Amazon to Face Cloud Business Antitrust Probe

Investigators in the U.S. are set to expand their antitrust probe to Amazon’s cloud business – AWS, Bloomberg News reported. The Federal Trade Commission was already investigating the firm’s retail business.

Investigators at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have been asking software companies recently about practices around Amazon’s cloud unit, known as Amazon Web Services, said the people, who declined to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The outreach by the FTC signals that the agency, which is already looking at Amazon’s conduct in its vast online retail business, is taking a broader look at the company to determine whether it could be violating antitrust laws and harming competition. The FTC and Amazon declined to comment. The agency’s scrutiny won’t necessarily result in an enforcement action against the company. AWS dominates the market for foundational cloud-computing technology that provides the storage and computing power needed to run applications. It is several times bigger than its next largest rival, Microsoft Corp.’s Azure, according to analyst estimates. Gartner Inc. puts AWS’s share at 48% and Microsoft’s at 16%.

 

US Among Top 5 Worst Countries for Biometrics Privacy

The United States is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to the privacy of citizens’ biometrics data.

While there is a handful of state laws that protect state residents’ biometrics (as can be seen in our state privacy study), this does leave many US citizens’ biometrics exposed as there is no federal law in place.

Calendars by Readdle Now Lets You Add Outlook Accounts

Another popular app got an update today. Calendars by Readdle (and also Calendars 5) now lets you add Microsoft Outlook accounts. Support for multiple accounts was also added. This means you can now have Google, iCloud, and Outlook (Exchange) accounts in the app simultaneously. This is in the Pro version of Calendars 5, which is on sale for 40% off (usually US$3.99). Other features include: Drag and drop events; Manage events both online and offline, Special keyboards; Search, and more. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)

ZapReader Speed-Reading 1-Year Subscription: $8.50

We have a deal on ZapReader, a speed-reading trainer. ZapReader includes advice from experts, and offers scientifically designed exercises to remove bad reading habits automatically. One year of ZapReader is $9.99 through our deal, but coupon code BFSAVE15 brings the price down to $8.50 at checkout. There’s a three-year option available in the deal listing, and the coupon code works on it, too.