The Weekly Roundup for 06.17.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Facebook announces Video on Instagram
With recent moves to add hashtag support, verified Pages, comments with inline photo embeds and more, it appears that Facebook is ready to take on competing social networks. It should come as no surprise to us, then, that it's putting its acquisition of Instagram to good use by introducing a service -- aptly called Video on Instagram --that rivals Vine, a similar service now owned by Twitter.
Google challenges FISA court on government data requests
Google and other companies have already made general calls for more transparency in the wake of the PRISM revelations, and it looks like Mountain View is now escalating those requests to a court challenge. As The Washington Post reports, Google is asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for some additional leeway with the government requests for data that it's able to disclose, and it's citing the First Amendment to make its case.
Apple releases statement on customer privacy
Following the likes of Microsoft and Facebook, Apple has publicly responded to the explosion of interest in the NSA's PRISM program, and has been authorized to reveal some of the data on what it's shared with the US government in the past. The company says it has "always placed a priority on protecting our customers' personal data," and its legal team evaluates each request.
GEAK Watch packs Android, WiFi and a plethora of sensors
Simply dubbed the GEAK Watch, this wearable device packs a surprising number of components, with the most notable one being the 802.11b/g/n WiFi module. All features considered, this smartwatch honestly sounds too good to be true, and it's only priced at just ¥1,999 or about $330.
