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'Wall Street Journal' and its owners hit by cyberattack linked to China
Hackers accessed the emails and documents of several employees, including journalists.
Uber is reportedly closing down its car-leasing program in the US
Uber's terrible, awful, no-good 2017 isn't over yet. Two years after it started leasing cars to drivers, the ride-hailing company has realized that it should've looked at the economics of such a little better. "The average loss per vehicle was about 10 times what they had thought," the Wall Street Journal reports. Specifically, WSJ's sources say that the company is losing around $9,000 per car. That's a stark contrast to the $500 per-car losses it expected.
Facebook and WSJ owners are working on a 'subscription' deal
The publisher of Wall Street Journal is in advanced talks to bring articles to Facebook through a subscription model. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said that he'd been talking with Mark Zuckerberg about how "the value of content should be recognised". Thomson said in an interview at a media industry conference on this week in Italy, that News Corp was "in the middle of negotiations with Facebook on a subscription mechanic."
Scribd's all-you-can read service adds major newspaper articles
Scribd's transformation into an all-you-can-read subscription-based service hasn't always been smooth-sailing, but it's truly moving farther away from its PDF roots. The company has just announced that it's teaming up with its first newspaper partners and a few popular news brands, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Financial Times, NPR and ProPublica.
Netflix CEO jokes that the future of entertainment could be drugs
Netflix is one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world, and it did so by constantly looking for ways to reach people. CEO Reed Hastings said in an WSJD Live interview that in the early days, they licked envelopes for DVD-by-mail, slowly transitioned to streaming, and then started to make their own content when they couldn't get what they wanted from studios. So what does the future hold? Well, Hastings said it could be VR, it could be gaming, or it could be, uh, pharmacological.
WSJ: Time Warner's latest suitor is AT&T (update: deal is done?)
AT&T's next step to telecom dominance? Buying Time Warner, it seems. Before the next episode of Westworld airs, theoretically, AT&T could own HBO, CNN, Hulu, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures among others, according to The Wall Street Journal. Over the past few years pretty much any multibillion dollar corporation has flirted with the idea of buying Time Warner. Apple and Fox have both been heavily rumored, for example. And considering that Time Warner turned down $80 billion from the latter, it gives us an idea that the asking price is going to be northward of that.
WSJ: This year's iPhone won't feature big changes
If you're eagerly awaiting a load of new features for this year's iPhone, you might be a bit disappointed come fall. The Wall Street Journal reports that the upcoming models will offer only modest changes from the current iPhone 6S and 6S Plus rather than a more robust redesign. Apple has been trotting out new designs every two years with the "S" models offering mostly internal tweaks in between. According to WSJ's sources though, that won't be the case this year.
WSJ: Next Amazon Kindle comes with rechargeable cases
Amazon Kindles can already last for weeks on a single charge, but the upcoming "top-of-the-line" model could last even longer than that. According to The Wall Street Journal, it will come with a rechargeable protective casing for extra juice. The publication says this case allows it to be slimmer than its predecessors, which could mean that the device alone will have a battery life shorter or similar to older models. Amazon is reportedly working on a solar-powered casing, as well, though that one won't be ready in time for the new e-reader's launch next week.
The NSA spied on Congress, too
Just because the United States said it stopped spying on friendly foreign heads of state like Germany's Angela Merkel, doesn't mean that Uncle Sam actually has. Eavesdropping has actually continued and the list of targets included Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Wall Street Journal reports. What's more, the National Security Agency was caught spying on members of Congress and American-Jewish groups as a direct result, according to WSJ's anonymous sources.
The Wall Street Journal's customer database was hacked
If you're a Wall Street Journal subscriber, you might be getting an unpleasant letter in the mail. William Lewis, CEO of WSJ parent company Dow Jones, just released a statement in which he reveals the company's subscriber database was compromised by a hack. It sounds like the intrusion isn't nearly as widespread or damaging as other recent hacks have been, at least. While Lewis admits that the company found evidence of unauthorized access to its systems, the company "has not uncovered any direct evidence that information was stolen."
WSJ: Sprint's cutting budgets by $2.5 billion, layoffs inbound
Plenty of digital ink's been spilled over Sprint's financial woes of late, and sadly here's some more. The Wall Street Journal's reporting that the Now Network is prepping to cut some $2.5 billion in costs that will "inevitably result in job reductions." However, Reuters says that its a bit early to start talking numbers regarding the latter bit. The company's also stopped outside hiring and apparently any money spent has to go through the carrier's finance department for approval from here on out. Maybe don't expect to see more $1 iPhones or free DirecTV service anytime soon, then.
Apple car targeted to launch in 2019, says WSJ
Details have been rather scarce on Apple's rumored electric car project, but there's some new info today. Wall Street Journal reports that Cupertino is "accelerating" the codenamed Project Titan effort, internally calling it a "committed project." What's more, WSJ's sources indicate Apple is aiming to ship the first vehicle in 2019. Yes, that means you'll have to wait a while to get behind the wheel, but we should be hearing more detailed info soon enough, especially when the company begins testing on public roads. Perhaps what's more interesting, though, is the report says the first car won't be fully autonomous, despite that type of system being part of the long-term plan.
It looks like the government will stop the Comcast/TWC merger
That seemingly ever-looming union between Comcast and Time-Warner Cable looks like it hit another roadblock. The Federal Communications Commission wants to put the $45 billion merger in front of an administrative law judge and issue a "hearing administration order," which The Wall Street Journal says is a pretty strong message from the government that the deal could die. Why's that? Because it's essentially Uncle Sam saying that the business move isn't good for consumers; that whole Netflix situation's still pretty fresh on everyone's mind, it'd seem. WSJ's sources say that Comcast and Time Warner could still make a case for themselves, but it may be too late.
WSJ: The next iPhone will get a force-sensitive touchscreen
Apple's recently announced MacBook and Watch both understand the difference between a gentle press and a hard shove. It should surprise nobody that the company is likely to add this technology, dubbed Force Touch, to the next generation of iPhones. The Wall Street Journal has called around its circle of people familiar with the matter, who all say that it'll be the headline feature for the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. In addition, those in the know believe we'll soon get a fourth color option to choose from: pink.
WSJ: Retina Display MacBook Air is coming soon
Buried in a lot of stuff we may not believe about a 12.9-inch iPad, the Wall Street Journal believes that a new MacBook Air is on the way. According to the paper's gang of people familiar with the matter, the company's suppliers are working on a 12-inch Air with a "higher resolution display." The piece goes on to say that factories have been told to be ready to ship "large quantities in the second quarter." Now, it's hard to see Apple adding yet another laptop to its previously spartan product line, but if true, then maybe we now know that the "one more thing" at next week's event will be a Retina display MacBook Air.
The next Google Glass will be powered by Intel
The first model might not even be on sale, but the next version of Google Glass will have Intel inside. That's according to the WSJ, who's heard from people familiar with the matter that it will apparently form yet another part of the chipmakers continued push into wearables -- in case you hadn't heard about that before. Intel didn't quite manage to tap into the smartphone boom, with chips licensed from its rival, ARM, powering the majority of smartphones. It took until last year for Intel to finally offer a smartphone processor that could connect to 4G LTE networks. Further still, Intel aims to promote Glass in a work capacity, pitching to hospitals and manufacturing businesses. However, but more importantly than the deal-making itself, we're still waiting to hear how Glass itself will benefit from the new hardware. Neither Intel or Google have responded to the report.
Showtime plans to follow HBO with cable-free streaming in 2015
Let's say that your premium cable-drama tastes range more toward Homeland or Masters of Sex than they do Game of Thrones or Girls. Good news, then! If you're getting tired of paying for access to the network on top of your monthly TV bill, that could change next year according to Wall Street Journal. On today's earnings call, CBS' chief executive officer Leslie Moonves said that standalone access to Showtime's programming was coming in 2015 "fairly definitively." It's a bit on the wishy-washy side of things, but it gives the outfit a chance to cover its rear should the requisite deals we'd imagine this requires not happen in time. That should sound at least a little familiar considering HBO said something similar not too long ago. Want to simulate pay-TV-less Showtime until then? Well, there's always Dexter and Californication on Netflix. [Image credit: Getty Images for Showtime]
Tim Cook explains why the iPod Classic had to die
It was the best question pitched to Apple CEO at WSJD's Live conference: Why was the iPod discontinued? Apparently it's a very simple reason: "We couldn't get the parts any more," explained Tim Cook. "They don't make them any more." While the iPod Classic isn't exactly a creaky transistor radio just yet, that's how it went down. "We would have to make a whole new product.... the engineering work to do that would be massive." The difficult truth that some of you probably don't want to hear: "The number of people who wanted it is very small." So pour one out for the iPod Classic -- and hit up eBay if you're still craving a clickwheel. Nicole Lee contributed to this story.
WSJ writer gives Twitter password to the internet and the obvious happens
We put a ton of trust in technology everyday, but are you confident enough in two-factor authentication to give out any of your passwords? Christopher Mims of The Wall Street Journal is. In a post on the site proclaiming that passwords are "finally dying," Mims extolls the virtues of the secure login method immediately after giving out his Twitter password. He says that he's confident he won't be hacked because, among other reasons, the second authentication step (a text message containing a numerical code that's sent to the user's cellphone, or an app that generates a code should you be outside of cellular data range) is apparently difficult to intrude upon. As Forbes has spotted though, Mims' Twitter account has since been slammed with people trying to login to it, his phone blew up with authentication codes as a result, forcing him to associate a different phone number with the microblogging service.
WSJ rumor has AT&T talking about buying DirecTV
With Comcast attempting to gobble up the second largest cable business in the land, it's no surprise that other rumors are said to be on the table, but this one comes out of left field. The Wall Street Journal (update: and LA Times) reports AT&T has approached DirecTV about a possible acquisition of the satellite business and its 20 million or so customers for $40 billion or more. While the combination of a telecom giant and satellite TV company sounds odd, the two already work together for services in places where U-verse TV doesn't reach yet and have a deal that will run until 2015 (which replaced AT&T's short-lived agreement with Dish Network back in 2009). Still, the timing of the rumor is curious, and it comes about a month after Bloomberg reported DirecTV and Dish Network were considering trying a merger again -- their first attempt in 2002 was blocked by by the government. A DirecTV / AT&T combo would put 26 million customers under one brand, compared to about 30 million for the Comcast + Time Warner Cable team-up once it's all said and done. As usual, the most likely answer is that everyone is talking to everyone else, but it's worth keeping your head on a swivel before your current internet or TV provider fades away. [Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
