Is Showtime getting into the crypto-currency mining business? AMD’s inclusion in a new Atari system is giving it a boost. And au revoir Uber – the firm says it’s leaving Quebec.
Trending on Reddit, CBS Showtime quietly took over users’ web browsers to do some crypto-currency mining. Showtime.com used JavaScript to spend spare processing power to crunch algorithms for Monero coins. That’s an alternative to Bitcoin. What’s not clear right now is if CBS planted the code itself, or it’s the work of a hacker. Code Hive, the service the supplies the code as an alternative to online ads, confirmed that a personal email address was behind the account, not a CBS email.
On Google Trends, processor maker AMD is on top. A leaked roadmap appears to show its plans through to 2019. Coming to the desktop market next year is “Pinnacle Ridge.” This Would be an improvement over the current Summit Ridge architecture. In 2019, a new chip architecture is planned for a chip called “Matisse.” Plus, AMD was announced as a core hardware partner for the Ataribox. This is a new set top box that will combine classic Atari videogames with some sort of custom Linux OS and sell for about $300. A crowdfunding campaign is planned for this Fall.
On Twitter, Uber is pulling out of Quebec. The digital cab hailing company says it will close operations in the province by October 14 unless rules are relaxed. The new rules come after a one year pilot project allowing Uber to operate legally comes to an end. Quebec wants Uber to do the same as other taxi companies and provide each of its drivers 35 hours of training. That’s a hike up from the current requirement of 21 hours. Uber’s general manager for Quebec says the rules are the most strict out of any jurisdiction it operates in.