Tech Roundup: Facebook TV, Snap Inc. IPO & More

[A recurring feature on the latest in Science & Technology.]

Alphabet/Google:

• Google wins four 'right to be forgotten' cases in Japan after appealing an earlier decision to take down allegedly defamatory reviews on its Maps service.
• Open sources Chrome web browser for iOS and makes it available via Chromium project; adds QR code and barcode scanner in its latest update (no Android love?).
• Allows Progressive Web Apps added to an Android smartphone's home screen to show up in app drawer like a regular app; gains capabilities to send notifications and ask for permissions on Android.
• Trims its fanciful moonshot plans; sells Terra Bella satellite business (formerly Skybox) to Planet Labs, the latter also acqui-hiring 80 Alphabet employees as part of the deal.
• To reportedly discontinue Google Now Launcher on Android; asks app devs/OEMs to integrate Now panel separately via search launcher libraries.
• To shut down Hands Free pilot hands-free mobile payment system on February 8.

Apple:

• Removes activation lock status checker tool from iCloud; may possibly have played a role in San Bernardino iPhone 5c unlocking case.
• Warns app developers to transition from 32-bit to 64-bit apps with iOS 10.3 beta.
• Has a record holiday quarter with sales of 78.3 million iPhones even as iPad sales shrink further below to 13.3 million units.
• To open iPhone manufacturing facility in Peenya, Bangalore; will start mass-producing iPhones later this year to cater to the domestic market.

Facebook:

• To add real-time location tracking in WhatsApp; begins testing new feature that lets users revoke sent messages as long as the recipient has not seen them.
• Wants to be your next TV; plans talks with media companies to offer up "TV-like" streaming shows upward of 10 minutes in length.
• Debuts "Discover People" feature to discover new friends and expand your circle.
• Ordered to pay ZeniMax US$ 500 million after finding Palmer Luckey (and hence Oculus VR) guilty on charges relating to false designation, copyright and trademark infringement; not found guilty of allegation that Oculus rift VR was built from technology stolen from ZeniMax.
• Makes 84% of its ad revenue from mobile, the same as last quarter, accounting for US$ 7.24 billion; slowing ad revenue on its flagship social network compensated by ads on Instagram, live video and very soon Messenger.

In other news:

• UC Berkeley researchers confirm a brand new type of matter called time crystals.
• Electric trains in Norway become fully powered by wind energy.
• A team of scientists from the U.K., China and Germany find the oldest human ancestor called Saccorhytus.
• Paleontologists discover proteins in a 195-million-year-old Lufengosaurus dinosaur fossil.
• Snapchat makes official its plans for $3 billion IPO on New York Stock Exchange despite growth concerns and intense Facebook competition.
• Masaya Nakamura, father of the popular Pac-Man game, passes away at 91.
• Hackers hijack smart locks installed at a hotel in Austria; management pays ransom in Bitcoins to reactivate their systems.
• Coffee company Starbucks adds a voice assistant to its app to allow users place orders.
• Nextbit, the cloud smartphone startup that released Robin, gets acquired by gaming hardware company Razer; to cease operations but will offer Android support till next year. 
• Ride-sharing startup Lyft surges to the top of App Store after #deleteUber social media campaign goes viral.
• Video creation app Flipagram gets acquires by Chinese news aggregator Toutiao.
• Social pinboard network Pinterest brings ads to search results page.
• Tesla Motors Inc rebrands to just Tesla Inc.
• Uber suspends services in Taiwan after regulators find issue with its use of 'unlicensed' drivers.
• Pokemon Go becomes the fast game to hit US$ 1 billion in revenue.
• Samsung Pay rolls out Samsung Pay Mini in South Korea for paying items online on the web.
• Mozilla officially discontinues Firefox OS for smartphones.
• Sony to add support for external hard drives in an upcoming software update for PlayStation 4; also features a 'Boost Mode' for PS4 Pro that improves gameplay and frame rates.
• Viber becomes the latest instant messaging service to add secret messages that disappear after a life-span of 7 seconds.