5 important things happening in tech today

Graphics cards going up for sale in China after the mining crackdown.

Google accused of buying off Samsung, allowing itself a monopoly over the Play Store.

REvil’s supply-chain ransomware attack via Kaseya’s VSP did not target victims’ backups, making it easy for some companies to recover without paying the ransom.

Microsoft is giving employees worldwide a $1,500 pandemic bonus.

Qualcomm launches its own smartphone.

Here is what is happening  in the tech world today:

• Chinese graphics cards on sale: Following China’s aggressive crackdowns on crypto-mining in June, masses of graphics cards are going up for sale secondhand. Alibaba-owned secondhand marketplace, Xianyu, has a wide range of graphics cards for sale, from prices around R9,000 for RTX 3060 cards, up to R17,000 for RTX 3080 cards.

• Google accused of Play Store monopoly: An investigation that began in 2019 has found that Google preserved its Play Store monopoly by paying developers to exclusively use its storefront for Android. According to Reuters, the lawsuit also claimed that Google intended to pay Samsung to stop competing with the Play Store, which was a threat after Fortnite launched exclusively for Android on the Samsung Store in 2018. Google’s appeal takes place on 22 July 2021.

• REvil ransomware did not attack backups: Bleeping Computer reported that the REvil hackers did very little to wipe the backups of companies hit by its attack on Kaseya’s VSP software. Many firms are now simply restoring their systems from backups instead of paying the ransom.

• Microsoft awarding pandemic bonuses: Microsoft will be giving out $1,500 (R21,500) worth of bonuses to employees worldwide, The Verge reported. The company has 175,508 employees worldwide, including South African offices in Bryanston, Johannesburg. The report stated that Microsoft subsidiaries such as Github, LinkedIn, and ZeniMax will not be receiving bonuses to allocate to employees.

• Qualcomm launches its own smartphone: The company whose chips can be found in Samsung and iPhone devices has now launched its own smartphone. It costs $1,500 (R21,500, excluding VAT and duties) and was dubbed the “Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders”. The phone is made in collaboration with Asus and is aimed at a community of 1.6 million “Snapdragon insiders” — fans and enthusiasts of the company. GSMArena has a full breakdown of the device.

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