To all tech fans around the world?, if you were too busy to catch up with the tech world, keep on reading because in this recap we will give you the gist of all that you might have missed!
Whether you're looking to keep up with the launching of new apps or following the updates of existing ones, let's quench your thirst for staying up-to-date with all major tech happenings:
The Facebook-owned messaging app, WhatsApp, announced updating their privacy policy that allows the app to share more data with Facebook.
In a tweet, Elon Musk urged people to ditch WhatsApp and use Signal, a cross-platform encrypted messaging service, instead.
Use Signal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
This exodus from WhatsApp and the mass migration to Signal caused verification code delay in the rival messaging app as the company announced:
Verification codes are currently delayed across several providers because so many new people are trying to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement). We are working with carriers to resolve this as quickly as possible. Hang in there.
— Signal (@signalapp) January 7, 2021
Hmmm pic.twitter.com/iY2QUJKNs1
— Richard Hay (@WinObs) January 4, 2021
Microsoft mulls launching the app sometime in 2022, Windows Central reports say.
Slack, the popular office communication platform, suffered from a massive global outage on Monday, Jan 4th, hitting workers in the first official workday in 2021. The company announced on Twitter:
Customers may be experiencing issues connecting and using Slack at this time. Our team is currently investigating and we’re sorry for any troubles this may be causing. Please see https://t.co/hlhV4Z15g6 for updates.
— Slack (@SlackHQ) January 4, 2021
Later that day, Slack published troubleshooting status updates on its official website stating all the technical issues and their solutions.
However, this issue might bring some troubles to Slack as New York times columnist, Ben Smith, commented:
I've heard bosses at various newsrooms have mulled pulling the plug on Slack over the last year. I suspect some will see this as a controlled experiment
— Ben Smith (@benyt) January 4, 2021
Alibaba, the Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology, decided to shut down music streaming app, Xiami due to what the company called ‘operational adjustments’.
The Chinese giant acquired the music app back in 2013 when it was popular, however, Alibaba failed to compete with Tencent which dominates the Chinese online music market.
It looks like all odds are against Alibaba as China ramps up pressure on the company’s SEO and billionaire founder Jack Ma who reportedly went AWOL for 2 months.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is missing after criticizing the Chinese government. Wow. This would be like the U.S. government kidnapping Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg to teach them a lesson. https://t.co/AREly0Ba7M
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 4, 2021
In a move to build Spotify's rival, Twitter announced the acquisition of Breaker, the social podcast hosting app.
The Breaker team is joining Twitter! We’re excited to be building the future of public conversations. Breaker will be shutting down on Jan 15, more info: https://t.co/l3n1ge4p87
— Breaker (@Breaker) January 4, 2021
Per the announcement, Breaker will help Twitter in creating a new audio-based networking project, called Twitter Spaces.
CES [online] (11 Jan -14 Jan 2021)
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: Welcome to the Everyday Epic [online] (14 Jan 2021)
