282: Thursday, May 8, 2014

Five Minute Tech News

The news for Thursday, May 8, 2014

Links for this episode:

• Nintendo will develop new consoles for emerging markets | The Verge
  Nintendo has said it will release new consoles targeted at emerging markets, marking a strategy shift for the Japanese gaming giant. The products will be built from the ground up to serve these markets, rather than repurposing existing hardware. "We want to make new things, with new thinking rather than a cheaper version of what we currently have," CEO and president Satoru Iwata told Bloomberg News. "The product and price balance must be made from scratch."
• Nintendo to Launch Mobile and Web Companion Apps
  In more Nintendo news, the company had previously intimated that would release a smartphone ‘companion’ app for its console games in the future. Today, a day after releasing poor annual financial results, the Japanese firm has confirmed that its first app will launch before the end of the year.The app will work with its Mario Kart 8 title, but it won’t be a game per se. Instead, Nintendo says it will be an app that allows users to watch video and peruse data and statistics from their gaming. There is also a Web-based component to the app, tentatively named Mario Kart TV, which allows the same game footage and stats to be watched online. All of this news has emerged in what has been a difficult 24 hours for Nintendo as they reported significant losses in the quarterly earnings and are currently embroiled in a controversy over same-sex equality rights, related to their new life-sim Tomodachi Life.
• Snapchat settles with FTC over misleading claims, agrees to 20 years of privacy monitoring | The Verge
  Snapchat has settled with the FTC over complaints that its hugely popular app deceived users with the promise of "disappearing" messages. The company's early claims that messages sent through its app would permanently vanish after being viewed were misleading, the FTC said today. In its complaint, the commission calls out a variety of ways that snaps can be captured and saved indefinitely — including the old-fashioned screenshot method and third-party apps that tap into Snapchat's service.
• The developer behind iMessage leaves Apple for a messaging startup | The Verge
  Andrew Vyrros, who led development on iMessage and FaceTime while at Apple, has left the company for messaging startup Layer. The company announced the news yesterday, but Vyrros left Apple several months ago, sources tell The Verge, where he was also responsible for Apple's push notification services, iTunes Genius, Game Center, and Back To My Mac. Prior to Apple, Vyrros held leadership roles at Yahoo and Xerox PARC, and was a developer at Steve Jobs' NeXT computer company.
• Lyft Plus Premium Service Uses SUVs Tweaked by West Coast Customs
  Ride-sharing service Lyft has launched a pilot for a premium version of its service in San Francisco that will see passengers ride in SUVs specially designed by West Coast Customs, the car modding company originally featured in the MTV show Pimp My Ride.The Lyft Plus service will use the Ford Explorers, complete with custom grilles, 20-inch sport wheels and under-car LEDs, and they’ll also come kitted out with “special amenities with everything you need to recharge yourself and your devices,” the company said.
• Uber launches uberFAMILY, a pilot service in NYC that uses cars with child seats - The Next Web
  Uber has announced uberFAMILY, a subset of uberX that caters to families with kids. Launching first in New York City, the service offers car seat-equipped vehicles for a $10 surcharge.UberFAMILY, news of which leaked out last week via VentureBeat, uses top-rated drivers from uberX that have been trained and certified in car seat installation. In New York, uberX operates as a commercial service rather than the ridesharing option used in some cities. Uber worked with safety design firm and manufacturer IMMI to create a custom seat for the program. The carseat accommodates children aged one year and up.
• Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter Defend Net Neutrality
  Several of America’s largest tech companies, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Yahoo have submitted a letter to the FCC in defense of net neutrality.The coalition specifically objected to new rules the FCC is considering that could allow ISPs to charge companies extra to distribute their content to their customers, calling the proposals a “grave threat to the Internet.”