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☆ Intuitive Surgical beats first-quarter sales on higher procedure volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Sriparna Roy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG.O) beat estimates for first-quarter sales on Tuesday as the surgical robot maker recorded a rise in total procedure volumes. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.70 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $1.60 billion, according to IBES Refinitiv data. The medical device maker posted a 26% growth in procedure volumes of its surgical robot da Vinci in the first quarter through March from a year earlier. Investors are eyeing the launch of company's new multiport surgical robot, which could be a potential near-term catalyst, analysts said after Intuitive in January told its next generation system is not expected to be launched this year. Excluding items, Intuitive earned $1.23 per share in the first quarter, above analysts' average estimate of $1.20 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

☆ Why banning TikTok could be a bad idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Download Insider's app here. Screenshots from Lemon8 app, Ese Nuesiri / Shantania Beckford1. The rise of Lemon8 proves how pointless a TikTok ban would be. The US government wants to ban TikTok, but its parent company ByteDance is coming out with a new app aimed at the US market. Paayal writes that even if the US banned TikTok, Lemon8 would still exist.

☆ Leaked memos show Google is closing some of its cafes 'until further notice' as it cuts back on employee perks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google is closing some of its cafes "until further notice," according to memos sent on Wednesday. As part of its plan to cut costs this year, Google is closing some of its cafes "until further notice." Cafes at Google's campuses are one of the search giant's most famous employee perks as workers have access to free meals. The cafes called Steam, Costa, Go!, Slice, and Deja Brew Hub, and some lunchtime food trucks, will be "closed until further notice." The cafes called Till Cafe, Java Corner, Share, Fresh Market, Cornerstone, and lunchtime food trucks, will be "closed until further notice."

☆ In the Whirl of ChatGPT, Startups See an Opening for Their AI Chips
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Generative AI and large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT require massive amounts of computing power to run, and typically rely on chips like Nvidia’s graphics-processing units, or GPUs, that are specialized for these types of calculations. Graphcore sells primarily to AI startups looking to build and train models at lower cost, he said, and the company is benefiting from the proliferation of those startups. Shane Rau, who leads International Data Corp.’s semiconductor research, said chip startups are increasingly pivoting to focus their products on supporting large language models. Still, he added, “you’re going to see a combination of real adaptation and marketing.”“There will be the pressure to say: ‘Hey, we’re already relevant, our AI chip technology’s already relevant to generative AI’,” said Mr. Rau. Some chip makers say they expect yet another surge in demand once businesses more widely adopt generative AI.

☆ Mercedes-Benz cars to have 'supercomputers', unveils Google partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the car companies also want to keep control over their customer relationships as well as valuable data generated by their cars. Mercedes-Benz is moving from a patchwork approach of integrating software from a range of suppliers to controlling the core of its software. Under the Google partnership, Google Maps will be Mercedes-branded and provide drivers with Google traffic information and automatic rerouting, as well as the ability to watch YouTube on the cars' entertainment system when the car is parked, or in Level 3 autonomous driving mode. Google and Mercedes-Benz also agreed to explore further collaboration with Google Cloud data and artificial intelligence capabilities. Others carmakers like General Motors, Renault (RENA.PA), Nissan (7201.T) and Ford (F.N) have embedded an entire package of Google services into their vehicles, offering features like Google Maps, Google Assistant and other applications.

Executives across the technology sector are talking about how to operate AI like ChatGPT while accounting for the high expense. What makes this form of AI pricier than conventional search is the computing power involved. Still, footing the bill is one of two main reasons why search and social media giants with billions of users have not rolled out an AI chatbot overnight, said Paul Daugherty, Accenture's chief technology officer. Technology experts also said a workaround is applying smaller AI models to simpler tasks, which Alphabet is exploring. The company said this month a "smaller model" version of its massive LaMDA AI technology will power its chatbot Bard, requiring "significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users."

☆ Google asks some employees to share desks amid office downsizing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google is asking cloud employees and partners to share their desks and alternate days with their desk mates starting next quarter, citing "real estate efficiency," CNBC has learned. Google also used its internal data it has on it its employee office return patterns to inform the decision, the FAQ stated. In addition to slower office return patterns, the company has slowed hiring and laid off 11,000 employees in January. A Google spokesperson explained, "Since returning to the office, we've run pilots and conducted surveys with Cloud employees to explore different hybrid work models and help shape the best experience. In the fourth quarter, Google Cloud brought in $7.32 billion, growing 32% from the prior year, considerably faster than the company's overall growth rate of less than 10%.

☆ Mass Shootings in the U.S.: A Symptom of Despair - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Peterson | James Densley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Seven killed and 46 injured in Highland Park, Ill., on July 4, 2022He suffered from severe back pain. Eight killed and seven injured in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021He was known for being paranoid with a short temper. Five killed and seven injured in Aurora, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2019He had expressed violent thoughts. Nine killed and seven injured in Red Lake, Minn., on March 21, 2005He had been noticeably depressed and angry at church. Seven killed and seven injured in Fort Worth on Sept. 15, 1999He killed his daughter’s cat because he was upset.

For decades, searching for such hard-to-reach plants and collecting samples was carried out by intrepid botanists who rappelled by rope down dangerous cliffs to hunt for what was lost. Now, we may have a little more time before extinction.”DIRE SITUATIONToday, two in five plant species globally are threatened with extinction. Kauai has 250 plant species that can be found only on the island. To protect species in the long run, botanists need to collect samples — seeds and genetic material — which they can cultivate in greenhouse nurseries. They might even use drones to bomb down collected seeds, packing them into sticky fertilizer balls that can adhere to steep cliffs.

☆ How AMD became a chip giant and leapfrogged Intel after years of playing catch-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

After AMD and Intel parted ways, AMD reverse engineered Intel’s chips to make its own products that were compatible with Intel’s groundbreaking x86 software. Intel sued AMD, but a settlement in 1995 gave AMD the right to continue designing x86 chips, making personal computer pricing more competitive for end consumers. For those, AMD turned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which now makes all of AMD’s most advanced chips. AMD’s data center customers include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft Azure. And so now it suddenly makes sense to do more customized solutions.”Former Xilinx CEO Victor Peng and AMD CEO Lisa Su on stage in Munich, Germany, at the AMD

☆ Burger King's owner just opened a delivery-focused food hall where customers can order from Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and other chains. The company is one of many expanding the ghost kitchen model to r
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. And recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Wonder is part ghost kitchen, part food delivery van, part meal-kit provider. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

☆ Intel and Google Cloud launch new chip to improve data center performance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An up-close look at the Intel Infrastructure Processor Unit (IPU), co-developed by Google and photographed at Google Cloud's engineering lab in Sunnyvale, California, U.S., in September 2022. Google/Handout via REUTERSOct 11 (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud on Tuesday said they have launched a co-designed chip that can make data centers more secure and efficient. The E2000 chip, code named Mount Evans, takes over the work of packaging data for networking from the expensive central processing units (CPU) that do the main computing. Google Cloud is starting to offer the E2000 in a new product called C3 VM which will be powered by Intel's fourth-generation Xeon processors, said Vahdat. Xeon chips are Intel's most powerful CPUs and Google Cloud is the first cloud service to deploy the latest generation of those chips, Intel said.

☆ Waymo workers form union in the latest push to organize Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Food service employees at the autonomous driving company Waymo are forming a union, the latest push by support workers to organize at Silicon Valley's most prominent companies. The workers are employed by Sodexo, which contracts service work for Google and other companies. "We are confident this one will also reach an amicable agreement for workers, the union, and our client very soon." The workers are part of Silicon Valley's ranks of contractors who support and supplement the work at tech companies. Her team unionized in 2020, and some of them have been joining meetings with the Waymo workers to show them the ropes of organizing and talk up the union.

☆ I'm a software engineer who ditched the Bay Area for an up-and-coming tech hub. I pay more in rent, but I still don't regret breaking up with Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Charlotte Lytton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

She moved away from Silicon Valley for Santa Cruz and then Sacramento. But during Covid, students leaving Santa Cruz meant we could afford to rent there again with our combined salaries, so we moved back. I once saw graffiti on a trash can down in WestCliff that said 'Silicon Valley ppl go home'. I do wonder if that's the reason it's been hard to make firm friends in Sacramento's tech community. I'm hopeful this will improve, and ultimately, the splitting up of Silicon Valley is an amazing thing.

☆ Burger King's owner opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Meet 7 innovative ghost-kitchen startups expanding the multibillion-dollar segment beyond the models developed by CloudKitchens and Reef Te
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-27 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. Meet 7 nontraditional ghost kitchen startups. And, recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

☆ California cities dominate the list of those in the US with the lowest gender pay gap. These are the 10 cities where women earn the most in comparison with men.
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-31 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The area around Los Angeles has the smallest gender pay gap, according to a report by GoodHire. Across the US' 100 biggest cities, women earn $44,220 a year, or 19% less than men, per the study. In comparison, women living in Provo-Orem, Utah, earn just under two-thirds of the amount men earn. Here are the 10 areas with the smallest gender pay gap, per GoodHire's study:Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California – women earn 9% less than men Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina – women earn 10% less than men Fresno, California – women earn 11% less than men Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida – women earn 11% less than men Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida – women earn 12% less than men Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada – women earn 12% less than men Winston-Salem, North Carolina – women earn 14% less than men Springfield, Massachusetts – women earn 14% less than men San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California– women earn 14% less than men Albuquerque, New Mexico – women earn 14% less than menGoodHire also ranked the cities with the biggest gender pay gap:Provo-Orem, Utah – women earn 38% less than men Baton Rouge, Louisiana – women earn 32% less than men Ogden-Clearfield, Utah – women earn 31% less than men San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California – women earn 28% less than men Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan – women earn 25% less than men Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia/South Carolina – women earn 25% less than men Tulsa, Oklahoma – women earn 25% less than men Salt Lake City, Utah – women earn 25% less than men Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – women earn 25% less than men Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – women earn 25% less than menAcross the US, the gender pay gap shrank slightly in 2020. On average, across the 100 most populous cities, women earn $44,220 a year, which is 19% less than men, per GoodHire's study.

☆ LinkedIn agrees to pay $1.8 million to female workers after the DOL said they were paid less than their male counterparts
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some female LinkedIn workers in California were paid less than their male counterparts, the DOL said. LinkedIn has agreed to pay $1.8 million to nearly 700 affected workers in a conciliation agreement. The OFCCP said that after controlling for other factors, LinkedIn paid some female employees "at a statistically significant lower rate than their male counterparts, which if proven, could result in a violation of the Executive Order." Under a conciliation agreement between the company and the DOL, LinkedIn will pay around $1.75 million in back wages and more than $50,000 in interest to 686 workers. Full-time female workers in the US on average earned 16.9% less than male workers in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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