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Research group says America's favorite TV size is now 65 inches
More and more Americans are scooping up 65-inch TVs, so much so that they're now apparently the most popular screen size in the country. Market research company TrendForce reckons tumbling prices have led to a shift in the most common screen size: 65-inch screens have been getting cheaper in recent weeks, while prices on 55-inch displays have remained much the same.
China and US agree on tariff 'truce' that could avoid tech price hikes
If you were worried that some technology prices would go up (among other things) as a result of incoming US tariffs on Chinese goods, you can breathe a little easier -- for now. The US and China have agreed to a tariff "truce" that will give the two sides time to negotiate without the US imposing further tariffs. The Americans will leave their tariffs at the 10 percent rate on January 1st, 2019, rather than raising it to 25 percent. The countries will have 90 days to hash out their differences on issues like intellectual property theft and patents -- if they can't reach a deal when those 90 days are over, the tariffs go up.
Google’s China search engine drama
The first time many of us heard about China's use of facial recognition on jaywalkers was just this week when a prominent Chinese businesswoman was publicly "named and shamed" for improper street crossing. Turns out, she wasn't even there: China's terrifyingly over-the-top use of tech for citizen surveillance made a mistake. The AI system identified Dong Mingzhu's face from a bus advertisement for her company's products.
HBO's website is apparently blocked in China thanks to John Oliver
According to a report from The New York Times, the HBO website has been blocked in China. The crackdown apparently came in response to John Oliver mocking president Xi Jinping on Last Week Tonight. Originally noticed by internet watchdog Greatfire.org, the block went into effect on June 22nd and currently appears to be at 83 percent across the country.
US and Chinese presidents work to get ZTE 'back into business'
ZTE's future is currently grim in light of the revived US export ban, but is it guaranteed to wither and die? Not necessarily. President Trump has tweeted that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are "working together" to give ZTE a "way to get back into business." Just how that would happen wasn't clear, but he told the US Commerce Department to "get it done."
China tells the world to respect its censorship
Chinese president Xi Jinping opened the World Internet Conference by telling world leaders to respect other nation's cyber sovereignty. The leader went on to say that every country has the right to govern the web in accordance with local laws, and that China stands against "internet hegemony." The move reinforces China's right to suppress information on a whim, like when it shuttered Instagram during the Hong Kong democracy protests. By making it an issue of sovereignty, the country is effectively shouting "back off" to rivals who would dare criticize its heavy-handed attitude toward censorship.
Someone in China has hacked the Woods Hole Institute
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, one of America's premiere scientific research centers, was reportedly hacked last June by unidentified forces operating in China. According to a staff letter sent by WHOI President and Director Mark Abbott this week, the institute has so far found that only emails and commercial data have been tampered with. While the WHOI does a lot of classified research for the US Navy, an institute spokesman points out that sensitive data is stored on a network separate from the one that was attacked.
US, China have an 'understanding' to fight cyber economic espionage
Ahead of a state dinner in Washington D.C. attended by a number of notable tech CEOs (Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Satya Nadella, to name a few), President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced an unprecedented agreement on the topic of hacking. After a number of recent hacks on commercial and government targets in the US were blamed on Chinese hackers it was expected the two might try to reach a deal, and according to Obama, they now have an understanding.
