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

Evan Spiegel

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

1. Apple issued a security fix for macOS High Sierra's root vulnerability. The company also said that it's auditing its development process to prevent similar problems in the future.

2. Snap's CEO Evan Spiegel wrote an op-ed in which he explains how social media fueled the fake news problem. He said that one of the main objectives of the upcoming Snapchat redesign is to clearly separate the "social" from the "media."

3. Essential founder and CEO Andy Rubin is taking a temporary leave from his company. His decision followed reports of an inappropriate relationship he reportedly had while he was at Google.

4. Snap unveiled the details of its redesigned app. It looks and works largely the same, but now puts stronger emphasis on the clear division between friends and professional creators.

5. Apple is suing semiconductor maker Qualcomm. The Cupertino giant, which is facing a series of legal disputes against the chipmaker, has countersued Qualcomm, claiming that a number of its Snapdragon chips infringe some of Apple's patents.

6. Microsoft has announced plans to overhaul its main Redmond headquarters. The project is a multibillion-dollar redevelopment operation, it aims to bring in over 8,000 new employees, and will take between five and seven years to complete.

7. YouTube has announced a beta preview of "Reels," its own take on the popular "story" format. It will live in a separate tab on the app, and allow creators to quickly upload short videos.

8. Facebook is testing an alternative to CAPTCHAs. It will ask users to upload a photo of them to verify that they're human, but pledges to delete the picture permanently after checking.

9. Google has announced a new Android app called Datally. It allows users to monitor how much data each app consumes at a granular level, as well as scan for local, public WiFi and ask users feedback to then give recommendations and improve the experience for future users.

10. Amazon is reportedly preparing to launch "Alexa for Business." The new feature should open a separate marketplace for business apps, where the company will store all the new business-focused skills built by launch partners.

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