Today’s Tech Sightings:
APAC to Reach Two Billion Unique Smartphone Users by 2019
A new Forrester report said the Asia-Pacific region will have two billion unique smartphone users by 2019, accounting for 83 percent of the total unique mobile subscriber base. The number of smartphones in the region passed one billion last year.
Toshiba CEO Quits Over Accounting Scandal
Toshiba Corp’s CEO Hisao Tanaka and other senior executives stepped down for their roles in Japan’s biggest accounting scandal in years. Chairman Masashi Muromachi will replace Tanaka for the time being. An independent probe found that Tanaka was aware his company had inflated profits by $1.2 billion over several years.
Social Robots Could Be Coming to a Home Near You
Social robots are designed for the home as personal companions and typically cost around $1,000. And while they might not live up to expectations, the Japanese have been seriously experimenting with social robots, employing them in hotels and shopping malls and are now looking to use them in other locations.
Europe to Decide If Uber Is a Tech or Taxi Company
Uber seems to get in trouble wherever it goes. Now, a Spanish judge has asked the European Court of Justice to decide if the company is a transport service or a digital service. If deemed a mere transport company, Uber could face stricter licensing, insurance and safety rules, among other headaches.
Watch Digital Attacks Live on This Map
Are cyber attacks on the rise? Google, in partnership with network security and management company Arbor Networks, put together a fascinating digital attack map that shows the number of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that happen at any given time.
Twitter Kills Background Images
If you thought your Twitter settings were somehow messed up, you thought wrong. Twitter on Monday began removing background images and wallpaper from users’ timelines, which is why your pages are now bright, vanilla white.
Why a CEO Worth $840 Million Lives in a Trailer Park With His Pet Alpaca
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com is worth $840 million. But he chooses to live in a 18.5 – square meter trailer in Las Vegas with his pet alpaca. Hsieh, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, rents about 30 trailers in the park to visiting coders. Oh, and the community is called “Llamappolis.”
