CNBC – Tech News

Microsoft is shutting down Skype after a 21-year run. Here’s how it lost out to video call rivals

On Friday, Microsoft announced that the 21-year-old calling and messaging service will shut down May 5. The software company is encouraging Skype users to migrate to its free Teams app. “This is obviously a big, big moment for us, and we’re certainly very grateful in many ways,” Teper said. “Skype pioneered audio and video calling on the web for many, many people.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/28/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams.html

LinkedIn says it has verified 55 million users in effort to combat AI’s spread of scams, misinformation

“You now see things like deep-fake videos, photos that are increasingly harder with the naked eye to understand if they’re real or fake,” Oscar Rodriguez, LinkedIn’s vice president of trust and safety, told CNBC in an interview. “That line-blurring is what we believe poses a significant challenge in combating things like misinformation, faking expertise and so forth.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/25/linkedin-has-verified-55-million-users-to-combat-ai-misinformation.html

Hands-on with Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype and the possible future of computing

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the Orion glasses on Wednesday and pitched them as “a glimpse of a future that I think is going to be pretty exciting.” The glasses are black and thick framed and come with a wireless “puck” that allows the device to run apps like a holographic game of digital chess or pingpong that appear as digital graphics spliced into the real world.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/27/hands-on-with-metas-orion-augmented-reality-smart-glasses-prototype.html

X blocked in Brazil after supreme court panel upholds suspension order

A panel of Brazil’s federal supreme court justices voted unanimously to uphold orders suspending the use of Elon Musk’s social network X nationwide. X had earlier defied court requests to take down accounts or posts that it said violated Brazil’s laws on political misinformation and hate speech online.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/02/x-blocked-in-brazil-after-court-majority-upholds-suspension-order.html

The U.S. wants ByteDance to sell TikTok. China is almost certainly going to refuse

The House on Wednesday approved a bill that requires ByteDance to divest TikTok within roughly six months in order for the app “to remain available in the United States.” However, China would likely block a sale of TikTok U.S., analysts told CNBC.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/14/tiktok-ban-china-would-block-sale-of-short-video-app.html

Former Apple designers launch $700 Humane AI Pin as smartphone replacement

Humane, a five-year-old artificial intelligence startup founded by former Apple designers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, announced its first product on Thursday — a $699 pin you wear on your lapel. The Humane AI Pin is designed to replace your smartphone, allowing the user to make calls, send texts and look up information through voice controls. It also has a laser display, turning your palm into a mini screen that can show the time, date or what’s nearby.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/09/former-apple-designers-at-humane-launch-hands-free-ai-powered-pin.html