NEWSWORTHY
Battle of the network stars. After losing out to Microsoft on the Pentagon's $10 billion JEDI cloud computing project, Amazon has decided to challenge the decision in court. It's not an uncommon outcome when big government contracts are awarded and lost. And with overt meddling by President Trump, Amazon may have a case. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the process "was conducted freely and fairly, without any type of outside influence."
Less crunching. On Wall Street, Nvidia had a decent quarter with revenue only down 5% to $3 billion, which was better than analysts expected, as slumping bitcoin mining using graphics cards has hurt sales. Nvidia's stock, previously up 57% this year, gained just 1% in pre-market trading on Friday.
Suspect timing. Using a password manager is de rigueur for all cybersecurity mavens. But some eyebrows raised this week when the developer of 1Password, a leader in that market, decided to take $200 million of venture capital after taking none in its first 14 years of operation. CEO Jeff Shiner says the funding will help "double and triple down on what we've been doing," but some customers fear price hikes and management distractions.
Free, as in beer. Forget Elizabeth Warren and her billionaires' tax. Britain's Labour Party on Friday proposed nationalizing British Telecom's broadband Internet service, Openreach, and taxing tech giants like Google and Apple in order to extend coverage to every citizen in the country by 2030.
I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. Everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it, except IBM. The company on Thursday unveiled a new weather prediction tool dubbed Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting, or GRAF, that uses a supercomputer and tons of data to make predictions for areas as small as two miles wide.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Whistleblowers are much in the news of late, even in some of the stories we're following at Data Sheet. Thanks to a whistleblower, the news that Google was working with a big healthcare system to collect and analyze intimate medical data from millions of patients became public. Said truth teller took to the pages of The Guardian to explain why they spoke out:
After a while I reached a point that I suspect is familiar to most whistleblowers, where what I was witnessing was too important for me to remain silent. Two simple questions kept hounding me: did patients know about the transfer of their data to the tech giant? Should they be informed and given a chance to opt in or out? The answer to the first question quickly became apparent: no. The answer to the second I became increasingly convinced about: yes. Put the two together, and how could I say nothing?
FOR YOUR WEEKEND READING PLEASURE
A few long reads that I came across this week:
Five things I've learnt about saving the world (Financial Times)
Climate change is making us rethink the way we eat, dress, travel and work.
Is Brain Stimulation the Next Big Thing? (Outside)
Over the past decade, athletes, coaches, and researchers have been seduced by the performance-boosting promises of brain stimulation. On a ride-and-zap-your-brain-like-the-pros tour through the Alps, Alex Hutchinson wonders whether it really works—and whether we want it to.
This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad (New York Times)
Hanks is playing Mister Rogers in a new movie and is just as nice as you think he is. Please read this article anyway.
The Sky Bar's triumphant return (Boston Globe)
How an iconic candy was almost lost, and then, unexpectedly saved.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Despite a Slow Start, the Tencent and Nintendo Partnership Still Holds Promise By Lisa Marie Segarra
Mo'Nique Takes Netflix to Task Over Racial and Gender Bias in 39-Page Discrimination Suit By Isaac Feldberg
Walmart CEO Says Online Business Still Has Lots of Work to Do By Phil Wahba
Why Mercedes's Self-Driving Trucks Are Set to Overtake Its Robotaxis By David Meyer
DeX Review: Getting Files and Photos From a Samsung Phone to a Computer Is Easier Than Ever By Aaron Pressman
The Stock Market Has Hit 19 New Highs in 2019 Alone. Why? By Ben Carlson
BEFORE YOU GO
In the media industry, we're a little obsessed with the HBO show Succession, which is, shall we say, inspired by the real-life antics of billionaire Rupert Murdoch and his media empire. The show's brilliant intro theme is slightly ominous and foreboding, which has inspired some particularly talented yet unnamed YouTuber to paste the tune over the opening credits of all sorts of other TV shows. It's a perfect fit on The Wire, and seems like it was made for Westworld, but it's truly a hoot on Cheers.
Have a great weekend.
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