How useful are your cellphones and devices if the grid goes down, taking the internet and cellular networks with it? About as useful as a paper weight. IBM and Project Owl are looking to change that. First responders and victims of disasters like floods and hurricanes are the people most in need of rapid communication. They need to coordinate rescue operations, and a communication can save lives. To fulfill a request IBM made for technology that could accomplish this, Project Owl has created little Wi-fi devices known as DuckLinks. Bloomberg reports on what these devices do: The five … [Read more...]
Which One of These Tech Companies Will Survive?
Big tech companies are under fire from many sides. Uproars over privacy fears, sluggish earnings, and regulation imminent, Silicon Valley is looking for a way forward. These tech companies have been trying to diversify their income streams in order to stay alive. The question is, can they succeed? So far it hasn't gone well. Jason Dean reports for The Wall Street Journal: Google, Facebook Inc. FB -0.79% and other tech giants have long tinkered with ways to grow outside the core businesses they dominate. Now those efforts are becoming urgent. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, beset … [Read more...]
Is Amazon’s Alexa Service Private Enough?
After it was revealed that teams of Amazon reviewers listen to bits of actual audio captured by Alexa enabled devices to help train the systems voice recognition, some owners were scared. Now it has been revealed that not only do Amazon's teams listen to users' conversations, but they also have access to their home addresses in some cases. The revelation brings about new and even more concerning privacy issues that must be addressed. Bloomberg reports on the finding: An Amazon.com Inc. team auditing Alexa users’ commands has access to location data and can, in some cases, easily find a … [Read more...]
IBM Plans to Make Great American Mainframes Again
IBM plans to shut down its mainframe manufacturing facility in Singapore and move the business to Poughkeepsie, New York. The Straits Times reports: Global tech giant IBM is shutting its $90 million technology park in Tampines, costing up to 600 jobs in Singapore, and moving production of its high-end computer systems to the United States. The move comes as analysts expect IBM to report weaker earnings, down around 3 per cent for its first quarter, after the close of trading in the US yesterday, in part due to an ageing mainframe product cycle. The US firm will move the manufacturing of … [Read more...]
Can Silicon Valley Cut Wall Street out of IPOs?
The workplace messaging app company, Slack, is getting ready for its initial public offering. Rather than using the traditional underwriter process, Slack plans on a "direct listing," on the NYSE. The tech industry's growing use of direct listings on the NYSE could end up being a threat to Nasdaq's dominance of the sector. The Wall Street Journal's Corrie Driebusch and Maureen Farrell write: The workplace-messaging company is set to follow Spotify Technology SA in debuting on the NYSE through a direct listing, according to people familiar with the matter, after the music streamer’s listing … [Read more...]
Can Apple Still Innovate?
Much of Apple's success has come on the back of the company's ability to introduce revolutionary products at the right moment. The iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad were a succession of game changing innovations that turned Apple into a worldwide mega-brand. Lately though, sales have been slowing, and Apple is turning its attention away from its devices and toward services. This is worrying some analysts, including James Wang, who spoke to Barron's reporter Tae Kim about Apples "innovation DNA." Kim reports: Even some Apple (ticker: AAPL) investors are questioning the technology giant’s … [Read more...]
Can Services be the “Next iPhone?”
By this point, people are accustomed to every new product from Apple being described as the "next iPhone." Now Apple is making a pivot to build its services business, announcing new streaming TV, gaming, magazines, and credit card products at an event yesterday. Can services ever be the "next iPhone?" Tripp Mickle reports on Apple's new strategy for The Wall Street Journal: The iPhone is running out of juice. To go beyond the device that made Apple Inc.AAPL 1.38% a global colossus, Tim Cook is betting on a suite of services—marking the company’s biggest shift in more than a decade. The … [Read more...]
Facebook’s Talent Exodus is a Harbinger of Change, or Trouble
Executives are fleeing Facebook as the company comes under increased fire for privacy and anti-trust issues. Last week Facebook's chief product officer, Chris Cox, and vice president for WhatsApp, Chris Daniels, both departed the company. Facebook has announced changes in the direction of its product, perhaps making departures of personnel who no longer fit the mission inevitable. It could also be that these executives are tired of dealing with Facebook's many troubles and have decided to leave while they can. Bloomberg's Sarah Frier reports: Cox was well-liked internally, known for his … [Read more...]
Will Disney+ be Bigger than Netflix?
Disney is close to unveiling its new streaming services, Disney+ and ESPN+. Those new services, along with Hulu, which Disney recently acquired a controlling share in, will serve as the platform for Disney's digital delivery future. The question many analysts are asking is, will Disney's services be as popular as Netflix? Barron's Nicholas Jasinski reports: The back story. Disney (ticker: DIS) so far has been coy about providing specific details, other than revealing that it plans to take a three-pronged approach to direct-to-consumer streaming. One service, called Disney+, will include … [Read more...]
Will Democrats Break Up Big Tech Companies?
Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline (D) has suggested imposing on tech companies a form of the Glass-Steagall rules that have been applied to banks. The rules would seek to break up functions of the tech companies to avoid anti-trust issues. Kiran Stacey reports in the Financial Times: David Cicilline, the head of the House antitrust subcommittee, has suggested imposing a version of the Glass-Steagall rules — which forced banks to separate commercial and investment banking — on the technology industry. His comments add to growing calls from senior figures in the Democratic party to … [Read more...]
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