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The WGA strike may end as studios offer streaming and AI concessions
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and major studios have reached a tentative deal to end a 146-day strike that has shut down much of the industry.
Apple and Ericsson call truce in years-long fight over cellular patents
Apple and Ericsson have struck a deal that ends a years-long battle over LTE patents.
Disney's networks are back on Dish following a 'handshake agreement'
Disney stations including ABC, ESPN, FX and Disney Channel are back on Dish and Sling TV after the two players reached a tentative agreement.
Apple drops its lawsuit against maker of iPhone emulation software
Apple has settled its 2019 lawsuit with Corellium, a company that build virtual iOS devices used security researchers to find bugs in iOS devices.
US government agrees to lift ban on Xiaomi
The US government has agreed to remove Xiaomi from a Trump administration blocklist after the company filed a lawsuit earlier this year.
Mt. Gox exchange users may finally get to recover some of their lost Bitcoin
An agreement between Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy trustee and another group might allow creditors to recover as much as 90 percent of the remaining Bitcoins.
Airbnb agrees to hand over hosts’ data to settle its NYC lawsuit
Airbnb settles its lawsuit with New York City.
YouTube TV is adding 14 ViacomCBS channels to its lineup
Thanks to an expanded, multi-year distribution agreement between Google and ViacomCBS, YouTube TV will add another 14 channels.
YouTube TV loses YES Network in new Sinclair deal
If you were worried about your favorite Fox regional sports channels disappearing from YouTube TV, you may be in luck. YouTube TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group have reached an agreement to keep 19 of the 21 sports channels on YouTube TV. But the platform will drop Fox Sports Prime Ticket and Fox Sports West, which carry games from Los Angeles-area teams. It's also dropping the Yankees' YES Network.
YouTube is making its terms of service easier to read
If you visit YouTube today, you'll see a pop-up window alerting you that the platform's Terms of Service will be updated on December 10th. The new terms do not change the way YouTube treats your info, and YouTube isn't changing how it uses creators' content, but it is clarifying a few of its policies.
UPS and CVS plan to deliver prescriptions via drone
UPS isn't going to let Wing's team-ups with FedEx and Walgreens go unanswered. The company has reached an agreement with CVS Pharmacy to create a "variety" of drone delivery uses, including delivering prescriptions and other goods to homes. Neither company provided a timeline for when you might see these drones in action, although UPS recently became the first company with FAA approval to operate a drone airline.
US and Poland agree to rigorously evaluate foreign 5G equipment
The US and Poland declared today that suppliers of 5G network equipment should be rigorously evaluated for foreign government control. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an agreement to tighten guidelines of 5G network security, The Wall Street Journal reports. The deal didn't name Huawei specifically, but it's the latest move in Washington's attempt to exclude China from 5G networks.
Phone companies and state attorneys general join forces to fight robocalls
US consumers receive as many as 350,000 unwanted calls every three minutes, according to the FCC. Despite multiple efforts to end the onslaught, an estimated 4.7 billion robocalls hit American phones in July alone. Now, attorneys general from all 50 states and the District of Columbia are teaming up with 12 carriers in a united effort to prevent and block the spam calls.
Netflix deal with Hollywood union promises better conditions for actors
Netflix regularly works with unionized actors (they're ubiquitous in Hollywood), but usually on a show-by-show basis. Now, though, it's establishing a deeper connection. The service has signed a roughly three-year contract with SAG-AFTRA that provides expanded coverage for union work. It now recognizes "performance capture" (think motion capture) and dubbing as covered work, giving actors in those fields the same labor protections as others. The people voicing the English-language version of your favorite anime might have better pay and working conditions, to put it one way.
VW will reportedly share its electric car platform with Ford
VW and Ford appear close to formalizing their partnership on EVs and self-driving cars. Reuters sources claim the two have forged an "outline agreement" that will see them ally on more than just commercial vehicles. Most notably, VW would share its EV-oriented MEB platform with Ford. While VW had previously talked about opening MEB to competitors, it hadn't mentioned Ford by name -- this suggests that your future Ford could share the same basic underpinnings as something like the ID Crozz.
Countries back plan to create 'free flow' of data across borders
It might become easier to shuttle data across borders in the future. A total of 24 countries have signed a statement supporting the Osaka Track, a plan from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that would create rules for a "free flow" of data while respecting privacy, copyright and security. The commitment is meant to foster digital businesses that might otherwise stumble over legal hurdles.
EVgo's 'roaming' deals give you access to 450 more fast chargers
It can be challenging enough to find electric car charging stations of any kind, let alone to look for one belonging to your charging network of choice. The hunt is about to get considerably easier, though. EVgo has forged agreements with ChargePoint and EV Connect that will let customers of one charging network 'roam' on the chargers of the other. You won't necessarily have to sign up for multiple accounts or face extra fees just to have enough electricity to get home.
Volvo's self-driving buses and trucks will run on NVIDIA tech
Volvo's self-driving trucks will have some familiar hardware under the hood. The automaker has signed a deal with NVIDIA that will use the chip company's Drive platform to "train, test and deploy" a slew of large self-driving vehicles that include buses, freight trucks, mining trucks and beyond. They'll both build on NVIDIA's hardware platform and use its software to handle everything from sensor data through to path planning.
Airbnb agrees to share data for over 17,000 NYC listings
Airbnb and New York City are inching closer to making peace over data sharing. To start, the home rental outfit has reached an agreement to hand over semi-anonymized host and reservation data for over 17,000 listings in the city. It's also providing data for every NYC listing rented between January 1st, 2018 and February 18th, 2019 that might have violated the city's short-term rental laws.
Sony and Microsoft team up on cloud-based gaming and entertainment
In an unlikely turn of events, Microsoft and Sony announced today that they are to tackle the future of entertainment. The companies are planning to work together to build future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure that will support gaming and content streaming. Sony will also use Microsoft data centers for its existing game and streaming platforms. The agreement could open up the possibility of cross-play in the future, despite previous reluctance between the competing firms.
