Google: All new wall-mountable Nest Mini

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Google's Home Mini may receive a sizeable upgrade when its Nest-brandedsequel arrives. Sources for 9 to 5 Google claim an upcoming Nest Mini will represent a "substantial" improvement. For one, it wouldn't be confined to desks and tables – it would reportedly included a built-in wall mount. You could place it on a wall in the middle of the hallway if that's the most convenient place. It would also have upgraded sound, including better bass and a louder maximum volume. And yes, there would be a headphone jack to plug in external speakers.


Next step data protection

It's common to secure data when its sitting put or flying to its destination, but not so much when you're actually using it – there's still a risk someone could peek at your content while you work. Industry heavyweights might help keep your info secure at every step, though. Google, Intel, Microsoft and seven other companies have formed the Confidential Computing Consortium to help in "defining and accelerating" open source tech that delivers truly private data access. Ideally, data will always be encrypted or otherwise limited to whoever is meant to be looking. There's a lot of work to be done before the CCC bears fruit. It’s easy to make a public commitment to the notion of confidential computing, but it's another matter to follow through.


Libra’s new competition

Facebook's Libra hasn't even properly launched yet (and it won't for many more months), and competitors are already cropping up. Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume, has announced Project Venus, an initiative to create localized stablecoins – cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to that of an asset such as gold or the U.S. dollar – all across the globe. Like Facebook's Libra, Venus is an open blockchain project, and Binance is seeking partners among governments and corporations to create stablecoins that will "empower developed and developing countries to spur new currencies.”

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