10 things in tech you need to know today (AAPL, GOOG, MSFT, FB, AMZN, SSNLF)

Ajit Pai

Good morning! Here is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday.

1. A critical bug in Apple's macOS High Sierra is reportedly allowing users to log in by leaving the password field blank. Users can use a workaround, but need to enable a root account and add a password manually.

2. A US district judge said that Uber "withheld information" from him in the trade secrets case against Google's Waymo. The trial, initially tipped to start next week, has been delayed.

3. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai used harsh words against Silicon Valley giants that are opposing regulation. He said that companies like Twitter and Facebook use "the regulatory process to cement their dominance," and pose a bigger threat than ISPs.

4. Uber's net losses have reportedly widened in 2017. The company lost $1.46 billion (£1.08 billion) in Q3, while the net loss for Q2 was $1.06 billion (£789 million).

5. Facebook has started testing a new Messenger feature called Broadcast. It allows businesses to send marketing messages to users, but it's not clear if or when it will be rolled out more broadly.

6. Samsung has bought Fluenty, a South Korean startup that specialises in artificial intelligence. The team will likely help the electronics giant to enhance its Bixby digital assistant.

7. Developers using Amazon's Alexa can start using notifications on supported devices like the Echo. They can alert users using light and audio cues, and will soon be able to personalise apps based on users' voices.

8. WeWork has officially agreed to buy Meetup, an offline meeting organiser and social network. The deal is apparently worth close to $200 million (£150 million).

9. Microsoft is bringing tabs to Windows 10 apps. Tabs are popular in internet browsers, but the company wants to bring the multitasking-oriented experience to all Universal Windows Apps under the name of "Sets."

10. Google has added a new navigation tab to search called "Finance." It also dropped the portfolio feature from Google Finance, but it doesn't need support for Adobe Flash anymore.

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