Good morning. Hope you didn’t stay up too late. Today’s edition is lean and mean, given *waves hand around in the air.*
The (tech) news below. —Andrew Nusca
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Amazon gets FAA approval for new delivery drone
Amazon has received regulatory approval to fly new, smaller drones as part of its long-gestating Prime Air program.
The Federal Aviation Administration says Amazon may fly its MK30—which it announced two years ago, touting a longer range and light rain capabilities—and do so beyond the visual line of sight of pilots.
“With this approval, we are beginning service today in the West Valley of Phoenix,” wrote Matt McCardle, head of global regulatory affairs and strategy for Prime Air, in a LinkedIn post. “For the first time, our drone is fully integrated into the Amazon Fulfillment Network. Our drones are at an Amazon fulfillment center in Tolleson [Arizona], ready to provide delivery speeds of less than an hour.”
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos first unveiled plans for Prime Air more than a decade ago, but the initiative has been slow to materialize in the face of regulatory hurdles and cost-cutting efforts by Bezos’ successor as CEO, Andy Jassy.
It’s not the only company working on delivery drones, either. Matternet, UPS, Walmart, Alphabet-owned Wing, and Zipline are all competing for a piece of the sky. —AN
Mozilla lays off 30% of workforce
For some time now, it’s been looking shaky at Mozilla. Now the organization has dropped the other shoe.
The Mozilla Foundation—nonprofit parent to the Mozilla Corporation that makes the Firefox browser—has laid off 30% of its approximately 120 employees, according to TechCrunch. A statement given to the publication includes the usual layoff language around boosting focus, agility, and speed.
It’s been a rough year for Mozilla. Laura Chambers stepped into the interim CEO role in February; the firm laid off workers in its for-profit arm shortly after. This time Mozilla’s advocacy and global programs are on the chopping block.
According to StatCounter, the Firefox browser claimed almost 3% of the global market last month, behind Google’s Chrome (67%), Apple’s Safari (18%), and Microsoft’s Edge (5%). —AN
Interpol arrests 41 people for cybercrime
Interpol—no, not that one, hipsters—said Tuesday that it had taken down more than 22,000 malicious IP addresses or servers in a global operation involving 95 nations and private corporations such as Trend Micro and Kaspersky.
The sting targeted phishing, ransomware, and other information-stealing activity. Forty-one individuals were arrested; another 65 remain under investigation.
The details are rather cinematic. More than 1,000 servers were taken offline in Hong Kong and almost 300 more in Macau. Nearly two dozen houses were searched in Mongolia. Server data was seized in Estonia; electronic devices were taken in Madagascar. (If you told me James Bond was en route on a motorcycle, I’d believe you.)
“Together, we’ve not only dismantled malicious infrastructure but also prevented hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey to cybercrime,” said Interpol cybercrime director Neal Jetton. As Roger Moore once remarked: What a helpful chap. —AN
Nintendo cuts Switch outlook as its era comes to a close
Seven years after its introduction, Nintendo’s Switch is finally succumbing to slowing demand.
The Japanese gaming company on Tuesday cut its annual sales forecast for the popular product—its No. 2 best-selling console behind the Nintendo DS—from 13.5 million units to 12.5 million. It also recorded a 69% drop in profit, to 27.7 billion yen (or about $180 million), from the same quarter a year ago.
Nintendo said in May that it would announce the Switch’s successor sometime before the end of its fiscal year, which ends in March. But little information has emerged beyond that the future device would be able to play today’s Switch titles.
The company was able to give its current console a new life last year thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, plus the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. But it didn’t last. Hey, if all else fails, at least a Super Mario Bros. Sequel is in the works. —AN
FTC sues fintech app Dave for misleading consumers
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has accused Dave, a popular mobile banking app, of misleading borrowers.
The company allegedly misled consumers about how much money they could obtain and charged undisclosed fees. Dave also allegedly made it difficult for them to cancel their membership.
The L.A. Fintech company launched in 2017 amid a wave of mobile apps with human names. (Marcus, anyone?) Backed by early investors including Tiger Global and Mark Cuban, the so-called neobank went public on Nasdaq in 2022 and is currently valued at about a half-billion dollars.
Instead of loan interest, Dave makes money by charging borrowers fees that give them funds faster. It also suggests tips on transactions; this is one area where users allegedly felt duped, according to the FTC.
“Dave’s ability to charge subscription fees and optional tips and express fees is not in question,” the company said in a statement released with its quarterly financial results. “We believe this case is another example of regulatory overreach by the FTC, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves.” —AN
More data
—Perplexity’s AI answered election questions rivals wouldn’t. The results? Hazy!
—UK regulator says Vodafone and Three can merge—if they invest billions in infrastructure.
—Electricity shortfalls in Taiwan are an issue for TSMC, the world’s largest pure-play chipmaker.
—AMD outsells Intel in datacenter chips for the first time, according to new analysis.
—How China’s Salt Typhoon hackers did it. Call logs, unencrypted texts, and audio, oh my.
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