Canon is shipping chipless ink cartridges, Reddit’s antiwork form gains popularity, and Google removes functions from its smart speakers after losing a lawsuit.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Monday, January 10th, and I’m your host, Tom Li.
Pressured by the semiconductor shortage, Canon has begun shipping ink cartridges without electronics in them. According to the company, it embeds chips in its ink cartridges to detect its performance such as ink levels. Without them, the company warns that its new cartridges may not inform the printer when they’re running low. But the lack of chips is causing the printers to see the cartridges as counterfeit. Canon has released instructions on its website to bypass the errors, essentially telling its customers how to bypass its ink DRM function. The company plans on shipping chipless cartridges until normal supply is restored.
Reddit’s Antiwork forum has exploded in popularity. The community, established to encourage people to find better job opportunities and shame unruly bosses, has seen a huge uptick in members during the pandemic. The enormous stress placed on essential workers, especially in the service industry, has increased awareness in their working conditions. This sentiment has spilled over beyond just the community online. While it’s difficult to gauge its effects, the service and retail industry, particularly ones in the U.S., is experiencing difficulties finding people to fill open positions.
And finally, Google was forced to remove some features from its smart speakers after losing a patent lawsuit to Sonos. As per a letter posted on its community forum, Google informed its users that they will no longer be able to change the volume of multiple speakers together using a single control. This isn’t the end to the fiasco, however, as a Thurrott report noted that Google has infringed upon five Sonos patents, so more changes will likely come in the near future.
And now for something a bit different. The Italian police found a wanted mafia fugitive thanks to Google Maps. The fugitive was on the run in Spain while living under a fake name. According to a CNN report, the Italian police launched a deeper investigation after spotting a man in Google Maps who resembled the wanted person. Another report from The Daily Beast revealed that the Italian police wasn’t just prowling on Google Maps all day, but rather used it to search for clues after an anonymous tipoff. The research eventually led to the restaurant owned by the fugitive, exposing his location and leading to the arrest.
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 briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, if you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Tom Li.