India Will Give $1 Billion to Chip Manufacturers That Set Up In-Country

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India Will Give $1 Billion to Chip Manufacturers That Set Up In-Country

In its bid to become a major manufacturing powerhouse, India is offering $1 billion in cash incentives to chipmakers that set up in-country.

Countries and companies the world over are more concerned with the semiconductor supply chain than ever before. The global pandemic illustrated the shortcomings of having the world’s mobile manufacturing and supply of semiconductors concentrated in just a couple of countries.

India wants to change that, with its sights set on becoming the second-largest mobile manufacturing country in the world.

“The government will give cash incentives of more than $1 billion to each company which will set up chip fabrication units,” a senior government official told Reuters.

“We’re assuring them that the government will be a buyer and there will also be mandates in the private market (for companies to buy locally made chips).”

India’s plans will likely benefit from tensions with China, including the current trade war between the US and China.

India Will Give $1 Billion to Chip Manufacturers That Set Up In-Country
Matt Milano

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Google Extends Unlimited Google Meet Calls

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Google Extends Unlimited Google Meet Calls

Google has extended unlimited calls in its Google Meet platform, making the popular feature available for free through June 2021.

Like many companies, Google took steps to help individuals impacted by the global pandemic. As one of the most popular videoconferencing platforms, Google Meet is used by individuals and companies around the world. Google made unlimited calls free in April 2020. The feature was initially set to expire at the end of that September, but the company extended the deadline to the end of March 2021.

Now Google has extended the deadline once more, this time to the end of June 2021.

We’re continuing unlimited #GoogleMeet calls (up to 24 hours) in the free version through June 2021 for Gmail accounts → https://t.co/fqBTmoNPBW pic.twitter.com/Ax0fmbRvqr

— Google Workspace (@GoogleWorkspace) March 30, 2021

Google Extends Unlimited Google Meet Calls
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Slack Joins Chorus of Companies Wanting to Challenge Clubhouse

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Slack Joins Chorus of Companies Wanting to Challenge Clubhouse

Slack is the latest company looking to cash in on Clubhouse’s popularity, with plans to include similar features in its own app.

Clubhouse is an audio-chat social media platform that is currently invite-only. The app has experienced a significant surge in popularity, with some of the biggest tech news debuting in Clubhouse chats.

Not surprisingly, major tech companies are wanting to capitalize on Clubhouse’s success by rolling out their own competing apps, or adding its functionality to their existing ones.

Slack appears to be headed for the latter option, according to CEO Stewart Butterfield, who broke the news in a Clubhouse chat, one that included Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison.

“I’ve always believed the ‘good artists copy, great artists steal’ thing, so we’re just building Clubhouse into Slack, essentially,” said Butterfield.

Needless to say, Butterfield being willing to challenge Clubhouse — while in a Clubhouse chat with the Clubhouse CEO — caught people’s attention.

Slack's CEO Stewart Butterfield made a huge announcement:

– On Clubhouse
– About building their own Clubhouse into Slack
– While Clubhouse's CEO was also a speaker

DAMN.

This is exactly what was said while Clubhouse's CEO raged while on mute: pic.twitter.com/DQxF9hLkwE

— The Hustle (@TheHustle) March 30, 2021

The news also caught the attention of Bret Taylor, Salesforce CEO and Butterfield’s future boss once their merge goes through.

Apparently the way to find out about all the cool unreleased @SlackHQ features is to invite @stewart to do a Clubhouse

— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) March 26, 2021

Slack Joins Chorus of Companies Wanting to Challenge Clubhouse
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Apple Building Massive 240MW Battery Farm

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Apple Building Massive 240MW Battery Farm

Apple announced its latest energy plans, with the company building a battery farm capable of storing 240 megawatt-hours of energy.

Apple has been working to make its whole business carbon neutral. The company is already carbon neutral for its corporate emissions, but wants its entire supply and manufacturing supply chain to be carbon neutral by 2030.

“We are firmly committed to helping our suppliers become carbon neutral by 2030 and are thrilled that companies who’ve joined us span industries and countries around the world, including Germany, China, the US, India, and France,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “In a year like no other, Apple continued to work with a global network of colleagues, companies, and advocates to help make our environmental efforts and everything we do a force for good in people’s lives — and to work alongside the communities most impacted by climate change.”

As part of its larger environmental goals, the company is building a battery farm large enough to power some 7,000 homes for a day. The project is one of the biggest battery projects in the US.

This project supports the company’s 130-megawatt solar farm that provides all of its renewable energy in California, by storing excess energy generated during the day and deploying it when it is most needed.

Battery backups are becoming increasingly important aspects of the power industry. Tesla is creating a battery backup solution to help Texas better regulate its grid, following the disasterous outages over the winter. Apple’s move will help the company further its environmental goals, and provide a layer of resiliency.

Apple Building Massive 240MW Battery Farm
Matt Milano

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Motional Taps Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 For Next-Gen Robotaxi

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Motional Taps Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 For Next-Gen Robotaxi

Driverless tech company Motional has announced it will use Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 for its robotaxi deal with Lyft.

Motional and Lyft signed “the world’s largest robotaxi deployment partnership.” Beginning in 2023, Lyft customers will be able to book a Motional robotaxi, instead of a traditional Lyft.

The company, which was founded by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, plans to use Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 midsize electric crossover.

The futuristic IONIQ 5 is an all-electric, midsize crossover utility vehicle designed for the passenger experience. With a unique and luxurious living space and a sleek, modern exterior, Motional and Lyft riders will experience their fully autonomous rides in comfort and style. Built on Hyundai’s dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform, the IONIQ 5 delivers innovation in both mobility and sustainability.

Motional emphasizes the vehicles it will use are not the consumer version of the IONIQ 5, but ones with its Level 4 autonomous software integrated in. Autonomous driving software is graded from Level 0 to 5, with 5 being completely autonomous vehicles that never require human involvement.

Motional Taps Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 For Next-Gen Robotaxi
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Google Pulls Out of Mobile World Congress Event

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Google Pulls Out of Mobile World Congress Event

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the biggest phone events of the year, but it will go on without one of its biggest attendees, as Google pulls out.

MWC is one of the biggest electronics events of the year, and serves as a place for phone manufacturers to showcase their upcoming models. It’s especially helpful for smaller companies that may not have the same pull in the press as Apple, Google or Samsung.

Last year, MWC 2020 was canceled as a result of the pandemic. This year, planning has resumed for an in-person event, using only standard protective precautions. In contrast, most other major events in the tech industry are still being held digitally.

It seems Google isn’t willing to take the risk, given the ongoing pandemic.

“Following our current COVID-19 travel restrictions and protocols, Google has made the decision to not exhibit at Mobile World Congress this year,” read Google’s statement. “We will continue to collaborate closely with GSMA and support our partners through virtual opportunities. We look forward to this year’s activities and seeing you in Barcelona in 2022.”

Ericsson was the first company to announce they would not be attending because of the pandemic. They were quickly joined by Nokia, Sony and now Google. It remains to be seen if MWC will change course, given the high-profile pull-outs. Interestingly, MWC organizers insisted on continuing with the conference last year, only to abandon those plans when enough major companies withdrew their support.

Google Pulls Out of Mobile World Congress Event
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Amazon Wants ‘Office-Centric Culture’ as Its Baseline

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Amazon Wants ‘Office-Centric Culture’ as Its Baseline

Amazon is bucking the trend among many tech companies, telling US employees they should expect to be back in the office by early fall.

Many companies are making remote work part of their permanent culture. In many cases, with the majority of their workforce operating remotely, this has led to selling or renting out prime real estate. Even outside of the tech industry, companies are embracing the trend, with Ford recently announcing 30,000 of its employees would be able to work remotely on a permanent basis.

Amazon appears to be going in the opposite direction, according to a memo to employees.

Our plan is to return to an office-centric culture as our baseline. We believe it enables us to invent, collaborate, and learn together most effectively.

The timelines for returning to the office will vary by country, depending on the infection and vaccination rates, and we expect our return to the office to be gradual. In many parts of Asia, our employees are already back in the office. In the U.S., as vaccines become broadly available in the next few months, we expect more people will start coming into the office through the summer, with most back in the office by early fall. In some countries in Europe, we expect in-person working to take longer given recent setbacks. As we get closer to the summer, we’ll develop more country-specific plans and post all updates to Inside Amazon under Local News.

Amazon Wants ‘Office-Centric Culture’ as Its Baseline
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AI experts warn Facebook’s anti-bias tool is ‘completely insufficient’

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Facebook claims its tool to combat AI bias, Fairness Flow, is being used across the company. But experts say it's likely insufficient.Read More

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Amazon Tries and Fails to Have Cameras Installed at Union Vote

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Amazon Tries and Fails to Have Cameras Installed at Union Vote

As Amazon workers in Alabama vote on unionization, Amazon tried and failed to get approval to install cameras to watch ballot boxes.

Amazon is notoriously anti-union, resorting to Pinkerton detectivesand illegal firings to discourage unionization efforts. When Alabama warehouse employees decided to vote on unionization, the company even put signs in bathroom stalls to pressure employees to vote no. Amazon’s efforts prompted investors to warn the company to back off its pressure campaign.

In its latest effort, the company wanted to install cameras to watch the ballot boxes between counting. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied the company’s petition, according to CNBC.

“Though the mail ballot election in this matter is large, it is not, as the Employer asserts, of a ‘special nature,’” said Lisa Henderson, acting regional director at the NLRB. “The Region will conduct the ballot count within view of observers participating via virtual platform as well as in-person observers, and in accordance with Agency procedures and protocols, including those for securing ballot boxes.”

It remains to be seen if the vote will pass but, if it does, the Alabama facility will be the first US Amazon facility to unionize. Such a move would pave the way for other Amazon facilities to do the same, and likely have a significant impact on the company’s business operations.

Amazon Tries and Fails to Have Cameras Installed at Union Vote
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Arm Announces Next Generation Architecture, Armv9

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Arm Announces Next Generation Architecture, Armv9

Arm Holding has announced its first major architectural upgrade in a decade, the Armv9, promising major performance gains.

Arm designs semiconductors and licenses those designs to other companies. Apple, Qualcomm and others use the company’s designs as the basis of their chips, and Arm-based chips are used in everything from mobile devices to servers. In fact, 100 billion Arm devices have been shipped in the last five years.

The company has now announced the next generation, Armv9. Arm says the new architecture will power the next 300 billion devices and offer performance increases of more than 30% over the next two generations of CPUs.

Armv9 is also designed to improve security and provide more advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

“As we look toward a future that will be defined by AI, we must lay a foundation of leading-edge compute that will be ready to address the unique challenges to come,” said Simon Segars, chief executive officer, Arm. “Armv9 is the answer. It will be at the forefront of the next 300 billion Arm-based chips driven by the demand for pervasive specialized, secure and powerful processing built on the economics, design freedom and accessibility of general-purpose compute.”

“Addressing the demand for more complex AI-based workloads is driving the need for more secure and specialized processing, which will be the key to unlocking new markets and opportunities,” said Richard Grisenthwaite, SVP, chief architect and fellow, Arm. “Armv9 will enable developers to build and program the trusted compute platforms of tomorrow by bridging critical gaps between hardware and software, while enabling the standardization to help our partners balance faster time-to-market and cost control alongside the ability to create their own unique solutions.”

Arm is already the world’s leading semiconductor designer. If Armv9 lives up to the expectations, the company will continue to dominate the industry for years to come.

Arm Announces Next Generation Architecture, Armv9
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Android Phones Home 20x More Than iOS

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Android Phones Home 20x More Than iOS

A computer researcher at Trinity College Dublin has released a report showing Android phones home to Google 20x more than iOS does to Apple.

Apple and Google have fundamentally different approaches to data. Apple is a hardware and, increasingly, a software and services company. Unlike Google, however, Apple charges for the majority of its products and services. As a result, the company has repeatedly said it has no interest in consumer data, or viewing that data as the product.

In contrast, Google offers much of its services completely free of charge. To make a profit, the company is primarily a data-driven company, where the customer — and their data — is Google’s primary product.

Researcher Doug Leith shows how different the two companies’ approach is to how their phones transmit data, mirroring their approach to consumer data, according to Ars Technica.

Where Android stands out, Leith said, is in the amount of data it collects. At startup, an Android device sends Google about 1MB of data, compared with iOS sending Apple around 42KB. When idle, Android sends roughly 1MB of data to Google every 12 hours, compared with iOS sending Apple about 52KB over the same period. In the US alone, Android collectively gathers about 1.3TB of data every 12 hours. During the same period, iOS collects about 5.8GB.

Needless to say, Google has disputed the findings, with a spokesperson providing the following statement to Ars:

We identified flaws in the researcher’s methodology for measuring data volume and disagree with the paper’s claims that an Android device shares 20 times more data than an iPhone. According to our research, these findings are off by an order of magnitude, and we shared our methodology concerns with the researcher before publication.

This research largely outlines how smartphones work. Modern cars regularly send basic data about vehicle components, their safety status and service schedules to car manufacturers, and mobile phones work in very similar ways. This report details those communications, which help ensure that iOS or Android software is up to date, services are working as intended, and that the phone is secure and running efficiently.

Despite Google’s protestations, Leith’s research is no surprise to anyone who has followed Google’s data-mining and collection practices.

Android Phones Home 20x More Than iOS
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Verizon Will Shut Down 3G Network December 2022

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Verizon Will Shut Down 3G Network December 2022

Verizon has announced December 31, 2022 as the new shutdown date for its 3G CDMA network.

Verizon currently uses 850 and 1900 MHz spectrum for its 3G, both of which could help its 5G rollout. Verizon, in particular, has a shortage of available low-band spectrum to use for its nationwide 5G network, since its 700 MHz spectrum is tied up with its 4G network.

The company has had to resort to Dynamic Spectrum Sharing to switch between 4G and 5G, depending on what devices are connected to a tower. The result is that its nationwide 5G is actually slower than its 4G.

Decommissioning its 3G network would free up valuable spectrum that could help improve its nationwide 5G. The company had previously planned on shutting down its 3G network in 2019, before delaying it to the end of 2020, and then delaying it indefinitely.

Verizon has a now announced it will shut down its 3G network December 31, 2022.

We will turn off the last of the 3G CDMA network on December 31, 2022, months after our competitors have shut off their networks completely. The date will not be extended again. We’re communicating this again now in order to provide customers plenty of time to complete their migration.

Verizon Will Shut Down 3G Network December 2022
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PayPal Launches ‘Checkout With Crypto’ in US

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PayPal Launches ‘Checkout With Crypto’ in US

PayPal has taken the next step in its embrace of cryptocurrency, launching “Checkout with Crypto” to US customers.

The company recently began allowing customers to own, trade and hold cryptocurrency, but now customers can use their currency to make purchases in the US. At the time of purchase, PayPal will convert the cryptocurrency to a fiat currency, with no additional transaction fees.

“As the use of digital payments and digital currencies accelerates, the introduction of Checkout with Crypto continues our focus on driving mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies, while continuing to offer PayPal customers choice and flexibility in the ways they can pay using the PayPal wallet,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal. “Enabling cryptocurrencies to make purchases at businesses around the world is the next chapter in driving the ubiquity and mass acceptance of digital currencies.”

PayPal’s move comes just a day after Visa announced it was accepting USD Coin for settlement transactions.

PayPal Launches ‘Checkout With Crypto’ in US
Matt Milano

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Salesforce and JPMorgan Unloading Office Space in Remote Work Transition

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Salesforce and JPMorgan Unloading Office Space in Remote Work Transition

Salesforce and JPMorgan are the latest big-name companies looking to downsize their office space as remote work becomes the norm.

The global pandemic has fueled a major transition, making remote work and telecommuting the new normal for a large portion of the workforce. Many companies are embracing this permanently, making remote work or hybrid work their default method moving forward.

One market that has suffered as a result is commercial real estate, with many companies no longer needing the vast amount of office space as before. Dropbox recently made headlines when it sold its San Francisco headquarters for $1.08 billion.

Salesforce and JPMorgan are the latest to join the trend, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that JPMorgan is marketing its 700,000 square feet of Manhattan office space. Meanwhile, Salesforce is listing space in one of its San Francisco buildings for rent.

It remains to be seen how much the market will rebound but, at the current rate, it seems as though commercial real estate will forever be changed by the pandemic.

Salesforce and JPMorgan Unloading Office Space in Remote Work Transition
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Apple Announces ‘Glow and Behold’ WWDC 2021

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Apple Announces ‘Glow and Behold’ WWDC 2021

Apple has announced its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for 2021, with the tag line: “Glow and behold.”

WWDC is Apple’s premier event of the year, where the company previews its upcoming operating system releases, as well as new hardware. Some of the company’s biggest products have debuted at WWDC.

This year’s event will be held June 7 – 11 and, like last year, will be “an all-online program with exciting announcements, sessions, and labs at no cost.”

Many have been expecting Apple to hold an event sooner, possibly to debut a new iPad Pro and possibly a new iMac, but as of yet there has been no announcement. Now that Apple has announced WWDC, it’s possible we won’t see another event until then.

Apple Announces ‘Glow and Behold’ WWDC 2021
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T-Mobile First Carrier to Embrace Messages by Google

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T-Mobile First Carrier to Embrace Messages by Google

T-Mobile expanded its partnership with Google, becoming the first US carrier to make Messages by Google the default SMS choice on its Android phones.

Messages by Google is the company’s attempt to grow beyond basic text messaging. Messages implements the RCS protocol, bringing SMS more on par with Apple’s iMessage or Facebook’s WhatsApp. RCS allows for group chats, read receipts, file attachments, encryption and more.

Unfortunately for Google, the company has had difficulty getting carriers to make the jump to the new protocol. T-Mobile has now become the first carrier to make Messages the default SMS app on Android and Pixel phones the carrier ships.

“This is a win for Android users and an even greater win for the Android ecosystem,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, Senior Vice President of Platforms and Ecosystems at Google. “T-Mobile and Google have been working together to champion Android since the very beginning with the launch of the T-Mobile G1 in 2008. We’re taking what has already been a long and very successful relationship, and building on it to bring Android customers even more features and services.”

The news follows T-Mobile’s announcement it would be ending its in-house TVision streaming TV service, in favor of its customers receiving a $10 per month discount on YouTube TV.

“We’re building on our decade-long relationship with Google to give customers an even better experience with the world’s very best products and services offered by Android, Pixel and YouTube,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “The world’s most popular smartphone platform with Android, a broad range of premium Pixel devices, an upgraded, modern messaging experience on Android and a robust entertainment offering with YouTube TV — it’s the best of Google, combined with the nation’s largest and fastest 5G network on T-Mobile.”

T-Mobile First Carrier to Embrace Messages by Google
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Pinterest open-sources big data analytics tool Querybook

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Pinterest recently open-sourced Querybook, a tool for performing big data analytics at enterprise scale.Read More

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FTC Abandons Qualcomm Antitrust Case

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FTC Abandons Qualcomm Antitrust Case

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has abandoned its antitrust case against Qualcomm, despite believing the company is guilty.

Qualcomm has faced long-standing accusations of antitrust behavior, leading to multiple lawsuits. Apple famously engaged in a years-long court battle, before ultimately settling with the company. IBM similarly tried to enter the cellular modem market, before ultimately selling its modem business to Apple, citing what it believed was unfair competition from Qualcomm.

In the initial court ruling, the FTC prevailed in its case, only to have that decision reversed on appeal. The FTC was originally planning on pursuing the case before the Supreme Court, but has now dropped it.

“Given the significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter, the FTC will not petition the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm,” said Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. “The FTC’s staff did an exceptional job presenting the case, and I continue to believe that the district court’s conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise. Now more than ever, the FTC and other law enforcement agencies need to boldly enforce the antitrust laws to guard against abusive behavior by dominant firms, including in high-technology markets and those that involve intellectual property. I am particularly concerned about the potential for anticompetitive or unfair behavior in the context of standard setting and the FTC will closely monitor conduct in this arena.”

The announcement is good news for Qualcomm and bad news for its competitors, many of whose will face an uphill battle competing against it.

FTC Abandons Qualcomm Antitrust Case
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Visa Accepting USD Coin Cryptocurrency

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Visa Accepting USD Coin Cryptocurrency

In the latest evidence of cryptocurrency acceptance, Visa has announced it will accept USD Coin to settle transactions.

USD Coin is a cryptocurrency that is backed by the US dollar, and operates on the Ethereum blockchain. Visa now becomes one of the first major financial firms to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

“Crypto-native fintechs want partners who understand their business and the complexities of digital currency form factors,” said Jack Forestell, executive vice president and chief product officer, Visa. “The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency, and it’s really an extension of what we do every day, securely facilitating payments in all different currencies all across the world.”

Visa traditionally requires a fiat currency for settlement payments, but it hopes that supporting USD Coin will remove a layer of cost and complexity for digital currency-based businesses.

Visa has partnered with Anchorage, “the first federally chartered digital asset bank and an exclusive Visa digital currency settlement partner,” and “has launched a pilot that allows Crypto.com to send USDC to Visa to settle a portion of its obligations for the Crypto.com Visa card program.”

Visa Accepting USD Coin Cryptocurrency
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T-Mobile Kills TVision, Customers Receive YouTube TV and Philo Discount

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T-Mobile Kills TVision, Customers Receive YouTube TV and Philo Discount

T-Mobile has announced it is effectively killing off its TVision streaming service, less than a year after its debut, steering customers towards YouTube TV.

T-Mobile unveiled TVision in October 2020, promising to revolutionize the streaming TV industry. The company’s foray into television, while not quite as revolutionary as T-Mobile promised, was nonetheless a competitive offering. TVision offered a wealth of channels at a price that was among the cheapest options available.

Unfortunately, T-Mobile’s efforts to offer customers what they want quickly raised the ire of its broadcasting partners, especially with its cheapest Vibe package. Vibe included over 30 lifestyle and entertainment channels for $10 per month. As a result of the disputes, T-Mobile decided to bundle all 30+ of its Vibe channels with its more expensive Live packages for free.

The resistance T-Mobile faced forced the company to reconsider its entire position in the streaming TV industry, and it appears a graceful exit is what it has decided on, effective April 29. The company has partnered with Google and Philo to give its customers a $10 per month discount.

That means T-Mobile customers get exclusive access to the best pricing on the highest-rated streaming service, YouTube TV, starting at just $54.99 per month. And, access to streaming TV through Philo starting at just $10 per month for a limited time.

The company emphasized that, in many ways, this is an upgrade over TVision. YouTube currently offers more than twice as many channels as TVision, while Philo has some of the most popular entertainment and lifestyle channels, much like the Vibe package. Customers who purchased the TVision Hub streaming device will be able to access both services on it.

The company acknowledges this is an unexpected change of direction, saying “innovation seldom follows a straight line.” However, T-Mobile emphasizes it will continue to advocate for customers in the TV industry, an industry that is widely viewed as one of the most hated and consumer-unfriendly in America.

Our mission hasn’t changed and is more relevant and important than ever. This TVision initiative is only getting stronger with these changes, and our new TVision partner offerings will give customers more choices as we wind down TVision LIVE and VIBE services on April 29. Our experience has shown us consumers need an advocate in this space. They don’t want more streaming services – they want help buying and navigating the services that already exist. And they want exclusive deals and special access. We’ll continue to play that role, giving our customers the best value with the best streaming services. So millions can cut the cord with the Cableopoly once and for all.

With this latest flexing of its muscles, the TV broadcasting industry has given customers another big reason to hate it. Hopefully, T-Mobile will be able to deliver on its promise to continue fighting for the consumer…even if it no longer has its own TV service.

T-Mobile Kills TVision, Customers Receive YouTube TV and Philo Discount
Matt Milano

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GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

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GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021

GroupM has revised its outlook on the US ad industry, expecting it to grow 15% in 2021, thanks in large part to stimulus spending.

2020 was a difficult year for advertisers, as the global pandemic impacted all sectors of the economy. GroupM had previously predicted a 12% growth in the industry in 2021.

The company is now predicting a 15% increase, thanks to increased spending as a result of the latest stimulus package. Even more significantly, this represents a 6% increase over 2019 levels, indicating the industry will fully rebound from the pandemic in 2021.

Our upgrade of expectations is primarily a reflection of the healthier-than-expected recovery of the economy from the depths of the pandemic paired with the significant impact of fiscal stimulus the federal government is providing to consumers. Digital advertising is the primary beneficiary of trends impacting the economy, both because new small businesses are forming at a record pace (even if collectively they may be losing share of activity within the economy) and because large businesses are increasingly focused on e-commerce, with spending shifts to digital media generally aligning with this trend.

GroupM originally factored the vaccine rollout into its projections, but the Georgia Senate races made the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 a reality, adding to the recovery.

GroupM’s report is welcome news for the advertising industry, and the economy at large.

GroupM: Stimulus Money Will Help US Ad Industry Grow 15% in 2021
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Ever Given Freed, Suez Canal Reopened

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Ever Given Freed, Suez Canal Reopened

Salvage crews have freed the container ship Ever Given from the shore, reopening the Suez Canal after it was blocked for nearly a week.

The Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal Tuesday, March 23. The ship is one of the biggest container vessels in the world, coming in at over 1,300 feet long and nearly 192 feet wide. The ship can carry over 20,000 containers.

Once the ship ran aground, 372 ships were were unable to pass, according to Lloyd’s List, resulting in a significant impact to the global economy. Roughly 12% of maritime trade passes through the canal, equaling an estimated $9 billion in goods every day.

Given the amount of trade and goods passing through the canal, experts said the incident would have ripple effects throughout the economy for months. Some even said it could impact virtually everything sold in stores.

It’s still unclear if the Ever Given will be able to resume its scheduled deliveries. When the ship was stuck, it had pressure on its bow and stern, leaving the middle section to sag. Since ships weren’t designed to take that kind of pressure, there was concern the hull would crack. Early inspections indicated that didn’t happen, but the ship still has to pass a final inspection now that it’s free.

Ever Given Freed, Suez Canal Reopened
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Biden Administration Working on Vaccination Passport Standards

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Biden Administration Working on Vaccination Passport Standards

The Biden administration is working on standards to help establish a vaccination passport, another step toward a return to normal.

One of the major challenges countries face is containing the spread of COVID-19, including new variants that arise, while at the same time easing travel restrictions. While vaccination plays a major part in that, there is currently no standard way to prove one’s vaccination, other than using the physical vaccination card provided. The physical card isn’t the most practical option for travel, and can be easily faked.

According to The Washington Post, the Biden administration is working with private companies to develop a scannable, digital passport. With many industries refusing to fully open without proof of vaccination, the passport will provide an easy way for people to prove they’ve received it.

The work echoes efforts in the European Union to do the same, with IBM winning the contract to create the passport for Germany.

Biden Administration Working on Vaccination Passport Standards
Matt Milano

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Facebook Announces Platform to Support Writers and Journalists

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Facebook Announces Platform to Support Writers and Journalists

Facebook has announced a platform to help writers and journalists monetize their content at a time when news and media are under siege.

This last pandemic-filled year has been particularly difficult for news publishers and the media industry in general. In the midst of those challenges, Big Tech has been under increased scrutiny for how it uses and profits from news and media. Australia passed legislation to force Big Tech companies to pay for the news they use and the US is considering a similar bill.

Facebook has now taken the step of developing a platform designed to make it easier for writers and journalists to self-publish content and monetize it.

As writers, experts and journalists publish more of their work independently, we’re working to better support those efforts and make it easier for those content creators to build businesses online.

In the coming months in the U.S., we’ll introduce a new platform to empower independent writers, helping them reach new audiences and grow their businesses. We will start by partnering with a small subset of independent writers. The platform will include a variety of support focused on content creation and audience growth.

The social media giant hopes its new platform will be especially beneficial to independent journalists.

A large part of this initiative is aimed at supporting independent local journalists who are often the lone voice covering a given community. We’ll work to include them at launch, and build tools and services specific to their needs. Since 2018, we’ve invested $600 million to support journalism and we’re investing $1 billion in news over the next three years. We will continue to support publishers through the Facebook Journalism Project, our existing products and initiatives such as Facebook News, Accelerators, grants, subscriptions tools, Instant Articles and more.

Facebook’s new platform could be a critical game-changer for independent writers, journalists and experts, and may help the company answer its critics.

Facebook Announces Platform to Support Writers and Journalists
Matt Milano

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Electrify America and Jeep Putting Charging Stations at Trailheads

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Electrify America and Jeep Putting Charging Stations at Trailheads

Electrify America and Jeep are partnering to place charging stations at trailheads, coinciding with the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid launch.

Virtually every automaker is working on the transition to hybrid and electric vehicles, and Jeep is no exception. While several electric vehicle makers are working on charging networks, as a leader in off-road vehicles, Jeep is focusing on off-road trailheads charging.

“Electrification opens a new chapter in the Jeep brand story, and it brings an entirely new level of excitement and enjoyment for our enthusiastic owners,” said Christian Meunier, Jeep Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “Key to making Jeep brand the greenest SUV brand is assuring our owners can enjoy the benefits of electric propulsion wherever they go, including the most iconic off-road trails in the country.”

The Jeep 4xe Charging Stations will use the electrical grid where possible, or solar power when off the grid.

The Jeep 4xe Charging Network trailhead chargers will deliver Level 2 (240-volt) charging. With Level 2 charging, the 17 kilowatt-hour battery pack in the Jeep Wrangler 4xe can be fully recharged in about two hours, delivering up to 21 miles of electric range. Recharge times will be shorter for Wrangler 4xe owners looking to just top off the battery pack before heading out on the trail.

The charging network will provide a valuable option for Jeep drivers wanting to take full advantage of their vehicle’s electric capabilities.

“It is our goal to provide electric vehicle drivers with the freedom to get to where they want to go – whether it be on a highway or off-road – and we look forward to bringing Jeep enthusiasts along on the journey,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and chief executive officer of Electrify America. “Through the customizable electric vehicle charging offerings of our Electrify Commercial B2B brand, we were able to work with Jeep to identify where their drivers will need charging access most, and make it a reality.”

Electrify America and Jeep Putting Charging Stations at Trailheads
Matt Milano

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AI Weekly: Algorithms, accountability, and regulating Big Tech

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Facebook, Google, and Twitter executives testified before Congress about disinformation, but the pressure is on lawmakers to act.Read More

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Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

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Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

Microsoft Advertising has released its 2020 year-in-review report, giving a glimpse of the state of online advertising.

The company blocked some 300,000 accounts from its advertising platform, a 30% increase from 2019. Microsoft also removed 1.6 billion bad ads, as well as 270,000 sites from its system.

Given the year that was 2020, it’s not surprising what Microsoft’s five key areas of focus were: the pandemic, political advertising, third-party government services, tech support scams and advertiser safety.

Microsoft emphasized its approach to advertising, one that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and manual reviewers.

Advertising fraud is fast-moving, and we continue to see new patterns surface globally. We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality content possible. We constantly update and refine our policies to ensure we meet evolving needs. Our fraud detection technology makes use of a wide variety of signals and uses the latest machine-learning algorithms to find fraud patterns which can otherwise be difficult to detect. We also have a geographically distributed team of experts working round the clock to help us conduct detailed investigations on any new patterns we’re seeing, by making use of smart and scalable tools. Detecting fraud before it has a chance to reach customers is one piece of our approach.

We also address escalations and complaints from customers to quickly remove low-quality ads. In 2020, we received a total of ~50,000 complaints related to ads not being compliant per our advertising policies. We investigated each complaint and found ~ 65% of the reported ads to be in violation of Microsoft Advertising policies. Most of the complaints were related to trademark infringements. As we continue to roll out new products and make it easier for brands to engage with audiences, we made additional investments to protect and respond to advertisers’ concerns around trademark use and were able to reduce the trademark related complaints by ~ 25% year over year. We also received a few complaints related to unlicensed gambling sites, phishing, unauthorized government service provider websites, and other user safety concerns. We have a highly responsive operations team working 24/7 to promptly address concerns relating to our ads. In response to complaints, our operations team took down nearly 400,000 violating ads from our network.

Microsoft’s 2020 report shows the challenges the advertising industry faces, as well as provides insights into how to manage those challenges.

Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020
Matt Milano

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Xiaomi Will Begin Making Electric Vehicles

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Xiaomi Will Begin Making Electric Vehicles

Smartphone maker Xiaomi will begin making electric vehicles (EV), using Great Wall Motor Co Ltd’s factory.

Xiaomi is one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, but is looking to diversify its business. Since it primarily makes Android-powered smartphones, it doesn’t enjoy the same margins as Apple, and depends on volume to remain profitable. The company has also faced challenges as a result of bans by the US, with officials citing the security risk it poses.

According to Reuters, the company is looking to follow a similar path as many believe Apple is following, branching out from a smartphone maker to an EV maker. The company is planning on having Great Wall handle the manufacturing, the first time the latter has offered its manufacturing services to an outside company.

According to Reuters’ sources, Xiaomi plans to sell its EVs to the mass market, mirroring its approach to the smartphone business.

Xiaomi Will Begin Making Electric Vehicles
Matt Milano

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Cloudflare Rolls Out API Abuse Detection

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Cloudflare Rolls Out API Abuse Detection

Cloudflare, one of the leading content delivery networks, has announced API Discovery and API Abuse Detection.

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are used by companies in every industry. APIs provide a way for different programs and platforms to communicate with each other or hardware components. Many companies use hundreds, or even thousands, of APIs. Unfortunately, despite their value, APIs can be easily abused.

Cloudflare is looking to address that issue with two tools: API Discovery and API Abuse Detection.

API Discovery is designed to help companies keep track of the APIs they have. In some cases, companies have so many that they lose track of them, or easily confuse similar ones.

API Abuse Detection uses a two-prong approach to detecting abuse: volume and sequence. Based on the estimated volume a company should realistically expect on a given API, Cloudflare can detect when volume is higher than it should be.

Similarly, an API has a valid sequence of events when it’s used properly. Cloudflare can monitor an API for calls that are out of sequence, a likely indication it’s being abused.

The new tools are currently available in early access.

Cloudflare Rolls Out API Abuse Detection
Matt Milano

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Facebook expands broadband in Indiana with fiber optic network

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Facebook has expanded the reach of broadband in the state of Indiana, as it has completed building 77 miles of fiber optic cable.Read More

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Apple the Leader in AI Acquisitions

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Apple the Leader in AI Acquisitions

A new report sheds light on the AI industry, with Apple the top company for acquiring AI startups.

According to GlobalData, Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft bought 60 AI companies between 2016 and 2020, 25 of those purchases by Apple. Improving Siri is likely a driving motivator behind the purchases.

“The US is the leader in AI, and the dominance of US tech giants in the list of top acquirers also indicate that these companies have some defined AI objectives,” said Nicklas Nilsson, Senior Analyst on the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData. “For instance, Apple has been ramping up its acquisition of AI companies, with several deals aimed at improving Siri or creating new features on its iPhones. Machine learning start-up Inductiv was acquired to improve Siri’s data, Irish voice tech start-up Voysis was bought to improve Siri’s understanding of natural language, and PullString should make Siri easier for iOS developers to use.

“Apple has gone on a shopping spree in efforts to catch up with Google (Google Assistant) and Amazon (Alexa). Siri was first on the market, but it consistently ranks below the two in terms of ‘smartness’, which is partly why Apple is far behind in smart speaker sales. Apple also want to make sure to keep its strong position within wearables. It is the dominant player in smartwatches. The acquisition of Xnor.ai last year was made to improve its on-edge processing capabilities, which has become important as it eliminates the need for data to be sent to the cloud, thereby improving data privacy.”

Apple has rolled Siri out across its lineup of devices, making it more important than ever for the virtual assistant to be as good, or better, than its rivals.

The rumored Apple Car is likely another reason why the company is investing so heavily in AI. With self-driving cars viewed as the next evolution of the automobile, Apple needs to ensure its AI technology is up to whatever plans it has.

Apple the Leader in AI Acquisitions
Matt Milano

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Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription

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Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription

Microsoft Teams has added live transcription, along with speaker attribution, as the battle over corporate communication heats up.

Microsoft Teams has quickly emerged as one of leading corporate messaging platforms, and a part of Microsoft’s business that could one day rival and surpass the web browser in importance.

An important new feature is live transcription in Teams meetings. The feature uses artificial intelligence to analyze the participants and meeting details to accurately transcribe the contents.

Live transcription in Teams uses a meeting’s invitation, participant names, attachments, etc. to improve the accuracy and recognize meeting-specific jargon for each transcript automatically, without any human involvement. This means no one at Microsoft ever sees the meeting’s content, and the models are automatically deleted immediately after each meeting. In addition, Microsoft doesn’t use or store this data for improving its own AI.

Webex, Google Chrome and Zoom all have closed captioning or transcription. Microsoft including the feature in Teams is an important step in maintaining its position in the market.

Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription
Matt Milano

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Amazon Lookout for Metrics Now Available

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Amazon Lookout for Metrics Now Available

Amazon has made Lookout for Metrics available to all its customers, providing a way to monitor and diagnose business anomalies.

A preview version of Lookout for Metrics was first launched at re:Invent 2020. The service uses machine learning to analyze a business’ operations and automatically detect and diagnose anomalies. It could be a potential business opportunity, a technical issue or any one of the myriad challenges a data-driven business faces.

“We’re excited to announce the general availability of Amazon Lookout for Metrics, a new service that uses machine learning (ML) to automatically monitor the metrics that are most important to businesses with greater speed and accuracy,” write Ankita Verma and Chris King for AWS. “The service also makes it easier to diagnose the root cause of anomalies like unexpected dips in revenue, high rates of abandoned shopping carts, spikes in payment transaction failures, increases in new user sign-ups, and many more. Lookout for Metrics goes beyond simple anomaly detection. It allows developers to set up autonomous monitoring for important metrics to detect anomalies and identify their root cause in a matter of few clicks, using the same technology used by Amazon internally to detect anomalies in its metrics—all with no ML experience required.”

Lookout for Metrics connects to 19 of the most popular data sources, including Amazon Simple Storage Solution (Amazon S3), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), Amazon Redshift, Amazon CloudWatch, Salesforce, Marketo and Zendesk.

Amazon Lookout for Metrics Now Available
Matt Milano

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Verizon Look Forward: Streaming and Mobile Gaming Big Pandemic Winners

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Verizon Look Forward: Streaming and Mobile Gaming Big Pandemic Winners

Verizon’s Look Forward report has a number of important insights, including the growing importance of streaming TV and mobile gaming.

The global pandemic has led to a digital transformation across multiple industries, cramming into a single year what would have taken several. Two industries that have seen massive growth are streaming services and mobile gaming.

According to Verizon’s Look Forward report, major streaming sites have seen a 21% increase over pre-pandemic levels. Rather than being an isolating experience, discussing streaming TV content has helped some 44% of adults content with friends and family.

Some 2 in 3 (67%) are watching at least 3 hours of live TV a week, with over half (59%) watching about the same amount of streaming TV. Just as significantly, of those who watch streaming content, 82% anticipate spending the same amount of time or more a year from now, indicating the uptick in content consumption is likely a permanent change.

Almost half (47%) of adults have subscribed to a new streaming service since the pandemic began, with 70% binge-watching shows at least once or twice.

Mobile gaming is another big winner during the pandemic, with 46% of people downloading or buying at least one mobile game during the pandemic. Interestingly, only 36% did the same with a computer or console game. Almost a third (31%) spend at least 3 hours a week playing a mobile game.

Some 32% of those who engaged in online gaming reported spending more time doing so now than at the beginning of the pandemic, with 45% saying they were spending about the same amount of time.

As Verizon’s report shows, streaming TV and mobile gaming have become staples of the pandemic era, and will likely continue to see major growth for years to come.

Verizon Look Forward: Streaming and Mobile Gaming Big Pandemic Winners
Matt Milano

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Microsoft Edge for Linux Getting Sign-In and Sync Support

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Microsoft Edge for Linux Getting Sign-In and Sync Support

Microsoft is adding sign-in and sync support to the Linux version of its Edge web browser.

Microsoft Edge is the company’s web browser that replaced its long-lived Internet Explorer. While Edge was originally powered by Microsoft’s own rendering engine, the company transitioned it to Chromium, the open source rendering engine that powers Google’s Chrome. Unlike Internet Explorer, Edge is available for several of the most popular Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian and openSUSE.

In a post on the company’s Dev channel, Microsoft’s Josh Bodner announced that sign-in and sync are available in dev build 91.0.831.1.

We’re also starting to roll out sign-in and sync for Linux users! Please note that this is only supported for personal Microsoft Accounts at the moment, and you may need to enable a flag in order to see this setting.

The company does warn that there may be issues, given this is still a development feature.

Users interested in more information can read the full release notes here.

Microsoft Edge for Linux Getting Sign-In and Sync Support
Matt Milano

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Verizon and T-Mobile Complete STIR/SHAKEN Rollout

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Verizon and T-Mobile Complete STIR/SHAKEN Rollout

T-Mobile and Verizon announced they have both rolled out the STIR/SHAKEN protocols in an effort to fight robocalls and spam.

The STIR/SHAKEN protocols are designed to provide a way for carriers to verify the origin and authenticity of a call, and then pass that verification on to the carrier on the receiving end of the call, who then verifies it again. If the call is verified by all carriers involved, the recipient phone will display a “Caller Verified” badge.

The first and second largest carriers announced they have both completed their STIR/SHAKEN implementation, offering an additional layer of protection to their customers.

“This latest STIR/SHAKEN milestone is a key part of our overall efforts to combat these unwanted calls,” said Ronan Dunne, EVP and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group. “There is always more to be done, but this is yet another important step for the industry and customers should rest assured that we remain vigilant in our efforts to take down the bad guys and protect them.”

“T-Mobile was first to implement number verification in 2019 because protecting customers against scammers and spammers is one of the most important things we can do as an industry,” said Mike Sievert, CEO T-Mobile. “To date, T-Mobile has protected over 80 million customers from more than 33 billion suspect calls – and counting. With the combination of Number Verification, free Caller ID and the scam blocking tools in Scam Shield, and by working with network providers of all sizes, we are providing the industry’s most comprehensive scam and spam protection for free to all our customers and working every day to make scammers jobs impossible.”

The implementation of the protocol is good news for consumers.

Verizon and T-Mobile Complete STIR/SHAKEN Rollout
Matt Milano

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IBM Targets Hybrid Cloud Security With New Services

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IBM Targets Hybrid Cloud Security With New Services

IBM has released new services, aimed at helping organizations manage and secure their hybrid cloud.

Hybrid cloud solutions have become the option of choice for many companies, combining the benefits of the cloud with on-premise infrastructure. Combining the two and properly securing them, however, can present challenges.

IBM has released an enhanced version of its IBM Security Services for Cloud in an effort to help companies tackle the challenge. The new services are designed to help companies maintain a consistent security policy across their hybrid environment. The services use artificial intelligence (AI) to help identify and prioritize potential risks and help administrators address them.

“Cloud security can appear daunting, with defenders facing an expansive attack surface, shared responsibility models and rapidly evolving cloud platforms and tools,” said Vikram Chhabra, Global Director, Offering Management and Strategy, IBM Security Services. “We cannot assume that legacy approaches for security will work in this new operating model – instead, security should be modernized specifically for the hybrid cloud era, with a strategy based on zero trust principles that bring together context, collaboration and visibility across any cloud environment.”

The enhanced tools are the latest example of IBM’s transition to a hybrid cloud provider. The company is planning on splitting in two, spinning off its traditional business, while the core company focuseson hybrid cloud.

IBM Targets Hybrid Cloud Security With New Services
Matt Milano

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Verizon Look Forward: Only 25% Want to Return to Office Full-Time

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Verizon Look Forward: Only 25% Want to Return to Office Full-Time

A new report by Verizon shows how much remote work has changed the workplace, with only 25% wanting to return to the office full-time.

Verizon’s Look Forward report confirms what many have known about the workplace during the pandemic. Over half of employees (54%) are now working remotely, at least part of the time, almost double pre-pandemic levels (28%).

Of those working remotely, 7 in 10 (69%) want to continue working remotely a minimum of 1-2 days per week permanently. In fact, only 1 in 4 (25%) want to go back to the office full-time. Many employees (75%) enjoy the mobility remote work offers them, with 2 in 3 (67%) planning to travel and work from places outside the home once it’s safe to do so.

The report also shed light on the amazing growth of the technical solutions that have made remote work possible. Video conferencing has seen a 2,872% jump from pre-pandemic activity, while VPN use is 91% higher.

“The pandemic has forced all of us to face challenges we never considered,” says Kyle Malady, Chief Technical Officer at Verizon. “A year into the pandemic, data usage on Verizon networks remains at almost 31% above pre-pandemic levels, a clear indicator that internet consumption and the acceleration of technology adoption are major byproducts of this moment. We’ve seen the shift to digital jump ahead 5-7 years.”

Report after report has shown the permanent transformation the pandemic has had on the workplace. Verizon’s Look Forward report puts some hard numbers to the transformation, putting it in clearer perspective.

Verizon Look Forward: Only 25% Want to Return to Office Full-Time
Matt Milano

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Comcast Commits $1 Billion to Help 50 Million Low-Income Families

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Comcast Commits $1 Billion to Help 50 Million Low-Income Families

Comcast has announced it is committing $1 billion over the next 10 years, to help low-income families close the digital divide.

The global pandemic has forever altered the modern workplace, and emphasized the importance of fast, reliable internet access. Unfortunately, for many families around the country, high-speed, broadband access is still a luxury.

Comcast is working to address that issue, with a $1 billion investment over the next 10 years. The company’s announcement coincides with the 10-year progress report of what the company has done until now to address the issue.

“Ten years is a remarkable milestone, signifying an extraordinary amount of work and collaboration with our incredible community partners across the country,” said Dave Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Comcast Cable. “Together, we have been able to connect millions of people to the power of the Internet at home, and to the endless opportunity, education, growth, and discovery it provides. Today, we are rededicating ourselves to this mission to ensure that the next generation of students in America has the tools, resources, and abilities they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.”

“For more than a decade, Comcast has been a leader in working with communities to close the Digital Divide through its Internet Essentials program,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “From its beginning as a pilot program with the Wilmington Urban League to today, Comcast’s Internet Essentials program has transformed millions of lives by connecting low-income households to the power of broadband. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic placed a spotlight on the digital divide, for the past decade Comcast, in partnership with organizations like the National Urban League, has been leading the effort to close the digital divide, address the homework gap, and ensure low-income communities have the necessary digital skills.”

Over the next 10 years, the company will invest a number of areas, including: ongoing support of Lift Zone, establishing WiFi safe spaces in 1,000+ community centers; laptop and computer donations; continued support of the company’s Internet Essentials program; and grants to help nonprofit community organizations create new opportunities for low-income Americans.

Comcast Commits $1 Billion to Help 50 Million Low-Income Families
Matt Milano

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NASA Working on Moon-Based Solar Power

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NASA Working on Moon-Based Solar Power

NASA is working with commercial companies to ensure there is sustainable power on the moon to power any future bases.

With renewed interest in space and colonization in the solar system, having reliable, sustainable power sources is a critical step. NASA is working with several companies to ensure they can meet any future power needs on the moon.

We're working with industry on solar arrays for @NASAArtemis missions on the Moon's surface. Five companies will design technologies that could provide a reliable, sustainable power source for habitats, rovers, and even construction systems: https://t.co/5sZNpvWlpb pic.twitter.com/6JILM3FNVG

— NASA (@NASA) March 23, 2021

Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), told the Houston Chronicle how important the technology was to NASA’s efforts.

“We are thrilled with the proposals received and even more excited to see the designs that result from the base effort,” Werkheiser said. “Having reliable power sources on the Moon is key to almost anything we do on the surface. By working with five different companies to design these prototype systems, we are effectively mitigating the risk that is inherent to developing such cutting-edge technologies.”

NASA Working on Moon-Based Solar Power
Matt Milano

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Arizona Bill to Regulate App Stores Dead on Arrival

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Arizona Bill to Regulate App Stores Dead on Arrival

A controversial Arizona bill that would have had profound implications for Apple and Google’s app stores has been killed without a vote.

Three weeks ago, the Arizona House passed a bill that would force Apple and Google to allow third-party payment options. The bill would have prevented the two companies from forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems, and prevent the companies from forcing Arizona customers to use a particular system.

The bill was set to go to the Senate today, but the Senate never voted on it. According to one critic, a back-room deal was responsible for the bill not seeing the light of day.

The big show turned out to be a no show. The bill was killed in mid-air while on the agenda with a backroom deal. Apple has hired the governor's former chief of staff, and word is that he brokered a deal to prevent this from even being heard. #America4Sale https://t.co/XEeUMlC1zu

— DHH (@dhh) March 24, 2021

As The Verge points out, Apple and Google had both hired lobbyists to counter the bill. The bill would have had major repercussions for both companies and, short of a national consensus, would have added a prohibitively difficult layer of complexity to the app stores.

In addition, Apple has consistently argued that its stewardship of its App Store is one of the selling points of the iOS ecosystem. Because Apple has the final say, it’s able to screen apps and services, resulting in far less malicious apps on the App Store than the Google Play Store.

Arizona Bill to Regulate App Stores Dead on Arrival
Matt Milano

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Intel CEO Wants Apple Back As a Customer

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Intel CEO Wants Apple Back As a Customer

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has his sights set on regaining Apple as a customer, thanks to Intel’s planned factories in Arizona.

Apple made headlines when it announced it would be transitioning its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, based on Arm designs. Previously, Apple used its own custom silicon in iPhone and iPads, but relied on Intel’s chips for its Mac computers.

Unfortunately for Intel, the company was no longer able to meet Apple’s needs. Intel’s chips increasingly started falling behind rival AMD’s semiconductors, and failed to keep up with the power savings and performance Apple was able to achieve with its custom silicon.

To make matters worse, Intel had some high-profile issues with quality control. In fact, according to former Intel engineer François Piednoël, at one point Apple was finding almost as many bugs in Intel’s chips as Intel’s own team — not a good way to convince a company to stay with your products.

“The quality assurance of Skylake was more than a problem … It was abnormally bad,” said Piednoël. “We were getting way too much citing for little things inside Skylake. Basically our buddies at Apple became the number one filer of problems in the architecture. And that went really, really bad. When your customer starts finding almost as much bugs as you found yourself, you’re not leading into the right place.”

Despite losing Apple, Gelsinger is intent on getting them back, if not as a customer of Intel’s in-house chips, then as a manufacturing customer.

Intel’s new factories are being built in Arizona with the goal of challenging TSMC, the company Apple currently uses to manufacture its chips, and bring more semiconductor manufacturing to the US. As a result, Intel is positioning itself as an alternative manufacturing partner, giving companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Nokia and Microsoft another option and a way to diversify their supply chain.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Gelsinger laid out his hope.

Apple is a customer, and I hope to make them a big foundry customer because today they’re wholly dependent on Taiwan Semiconductor. We want to present great options for them to leverage our foundry services, as well, just like we’re working with Qualcomm and Microsoft to leverage our foundry. We’re going to be delivering great technology, some things that can’t be done anywhere else in the world.

In an interview with BBC News, Gelsinger emphasized it wouldn’t be an easy sell, and Intel would have to demonstrate that it could successfully meet customers’ needs.

Everybody wants multiple suppliers. So we think there’s very real potential. But I have to earn that business. I have to be able to go to my competitors and be able to say: “I want you to become my customer.”

And that also includes Nvidia, Qualcomm and Broadcom, in addition to Microsoft and IBM. I want all of them to say: “I need more technology… and I trust that Intel is going to become one of my key suppliers.”

And that includes Apple as one of the biggest users of advanced semiconductor capabilities.

Gelsinger certainly doesn’t lack for ambition in his efforts to turn Intel’s fortunes around. It remains to be seen if he and Intel can deliver the goods.

Intel CEO Wants Apple Back As a Customer
Matt Milano

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Google Has a Credibility Problem As Researchers Shun Its Funding

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Google Has a Credibility Problem As Researchers Shun Its Funding

In the wake of Google’s high-profile missteps with its ethical AI team, the company has suffered a loss of credibility as researchers decline its funding.

Google made headlines when it fired Dr. Timnit Gebru, its ethical AI team co-lead. Despite the company trying to portray the situation as a “resignation,” Dr. Gebru and her co-workers say she was fired. Given her stature as one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers, Google’s actions resulted in tremendous scrutiny.

At the heart of the issue was academic integrity, with Google objecting to a paper Dr. Gebru had co-authored, critical of certain types of AI technology, including some that Google uses. Margaret Mitchell, the other ethical AI team co-lead, was fired shortly thereafter.

Google’s actions have drawn widespread condemnation, from both inside and outside the organization. Some engineers have quit in protest, and the firings were directly cited by workers when forming the Alphabet Workers Union. The company has also seen its sponsorship of at least one high-profile conference suspended.

The company’s behavior is further impacting its standing in the AI community, as some researchers are turning down funding offers.

CNN Business cites the example of Luke Stark, an assistant professor at Western University in Ontario, Canada. He originally applied for a Google Research Scholar award, because of his “sense at the time that Google was building a really strong, potentially industry-leading ethical AI team.”

Despite being awarded a $60,000, no-strings-attached grant, Stark ultimately ended up turning it down because of the company’s actions.

He’s not alone. Vijay Chidambaram, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, had previously received $30,000 from Google in 2018. The company’s recent actions, however, have ruled out his taking any additional funding.

“In good conscience, I can no longer accept funding from a company that treats its employees in this manner,” Chidambaram told CNN Business.

Google has made attempts to mitigate the damage to its reputation, including an apology from CEO Sundar Pichai and appointing Dr. Marian Croak, a Black woman, to head the ethical AI team. These measures, however, have been criticized as being tone-deaf, shifting blame or an attempt to gloss over the company’s real issues with token measures.

One thing is clear: Google has a major creditability problem that will continue to cost it until it takes concrete measures to address the real problem.

Google Has a Credibility Problem As Researchers Shun Its Funding
Matt Milano

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