Google Dropping Fitbit Watches for Pixels; Apple Podcasts Launches Web App; National Public Data-Big Data Breach; GM Chopping 10,000 Software Gigs

This will make several people I know sad…Google has announced it won’t make any more Fitbit smartwatches. From here forward, Pixel Watch is being called the ‘next iteration’ by Google. 9to5google.com reports that Google’s director of product management for Pixel wearables is quoted as saying “Pixel Watch is our smartwatch part of the portfolio” in response to a question about any future Fitbit-branded smartwatches, adding that Pixel Watch is “our next iteration of smartwatch for Fitbit.” Instead, Fitbit-branded products will focus on trackers that are “more minimalistic” with long battery life. For now, the Fitbit Versa 4 an Sense 2 remain on the market. 

Apple has…fanfare please…launched a web app to let you listen to Apple Podcasts in desktop browsers…their own Safari, and also Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. According to 9to5mac.com, users can now access their Up Next cue, library of saved shows, and browse for new podcasts inside their PC with a web browser. Up to now, you have had to use just the podcasts app. Besides Apple PCs, you can listen to podcasts on a Windows laptop or desktop just using the browser. So what took so long, Apple? As you might expect, Apple Podcasts syncs with your Apple Account so you can continue listening to something you started on your phone on the PC and vice versa. 

It seems like every day, there is a new data breach announced somewhere, but this one is a doozy. National Public Data scrapes information from non-public sources that it sells for background checks. Engadget.com says that the company has confirmed that it had ‘a data security incident’ that exposed peoples’ names, email, addresses, phones numbers, social security numbers and mailing addresses. It’s not a tiny breach…it’s 2.7 billion with a B records! Apparently, the hacker had been trying to get in since late December 2023, and finally did in April of this year and again this summer. The National Public Data is already facing a proposed class action lawsuit that was filed in early August by a plaintiff who received a notification from their identity theft protection service that their personal information was posted on the dark web. They argued that the company failed “to properly secure and safeguard the personally identifiable information that it collected and maintained as part of its regular business practices.” Getting a $10 voucher in a class action suit may be a small consolation for people affected by this.

General Motors is cutting about 1,000 software jobs worldwide, claiming to focus on more ‘high-priority’ projects like making its Super Cruise better, beefing up its infotainment platform, and exploring the use of AI. I know, who knew GM even had that many people in software? At any rate, techcrunch.com reports that the General is trying to move more quickly as it tries to compete in what they are calling ‘software-defined vehicles.’ It may not be so much of a joke these days to say that cars are looking to eventually become a battery powered computer you can ride in. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.