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Today’s topics include reports that Apple is working on new display technology at a top secret Taiwan lab, improved security and anti-tracking defenses in latest version of Mozilla Firefox, Apple and IBM deliver more than 100 MobileFirst for iOS apps, and mobile chip maker Qualcomm’s decision against splitting up the company.
According to a Dec. 14 report by Bloomberg News, Apple has a team of 50 engineers working on new display production technologies in a secret laboratory.
The lab was opened earlier this year in Taiwan. The goal is for the company to build some of its own displays in the future, in the hopes of producing thinner, lighter, brighter and more energy-efficient displays for iPads, iPhones and other products.
Mozilla released its open-source Firefox 43 browser, which provides a number of security enhancements and patches vulnerabilities. The update comes not far behind the company’s November release of Firefox 42, and will likely be the last for the company this year.
With Firefox 43, the tracking protection that debuted in 42 is being extended to block trackers that are found in embedded content such as video and photos. Version 43 also includes a patch that supports what is known as Subresource Integrity, or SRI, which is a technology that allows Websites to ensure that their dependencies can’t attack their users.
Yesterday, Apple and IBM announced the release of a new wave of IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps. This increases the number of apps in the portfolio to more than 100 and expands it to more industries and professions.
Since the partnership started in 2014, the Apple and IBM collaboration has yielded a slew of made-for-business apps—nearly 50 in the last month alone—that transform work across 14 industries and 65 professions.
Qualcomm officials have announced that they will keep the company intact. The company believes the best way to deal with its various business challenges is by ensuring that the vendor’s chip-making and licensing businesses stay together.
Announced on Dec. 15, the decision comes after a months-long review by a special committee comprising members of the company’s board of directors, and after activist investor Jana Partners urged Qualcomm executives to consider the move to increase the company’s value and return more money to shareholders.