This Week’s Top Tech Headlines: Ransomware, Linux on Windows, AI Moves
A weekly roundup covers the surge of ONION ransomware on Chinese campuses, Microsoft's addition of Linux distros to the Windows Store, major AI and AR investments, open‑source JavaScript optimization, IBM's API microgateway, shifting web‑server market shares, data's rising value, Google's Cloud Speech launch, and Android's Project Treble to curb fragmentation.
Global ransomware outbreak hits Chinese university networks
Recent infections of the ONION ransomware have encrypted files with a .onion extension on several Chinese campuses, using strong encryption that forces victims to pay high ransoms to recover data.
Microsoft embraces Linux on Windows Store
Microsoft announced that three Linux distributions—Ubuntu, SUSE and Fedora—will be available in the Windows 10 Store, building on the Windows Subsystem for Linux introduced in 2016 to attract developers to the platform.
Alibaba leads $6‑$8 billion Series D for AR startup Magic Leap
Magic Leap, an AR company that recently faced a publicity scandal, is raising a new round of financing led by Alibaba, valuing the firm at $60‑$80 billion despite uncertainty in the AR/VR market.
Apple acquires AI startup Turi for $200 million
Apple bought Seattle‑based machine‑learning startup Turi, known for GraphLab Create and other predictive‑service tools, to strengthen Siri and other Apple services.
Facebook open‑sources JavaScript optimizer Prepack
Prepack is a partial evaluator that runs at compile time to replace runtime calculations with static values, reducing object allocations and improving execution speed.
IBM releases open‑source API Microgateway
The IBM API Microgateway provides traffic management, OAuth support, policy enforcement, a graphical API designer for YAML specs, and a lightweight data store for API models.
Nginx overtakes Apache with 33.3 % market share
Nginx has become the fastest‑growing web server, now holding a third of the market, while Apache’s share has fallen below 50 %.
Data becomes the world’s most valuable asset
Data is now considered more valuable than oil, with major internet giants controlling it and attracting antitrust scrutiny.
Google launches Cloud Speech API
Google’s Cloud Speech API, now generally available, lets developers add pre‑trained machine‑learning models for speech, image and text recognition, including dynamic translation.
Google tackles Android fragmentation with Project Treble
Project Treble, unveiled before Google I/O 2017, aims to simplify and speed up Android OS upgrades, reducing fragmentation and OEM costs.
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