aNewDomain — Good morning, all. I’ve got the top tech news for January 10, 2017 here in my Morning Tech Report.
First up, Yahoo is still Yahoo and the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.
But reports about its weird renaming to Altaba are not.
Check out this SEC filing. It’s got some of the details on Verizon’s bid to buy beleaguered Yahoo.
And according to the doc, if the deal’s approved, CEO Marissa Mayer will be stepping down.
Now I know a lot of you thinks this signals the end of Yahoo as we know it, but it’s not that cut and dry. What’s happening, really, is that Yahoo is creating a holding company for its Alibaba and Yahoo Japan holdings, while leaving the rest of Yahoo with its new Big Daddy, Verizon.
Altaba is “essentially Zombie Yahoo,” writes Jacob Kastrenakes in today’s Verge analysis of the matter.
And weirdly, it might not even signal the imminent demise of Mayer at Yahoo, especially if the Verizon purchase doesn’t materialize.
Maybe it should though. Mayer, whose tenure at Yahoo is scarred by two major hacks to its system last year and a grand vision that never materializes, should take that golden parachute and hang out on a tropical island somewhere.
We I hear the South China Sea islands are lovely this time of the year. A stay at the Mandarin Oriental Sanya might make her forget all about it ….
Scroll the below the fold to check out the complete Verizon filing on Edgar, or click here.
And I know it’s football, but …
Whoa! What a great game last night as Clemson defeated Alabama with a last-second touchdown to avenge last year’s loss in the championship game.
As ESPN blogged early this morning, the tech behind the scenes was cool — and did it that game ever deliver social-media wise. Here’s an excerpt::
ESPN had more than 90 cameras inside Raymond James Stadium, including staples of ESPN’s production: SkyCam, Pylon Cameras (all eight), and a full complement of RF cameras and Steadicams.
Those cameras included:
- Nine super slow-motion cameras, plus another one on the SkyCam
- Arial coverage by the DIRECTV and Goodyear blimps
- Camera at both goal posts: Cameras affixed to both goalposts
- 35 replay machines: More than 35 replay machines
- Four 4K Cameras
- And a virtual graphics-capable SkyCam
ESPN has more than 1,000 staffers onsite, 65 transmission paths between Tampa and Bristol and have added 70,000 feet of cable in around the stadium.<
In addition to utilizing all its cable channels, ESPN was everywhere on social media during the game, busily talking things up via its @espn, @SportsCenter, @CollegeGameDay and @ESPNCFB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with a heavy dose of Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, and a SidelineCam on Twitter.
And at last, a Google Voice update
Tons of Google and Alphabet tidbits in the tech news today.
The long-overdue update to Google Voice is coming.
Also, if you’re like me, you’re going to be down at the Detroit Auto Show 2017 today. If you are, you’ll find me checking out Google Tango AR technology over at the Detroit Institute of the Arts.
In other Google news, Alphabet’s autonomous car division — it’s called Waymo — continues to fire on all cylinders. Word: It’ll be road testing Chrysler minivans soon.
Also, have you heard that Alphabet might sell satellite company Skybox to rival service Planet Labs?
This is a smart move by the Google parent company. If the sale happens, it will be an equity transaction and Alphabet will hold a significant amount of equity in the company.
p.s. If you are going to make fun of Yahoo for the new Altaba name, I hope you are also laughing at Waymo.
I guess all the good five-letter URLs really are history.
Okay, Altaba is definitely a dumber name. Never mind.
< h4>Apple AR finally emerges — thanks to Carl Zeiss, says the Scobleizer …
Robert Scoble is a longtime friend of us here at aNewDomain, and we couldn’t be prouder of his scoop today. According to Robert, Apple and lens genius Zeiss will be working together on augmented reality project:
That’ll be great for Apple, especially. It’s yet to deliver anything in the exploding field of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR)
For tech news throughout the day, follow me on Twitter. Finish that coffee now. See you tomorrow …
For aNewDomain, I’m Mike Olsen.
Cover image of Morning Tech Report with Mike Olsen: Tom Ewing for aNewDomain, All Rights Reserved; all screenshots, Mike Olsen.
