“It should not be called a credit card for sure in part because it’s sort of the anti-credit card,” says Affirm co-founder and CEO Max Levchin. “I don’t need to be provocative but the idea of credit cards fundamentally is to get you to spend, get into debt, and stay in debt. Literally, every single one of these things is the exact opposite for Affirm’s card.”
Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, describes the company’s debit card as the anti-credit card:
Affirm’s Debit Card Is The Anti-Credit Card
It should not be called a credit card for sure in part because it’s sort of the anti-credit card. I don’t need to be provocative but the idea of credit cards fundamentally is to get you to spend, get into debt, and stay in debt. You will not know when you’re done paying off any specific purchase. You’re not really sure exactly how much you’re gonna pay. You should actually expect late fees if you miss a payment.
Literally, every single one of these things is the exact opposite for Affirm’s card. You know exactly what you’re going to pay. You know exactly what the schedule of repayment is and there’ll be no late fees under any circumstances. It’s sort of the exact opposite in many ways. It does serve the same purpose. You get to pay for things right now or over time.
Card Form Factor Is Extraordinarily Elegant
I don’t really know how long the card as a form factor will be with us, but I do think it’s extraordinarily elegant. The majority of the offline world certainly in the US still transacts with plastic and chips these days so I think it’s important to meet the customer where they are. I do know that our user base is primarily millennials and Gen Z’s. They love their debit cards they love to transact with them offline.
The purpose of this product was to bring by functionality that they have really loved online and really offline as well with us but have never had in a card. Particularly, a card that is embedded inside their daily everyday spend tool. The debit card form factor is a metaphor for everyday spend and that’s what we’re trying to get to.
What I Care About Is The Return Of The Country
The primary signal that I care about is the return of the country. We’re all kind of holding our breath a little bit to see when vaccines are coming. There are a bunch of reopenings and, knock on wood, everything sort of starts to come back to a little bit more normal. There’s just an incredible amount of opportunity to grow with this product that we have. It’s seen so much adoption in areas like travel, which has been effectively zero growth for the last several quarters because of the pandemic.
There are lots of interesting new challenges as the country reopens. The dominant thread is that there is that reopening creates a lot more opportunity for this product. We have proven that this product is what our customer wants and needs. This debit card will absolutely meet them where they are as they hopefully come out of their houses and go into restaurants and coffee shops and start traveling and buy tickets.
Affirm’s Debit Card Is The Anti-Credit Card, Says CEO Max Levchin
“If there’s going to be a battle (for EV market share with Lucid Motors) I would take Tesla because of the pure volume that they’re doing,” says Loup Ventures managing partner and founder Gene Munster. “I think scale is going to matter. When you fast forward a decade from now you’re going to see traditional car companies that have been around for a hundred years and their brands are still going to be around but they’re going to be a fraction of the company’s that they are today.”
“You’re going to see companies like Tesla and then potentially Apple getting into a car,” notes Munster. “It’s still not 100 percent clear what their direction is. But about Tesla versus Lucid, I really think about this matching up as Apple versus Tesla long term. That’s where all the sparks are gonna fly.”
Gene Munster: It’s Going To Be Apple vs. Tesla Long Term
“Digital transformation will come out as a faster trend out of the pandemic,” says Workday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri. “What’s been interesting about the pandemic is that for companies that were in the cloud they figured out how to how to thrive and adjust to the new world. Companies that weren’t in the cloud realized that they needed the flexibility, agility, and ability to plan instantaneously. They needed those capabilities.”
Aneel Bhusri, co-CEO of Workday, discusses how the pandemic will drive digital transformation forward at an even faster pace:
Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic
The first three quarters during the pandemic were challenging. The vagaries of subscription accounting models are such that it is a lag indicator. We expect new bookings growth to accelerate this year and that is our primary indicator and the way we run the business. We’re very excited about where we’re headed. That acceleration will probably take at least a year to show up in subscription accounting numbers just because of the way the model works.
What’s been interesting about the pandemic is that for companies that were in the cloud they figured out how to how to thrive and adjust to the new world. Companies that weren’t in the cloud realized that they needed the flexibility, agility, and ability to plan instantaneously. They needed those capabilities. In many ways, companies like Nike that are just such great market-leading companies, recognize that they needed to move this capability to the cloud. So I think actually digital transformation will come out as a faster trend out of the pandemic.
Employee Engagement Rose To The Top Of The List
It comes back to the flexibility and agility that that cloud solutions like Workday provide. We’ve been very fortunate. We’re so happy to have Laboratory Corporation of America become a customer. J&J is a customer. Visor’s a customer. AstraZeneca is a customer. I just feel honored to be able to support these companies who are doing the best they can to save our lives and are just doing amazing work with the vaccines and testing. We’ve always had a strength in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics role. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they’re successful because they’re taking care of all of us.
Coming back to what we learned during the pandemic, employee engagement just rose to the top of every CEO’s list and every head of HR’s list. In a remote work orientation, it was harder to really understand how do employees think about the company they work at, their engagement level, their comfort with their manager, and if they are feeling fulfilled at work. We were already down the path at Workday with something called Pulse Surveys. We recognized that this emerging trend was going to be critical going forward.
We Fell In Love With Peakon So We Acquired Them
We concluded that we had to get in this market now, the market’s happening now, and Peakon is the well-known leader in this category. Peakon is a UK-based company with an amazing management team. We fell in love with the product and the management team so we made them part of Workday. They’re one of the new generations of companies that’s machine learning first.
They really use machine learning in the right way to guide decisions and really give you insight into how employees are thinking about the company that they’re working for and how engaged are they. That is a supercritical set of information that’s going to drive companies going forward.
Digital Transformation To Be Faster Trend Out Of Pandemic, Says Worday co-CEO Aneel Bhusri
Blockchain App Factory announced that it developed a deFi exchange platform that offers security, speed, and transparency for every exchange with the power of distributed ledger technology.
One of the trends in the cryptocurrency and blockchain arena in 2021 has effectively shifted how all traditional financial services, including saving, trading, insurance, loans, and exchanges work is Decentralized Finance, providing services globally in a permissionless system built on the Blockchain infrastructure. One of the projects within this DeFi landscape is Decentralized Exchange platforms (DEX).
Built with Smart Contracts and integrated with Cryptocurrency wallets, DeFi DEXs automatically match buyers and sellers and provide fast and safe transactions for the users. This accessible and straightforward approach to managing funds was well accepted among users and is drawing more crypto enthusiasts to such platforms.
The product offers futuristic Defi exchange services like binance supported wallet, web3 browser extensions, coin swap protocol, tradability, and so on. The entire DeFi exchange is transparent, and the blocks allow to track every transaction. The unlimited trade option enables you to set the value for your purchase and alert you with a notification once the price hits the value. The trading view offers technical analysis to have a successful trading experience. Also, the user has the freedom to track successful trade wallets and the wallet of your interest.
Customized Tokens are generated from each exchange that allows the user to stake and invest through yield farming protocols for revenue generation. The interchangeable tokens will enable the user to swap tokens across any platform for a low cost. The product reaches the market cap of $97,333,797, which is fully diluted in the pool with a volume of $6,669,128.
The product’s liquidity pool supports a binance network, which allows for seamless trade options and stake tokens in the liquidity pool. The top exchanges are MXC.COM, Hoo, Uniswap (V2), Biloxi, and Hotbit. The protocol’s unique liquidity engine offers rewards to liquidity providers, and it is integrated with uniswap exchange. This product allows you to integrate third-party wallets of your interest.
JetBlue announced it has formally taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo (new engine option) aircraft configured with the airline’s reimagined premium Mint® experience and an all-new onboard layout, featuring comfort and connectivity perks that set the airline apart from other U.S. carriers. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at JetBlue’s home at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) tonight from the Airbus production facility in Hamburg, Germany.
JetBlue’s A321neo with Mint features 16 Mint suites – including two Mint Studios – and 144 core seats. It will first operate on select flights between New York-JFK and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this summer. Today’s delivery – tail N2105J named “NEO Mintality” – brings JetBlue’s total fleet count to 270 aircraft, is the airline’s 16th A321neo and the first of this aircraft type to feature Mint.
Via JetBlue
“With so much excitement around JetBlue’s London plans, we’re delighted to also introduce our fabulous, all-new transatlantic Mint suites to customers on select flights within the U.S.,” said Jayne O’Brien, head of marketing and loyalty, JetBlue. “Our reimagined Mint and award-winning core experience, combined with the superior economics of the A321neo aircraft, will position JetBlue to compete effectively and add relevance to our customers in Mint markets.”
“JetBlue continues to leverage the versatility of the A321neo — now featuring JetBlue’s Mint cabin design. The A321neo is ideally suited to the North American market with a winning combination of increased range and lower operating costs thanks to the aircraft’s reduced fuel burn,” said Chris Jones, Senior Vice President – Customers, Airbus Americas. “The passenger friendliness associated with the A321 cabin blend very well with these enhanced operating efficiencies and are ideally suited to meet the demands of trans-continental travel – perfect for JetBlue’s US routes between JFK and LAX this summer.”
Travelers can spot the A321neo with Mint by its unique “Ribbons” tailfin. The design features three blues from the airline’s brand palette and is the first tailfin inspired by so-called “Op Art” – as in optical art – using simple shapes to create the illusion of three dimensions and movement.
JetBlue Takes Delivery of Its First “Reimagined” Airbus A321neo
All Suites, All the Time The first major design overhaul of Mint – designed in partnership with Acumen Design Associates – will debut on select flights between New York and Los Angeles this summer.
We made every Mint seat a suite: JetBlue’s reimagined Mint will offer more privacy with 16 aisle-access suites. Every inch of space anticipates customer needs, with features including a tilting 17-inch Thales AVANT seatback screen, wireless charging capabilities, an integrated phone ledge for multitasking, and easy-to-reach in-seat power, as well as laptop, shoe and handbag stowage. JetBlue is the first carrier to outfit its aircraft with Thompson Aero Seating’s VantageSOLO seat, the company’s revolutionary single aisle seating solution with a herringbone configuration developed and designed specifically for narrow-body aircraft and further customized for JetBlue.
Mint Studio is the pinnacle of space and privacy: The all-new Mint Studio – conceptualized by Acumen and developed in partnership with AIM Altitude – is JetBlue’s latest game-changing innovation, offering the most space in a premium experience from any U.S. airline (a). Each aircraft will have two Mint Studios in the first row, providing ample room for working or relaxing, and featuring a 22-inch tilting Thales AVANT seatback screen, an extra side table for added productivity, and a guest seat that can accommodate an additional Mint customer during flight at cruising altitude. When reclined, customers can kick back and relax on the largest lie-flat bed of any U.S. carrier (b).
Our proprietary seat design is truly a bed in the sky: JetBlue tapped Tuft & Needle – the innovative mattress company that pioneered the bed-in-a-box trend – to shape the entire Mint sleep experience onboard. Engineered for comfort, every Mint seat is layered with Tuft & Needle’s proprietary T&N Adaptive® foam and a breathable cover to create a cool and comfortable sleep experience unlike anything in the sky. The seat complements additional sleep amenities developed in partnership with the brand, including a convertible blanket with a built-in foot pocket, a memory foam lined pillow with a pillowcase, and a snooze kit with a matching eye mask and earplugs.
Core and So Much More JetBlue’s core experience on the A321neo – with the most legroom in coach (c) – features the Collins Meridian seat, customized around customer feedback and featuring a number of design elements with comfort and convenience in mind.
144 seats with a width of 18.4 inches, the widest available for the A321neo aircraft.
Seven rows of Even More Space® seating, all located in the forward area of the core experience, based on customer feedback.
10.1 inch, 1080P high definition screen at every seat.
Easy-to-reach in-seat power, featuring AC and USB ports.
Enhanced cushion comfort and adjustable headrests.
Contoured seatback design at knee level creating additional living space.
Custom designed seatback storage.
Connected Customers JetBlue will build on its reputation as an industry leader in inflight entertainment options with Thales AVANT and ViaSat-2 connectivity. With this system, JetBlue will offer every customer aboard the A321neo with expanded and personalized entertainment choices in nearly every region the airline flies (d). With JetBlue, all customers have the ability to connect an unlimited number of devices and stream, surf, or chat during the entire flight, from gate to gate.
100+ channels of DIRECTV®, hundreds of movies, full seasons of binge-worthy TV shows, and custom seatback games.
Picture-in-picture function.
Enhanced, 3D flight map offering multiple ways to track time to destination.
Personal handheld device pairing capabilities for use as a remote or gaming controller.
Expanded Fly-Fi® connectivity, providing coverage to nearly the entire JetBlue network.
Design Details JetBlue is also maximizing the A321neo’s ultra-modern design to create an elevated customer experience throughout the interior. Every aspect of the aircraft has been meticulously customized to create a perfect environment to deliver JetBlue’s award-winning service.
Refreshed onboard Pantry® with a mini-fridge and drawers full of complimentary snacks.
Spacious overhead bins for additional carry-on bag capacity.
Custom LED mood lighting designed to provide a more soothing inflight experience with lighting scenarios that change with time of day or phase of flight.
Four full-size lavatories featuring subway tile patterns – a nod to JetBlue being New York’s Hometown Airline®.
Custom-designed front and rear wall panel featuring unique and modern patterns.
Heated floors in front galley area for added crewmember comfort, a first for JetBlue.
Savings and Sustainability The A321neo helps ensure JetBlue delivers on its cost-savings and sustainability commitments in the coming years. Thanks to the Airbus new engine option, the aircraft features a 20 percent increase in fuel efficiency compared to the previous generation of the aircraft. It also boasts an increased range of up to 500 nautical miles. JetBlue’s existing fleet of all-core A321neo’s has allowed the airline to enter new and longer nonstop markets not previously possible with other aircraft types.
Optimizing fuel burn is an important first step in JetBlue’s cost-conscious sustainability strategy, and prioritizing fuel-efficient aircraft and engines aligns with JetBlue’s approach to reducing emissions. In 2020, JetBlue became the first major U.S. airline to achieve carbon neutrality for all domestic flights, and later announced its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
JetBlue continues to navigate the new travel environment with a steady hand and a long-term view on recovery. The investment in the A321neo with Mint allows the airline to continue to execute its low cost business model, and enables JetBlue to continue to offer low fares to more customers.
SoftBank Group Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of WeWork Inc. (formerly referred to as The We Company) (“the Special Committee”) and WeWork’s founder, Adam Neumann. The terms of the settlement are confidential. When completed, the settlement agreement would resolve all claims brought in a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, and is in the best interests of all parties.
“This agreement is the result of all parties coming to the table for the sake of doing what is best for the future of WeWork. SoftBank and WeWork have spent the past year transforming the WeWork business and executing on our plan towards profitability. With this litigation behind us, we are fully focused on our mission to reimagine the workplace and continue to meet the growing demand for flexible space around the world.” — Marcelo Claure, Executive Chairman of WeWork, CEO of SoftBank Group International, and Corporate Officer, Executive Vice President and COO of SoftBank.
The Wall Street Journal previously outlined the likely settlement:
WeWork co-founder and former Chief Executive Adam Neumann is set to reap an extra $50 million windfall and other benefits as part of an agreement that would settle a bitter dispute he and other early investors in the shared-office-space provider have waged with SoftBank Group Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
As The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week, the parties are closing in on a deal in which SoftBank, WeWork’s majority shareholder, would buy about $1.5 billion of stock from other investors, including nearly $500 million from Mr. Neumann. That is about half as much as it previously planned to buy.
But part of the deal not previously reported sets Mr. Neumann apart from other shareholders. It calls for SoftBank to give the 41-year-old the $50 million special payout and extend by five years a $430 million loan it made to him in late 2019, the people said. SoftBank is also slated to pay $50 million for Mr. Neumann’s legal fees. It isn’t clear how much it is paying for the other shareholders’ legal fees.
In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffet admitted that he personally made a mistake that cost the company $11 billion. He said that the $11 billion loss resulted from a write-down in the value of a few subsidiary and affiliate businesses that Berkshire Hathaway owns.
The final component in our GAAP figure – that ugly $11 billion write-down – is almost entirely the quantification of a mistake I made in 2016. That year, Berkshire purchased Precision Castparts (“PCC”), and I paid too much for the company.
No one misled me in any way – I was simply too optimistic about PCC’s normalized profit potential. Last year, my miscalculation was laid bare by adverse developments throughout the aerospace industry, PCC’s most important source of customers.
In purchasing PCC, Berkshire bought a fine company – the best in its business. Mark Donegan, PCC’s CEO, is a passionate manager who consistently pours the same energy into the business that he did before we purchased it. We are lucky to have him running things.
I believe I was right in concluding that PCC would, over time, earn good returns on the net tangible assets deployed in its operations. I was wrong, however, in judging the average amount of future earnings and, consequently, wrong in my calculation of the proper price to pay for the business.
PCC is far from my first error of that sort. But it’s a big one.
After suffering devastating losses as a result of US sanctions, Huawei may be preparing to pivot to electric vehicles.
Huawei quickly found itself a target of the Trump administration, amid claims the company represented a national security threat. While all Chinese firms are required to cooperate with Beijing, Huawei was widely believed to have unusually close ties with the government and intelligence community. As a result, the Trump administration banned the company from participating in US networks, and there is no indication the Biden administration will reverse those measures.
Other countries have followed suit, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Multiple governments and intelligence agencies have joined the US in branding Huawei a threat.
The bans and sanction have taken a toll on the company, once an almost unstoppable force in the tech industry. Sanctions against the company have even resulted in it selling its Honor line of smartphones and cutting production of its flagship line, due to not being able to buy enough semiconductors.
According to Reuters, the company is now exploring a strategic shift to electric vehicle manufacturing as a result of the challenges it’s facing. Reuters sources say the company is preparing to make electric vehicles under its own brand, and the first models could arrive as soon as this year.
A company spokesman denied the claims, although the denial left plenty of room for interpretation.
“Huawei is not a car manufacturer. However through ICT (information and communications technology), we aim to be a digital car-oriented and new-added components provider, enabling car OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to build better vehicles.”
Best Buy has laid off some 5,000 employees and plans to close additional stores as customers turn to online shopping.
American customers have increasingly been turning to Amazon and online stores for their electronics needs, putting pressure on traditional, brick and mortar stores. With the pandemic further changing consumers’ shopping habits, traditional stores have been under even more pressure. Fry’s Electronics announced it was closing Wednesday, illustrating the growing challenges traditional businesses are facing.
Best Buy, in contrast, has fared relatively well during the pandemic. Much of this is due to the company’s online sales. According to CNN Business, the company expects 40% of its sales to come from online purchases in 2021, as opposed to 19% two years ago. The company has also been relatively successful with its physical stores, although it expects in-store business to slow this year.
As a result, Best Buy has laid off 5,000 staff, mostly full-time employees. The company is also raising the bar for evaluating whether to renew store leases. The company already closed 20 stores a year for the past couple of years, and expects that number to go up this year.
As Coinbase prepares to go public, it is warning of the risk Bitcoin’s founder(s) pose to the cryptocurrency market in general, and Coinbase in particular.
Coinbase has emerged as one of the most popular ways of trading cryptocurrencies. The company’s success has positioned it for a widely anticipated IPO, but the company is warning of risk factors it faces, unique to its industry, in an SEC filing.
The majority of Coinbase’s net revenue is derived from Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. As a result, should the demand for those cryptocurrencies decline, without another rising to replace them, Coinbase would be in serious trouble.
Another risk factor is “the identification of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person or persons who developed Bitcoin, or the transfer of Satoshi’s Bitcoins.”
The real identify of Bitcoin’s creator remains unknown, with “Satoshi Nakamoto” the pseudonymous name of the individual or group of individuals responsible. As Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto’s stash of bitcoins is worth an estimated $30 billion. If Nakamoto were to transfer that large a sum, roughly 5% of the 21 million total available bitcoins, it would drive the price down substantially.
Coinbase’s listed risk factors illustrates the challenges companies face as they navigate, adapt and build a business around the emerging cryptocurrency market.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has expressed she is “disturbed” by accusations regarding the depth of Google’s data tracking habits.
Google is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of lying to its customers when it says it doesn’t track them in Chrome’s Incognito Mode. When Incognito Mode is active, the browser is not supposed to remember browsing history, filled out form data, cookies, site data and more.
The lawsuit alleges that Google is leveraging code in its analytics platform — which is used on countless websites — to bypass Incognito Mode. This allegedly gives Google the ability to scrape data to piece together a profile of users’ browsing and habits.
According to Bloomberg, Judge Koh was “disturbed” by the accusations. When Google tried to have the case dismissed, Judge Koh said it was “unusual” that Google would go to the “extra effort” to collect the data in question, unless it was using it to do the very thing Incognito is supposed to prevent.
Google is facing multiple lawsuits, both for its privacy practices and for alleged anticompetitive behavior. A judge finding the company’s actions ‘distrusting’ is not a good look for Google.
After months of exploring a potential sale of DirecTV, AT&T has decided to spin off the satellite TV service.
AT&T bought DirecTV for $48.5 billion ($67.1 billion including debt), in 2015, but the service has since lost millions of customers. The satellite industry has experienced difficulties as a whole, threatened by the widespread adoption of streaming TV services. Even so, DirecTV’s losses have far outpaced its rival, Dish Network. As a result, AT&T has been looking to get rid of DirecTV for some time, exploring various options, including an outright sale.
It appears the company has, instead, opted to spin off its satellite service with the help of TPG Capital. The deal is worth a mere $16.25 billion, including debt. AT&T will receive $7.8 billion in cash, including $5.8 billion from the new DirecTV and $1.8 billion from TPG. AT&T will use the cash to help pay down its debt.
“This agreement aligns with our investment and operational focus on connectivity and content, and the strategic businesses that are key to growing our customer relationships across 5G wireless, fiber and HBO Max. And it supports our deliberate capital allocation commitment to invest in growth areas, sustain the dividend at current levels, focus on debt reduction and restructure or monetize non-core assets,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey. “As the pay-TV industry continues to evolve, forming a new entity with TPG to operate the U.S. video business separately provides the flexibility and dedicated management focus needed to continue meeting the needs of a high-quality customer base and managing the business for profitability. TPG is the right partner for this transaction and creating a new entity is the right way to structure and manage the video business for optimum value creation.”
AT&T will own 70% of the common equity of the new company, with TPG owning the remaining 30%.
“We certainly didn’t expect this outcome when we closed the DirecTV acquisition in 2015,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said on a conference call, according to CNBC, although he expressed his belief the deal represents the best option for AT&T shareholders.
Salesforce has announced its fourth quarter results, turning in a record-breaking quarter and raising its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance.
Marc Benioff has long had the goal of Salesforce surpassing $20 billion in a year. Salesforce managed to do that, and then some, in fiscal 2021. Total revenue was $21.25 billion, up 24% year-over-year.
Fourth quarter revenue was up 20%, year-over-year, coming in at $5.82 billion.
“We never could have predicted a year ago what was in store, which makes me incredibly proud of how well we pivoted our company to adapt to this pandemic world,” said Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO of Salesforce. “We had a record quarter and year by innovating more and faster than ever, enabling our customers to be successful from anywhere, and becoming more relevant and strategic than ever. And we continued to serve all of our stakeholders in a time when they needed it most.”
The company also raised its fiscal 2022 revenue guidance to between $25.65 billion and $25.75 billion, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.42 billion. However, Salesforce is projecting lower-than-expected profit, between $3.39 and $3.41 per share, as opposed to the $3.49 analysts were expecting. The stock was down 3.9% as a result of the guidance.
Much of the hit to the projected profit is as a result of the Slack acquisition, valued at $27.7 billion. Even though Salesforce expects Slack to contribute $600 million to its revenue in the fiscal year, that’s still a far cry from the purchase price, and it will take some time before the acquisition pays for itself.
TikTok has agreed to pay $92 million to settle a lawsuit in the US over its privacy practices.
TikTok quickly rose to be one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and was the first Chinese app to gain its level of worldwide success. With that success, however, came greater a degree of scrutiny. The app has repeatedly been accused of violating child privacy, uploading videos to China without user consent and being a threat to national security.
The company has settled a lawsuit filed by TikTok users in the U.S. District Court in Illinois. Illinois has already established itself as a privacy haven, with Facebook recently settling a lawsuit filed against it in the state.
“While we disagree with the assertions, rather than go through lengthy litigation, we’d like to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community,” TikTok said Thursday, according to NBC News.
Google Wear OS users have grown increasingly frustrated with Google after months of voice activation not working on their smartwatches.
Wear OS makes use of Google Assistant, with the ability being one of the main selling points. Reports starting showing up on the Google Issue Tracker back in November, with scores of people complaining of being impacted by the problem.
The issue spilled out onto Reddit Wednesday, with the thread already amassing hundreds of posts.
Users are still able to use Google Assistant, but doing so requires using the touchscreen or a long-press on the power button. Needless to say, this makes interaction much more difficult in situations where a person is active and unable to physically interact with their watch.
After months of ignoring the issue, the uptick in attention has finally gotten Google’s. In a statement to The Verge, the company says it is “aware of the issues some users have been encountering” and will work to “address these and improve the overall experience.”
LG has announced it will license its webOS smart TV platform to other TV makers, specifically brand partners.
webOS has a long history in the tech industry, originally being released by Palm, Inc. in 2009 to replace the aging Palm OS. Palm was never able to recover its former glory and was acquired, along with webOS, by HP the following year.
In 2013, HP sold webOS to LG, with the latter using it to power their smart TVs. The platform generally receives positive reviews for its sleek and intuitive interface, fast performance and overall versatility.
LG has now decided to license webOS to other TV manufacturers, a move that will likely spur widespread adoption of the platform. The company says there is already over 20 TV manufacturers that have committed to the webOS partnership worldwide.
“The webOS platform is one of the easiest and most convenient way to access millions of hours of movies and TV shows,” said Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company. “By welcoming other manufacturers to join the webOS TV ecosystem, we are embarking on a new path that allows many new TV owners to experience the same great UX and features that are available on LG TVs. We look forward to bringing these new customers into the incredible world of webOS TV.”
President Biden has signed an executive order authorizing a review of the US supply chain, including semiconductors.
The US has suffered from a number of major supply chain crises over the last year. At the outset of the pandemic, medical professions struggled with a shortage of PPE. Most recently, multiple industries have been impacted by a shortage of semiconductors. The automotive industry, in particular, has been one of the hardest hit.
President Biden’s executive order is not a short-term solution, but is an attempt to devise a long-term plan to address the country’s need for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, rare-earth elements and large-capacity batteries.
“And the bottom line is simple: The American people should never face shortages in the goods and services they rely on, whether that’s their car or their prescription medicines or the food at the local grocery store,” said President Biden when announcing the executive order.
The supply chain review will also help pave the way for additional jobs, as well as secure existing ones, by ensuring workers have the critical supplies they need. For example, the semiconductor shortage recently halted production at three GM plants. Ensuring a safe supply of critical components will keep companies and entire industries running.
“This is about making sure the United States can meet every challenge we face in this new era — pandemics, but also in defense, cybersecurity, climate change, and so much more,” continued President Biden. “And the best way to do that is by protecting and sharpening America’s competitive edge by investing here at home. As I’ve said from the beginning, while I was running: We’re going to invest in America. We’re going to invest in American workers. And then we can be in a much better position to even compete beyond what we’re doing now.
“Resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains are going to help revitalize our domestic manufacturing capacity and create good-paying jobs, not $15 an hour — which is what we need to do someday. And sooner is better, in my view. But jobs that are at the prevailing wage.”
Google may have created Android, but customers wanting the best Android support should take a look at Samsung.
Samsung has just announced it is extending its Android support for Galaxy devices, promising a full four years of security updates after release. The company also touted Samsung Knox, its enterprise-grade security solution. Samsung claims to have the most secure embedded security chip, the Secure Element (eSE). The eSE helps protect the contents of the phone from physical attacks, should it be lost or stolen.
“At Samsung, our number one priority is offering the best and most secure mobile experience to our users, and we’re constantly optimizing the security of our products and services,” said Seungwon Shin, VP & Head of Security Team at Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “Mobile devices play such an important role in our lives, it’s only natural that we want to hold onto them longer. That’s why, thanks to the latest technology advancements, we’re committing to securing Galaxy devices for even longer, so that everything that should be kept protected stays protected.”
It’s hard to image that Google won’t match Samsung’s announcement. If it does, Samsung’s decision will end up benefiting customers of both companies, not just its own.
The FCC has finally revealed the winners of its mid-band spectrum auction, and Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile came out on top.
Mid-band spectrum is the most coveted type of spectrum for 5G. High-band, otherwise known as mmWave, offers the fastest speeds, but its range is extremely limited, as is its ability to penetrate objects. Low-band spectrum offers the best range and penetration, but its speeds are only marginally faster than the fastest 4G. Mid-band spectrum offers the best of both worlds, providing speeds upwards of 1 Gbps, while still offering decent range and penetration.
Of the three major US carriers, Verizon and AT&T need mid-band spectrum the most. T-Mobile has a wealth of it from its merger with Sprint, spectrum it has been rolling out at a record pace. The other two carriers, on the other hand, have not been able to match T-Mobile’s 5G rollout, largely because of not having enough mid-band spectrum.
It’s little wonder the spending at the FCC’s auction far exceeded estimates. Analysts had originally predicted spending would reach $47 billion, but the total topped $81 billion.
Not surprisingly, Verizon (listed in FCC docs as Cellco Partnership, its legal name) was the biggest bidder, coming in at $45,454,843,197. AT&T came in second, spending $23,406,860,839. T-Mobile rounded out the top three at $9,336,125,147.
While T-Mobile needed, and spent, the least, the company was believed to be buying spectrum to round out its portfolio, further boost its spectrum in heavily populated areas and drive the bidding higher so Verizon and AT&T didn’t get a free ride.
A software update that made people’s Roombas act like they’re drunk may not be fixed for several more weeks.
After updating to firmware 3.12.8, customers started reportingtheir Roombas behaving strangely. Some were wandering around like they were drunk, bumping into furniture, taking much longer than they should to clean an area, recharging several times more than necessary, not being able to go back to their charger and getting stuck in the middle of a room.
iRobot reached out to The Verge and said some i7 and i9 robots were impacted, with a software update being responsible. The company is working on a new software patch that should fix the issue, but it’s only expected to roll out “over the next several weeks.”
In the meantime, it looks like Roomba users will have to break out the old Hoover.
The Federal Reserve’s operations were disrupted Wednesday, due to an “operational error.”
The Federal Reserve essentially acts as a bank for the nation’s banks. As such, one of its services is the Fedwire Funds Service, facilitating electronic wire transfers between banks. The Fedwire Funds Service was one of the impacted services that was taken offline.
“A Federal Reserve operational error resulted in disruption of service in several business lines. We are restoring services and are communicating with all Federal Reserve Financial Services customers about the status of operations,” said Jim Strader, Richmond Federal Reserve spokesman, in a statement emailed to multiple outlets.
Officials are saying a fix will require a reboot of the servers involved in payment channels. The service should be back online Wednesday afternoon.
Starlink internet service is poised to expand to much of the world, and double in speed, later this year.
SpaceX’s Starlink is a constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit. The constellation is designed to provide internet access to remote and under-served communities around the world. Many early adopters are reporting speeds in excess of 150 Mbps and latency of 39 ms.
Elon Musk is teasing the company will significantly improve that this year.
Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year
Starlink is already revolutionizing what people can do, providing a level of internet access many rural customers have never enjoyed. Musk’s announcements are good news for potential customers. Starlink’s expansion is especially good news at a time when record numbers of people are working from home, in some cases in areas where traditional internet options are less than ideal.
Microsoft is preparing updates to its venerable office suite, including two big features: continued support for the standalone, non-365 version and text prediction.
Microsoft has been aggressively pushing Microsoft 365 (previously Office 365) for some time. Many businesses and individuals, however, don’t want to pay a monthly fee to access their office suite. What’s more, the various cloud features of Microsoft 365 may not offer much value for some customers.
The company has announced it will continue to support a standalone version of Office, called Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC). In fact, Microsoft is committed to supporting Office LTSC for the foreseeable future.
“At Microsoft, we believe that the cloud will power the work of the future. Overwhelmingly, our customers are choosing the cloud to empower their people—from frontline workers on the shop floor, to on-the-go sales teams, to remote employees connecting from home,” writes Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365. “We’ve seen incredible cloud adoption across every industry, and we will continue to invest and innovate in the cloud as we partner with organizations everywhere to build the best solutions for the new world of work. But we also know that some customers just feel that they can’t move to the cloud despite the widely embraced benefits.”
A preview of Office LTSC will be available in April.
Microsoft 365 Text Prediction – Image Source: Microsoft
At the same time, the company is also bringing its long-anticipated text prediction to all users. The company teased text prediction in September. As the user is typing, text prediction recommends the most likely next word. The feature continues to learn over time, becoming more accurate in its recommendations.
According to the Microsoft 365 roadmap, text prediction will be available to all users in March.
Technology has literally transformed the way we talk to people. Even you, as you read the words that the author has typed, are reading words that have never seen a physical piece of paper. We hear from people around the world or across the house with a few swift movements in real time. What with all the information floating around online at any given moment, it is no wonder that sometimes logging onto another website seems daunting. Not wanting to log on to another site might not seem like a bad thing. A patient portal from a healthcare provider should not be a site that users avoid. Unfortunately, only 10% of patients would prefer to use patient portals to find out medical information. This means that the other 90% are hesitant to find out information regarding their health merely because the format is not what they would like to see. Read on to see how healthcare messaging is the way of the future.
How Healthcare Can Better Communicate Through Tech
So how can healthcare providers help to better communicate crucial information to those in their care? The answer is at everyone’s fingertips. By implementing omnichannel communication, providers can communicate with patients through SMS or messaging applications. By using technologies that physicians have already been using to consult each other regarding patient care, the format of this new communication method would already be familiar. The familiarity of the format ensures that there would be a virtually seamless transition on both ends, as both parties are already using these technologies.
In addition to an easy transition, using omnichannel communication also has a lot of exciting potential to transform patient care. As is the case with other life issues, many things can be fixed with effective communication. Many patients have expressed dissatisfaction with current methods of communicating with their healthcare providers. Too many cases of malpractice in healthcare have miscommunication between patient and physician to blame. If the methods in which patients and physicians communicate is less daunting to both parties, there’s less hesitancy in reaching out for help.
Ultimately, this leads to lives saved as physicians can identify and treat problems in a more timely manner. This simplified communication method also allows for physicians to reach out and send reminders to patients. It would ensure that medicines are taken, routines are followed, prescriptions are filled, and appointments are made. This would also allow for the appropriate action to be taken more immediately if patients do not or cannot comply.
The Rise of Omnichannel
Personalized omnichannel communication also has the potential to increase efficiency in doctor’s offices and hospitals. It can instantly rearrange the physician’s schedule as patients reschedule or cancel appointments. This allows for other patients to get off waitlists faster, getting their treatments as soon as possible. Efficiency is also increased when those at the front desk do not have to make repeated phone calls where a message reminder sent to the patient’s smartphone would have been sufficient.
Familiarity, improved patient care, and efficiency in the office are just the start of the benefits of implementing omnichannel communication in healthcare. For more information, see the the visual deep dive below:
The first batch of refurbished M1 MacBook Airs is showing up on Apple’s online store, providing a less-expensive option.
The latest generation of MacBook Airs run Apple’s custom silicon, the M1 chip. The M1 is an Arm-based design that’s a more powerful version of the chip in the iPhone and iPad. As such, it offers many advantages over Intel processors, including cooler operation, better battery life, improved performance and the ability to run iOS apps.
Apple’s computers have never been the cheapest on the market, but the company’s refurbished program offers a less-expensive way of getting the latest and greatest. As part of the deal, all of Apple’s refurbished machines come with the same one-year warranty and are indistinguishable from a brand-new device.
The available machines start at $849, or $150 less than brand-new. Although there is no option to customize refurb machines — it’s a first-come, first-served affair, based on what machines have been returned — as of the time of writing there are also higher end MacBook Airs available. The high-end models come in at $1,059, or $$190 off.
A refurbished MacBook Air makes a good option for employees looking for a remote work machine, or students that need a laptop for their studies.
Ericsson has released its Q4 2020 Ericsson Mobility Report, finding a total of 220 million 5G subscriptions worldwide.
The Ericsson Mobility Report (PDF) provides valuable insight into the wireless industry, including the adoption of new technologies and trends. The biggest factor currently impacting the industry is the rollout of 5G networks around the globe.
According to the latest report, Q4 2020 saw 70 million 5G subscription additions, bringing the total to 220 million. Roughly 130 service providers are now offering 5G.
Interestingly, 4G LTE subscriptions increased by some 90 million, bringing the LTE total to more than 4.5 billion, or 57% of all mobile subscriptions. Ericsson estimates there are 8 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, representing 6 billion unique subscribers.
This latest report shows the tremendous growth opportunity for wireless carriers, and the long way 5G has to go before it supplants 4G. Carriers are working overtime to roll out the new technology, although some efforts have been hampered by lack of available spectrum. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile spent big at the recent FCC auction that freed up valuable mid-band spectrum.
Compelling 5G plans have also been a sticking point for many consumers, with T-Mobile’s recent Magenta Max plan widely viewed as the best 5G plan among the US carriers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that updates to COVID vaccines aimed at virus variants will not need lengthy testing.
As governments around the world roll out COVID vaccines, a pressing concern is the emergence of variants, such as the UK strain and the South African strain. Experts are concerned that some strains may be more contagious and possibly resistant to existing vaccines.
To successfully combat existing and emerging strains, it will be important for vaccine manufacturers to be able to quickly bring updated versions of their vaccines, or boosters, to market. The FDA has removed a big hurdle, indicating that vaccine boosters will not require the same lengthy testing as the original vaccine. Instead, manufacturers will be able to adopt a similar approach as that used with flu vaccines.
“The FDA is committed to identifying efficient ways to modify medical products that either are in the pipeline or have been authorized for emergency use to address emerging variants,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “We know the country is eager to return to a new normal and the emergence of the virus variants raises new concerns about the performance of these products. By issuing these guidances, we want the American public to know that we are using every tool in our toolbox to fight this pandemic, including pivoting as the virus adapts. We need to arm health care providers with the best available diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to fight this virus. We remain committed to getting these life-saving products to the frontlines.”
The FDA’s new guidance is good news for vaccine manufacturers and citizens alike.
Bitcoin may have shed 20% of its value over the last week, but that isn’t stopping Fundstrat’s Tom Lee from predicting a $100,000 price point.
Bitcoin has experienced some major fluctuations during its meteoric rise. The cryptocurrency passed $58,000 this weekend, before dropping back down to $48,700 at the time of writing. The drop coincides with Elon Musk tweeting that Bitcoin’s price seemed high.
Despite the drop however, Tom Lee says investors shouldn’t be worried, as corrections are part of Bitcoin’s DNA. Lee also believes the cryptocurrency could reach as high as $100,000.
– part of its DNA and its history
– doesn’t change fair value per @David_Grid network value model#bitcoin target $100,000
– looks on sale, right?$SI$MOGO$MSTR
FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed rules to the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBBP) to assist low-income households.
Late in 2020, Congress authorized the creation of a $3.2 billion federal initiative to help low-income households stay connected via discounts to their internet bills. Qualifying households may also receive a discount on a computer or tablet. The initiative is especially important during the pandemic, when record numbers are working from home or engaging in remote learning.
The EBBP allows for households to received up to $50 per month off of their broadband bill, while those on Tribal lands may receive up to $75 per month.
“As we work our way through a pandemic that has upended so much in our day-to-day life, we have been asked to migrate so many of the things we do online. From work to healthcare to education, this crisis has made it clear that without an internet connection too many households are locked out of modern life. It’s more apparent than ever that broadband is no longer nice-to- have. It’s need-to-have,” said Rosenworcel. “But too many of us are struggling to afford this critical service. Late last year Congress directed the FCC to establish a new Emergency Broadband Benefit Program to assist families struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic. Today I’m proud to advance a proposal to my colleagues to implement this program so we can help as many eligible households as possible. No one should have to choose between paying their internet bill or paying to put food on the table. With the help of the Emergency Broadband Benefit, we have a new way for households to access virtual learning, for patients to connect to telehealth providers, and for those struggling in this pandemic to learn new online skills and seek their next job.”
The latest release of Mozilla’s Firefox includes a significant privacy upgrade, introducing Total Cookie Protection.
Cookies are snippets of code that websites use to identify users. They are responsible for a number of useful features, such as the ability to revisit a site and access personalized information without needing to log in again. Cookies can also be used to track users, however, including by companies that use them to track users across other websites.
In 2019, Firefox introduced Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP), which blocks cookies from known trackers. Today’s announcement takes it a step further with Total Cookie Protection.
Our new feature, Total Cookie Protection, works by maintaining a separate “cookie jar” for each website you visit. Any time a website, or third-party content embedded in a website, deposits a cookie in your browser, that cookie is confined to the cookie jar assigned to that website, such that it is not allowed to be shared with any other website.
This is an important feature that will go a long way toward protecting user privacy and ensuring cookies aren’t abused as a way of tracking users.
The spat between Facebook and Australia appears to be mended for the time being, with the two reaching an agreement.
Facebook started blocking Australian news from its platform last Wednesday, in response to proposed legislation that would force tech companies to pay for news they link to or promote. The legislation has been the source of division in the tech industry, with both Google and Facebook fighting it and Microsoft embracing it.
While Google initially threatened to pull its search out of Australia, it ultimately began negotiating with news publishers to pay them for their content. Facebook, on the other hand, embraced the nuclear option, blocking Australian news altogether. The response was swift and severe, with the company widely condemned and one UK lawmaker calling it a bully.
Facebook has now made nice with the Australian government negotiating terms that will see it allow Australian news once more.
“Well, Facebook has refriended Australia, and Australian news will be restored to the Facebook platform,” Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters Tuesday. “Facebook has committed to entering into good-faith negotiations with Australian news media businesses in seeking to reach agreements to pay for content.”
The agreement included additional amendments, making forced negotiations less of a threat. The amendments include:
a decision to designate a platform under the Code must take into account whether a digital platform has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry through reaching commercial agreements with news media businesses;
a digital platform will be notified of the Government’s intention to designate prior to any final decision – noting that a final decision on whether or not to designate a digital platform would be made no sooner than one month from the date of notification;
non-differentiation provisions will not be triggered because commercial agreements resulted in different remuneration amounts or commercial outcomes that arose in the course of usual business practices; and
final offer arbitration is a last resort where commercial deals cannot be reached by requiring mediation, in good faith, to occur prior to arbitration for no longer than two months.
Needless to say, both sides are claiming victory. Long-term, however, it’s hard to argue that Australia’s efforts won’t be used as a template by other countries to force Big Tech to reach more equitable agreements with publishers.
Qualcomm is turning to Sophos to help protect 5G-enabled Snapdragon PCs, with its Intercept X endpoint protection.
With the speeds 5G promises, 5G-enabled PCs stand to play a major role in the industry. A PC with built-in 5G would have enterprise-grade internet access, allowing individuals to work from anywhere they have coverage. In the age of the pandemic, this could open a world of possibilities, and remove slow internet access as one of the biggest challenges to remote work.
Unlike Intel or AMD processors, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is based on Arm designs, much like the chips Apple uses in the iPhone, iPad and M1 Macs. As a result, traditional PC software won’t run on the Snapdragon unless it’s compiled specifically for Arm-based processors. This leaves Snapdragon-powered PCs potentially vulnerable, as many of the traditional security options are not available.
Snapdragon compute platforms mark a major step forward because they provide all the utility and performance of a PC, but with many of the benefits associated with modern mobile computing devices. Security loves predictability, and Sophos is excited to be a part of securing this next-generation computing platform. — Joe Levy, chief technology officer, Sophos.
Qualcomm’s deal with Snapdragon is a major step toward helping Arm-based computers go mainstream.
France is looking to enact legislation that would restrict wireless carriers from using commercial offers to entice users into early upgrades.
French carriers, like many carriers around the world, use promotions to get customers to upgrade early in exchange for signing a new contract. French authorities are concerned about the environmental impact of new phones, according to Reuters, and are prepared to take action.
The French government estimates device manufacturing accounts for up to 75% of the digital sector’s environmental impact. As a result, upgrading new devices early can pose a significant impact.
“We’re ready to adopt new measures,” a government official said. “The aim is clearly to increase the life of terminals.”
The government will have Arcep, the French telecoms authority, conduct a review of the contracts wireless carriers use and see what measures can be taken. The official emphasized the review is not being done frivolously, or without a definite end-game in mind.
“We’re not commissioning this review to waste time, it’s clearly to have the means to make a decision.”
eCommerce is growing at a phenomenal rate. On average, 71 percent of consumers express at least some frustration when shopping is impersonal. Because of that, it comes as no surprises that from 2015 to 2018, interest in customized products grew by 2.4 times. The future of shopping is customization—it is no longer just a luxury. The solution is through the product configurator.
But let’s take a step back and look at customization in general.
There are four approaches to customization and they range from low to high customization. In order from low to high, they are adaptive, transparent, cosmetic, and collaborative. Adaptive means that the product is standardized and designed to accommodate many uses. There is no customer input. Transparent customization is when the manufacturer adducts the product based on customer data. In this, only the function of the product is customized. Cosmetic has customer choices restricted to the final stages of manufacturing. As the name cosmetic implies, only the appearance is changed. And finally, there is collaborative. Collaborative customization creates a truly unique product based on customer preferences. Both function and appearance are customized by the customer.
And this is why a business needs a product configurator—especially since not all customization is good customization. Configured products, products produced by product configurators, take the benefits of standard and bespoke products and combine them into a cost-effective and mass-produced customizable product. It has lower costs, high scalability, and low effort. In addition, products are readily available, and are available to both small and large businesses alike.
How does a product configurator work?
Product configurators are powered by rules. They are built on a product database that includes data such as the features and functions of each part (maximum load, environmental exposure, usable lifespan) and how products work together within assemblies (fastener options, physical measurements, and wire sizes and colors). These rules are in place to make sure that misconfigurations do not happen and that everything works as it should. Configurable parameters include: product size and bore stroke, energy source, materials and finishes, and output power, duty cycle, and RPM.
Product configuration is good for business and makes customization scalable. Offering custom products can improve engagement, increases brand loyalty, widens the customer base, reduces work and returns, and grows profits and revenues. By investing in customization, companies are more likely to meet product targets. For example, companies that had no customization reached 64 percent of their revenue goals. Companies that invested in customization efforts, however, reached 72 percent of their revenue goals. Across the table—from quality, cost, and launch date—companies that invested in customization were around ten percent closer to their goals.
To find the right configurator, you should look for: real-time pricing, data available early on, 360 degree visualization, and customer experience. Product configurators can vary in complexity for different applications, so you need to find the best one for your business.
Take a look at the following visual deep dive to better understand the technology behind the product configurator below:
– and 144 core seats. It will first operate on select flights between New York-JFK and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this summer. Today’s delivery – tail N2105J named “NEO Mintality” – brings JetBlue’s total fleet count to 270 aircraft, is the airline’s 16th A321neo and the first of this aircraft type to feature Mint.
