What's hot in Tech - Daily News - December 22nd

• Bubble? Long Island Iced Tea Soars on New Name: Long Blockchain
• Apple is developing EKG heart monitor for its future Watch threatening Swiss watch makers
• Alphabet announces that Eric Schmidt will step down as Chairman in January
• A vote on “net neutrality” has intensified a battle over the internet’s future

Bubble? Long Island Iced Tea Soars on New Name: Long Blockchain

There’s a new leader in the sweepstakes for the zaniest name change in the crypto craze. Long Island Iced Tea Corp. shares rose as much as 289 percent after the unprofitable Hicksville, New York-based company rebranded itself Long Blockchain Corp. It’s the latest in a near-daily phenomenon sweeping the stock market, where obscure microcap companies reorient to focus on some aspect of the mania sparked by bitcoin’s 1,500 percent rally this year.
Long Blockchain, whose business has been selling non-alcoholic beverages, says it will now seek to partner with or invest in companies that develop the decentralized ledgers known as blockchain but its shares may be benefiting from the announcement, but so far the company has little to show for its aspirations. It has no agreements with any blockchain firms, and says “there is no assurance that a definitive agreement with these, or any other entity, will be entered into or ultimately consummated.”
Long Island Iced Tea had a net loss of $3.9 million on sales of $1.6 million in the three months ended Sept. 30. The company has lost $11.6 million on sales of $3.9 million in the first nine months of the year.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2017/12/21/long-island-iced-tea-shares-soar-after-changing-name-to-long-blockchain/

Apple is developing EKG heart monitor for its future Watch threatening Swiss watch makers

Apple is developing an advanced heart-monitoring feature for future versions of its smartwatch, part of a broader push by the company to turn what was once a luxury fashion accessory into a serious medical device. A version being tested requires users to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two fingers from the hand that’s not wearing the device, one of the people said. It then passes an imperceptible current across the person’s chest to track electrical signals in the heart and detect any abnormalities like irregular heart rates. Such conditions can increase the risk of strokes and heart failure and develop in about one-quarter of people over 40, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Wall Street Journal argues that at smartwatch price points, Apple is set to steal sales from Swatch and, to a lesser degree, Richemont.

Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/21/16806656/apple-watch-ekg-heart-monitor-future-models-development

Alphabet announces that Eric Schmidt will step down as Chairman in January

Alphabet announced that, as of its next regular board meeting in January 2018, Eric Schmidt will be transitioning from his position as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, becoming a technical advisor to the company while continuing to serve on its board. A person close to the company tells the WSJ that Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been discussing the issue. Current and former employees tell the WSJ of somewhat racy, if financially irrelevant, details of Schmidt's personal life.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-ericschmidt/alphabets-eric-schmidt-to-step-down-as-executive-chairman-idUSKBN1EF2Z1?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

A vote on “net neutrality” has intensified a battle over the internet’s future

The FCC's vote to rescind "net neutrality" regulations elicited vigorous responses from regulators and companies on both sides of the issue. Rather than end the fight over how to regulate the internet in the US, the FCC's vote has escalated it. It may be years before the ramifications are clear; in the short term, ISPs are unlikely to risk upsetting regulators and consumers by flagrantly throttling rival services. For now, telecoms giants are likely to concentrate on limiting the scope of any future regulations.

Read more & Source: https://www.economist.com/news/business/21732823-americas-fcc-repeals-obama-era-rules-ensure-all-web-traffic-treated-equally-vote/