3’s “darkest days.”

Apple has been making headlines with its Project Titan, its effort to disrupt the automotive industry. Project Titan has alternately been described as a fully electric automobile, an AI system that Apple’s partners could integrate with new vehicles, or a third-party system that could be added to a wide range of vehicles. The most recent rumors have the Apple Car debuting in 2021, while others say it will be released in 2024.

In a surprising revelation, Musk has indicated Apple may have missed out on a golden opportunity to purchase Tesla when the company was worth a tenth of its current value. Musk made the revelation via Twitter, in response to the most recent rumors about the Apple Car.

During the darkest days of the Model 3 program, I reached out to Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla (for 1/10 of our current value). He refused to take the meeting.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2020

Elon Musk Tried to Sell Tesla to Apple
Matt Milano

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Verizon’s Nationwide 5G Slower Than Its 4G LTE

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Verizon’s Nationwide 5G Slower Than Its 4G LTE

Verizon has touted its nationwide 5G network, but recent tests show most customers are better off with the company’s 4G.

Verizon made headlines when it debuted its nationwide 5G network, coinciding with the iPhone 12 launch. Verizon had previously focused almost entirely on its high-band, mmWave 5G network, which the company calls “Ultra Wideband.” While offering the fastest speeds, mmWave is notoriously short-ranged and provides poor building penetration. As a result, it is only suitable for the most densely populated city environments, where repeaters and base stations can be placed every couple of hundred meters.

Verizon was the last of the three US carriers to roll out a nationwide 5G network, using low-band spectrum to provide the long-range coverage needed. The reason Verizon was late to the nationwide 5G party was because its low-band spectrum is tied up by its 4G LTE network. Unfortunately, because 5G has not yet achieved widespread adoption, Verizon cannot simply repurpose the spectrum for 5G.

To solve this issue, the company is using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS). In essence, the technology shares the spectrum, switching back and forth between 4G and 5G, depending on what type of device is connected to the tower.

The use of DSS appears to be the problem, however, according PC Magazine’s Sascha Segan:

If you don’t have any dedicated channels, DSS lets you use the odds and ends of your unused 4G channels for 5G. The 4G and 5G phones compete for the same 4G channel. The only difference is that the 5G ones are running the 5G encoding system on that channel. There are non-speed advantages to DSS—or there will be in the future, once carriers go to standalone 5G systems—but right now, you’re just getting slower performance.

In our most recent tests, we found that DSS 5G is seriously holding back both iPhones and Android phones. We compared a OnePlus 8 using DSS 5G with a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE on 4G, and we then ran tests on an iPhone 12 Pro toggling between 5G and 4G at the same locations. In both cases, DSS 5G turned in worse results than 4G LTE.

In fact, the results were so bad that Segan recommends turning off 5G altogether, unless a person lives in an area covered by Verizon’s “Ultra Wideband.”

Verizon’s Nationwide 5G Slower Than Its 4G LTE
Matt Milano

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Vimeo Will Be Spun Off As Independent Company

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Vimeo Will Be Spun Off As Independent Company

IAC has announced it will spin Vimeo off as a fully independent, publicly traded company.

Vimeo is a video hosting platform that serves as a major competitor to YouTube, with some 200 million users. Like many streaming platforms, Vimeo has experienced major growth as a result of the pandemic.

IAC is now planning on capitalizing on that success, spinning off Vimeo as an independent company.

“The combination of Vimeo’s remarkable growth, solid leadership position, and enormous market opportunity have made clear its future,” said Joey Levin, CEO, IAC. “It’s time for Vimeo to spread its wings and become a great independent public company.”

“We have long believed in the power of video to advance human expression and transform businesses,” said Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo. “Today we have a rare opportunity to help every team and organization in the world integrate video throughout their operations, across all the ways they communicate and collaborate. Our all-in-one solution radically lowers the barriers of time, cost, and complexity that previously made professional-quality video unattainable. We’re ready for this next chapter and focused on making video far easier and more effective than ever before.”

IAC expects the spinoff to be completed in the second quarter of 2021.

Vimeo Will Be Spun Off As Independent Company
Matt Milano

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Apple Car May Debut in 2021

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Apple Car May Debut in 2021

The long-rumored Apple Car may debut in 2021, two years before it was expected, according to supply chain reports.

Apple has been rumored to be working on the Apple Car for years, with a number of high-profile executives leading the project, known as Titan, at various points. Most recently, the project was put under the oversight of John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of AI. Throughout Titan’s history, it has been describedalternately as a full-fledged car, an AI system for using with a manufacturing partner or an aftermarket system that can be integrated with a variety of vehicles.

According to Bloomberg, the Apple Car is once again on track to be a full-fledged vehicle, slated for release in 2024. Apple is also reportedly working on a radical new battery technology that could give the company an advantage.

A separate report by Economic Daily News (via MacDailyNews), however, puts the Apple Car’s debut much sooner, as early as September 2021.

The key supply chain in Taiwan confirmed that Apple expects to release the Apple Car in September next year, at least two years earlier than the original plan. Its prototype has been tested on the roads in California, USA.

According to the report, Apple is preparing a major manufacturing initiative.

Futian’s second phase plant in Tongluo is expected to be put into operation next year. The production capacity of electric vehicle power motor components for the first and second phase plants can be increased from the current 400,000 sets per year to 1 million sets in one fell swoop, and the power integration system will increase to more than 400,000 sets.

According to the executives of a major electric vehicle supply chain manufacturer, with the order shipment and assembly completed, dozens of Apple Car’s first prototype cars have been secretly tested on the road in California. 

At this point, given Apple’s long-standing and well-deserved reputation for secrecy, there’s no way to know exactly what Cupertino is up to. Nonetheless, multiple rumors regarding the Apple Car’s development and (perhaps) sooner-than-expected release, could signal a major upheaval in the automotive industry.

Apple Car May Debut in 2021
Matt Milano

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Google leads $145 million investment in InMobi’s Glance and Roposo social platforms

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Google led an investment of $145 million in InMobi‘s social media startups Glance and Roposo, which are division’s InMobi’s mobile app marketing business. The deal is a boost for India’s tech market, where multiple unicorns (such as InMobi itself), or startups valued at a billion dollars or more, have surfaced in recent year…Read More

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Google Buys Neverware, Chromebook Conversion Company

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Google Buys Neverware, Chromebook Conversion Company

Google has purchased Neverware and CloudReady, its platform that converts PCs and Macs into Chromebooks.

Google’s Chromebook is a line of devices that run the Linux-based Chrome OS. While multiple companies build and sell Chromebooks, Neverware’s CloudReady makes it possible to convert most old computers into functional Chromebook devices.

“Based on Google’s Chromium OS, CloudReady provides unparalleled speed, simplicity, and security without hardware limitations, whether your computers are brand new or 10 years old,” according to the company.

Neverware says thousands of companies and schools in 142 countries rely on CloudReady. The company announced it had been acquired by Google via its Twitter account.

Exciting news to share: Neverware & CloudReady are now officially part of Google and the Chrome OS team! We’re looking forward to sharing more details with CloudReady customers, users, and fans in the coming weeks, but for now, click here for more info: https://t.co/ZBkH2IFVsZ

— Neverware (@neverware) December 14, 2020

Google plans on integrating Neverware’s platform, although Neverware indicated in its FAQ that the Home Edition would remain free.

Google Buys Neverware, Chromebook Conversion Company
Matt Milano

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