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Hillary Clinton calls for cooperation on encryption
The debate over smartphone, app and data encryption rages on in the US. With the recent events in Paris only fueling the fire for those arguing for backdoor access, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke up on the need for cooperation this week. "We need Silicon Valley not to view government as its adversary," Clinton explained in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "We need our best minds in the private sector to work with our best minds in the public sector to develop solutions that will both keep us safe and protect our privacy." While the debate has gone back and forth for sometime now, reports that the Paris attackers used encrypted messaging services to coordinate last week's events resounded the call for legislation that demands access for law enforcement.
Tech has a diversity problem, and that problem is culture
I've heard it before and so have you. We need more women in tech. We need more minority engineers. Everyone from Jesse Jackson and even President Obama has made a call for more inclusive policies in tech companies. But it still hasn't happened. You need only look at the recent numbers released by Google, Facebook and Apple to see that white men still top the charts when it comes to their employee count. It all seems hopeless. Leslie Miley, who was the only black engineer in a leadership position at Twitter up until a couple of weeks ago, must have felt so too. In a blog post on Medium, he explained that he left the company because he felt defeated in his efforts in trying to increase and encourage company diversity. The problem: Culture.
Toyota sets aside $1 billion for AI and robotics research centers
Toyota originally announced earlier this year that it's spending $50 million to establish joint research centers with MIT and Stanford. Turns out the company has decided to set aside a much, much bigger amount than that. Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda has revealed at an event in Tokyo that the automaker's investing $1 billion (over the course of five years) to set up the Toyota Research Institute Inc. The initiative will be tasked with the development of artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous car technologies under the leadership of robotics expert Gill Pratt, a former DARPA program manager. Its first facility (with 200 employees) will open in Silicon Valley near Stanford University in January 2016. After that, the Japanese corporation will open a second facility near MIT in Cambridge.
Samsung opened a new huge office in Silicon Valley
Samsung's moving to the cool neighborhood. In a big way. It's just cut the (presumably giant, blue) ribbon on a new campus that houses 700 employees, with enough capacity to reach 2,000 of 'em. Mere miles from Apple's own HQ, the facility signifies Samsung's increased efforts to mix in the same circles as locally established tech giants, including Google and Facebook -- and hopefully further stoke those innovation fires. Samsung has been in the area since 1983, but the new center will help the world's second biggest chipmaker to complement how well it's dominated memory. (It'll also be closer to its renovated chipmaking complex in Austin.) The campus unifies Samsung's until-now scattered Valley presence: work on R&D in semiconductors, LEDs, and displays will all go down in the same place, as well as support staff from areas like sales and marketing -- which likely means even more people looking to live in the Bay area.
Firefox creator writes an unofficial, on-point episode of 'Silicon Valley'
Many in the tech sphere will tell you that HBO's Silicon Valley is sometimes too accurate in its send-up of the San Francisco Bay Area's frequently ridiculous startup culture. But how good would it be if someone who actually came from the industry wrote an episode? You're about to find out. Firefox co-creator Blake Ross has posted an unofficial Silicon Valley screenplay that starts where the second season finished, and it's clearly the result of someone who's witnessed startup shenanigans first-hand. Richard has to hire his own CEO replacement, and grapples with the prospect of open-sourcing Pied Piper's code.
Tech giants settle anti-poaching lawsuit for $415 million
Silicon Valley's anti-poaching conspiracy has reached its conclusion. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has approved the $415 million settlement, suggested by Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe earlier this year. The four tech giants have long been accused of agreeing not to poach each other's employees. According to the employees who filed the antitrust class action law suit in 2011, the internal policy to not hire someone from one of the other companies in the pact stunted their growth and prevented them from having access to higher paychecks. One of the main deciding factors in the case was a set of emails between senior executives like Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt that revealed the practice of "no-poach" lists and requests that attempted to thwart the hiring of valued employees.
Pentagon and Silicon Valley cyberunit reveals leaders and HQ
The Department of Defense's partnership with Silicon Valley is a done deal, and now officials have announced who would serve as the initiative's head honchos. According to The Wall Street Journal, two former high-ranking military officials will lead the Defense Innovation Unit–Experimental or DIU-x project. George Duchak, the former director of Information Directorate (ID) at the Air Force Research Laboratory, will serve at its director. ID is in charge of the airmen's "command, control, communications, computers and intelligence and cyber technologies." Meanwhile, former Navy SEAL and Reserve officer Rear Adm. Daniel "Brian" Hendrickson will be the deputy.
Intel tackles diversity problem through referral bonuses
If the Ellen Pao case showed us anything, it's that Silicon Valley is still very much a (white) boy's club. In response a number of industry leaders including Apple, IBM, and Google, have pledged anywhere from $50 million to $300 million to boost the level of diversity in their workplaces. Intel is the latest firm to address the issue by doubling the referral bonus for any employee that successfully recruits a female, minority or veteran into the company to a whopping $4000. This is part of Intel's $300 million pledge to diversify its workforce.
Ford gets serious with self-driving and 3D printing tech
Ford's new Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto must be doing well. The autonomous driving technologies the company's been developing in the facility, which are all part of its "Smart Mobility" plan announced at CES this year, are entering advanced engineering and implementation phase. For starters, the company will work on making its sensing and computing technology viable for actual use. It will also bring Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection that's already loaded on Ford Mondeos in Europe to a Ford vehicle in the US by next year. More importantly, the Detroit-based automaker plans to install driver assist technologies across its product lineup within the next five years. Those technologies include park assist, lane-departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert.
Google will use robot-crane hybrids to build new Mountain View HQ
"Crabots" will help build Google's sprawling Mountain View campus. According to Architects Journal's latest report, these robot-crane hybrids will play a specific role in the construction of the Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick designed structure. The UK publication is privy to detailed planning documents that the tech giant submitted to the City of Mountain View Council in Silicon Valley. The papers include mock-ups of the machines that will lift and shift the block-like "pre-fabricated" components inside the structure. The objective, according the report, is "to create a solution that can be assembled efficiently and economically within pre-erected canopy structures by means of small, easily manoeuvrable cranes."
Department of Defense creates new cyberunit in Silicon Valley
In order to better combat cyberthreats to national security, the US Department of Defense is setting up shop in Silicon Valley. At a lecture today at Stanford University, Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlined the department's new focus on cyberdefense, including tapping into the ecosystem of Silicon Valley to drive innovation against cyber attacks against "US interests." Carter announced that he's setting up the Defense Innovation Unit X (X stands for Experimental) inside the DOD, staffed by active-duty and military personnel alongside reservists. "They'll strengthen existing relationships and build new ones; help scout for new technologies; and help function as a local interface for the department," Carter explained. "Down the road, they could help startups find new work to do with DOD."
Dept of Homeland Security is opening a Silicon Valley office
Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has announced that the Department of Homeland Security will soon open a satellite office in the heart of Silicon Valley. The new location will serve a dual purpose: to solidifying the DHS's relationships with area tech firms, which have been rather strained over the past few years, and as a means of recruiting. "We want to strengthen critical relationships in Silicon Valley and ensure that the government and the private sector benefit from each other's research and development," Johnson told reporters during the RSA Conference on Tuesday. "And we want to convince some of the talented workforce here in Silicon Valley to come to Washington."
What's on your HDTV: 'Game of Thrones', 'Daredevil', 'Silicon Valley'
March is over, and in a few hours March Madness will be too. As the NCAA Men's basketball tournament wraps up -- as well as the first season Better Call Saul -- we're eyeing another championship series with intrigue and plenty at stake: HBO's Game of Thrones, now returning for its fifth season. It's accompanied by Silicon Valley, while on FX the season premiere of Louie comes along with The Comedians, starring Josh Gad and Billy Crystal. Last but not least is Netflix, premiering its first team-up with Marvel, Daredevil. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Twitch hosting Q&A with stars of HBO's 'Silicon Valley'
Silicon Valley, HBO's comedic take on the often ridiculous world of startups is returning for its second season on April 12. But before we find out what's happening with Pied Piper, series stars Thomas Middleditch, Zach Woods, Martin Starr, and Kumail Nanjiani will be part of a Q&A at Twitch headquarters on April 8. After the Q&A, the actors will play a few video games and then viewers will be able to watch the pilot episode of the series. A first for the streaming service.
AT&T's gigabit internet arrives in Apple's backyard
It's official: AT&T is offering full-fledged gigabit internet service in Silicon Valley before Google. After months of teasing, the telecom has launched its U-verse GigaPower service in Cupertino, Apple's home turf -- and a quick drive away from Google's headquarters, we'd add. Get ready to pony up if you're in the area, though. Gigabit access costs $110 per month by itself, and that's if you agree to AT&T's Internet Preferences (read: targeted ads). In other cities, it costs as little as $70. Still, this may hit the sweet spot if you're a local tech worker who just can't wait to download the latest test releases. [Image credit: Franco Folini, Flickr]
HBO and Netflix teaser trailers fight: 'Daredevil' vs. 'Silicon Valley'
Rivals HBO and Netflix aren't really going head-to-head yet, but by the time Daredevil and the next season of Silicon Valley air, they could be. HBO is targeting April for the launch of its standalone streaming service, right around the time its Mike Judge-produced series about a tech startup kicks off season two April 12th (along with a little show called Game of Thrones). That will come the same weekend Netflix posts season one of Daredevil on April 10th, as its first collaboration with Marvel. There's still plenty of time to make a decision about what to watch (first), but short preview trailers for both series arrived this week so check them out after the break -- yes, we threw in Game of Thrones too.
HBO tries using Blu-ray to hook cord-cutters on new shows
Remember BD-Live? Other than being the reason so many Blu-ray discs take forever to load, it's a way for them to pull in continuously updated content from the internet and HBO's using it to reach people who only watch its shows on disc. The new feature is called "HBO Sampler" and it unlocks full episodes of some of the network's other shows for streaming. Currently that list includes the season one premiere episodes of Girls, Looking, Banshee and Togetherness, while in the future Veep, Silicon Valley, Game of Thrones and True Detective premieres will pop up too. It's only a single episode so it's no HBO Go or even Amazon Prime, but if you already own some of the boxed sets in the last year or so (Game of Thrones S3, True Detective S1, etc.) or will buy any of the ones coming out in 2015 then you can get a peek at what HBO subscribers are watching.
Ford accelerates tech efforts with new Silicon Valley lab
Ford wants you to know that it's more than just trucks and cars. It wants to be seen as a technology innovator too. Of course, the Detroit automaker has long had a friendly relationship with technology, what with its Sync infotainment platform, its support for third-party apps and, obviously, its investment in autonomous vehicles. But with its new Research and Innovation Center located in Palo Alto, Ford is hoping to accelerate its relationship with technology even further.
AT&T's gigabit internet beats Google Fiber to Silicon Valley
Well, this has to be awkward: the first company to bring gigabit internet to Silicon Valley isn't Google, it's AT&T. The telco's ultra-high speed U-verse service will land in Cupertino in a few months, meaning that Apple employees (or any other subscribers in the area) will be able to test AT&T's claim that you can download 25 songs in a single second sometime soon. AT&T's senior VP of U-verse Eric Boyer tells Bloomberg that bringing Gigapower to the city is a "no brainer" considering how intrinsic bandwidth is to the area. For its part, Google has plans to expand Fiber's rollout into nearby San Jose, but when that'll happen is anyone's guess -- maybe this could, ahem, speed that along. [Image credit: Associated Press]
Recommended Reading: 'Guardians of the Galaxy' makeup magic
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Under the Skin of "Guardians of the Galaxy" with Makeup FX Wizard David White by Scott Pierce, Fast Company If you're into getting a peek behind the scenes at some movie magic, Fast Company caught up with FX artist David White to discuss Guardians of the Galaxy. Specifically covering the makeup special effects, White chats about Marvel, key characters and the process of making aliens.
