During a few days from July 11 to 13, Silicon Valley will take a break from being the center of the tech universe. Instead, the epicenter will shift to Aspen, Colo., where Fortune will be hosting Brainstorm Tech, our annual technology conference filled with big-name executives, big thinkers, and big investors.
OK, I admit that I’m a bit biased about the event. But still, this is something you’ll want to tune into—either in person or by watching a livestream of the discussions from the main stage.
On Monday, Fortune unveiled the preliminary list of the conference speakers, many of whom you may recognize. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins, and Dropbox CEO Drew Houston all will be there.
But it won’t be just techies in the spotlight. In keeping with the idea that every company is a tech company, we’ll have plenty of speakers representing other industries, including General Motors President Dan Ammann, who is trying to keep his company relevant in an era of ride sharing and self-driving cars; Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries, which owns oil pipelines, a lumber business, and a fertilizer producer; and Toys R Us CEO Dave Brandon, who must grapple with the shift by customers to buy online.
Indeed, digital transformation will be a major theme at Brainstorm Tech. Few businesses or jobs, for that matter, are immune. That’s why you’ll want to keep up with what the conference’s many influential participants have to say onstage. And stay tuned for more speakers to be revealed down the road as we get closer to conference’s kick-off.
Verne Kopytoff is a senior editor at Fortune. Follow him on Twitter or reach him via email.
Share this essay: http://for.tn/1qIdilS. Find past editions of Data Sheet.
BITS AND BYTES
Europe suggests new rules for Internet services. The measures proposed by the EU executive council include stricter protection for minors, higher standards for eliminating hate speech, and guidelines for labeling sponsored results within web searches. Video streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix may also be required to ensure that at least 20% of the programming in Europe was produced there. It will likely take years before any of these measures become law. (Fortune)
Microsoft pares smartphone division, again. The company will cut another 1,850 jobs in the mobile phone business it acquired from Nokia. The latest reorganization will result in an accounting charge of $950 million. Microsoft has already written off $7.6 billion related to the Nokia buyout, but it still plans new phones catering specifically to businesses. (New York Times)
Toyota, Volkswagen invest in ride-sharing startups. Toyota's partnership with Uber, which includes an undisclosed investment, will include car-app experiments and a leasing program for Uber drivers. Meanwhile, VW is putting $300 million into Gett, an application popular in Europe. (Fortune, New York Times)
Get ready for another spinoff from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company is unloading its ailing technology services business, which it created through the $13 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems back in 2008. The operation will be merged into a joint venture with Computer Sciences Corp. HPE and CSC will each own half of the new company, which will have annual revenue of approximately $26 billion. (Fortune, Wall Street Journal)
From your app to Siri's ears. Apple plans to let software developers connect mobile apps to Siri, which means people can use voice commands to control them, reports The Information. The company is also reported to be considering a voice-controlled home automation device that would compete with Amazon Echo and Google Home, unveiled last week. (Fortune, The Information)
In rare move, Huawei sues Samsung over patents. The Chinese network equipment firm wants compensation for what it says is unlicensed use of its fourth-generation (4G) wireless communications technology in the South Korean company's smartphones. The challenge was filed in both the United States and China. (Reuters)
About those rumored changes to Twitter's message size constraints. The social media service does indeed plan to adjust how it counts certain characters toward its 140-character limit, such as the "@name" phrase in Tweet replies. But, sadly, the changes don't yet apply to the space eaten up by links to content elsewhere on the web. (Fortune)
Wells Fargo launches mobile wallet. The financial services and banking giant will integrate a new mobile payment system into its mobile app. The service will compete with services from Apple and Google, as well as one from a more direct rival, J.P. Morgan Chase. (Fortune)
Neiman Marcus offers new shopper perk: gadget charging stations. The luxury retailer is installing smartphone-juice-up kiosks in at least 30 stores after a successful trial in Manhattan last year. (Fortune)
Google adds ads to digital maps. The new service now will display promotions from local businesses alongside route information. (Reuters)
Microsoft grants promote global Internet access. The software giant handed out awards for 11 proposals, including a connectivity project in eastern Maine. It has pledged to give away more than $1 billion in cloud services to researchers and nonprofit organizations over the next three years. (Fortune)
THE DOWNLOAD
T-Mobile and Twilio team up on Internet of things service. T-Mobile will provide wireless connections for a new service from communications startup Twilio aimed at the growing Internet of things, or IoT, an emerging market of connected devices including everything from smart sensors to self-driving cars.
Under Twilio’s new effort, developers will be able to tap the company for wireless voice, text or data service that can be embedded into Internet-connected devices or sensors. A connected drone or water meter could use Twilio’s service to send information over T-Mobile’s wireless network back to a customer’s data center, for example. Both Verizon and AT&T are building similar services. (Fortune)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Best Buy CEO has a plan to combat Amazon by Phil Wahba
Why Adidas is turning to robots in Germany and the U.S. by David Meyer
Do this now to protect your LinkedIn account by Jeff John Roberts
Spotify's financial results reinforce just how broken the music business is by Mathew Ingram
Venmo investigation is likely over user privacy violations
by Jeff John Roberts
What Mark Zuckerberg could teach Sumner Redstone by Jeremy Quittner
There's big money in energy big data by Katie Fehrenbacher
Apple designs iPhone-based car key by Don Reisinger
Paris police raid Google offices in $1.8 billion tax investigation
by David Meyer
Email security startup Norwest raises $22 million, CEO says 'funding winter' is here by Robert Hackett
ONE MORE THING
Did Peter Thiel fund Hulk Hogan's Gawker lawsuit? The prominent Silicon Valley investor helped finance Hogan’s lawsuit against the media company for invading his privacy, according to reports by Forbes and The New York Times. (Fortune)
This edition of Data Sheet was edited by Heather Clancy.
