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☆ Price-sensitive US shoppers nab early 'Cyber Monday' deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Workers select and pack items during Cyber Monday at the Amazon fulfilment center in Robbinsville Township in New Jersey, U.S., November 28, 2022. Heavy online traffic and transactions could add up to a record $12 billion outlay by U.S. shoppers on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe Analytics. "You have consumers out there who are very price-sensitive and conscientious, and who want to make sure they get the very best possible deal." Walmart (WMT.N) , eager to capture market share, slashed prices on Sunday night, joining the trend of retailers' early discounts on major shopping days. Last-minute shoppers on Monday could spend $4 billion between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Vivek Pandya, Pandya, Rob Garf, Garf, Vanessa O'Connell, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Digital, Walmart, Adobe, Commerce, Thomson Locations: Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, U.S, Salesforce

☆ Black Friday shoppers spent a record $9.8 billion in U.S. online sales, up 7.5% from last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Black Friday's spending spike reflects a consumer who is more willing to spend than in 2022, when gas and food prices were painfully high. Pandya noted that impulse purchases may have played a role in the Black Friday growth since $5.3 billion of the online sales came from mobile shopping. A Mastercard analysis of this year's Black Friday sales found that in-store sales rose just over 1% versus online sales, which grew by over 8% compared to last year. Black Friday kept the momentum going from the day before on Thanksgiving when online sales totaled $5.6 billion, according to a prior Adobe analysis. The report forecasts that online shoppers will spend roughly $10 billion over the course of Saturday and Sunday, and a record $12 billion on Cyber Monday.

Persons: they're, Vivek Pandya, Pandya Organizations: Woodbury, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Digital, Adobe, Mastercard, Target Locations: Lacoste, Central Valley , New York, U.S

☆ Thanksgiving Day online sales jump as discounts motivate holiday shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Online spending on Thanksgiving Day jumped 5.5% compared to a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, a reflection of holiday shoppers who are buying more of their gifts online and responding to discounts. It does not cover in-store purchases, where the majority of U.S. holiday purchases still take place. And shoppers responded: Online purchases of toys shot up 182% compared to average daily sales in October. Jewelry sales rose 126%, apparel rose 124% and personal care products rose 67%. Mobile shopping played a big role in Thanksgiving sales, with nearly 60% of sales coming through a mobile device — an all-time record for Thanksgiving, Adobe said.

Persons: That's, it's, Mario, Adobe Organizations: Adobe Analytics, National, Target, Disney, Adobe, Marvel, Mobile Locations: U.S

Jets free live streams as you recover from last night's belly stuffing and late-night shopping for Black Friday deals. We can also show you how to watch Thursday Night Football free live streams to keep up throughout the rest of the 2023 season. How to watch Dolphins vs. You can also catch the game from Amazon Prime Video apps on smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, streaming sticks, and gaming consoles. Watch Dolphins vs.

Persons: Zach Wilson, Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Richard Sherman, ExpressVPN, AWST Organizations: Dolphins, Jets, Black, Buffalo Bills, Miami, AFC East, Amazon, . Jets, Fox, Amazon Prime, Insiders, Prime, Friday, Apple, Watch Dolphins, Football, Seahawks, Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Chargers, Raiders, Rams, Browns Locations: Tua, New York, Miami

☆ Morgan Stanley is bullish on this emerging AI trend — and names 6 stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

One part of artificial intelligence will have an increasing role to play, according to Morgan Stanley. The theme, which it called "Edge AI," involves running AI algorithms directly on a user's device, be it a smartphone, laptop or wearable, among other things. Edge AI can help save costs, reduce latency (or lag time), among other benefits, Morgan Stanley said. MediaTek Morgan Stanley said MediaTek , the largest chip design house in Asia, is gearing up for Edge AI. Xiaomi Morgan Stanley said Xiaomi is a key beneficiary, given its first-mover advantage in Edge AI.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Apple Morgan Stanley, Apple, DELL, Dell, MediaTek Morgan Stanley, MediaTek, Qualcomm Morgan Stanley, STMicroelectronics, Xiaomi Morgan Stanley, Xiaomi, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Edge, Apple, Dell, PCS, Qualcomm, Hong Locations: Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong

☆ $115 million stolen from two crypto firms linked to Justin Sun after hack
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of HTX, formerly known as Huobi, is seen on the screen of a mobile device in this photo. Two cryptocurrency platforms linked to high-profile digital entrepreneur Justin Sun were hacked in two exploits that may have stolen an estimated $115 million to date. Sun, who is an investor in HTX and linked to the Heco Chain, confirmed the events. Market analytics firm CryptoQuant assesses that a total of $85.4 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from the Heco Chain. CNBC has reached out to HTX for comment on Heco Chain losses.

Persons: Justin Sun, HTX, Sun, HBTC Organizations: CNBC Locations: HTX, CoinGecko

☆ Exclusive: Meta's head of augmented reality software stepping down
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Meta's (META.O) head of augmented reality software is stepping down from his role, a company spokesperson told Reuters on Friday, raising questions about the company's progress in developing a custom operating system for its planned AR glasses. A Meta spokesperson confirmed Box would be leaving the company at the end of this week and said he was doing so for personal reasons. It aims to ship its first AR glasses to consumers in 2027. The Meta spokesperson declined to address the roadmap or whether the OS that Box's team was building would be in the first generation AR glasses. Box is known for having led the creation of the Xbox One operating system and later heading Microsoft's core operating system group, which works across all Windows products.

Persons: Eric Gaillard, Don Box, Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Bosworth, Meta, Katie Paul, Kenneth Li, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Cannes Lions International, Creativity, REUTERS, Meta, Reuters, Labs, Microsoft, Xbox, Thomson Locations: Cannes, France

☆ 5 things you should know about 5G before implementing it in your business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Chris Stokel-Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Building a private 5G network for your business could be beneficial if you need fast data transfers. But 5G is more expensive than 4G or WiFi, so it may not be worth it for every business. McKinsey has estimated that mobile operators will spend more than $650 billion from 2022 to 2025 to make 5G networks the norm. If you're considering adding 5G to your business, here's what you need to know. "At present, there are very few 5G business networks deployed, and many are still in a trial phase.

Persons: —, Keith Brownsword, Brownsword, William Webb, Webb, who's, Fabio Giust, Giust, it's, Samantha Kight Organizations: Service, Mobile, McKinsey, 4G, Institute of Electrical, Electronics Engineers, Access, 5G's

☆ Microsoft announces custom AI chip that could compete with Nvidia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A custom-built rack for the Maia 100 AI Accelerator and its "sidekick" inside a thermal chamber at a Microsoft lab in Redmond, Washington. The first, its Maia 100 artificial intelligence chip, could compete with Nvidia's highly sought-after AI graphics processing units. In addition to designing the Maia chip, Microsoft has devised custom liquid-cooled hardware called Sidekicks that fit in racks right next to racks containing Maia servers. Moving from GPUs to AWS Trainium AI chips can be more complicated than migrating from Intel Xeons to Gravitons, though. WATCH: Nvidia notches tenth straight day of gains, driven by new AI chip announcement

Persons: Maia, Nvidia's, Rani Borkar, Borkar, OpenAI, OpenAI's, We've, they've, Colette Kress, Steve Tuck, Tuck, Graviton, Dave Brown, Brown Organizations: Microsoft, Intel, Google, CNBC, Amazon, Services, Nvidia, AMD, Computer, Companies, SQL, AWS Locations: Redmond , Washington, Seattle, New York, Gravitons

☆ Shara Tibken — Personal Tech news editor at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Shara Tibken | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shara TibkenShara Tibken is the Personal Tech team’s news editor, based in San Francisco. She spent nine years at CNET, most recently as managing editor of the CNET News team. She was the Apple beat reporter for six years, and covered Samsung and other mobile device makers. She’s had two journalism fellowships in Germany, and has written extensively about 5G and the digital divide. She began her journalism career at Dow Jones Newswires, where she covered semiconductors, data storage and IBM.

Persons: Shara, She’s, Dow Jones Newswires Organizations: Tech, CNET, CNET News, Apple, Samsung, Dow, IBM Locations: San Francisco, Germany

☆ Bill Gates thinks AI could spell the end of tedious life admin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI assistants are on their way. Bill Gates and Sam Altman spoke this week about the future of AI lying in "agents." This past week has made that much clear as big-name techies like Bill Gates and Sam Altman touted the future of AI as one of "agents." He reckons AI agents can change that within the next five years. A store leaderboard will even help you identify the most useful AI assistants.

Persons: Bill Gates, Sam Altman, —, Gates, Altman, OpenAI's, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Clippy, you've Organizations: Service, Microsoft Locations: San Francisco

A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. Among the opportunities is the company's plan to liven its timer-setting, command-fulfilling Google Assistant with Bard's human-directed suggestions. Connecting these products, first via mobile devices in the coming months, will introduce AI to more people, said Krawczyk. Google Search traffic fell 0.4%, the analysts' note said. The surge reminded Krawczyk of what Google Search faced upon news of pop star Michael Jackson's death in 2009, he said.

Persons: Paresh Dave, Bard, Jack Krawczyk, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Krawczyk, Michael Jackson's, Jeffrey Dastin, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters NEXT, Google, YouTube, Bank of America, Gmail, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, New York, ChatGPT

☆ Google’s App Store Power Goes on Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Miles Kruppa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fortnite-maker Epic Games claims that Google used its dominant position to squeeze excess profits from app developers. Photo: Epic GamesGoogle’s power in the digital economy will face another major legal test starting Monday in a case targeting its role as a gatekeeper on billions of mobile devices. A group of San Francisco jurors will begin hearing arguments from Fortnite-maker Epic Games that Google used its dominant position to squeeze excess profits from app developers. The case forms the second part of Epic’s attack on the two largest mobile software providers after the game developer went up against Apple in a 2021 courtroom battle.

Organizations: Epic Games, Google, Epic, Apple Locations: San Francisco

Google is headed back to court for its second antitrust trial in two months, this time in defense of its Android Play Store. The trial involving Epic, which begins Monday, revolves around Google's treatment of third-party mobile developers, and will be closely watched by Apple , which operates the rival iPhone App Store. It could allow Epic to get its store pre-installed on devices, potentially making it easier for users to bypass Google's store to download games. Epic sued both companies, seeking to allow direct billing and the unfettered ability to install the Epic store on smartphones. Epic’s suit against Apple went to trial in 2021 and was appealed earlier this year.

Persons: Fortnite Organizations: Google, Department of Justice, Washington , D.C, Epic Games, Apple, Epic Locations: Washington ,, San Francisco

☆ A healthcare COO and a travel business founder have found that mobile innovation is changing their work lives for the better
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Samsung | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The rise in new mobile devices has allowed us to access aspects of our personal healthcare in increasingly simple and flexible ways. AdvertisementAdvertisementOne such business is Qured, a startup that was founded in 2017 in London that offers users access to at-home health screening. That experience really drove my determination to work with innovative tech startups," said Lyz Swanton, Qured's COO. "We are seeing more patients relying on their smartphones to access healthcare," Swanton said. "I am very excited for the future of healthtech and the possibilities of mobile innovation to transform lives," Swanton said.

Persons: —, Lyz Swanton, Qured, Swanton, Samsung Knox, Thomas Christensen, Christensen, campervans Organizations: CDC, Premier League football, Devices, Samsung, Insider Studios Swanton, Samsung Galaxy Locations: London

☆ Entrepreneurs need mobile devices that offer flexibility and support multitasking. Here's how two SMB owners get it done.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Samsung | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Now his phone keeps up with him — the Z Fold5 has enough battery to last a full day, including video calls. Louis Angel Scott, the cofounder and COO of Cutbox, a UK-based barber chain that offers convenient and affordable cuts, understands this clearly. Angel Scott and his cofounder initially founded Cutbox out of frustration with long wait times associated with the barbering industry. Samsung created products like the Galaxy Z Fold5 for technology-leaning entrepreneurs like Angel Scott. "The back-end experience is so seamless to access on the Z Fold5 due to the bigger screen," Angel Scott said.

Persons: Andy Davis, Davis, Samsung's Knox, Knox, I've, Louis Angel Scott, Angel Scott, Cutbox, Pen Organizations: Black, Samsung, Buds2, Insider Studios, Samsung Labs Locations: barbershops

☆ LinkedIn's new AI chatbot wants to help you get a job
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LinkedIn debuted an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot Wednesday that it's billing as a "job seeker coach," and unveiled other generative AI tools for Premium members. The new AI chatbot, which aims in part to help users gauge whether a job application is worth their time, is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 and began rolling out to some Premium users Wednesday. "We had to build a lot of stuff on our end to work around that and to make this a snappy experience," Berger told CNBC in an interview. The chatbot will also point to potential gaps in a user's experience that could hurt them in the job application process. In the past, many uses of AI in hiring or job applications have faced criticism for bias against marginalized communities.

Persons: OpenAI's GPT, Erran Berger, Berger, We've, we've, Jordan Novet Organizations: LinkedIn, Microsoft, CNBC, Harvard Business, Tech, Qualcomm

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics on Tuesday reported its highest quarterly profit for the year as losses from its computer chip business narrowed amid a slow recovery in global demand. Samsung said it expects its business to further improve in coming months, considering the replacement cycles of personal computers and smartphones and the expansion of artificial intelligence-based devices and services, which has been increasing the demand for its DRAM chips. The South Korean technology giant’s 2.43 trillion won ($1.8 billion) operating profit for the three months to September still marked a 77.6% decline from the same period last year as the company in past months has grappled with weak memory chip prices and the global economic shock of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The company’s 67.4 trillion won ($50 billion) revenue for the last quarter was a 12.2% drop from a year earlier. Samsung said the losses from its memory chip business fell from 4.36 trillion won ($3.2 billion) in the second quarter to 3.75 trillion won ($2.78 billion) for the July-September period.

Persons: Samsung Organizations: Samsung Electronics, Samsung Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Ukraine

☆ Canada bans China’s Wechat from government devices citing security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Canada has banned Chinese super-app WeChat on official government devices citing cybersecurity risks, following similar action taken against short-form video app TikTok earlier this year. CNN has reached out to Tencent, the owner of Wechat, and Kaspersky Lab for comment. In February, the Canadian government banned TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, from government-issued mobile devices in light of cybersecurity concerns. Relative to TikTok, Wechat has been a less prominent target of global governments over the past year in part because it is much more popular among Chinese speakers. In August 2020, then-US President Donald Trump tried to ban Wechat along with TikTok by issuing executive orders.

Persons: Yintao Yu, Wechat, Donald Trump, Joe Biden Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Kaspersky, Treasury Board of Canada, CNN, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, Chinese Communist Party, Trump Locations: Hong Kong, Hong Kong CNN — Canada, Russian, China, Beijing, California

☆ 'It's not that Huawei is superior, it's that Apple is inferior': What the Chinese internet is saying about the iPhone 15
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

People in China just aren't that enamored with Apple's iPhone 15. Apple faces stiff local competition from Chinese rival Huawei, which launched its Mate 60 Pro smartphone weeks before the iPhone 15.launched its Mate 60 Pro smartphone weeks before the iPhone 15. As of press time, posts discussing the iPhone 15 have drawn over 100 million views on Weibo, China's version of X. If it were you, would you upgrade to the iPhone 15 just to get USB C charging?" Apple launched the iPhone 15 at its "Wonderlust" event in September.

Persons: — Organizations: Apple, Huawei, Weibo, Service, Bloomberg, Xiaomi Locations: China, Weibo, Hong Kong

☆ Canada bans WeChat, Kaspersky applications on government devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsOTTAWA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Canada on Monday banned Chinese messaging application WeChat and Russian antivirus program Kaspersky on government-issued mobile devices due to privacy and security risks, but said government information had not been compromised. WeChat and Kaspersky did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "The decision to remove and block the WeChat and the Kaspersky applications was made to ensure that government of Canada networks and data remain secure and protected and are in line with the approach of our international partners," the statement said. The applications will be removed from government-issued mobile devices on Monday, and users will be blocked from downloading them in the future. Canada in February banned TikTok, the short-video app owned by Chinese company Bytedance, from government-issued devices due to similar privacy and security concerns.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kaspersky, TikTok, Ismail Shakil, Yuvraj Malik, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Rights OTTAWA, HK, Treasury Board of Canada, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Canada, Moscow, Ottawa, Bengaluru

☆ BlackBerry CEO John Chen to depart - The Globe and Mail
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Blackberry CEO John Chen takes part in an event at the BlackBerry QNX headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies BlackBerry Ltd FollowOct 30 (Reuters) - BlackBerry's (BB.TO) CEO John Chen has resigned and will exit the company on Friday, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday citing a source familiar with the matter. Chen joined BlackBerry in November 2013 and led the company's turnaround efforts in pivoting it from consumer hardware business to one that focused on enterprise software. Earlier this month, the company said it would separate the IoT and cybersecurity units and target a subsidiary initial public offering for the IoT business next fiscal year. Last year, it pulled the plug on its smartphones business and has since been trying to sell its legacy patents related to its mobile devices.

Persons: John Chen, Chris Wattie, Chen, Yuvraj Malik, Chavi Mehta, Shailesh Kuber, Krishna Chandra Organizations: BlackBerry, REUTERS, Globe and Mail, U.S, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Canadian, Bengaluru

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Africa’s fashion industry is growing rapidly to meet local and international demand but inadequate investment limits its potential, UNESCO said Thursday in a report released during Lagos Fashion Week. The demand for African fashion brands is also spurred by the growth in e-commerce, the UNESCO report noted. It’s really beautiful to see because it hasn’t always been like this,” said Omoyemi Akerele, who founded the Lagos Fashion Week in 2011 to encourage the patronage of Nigerian and African fashion. In Nigeria and other parts of Africa, young fashion designers are hungry for success and are taking over the global scene, said the UNESCO director-general. “So Africa is really the next frontier (for the fashion industry).”___Associated Press journalist Dan Ikpoyi in Lagos, Nigeria contributed.

Persons: Audrey Azoulay, ”, Omoyemi Akerele, “, Ejiro Amos, Tafiri, Dan Ikpoyi Organizations: UNESCO, Lagos Fashion, U.S . International Trade Administration, Associated Press Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Lagos, Africa, Nigerian

Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's senior vice president for knowledge and information products, testified for the tech giant as it defends itself in the biggest antitrust trial in the last 25 years. The government has accused the company of illegally thwarting competitors from making inroads against its ubiquitous search engine. Google says its search engine is dominant because it has a better product than its competitors. And it cited evidence that consumers switch their search engine to Google the majority of the time in cases where another search engine is offered as the default choice. One option would be to prohibit Google from paying companies to make Google a default search engine.

Persons: Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's, Raghavan, Google, Grandpa Google, ” Raghavan, ”, Bing, Trump, Judge Amit Mehta Organizations: WASHINGTON, Google, Fortune, Yahoo, The, Apple, Microsoft, Justice Department Locations: U.S, Alexandria , Virginia

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