An Amazon outage knocks out connected vacuum cleaners and other “smart” objects, Shopify gets a shoutout in the New York Times as its compared to Amazon, and a Tesla gets hacked with a Raspberry Pi.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday, November 27, and I’m your host Alex Coop.
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People Can’t Vacuum Or Use Their Doorbell Because Amazon’s Cloud Servers Are Down from technology
All eyes were on Amazon yesterday after one of its major server centres ran into issues, knocking out all-manner of “smart devices” relying on the AWS cloud. According to Gizmodo, Many of the services we use everyday — Adobe cloud software, 1Password, Flickr — have been running into issues due to the outage. And then, of course, the company that produces Roombas, iRobot, confirmed they (along with their robot mops) were no longer working. Hundreds took to Twitter to voice their frustration as “smart doorbells” and other devices stopped working.
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Shopify has become a formidable force against Amazon during the pandemic by focusing on merchants — not customers — while giving sellers comparable real-world functions. This is part of the winning formula, according to The New York Times’ Yiren Lu, who recently wrote about her experience as a merchant on the platform. She praises Shopify’s “direct to consumer” approach and social commerce partnerships with Facebook and influencers. She wrote if Shopify continues to focus on sellers, it’s poised to become the “anti-Amazon.” Meaning that rather than fight for bare bottom prices and overnight shipping, the focus will be on quality and trust.
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Tesla Model X hacked with $195 Raspberry Pi based board – Embedded.com from technology
And finally, researchers from Belgium managed to hack the keyless entry system in a Tesla Model X with the help of a self-made device that costs less than $200. The proof of concept attack was executed with a self-made device built from inexpensive equipment, which included a $35 Raspberry Pi computer, a CAN shield for $30, a modified key fob from a salvaged vehicle – which you can find for $100 on eBay – and a $30 lithium polymer battery.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening.