tech:

taffy

Western Digital Board Currently In China, Exploring Opportunities

The_Great_Wall_of_China_at_JinshanlingThe Westen Digital board is currently on a tour of China, exploring business opportunities. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright accompanied the company officials in China, on behalf of the Albright Stonebridge Group.

Western Digital officials took a meeting with Chinese vice premier Wang Yang, and the U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke, hosted the board at a reception at his residence in Beijing, says the company.

Steve Milligan (President and chief executive officer, Western Digital): As China further develops its technology industries, we look forward to expanding our relationships with a wide range of Chinese entities for the benefit of our shareholders, as well as our Chinese partners.

The board will continue its discussions while in Shenzhen, the location of key HGST manufacturing facilities. HGST is a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital.  

[Image courtesy: Severin.stalder/Wikipedia]

Just in

Apple sued in a landmark iPhone monopoly lawsuit — CNN

The US Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the giant company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, writes Brian Fung, Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez.

Google is bringing satellite messaging to Android 15 — The Verge

Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived, bringing long-awaited support for satellite connectivity alongside several improvements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and interaction with PDFs via apps, writes Jess Weatherbed. 

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is paid more than the heads of Meta, Pinterest, and Snap — combined — QZ

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman has been blasted by Redditors and in media reports over his recently-revealed, super-sized pay package of $193 million in 2023, writes Laura Bratton. 

British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman joins Microsoft — BBC

Microsoft has announced British Artificial Intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman will lead its newly-formed division, Microsoft AI, according to the BBC report. 

UnitedHealth Group has paid more than $2 billion to providers following cyberattack — CNBC

UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it’s paid out more than $2 billion to help health-care providers who have been affected by the cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare, writes Ashley Capoot.