Taiwanese Government Making It Harder For ZTE To Obtain Components

Recently it was reported that ZTE has run into some problems in the US where due to an export ban, they will no longer be able to source from US companies like Qualcomm for their smartphone components. Unfortunately it seems that those problems have extended to other countries as well, such as Taiwan.

In a report from the Nikkei Asian Review, it seems that the Taiwanese government has ordered all local companies to see approval before they are allowed to ship components to ZTE. It is unclear if this was prompted by the US government or if Taiwan has their own reasons for making it harder for ZTE to obtain the components they need to make smartphones.

So what does this mean? At the moment the main chipset makers are Qualcomm and MediaTek, not taking into account companies like Apple or Samsung or Huawei who typically keep their chipsets for themselves. With this new ruling issued by the Taiwanese government, it means that MediaTek will not be able to ship chipsets to ZTE without approval. MediaTek’s CEO Rick Tsai has since confirmed that they have suspended their business with ZTE after receiving a notice from the government.

That being said, the Taiwanese government has stated that they are not barring any Taiwanese company from doing business with ZTE. According to David Hsu, deputy director-general and spokesman for the Bureau of Foreign Trade, “What we do [asking suppliers to apply for an export permit] was for the companies’ own good, to ensure they are doing legal business with the Chinese firms. We do not ban Taiwanese companies to do business with ZTE. … There is no reason for the government to reject their permit if their business activities are legal”

Taiwanese Government Making It Harder For ZTE To Obtain Components , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Avengers: Infinity War: here are the records it smashed

It isn’t just the Hulk that’s busting things up. 2018 is obviously big for Marvel and its filmmaking studio. It hasn’t been long since Black Panther not only set records but also stepped up the game in raising awareness through mainstream media. Now Infinity War has finally burst into the scene and, over the weekend, it has already snatched a … Continue reading

Twitter sold data access to researcher in Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook is clearly the company most affected by the Cambridge Analytica data sharing scandal, but that doesn’t leave other social networks completely unscathed. Twitter has confirmed to Bloomberg that it sold public data access to researcher Aleksa…

Nintendo Confirms Live Streaming Plans For E3 2018

While companies like Microsoft and Sony usually take the stage at E3, Nintendo’s presence at the event has mostly been remote where while they do participate in E3, most of their announcements take place via live streams. This year appears to be no different as Nintendo has confirmed that they will be live streaming announcements at E3 this year.

According to Nintendo’s announcement, the live stream is expected to take place on the 11th of June, Monday, where it will kick off at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET, so for those planning to tune in, you’ll have to adjust your schedules accordingly. It is unclear as to what Nintendo will announce at E3, but the company will be hosting a Splatoon 2 World Championship event, along with the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 tournament.

The company has also announced that they will be hosting a video presentation for games releasing in 2018 on the 12th of June at 9am PT, so if you want to check out new Nintendo games, that’s the date you’ll want to tune in. Like we said it is unclear what Nintendo might announce, but we’re sure that there are many who are hoping to hear more details about the upcoming Pokemon RPG for the Switch. Either way check back with us during E3 2018 for more news and updates.

Nintendo Confirms Live Streaming Plans For E3 2018 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Facebook Introduces New Tools For Fundraising

Facebook does not only provide a way for friends to stay in touch with each other. It also allows companies to reach out to their customers, and also for charity organizations to raise awareness and also funding, which Facebook has released fundraising tools in the past. In a recent post on its website, Facebook has since announced new fundraising initiatives.

One of those news tools is for people to match donations to nonprofit fundraising. According to Facebook, “People often pledge to match donations to their Facebook Fundraisers, and we wanted to make that easier. David Smith lost his sister in a car accident in 2013, and this year for his birthday, he started a fundraiser for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). He told family and friends that if he could raise $100, he would match their contribution. People rallied around the cause and raised $2,360 — more than 10x his original goal.”

Facebook has also added more categories for fundraising in the event that what’s available now does not cover their needs. “Based on feedback from our community, we’re adding fundraiser categories for family (like adoption or new baby supplies), faith (like missions or religious community events), travel (like educational trips or travel for medical needs), and volunteering (like volunteer programs or supplies) causes.”

These changes should already be live so if you are looking to start a fundraiser, then head on over to Facebook’s fundraising page for the details.

Facebook Introduces New Tools For Fundraising , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

French Government Sued For Seizing France.com Domain Name

In the early days of the internet where companies had yet to hop onto the internet bandwagon and create an online presence for themselves, there were some opportunists who registered domain names belonging to companies which were eventually sold back to these companies for huge sums of money.

That is called cybersquatting, but in an interesting turn of events, a man from France is suing his government over the seizure of the France.com domain which he has owned since 1994, alleging that they are cybersquatting and “reverse domain-name hijacking”. Jean-Noël Frydman had purchased the domain back in the mid 1990s where it was used as a “digital kiosks” for Francophiles and Francophones living in the US.

Over the past couple of decades, Frydman built up a business around the domain and even worked with various official French agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who in 2015 filed a lawsuit against Frydman and seized the domain that he had owned for the past 24 years or so. The Paris Court of Appeals had ruled that France.com violated French trademark law.

However like we said, Frydman has since filed a lawsuit against the French government. According to the complaint he filed, “Defendants did not approach Plaintiff to purchase or license the domain, the trademark, or Plaintiff’s underlying business and goodwill. Instead, in 2015, Defendants misused the French judicial system to seize the domain from Plaintiff without compensation, under the erroneous theory that Defendants were inherently entitled to take the domain because it included the word ‘France.’”

French Government Sued For Seizing France.com Domain Name , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

‘Westworld’ Conspiracy Theory About Stock Photo Gets New Twist

The woman from that “Westworld” photo is now on the show, and everything just got more interesting.

Blue Origin New Shepard’s 8th flight reaches highest altitude

Most will probably be familiar with SpaceX for its much publicized rocket launches and landings, but it isn’t the only one in that, er, space. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is has also been launching and landing rockets and even has quite a lead on SpaceX when it comes to rocket reuse. The company has just recently conducted its eighth mission, … Continue reading

Chrome OS 66 brings Meltdown fix, blocks autoplay content

Unlike releases for other operating systems like Windows or macOS, Chrome OS releases often pass by unnoticed because of how fast and how often they happen, following the releases of the Chrome browser. But while Chrome OS version 66 rolled out without much fuss and fanfare, it is still quite a notable and important one. Not only does it brings … Continue reading

Study Finds Google Assistant Is The Most Accurate Amongst The Competition

There are many digital assistants in the market today, and obviously not all of them were created equal and according to a recent study conducted by Stone Temple, it seems that they have found that Google Assistant is the most accurate digital assistant amongst the competition, at least as far as this year is concerned.

The year is particularly important because companies do make changes and improvements over time, which means that it is possible for other companies to catch-up. That being said, Stone Temple’s study found that Google Assistant attempted to answer the most questions and at the same time gave the most correct answers overall.

What’s interesting is that Google Assistant on smartphones had a higher percentage of questions attempted and questions answered compared to Google Home. Also what’s interesting is that while many tend not to talk about Microsoft’s Cortana, it actually came in second place in their study.

Amazon’s Alexa came in third, while Apple’s Siri came in last, which isn’t surprising as many iPhone users have stated that Siri is one of Apple’s more lackluster services. While the survey is interesting and does seem to hint that Google Assistant is “better”, there are varying factors as to why someone might choose to adopt Siri over Google Assistant. This could include being locked into Apple’s ecosystem, or it could be a matter of price where the Amazon Echo Dot is cheaper than the competition and thus more preferred.

Study Finds Google Assistant Is The Most Accurate Amongst The Competition , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.