VW Boss Welcomes ‘New Competitors’ Following Apple Car Reports

VW CEO Herbert Diess has welcomed “new competitors” following the latest Apple Car reports.  He made the comments in a LinkedIn post spotted by iMore.

Herbert Diess responded to talk of an Apple Car in a LinkedIn post, where he was asked about Apple’s project Titan, citing an article regarding reports Apple will release an autonomous car in 2024 with breakthrough battery technology. Diess responded: “We are looking forward to new competitors who will certainly accelerate the transformation of our industry and bring in new skills. The incredible evaluation and thus the virtually unlimited access to resources inspire us a great deal of respect. A real challenge – dimensions greater than those within our industry (e.B. Toyota Motor Corporation ) As I have already said, the most valuable company in the world will once again be a mobility company – it Tesla can, Apple or may be Volkswagen AG called.” (Translated)

Google Faces Major Antitrust Lawsuit From Texas

Google is facing a major antitrust lawsuit from Texas and other states, Politico reported. If successful, the search giant could be hit with trillions of dollars worth of fines.

The lawsuit, which also includes eight other states, accuses Google of rigging online ad auctions to increase its own profits at the expense of website publishers, who have struggled to make the same kind of money from web ads as from television, print and radio. The states have asked the court to force the company to sell off pieces of its business to take away its power to control such auctions. But there are other allegations that could cut Google even more deeply. Texas also alleges that Google violated state laws that forbid unfair or deceptive business practices — laws that mandate steep fines for each violation. The attorneys general plan to argue that every online bid allegedly manipulated by Google violates state laws, which would lead to a massive pileup of fines.

SolarWinds Hack Affected Tech Companies Like Intel, Cisco, VMware

The SolarWinds cyber attack didn’t just affect government agencies; big tech companies were affected too. Intel, Nvidia, Cisco, Belkin, and VMware were also infected. The Wall Street Journal reports. If the link below is paywalled, try this article from The Verge.

Intel downloaded and ran the malicious software, the Journal’s analysis found. The company is investigating the incident and has found no evidence the hackers used the backdoor to access the company’s network, a spokesman said.

DIY Building Block STEM Drone: $49.99

We have a deal on a DIY drone, which is pretty cool. It’s the DIY Building Block STEM Drone, and with it you can create your own design based on the step-by-step instructions. It’s aimed in part at kids, can do stunt flips and more, and it’s $49.99 through our deal.