---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <nebb0h$972$1@dont-email.me> Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2016 12:38:49 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Google, Verizon 'Planning to Bid For Yahoo' as Bid Deadline Extended by REUTERS Verizon is ready to make a bid for Yahoo's web business, and hopes to make a merger more successful by also making an offer for a stake in Yahoo's Japan subsidiary, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The telecom giant is planning to make a first-round bid for Yahoo's web business next week, the news organization said. News outlets also reported Friday morning that Yahoo had moved the bid deadline from April 11 to April 18. http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-verizon-planning-bid-yahoo-bid-deadline-extended-n552831 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <nebb3n$972$2@dont-email.me> Date: Sat, 9 Apr 2016 12:40:31 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Lessons from the latest Verizon data breach Announcements of a data breach at a company or governmental agency have become so common that they no longer seem particularly startling. However the recent announcement by Verizon Enterprise Solutions that it had become a victim of a massive data breach is particularly noteworthy because Verizon Enterprise Solutions is the unit of Verizon that assists other companies when they become victims of data breaches. OOPS! In fact, one of the things that Verizon Enterprise Solutions does each year is issue an annual data breach investigations report. Next year, it appears that the report will be including information about its own data breach. According to Verizon the information stolen by the hackers was limited to basic contact information for many of its customers. Verizon is in the process of contacting affected customers. Meanwhile the stolen information is already being sold on the Dark Web, a part of the Internet where criminals buy and sell such information. http://www.wzzm13.com/news/nation-now/lessons-from-the-latest-verizon-data-breach/127234692 -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <76ADAFD3-B7CF-4671-A4E3-0570816B5CD0@roscom.com> Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 13:50:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Google's Nest closing smart-home company Revolv, bricking devices Google's Nest closing smart-home company Revolv, bricking devices Nest, a smart-home company owned by Google's holding company Alphabet, is dropping support for a line of products - and will make customers' existing devices completely useless. It's a move that has infuriated some customers, and raises worrying questions about the rights of consumers in the ever-more connected future. In October 2014, Nest acquired Revolv, a smart-home device maker, nine months after it was itself bought by Google. The terms of the Revolv deal were not disclosed, and as Re/code reported at the time, the deal was an acqui-hire - buying a company for its talent rather than its products or users. http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-nest-closing-smart-home-company-revolv-bricking-devices-2016-4?op=1 ***** Moderator's Note ***** Seems like we're headed for an Internet of Useless Things. This reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's book "Player Piano". Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Mon, 11 Apr 2016