Toshiba quits PC business
Toshiba has quit the personal computer business, in what is the final step of a two-year-long transaction with Sharp.
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Chris Griffith 11.30am: Toshiba exits the laptop business
Toshiba has quit the personal computer business, in what is the final step of a two-year-long transaction with Sharp. That business has been rebranded as Dynabook, and is now part of Sharp Corporation.
“Toshiba Corporation hereby announces that it has transferred the 19.9 per cent of the outstanding shares in Dynabook that it held to Sharp Corporation. As a result of this transfer, Dynabook has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sharp,” Toshiba says.
Toshiba was one of the leading PC manufacturers 30 years ago, but more recently found it hard to compete against the competition. Its sales dwindled heavily over time. It’s well known models included Portege, Tecra and Satellite.
Chris Griffith 11.00am: Apple releases its hand washing support
Apple Watch users can now try the company’s novel coronavirus hand washing support. The company today announced the release of a public Beta version of its watchOS7 operating system. This is a test version so it can contain bugs, but it does offer many features that will be available to Apple Watch users in the Australian spring.
You don’t need to add a special app for handwashing assistance. It is baked into the operating system. The watch uses machine learning models to determine motion which appears to be handwashing, and then uses audio to confirm the sound of running water or squishing soap on your hands. You’ll see a countdown, along with tapping sounds, to make sure you wash as long as you’re supposed to. The timer is set to a mandatory 20 seconds.
We found you need to toggle handwashing on in Watch settings; a second toggle sets up a reminder for when you come home although that doesn’t seem to work yet.
Apple finally is offering sleep tracking on Apple Watch. You can set bedtime and wake up times and define your own ‘wind down’ routine to help you get ready for bed.
10.20am: Investors circle around TikTok
Several investment and technology firms are exploring a potential deal for the US operations of TikTok, which is facing a Trump administration ban, but they each would have to surmount hurdles at least as high as the Chinese social-media platform’s main suitor, Microsoft.
Twitter . has had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok in the US., The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. It is unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal, which would face significant challenges and almost certainly need help from other investors, given Twitter’s size.
TikTok’s parent, Beijing-based ByteDance, has been scrambling to find a way to keep its popular video-sharing service alive in the US after the Trump administration declared the app a national security threat because of its Chinese ownership. Several investment firms with ties to Twitter or ByteDance also could play a role in any transaction involving Twitter or Microsoft, people familiar with the talks say.
Among them is venture-capital giant Sequoia Capital, whose China-based affiliate first invested in ByteDance in 2014. Today Sequoia funds hold just over 10pc, according to a person familiar with the investment, a stake worth more than $10 billion based on recent secondary trades of ByteDance shares. At that value, the investment would rank among the most successful venture capital deals of all time.
The Wall Street Journal
Cyber firm triples staff, throws $75m behind North Sydney office
Cybersecurity company Fortinet has spent millions on a new headquarters as it expands due to demand for local data centres with sovereign cyber capabilities.
Google dumps diversity hiring targets
The tech giant joins a growing list of US companies to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, citing it wanted to create more ‘equal opportunities’.