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☆ Amazon stock falls nearly 20% on light holiday quarter sales forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Amazon (AMZN) stock fell nearly 20% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company forecast its holiday quarter sales would be lighter than analysts had expected. The weaker forecast comes as rising inflation and looming recession fears weigh on consumer purchasing decisions. Amazon reported revenue of $127.1 billion for its third-quarter, a 15% increase from the prior year but just missing Wall Street estimates. The company reported its Amazon Web Services segment sales increased 27% year-over-year to $20.5 billion – representing a slower pace of growth for a closely-watched business unit than Wall Street had expected. Amazon initially saw its business boom during the pandemic, as more consumers relied on online shopping.

☆ Amazon workers in California withdraw petition for union vote after defeat in New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Workers at a California Amazon facility withdrew their petition late last week to unionize with the ALU, just days after the labor group failed to win enough votes to unionize an Amazon facility in upstate New York. The move to withdraw comes roughly two weeks after the petition was submitted, per the NLRB’s docket of the case. In an email to CNN Business, ALU President Chris Smalls played down the significance of the withdrawn petition. Since the watershed union win at JFK8, the ALU hasn’t seen success with organizing efforts at other Amazon facilities. Moreover, Amazon has refused to recognize or meet with the union at JFK8 — and continues to challenge the union’s election win.

☆ Microsoft earnings hit by personal computing slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Microsoft posted a double-digit profit decline in the three-month period ending in September as the company confronted a slowdown in the personal computing industry and a broader economic downturn. Microsoft (MSFT)’s revenue, meanwhile, grew a modest 11% to $50.1 billion. Other parts of Microsoft’s business declined. Microsoft said revenue from its Windows OEM operations fell 15% from the year prior, which comes as demand for personal computers has fallen sharply on the heels of a pandemic-fueled boom. Shares of Microsoft fell 2% in after-hours trading Tuesday following the earnings report.

☆ Apple raises prices for music and TV streaming services
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Snap stock falls nearly 25% after revenue hit by shrinking advertiser budgets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In a letter to investors, Snapchat’s parent company said its revenue growth was slowed by several factors, including growing competition and jitters from the advertisers who make up its core business. Shares of Snap fell nearly 25% in after hours trading following the earnings report. In late August, Snap announced plans to lay off some 20% of its more than 6,400 global employees, or more than 1,200 staffers. Much of that loss ($155 million) came from restructuring charges related to layoffs. Snap declined to provide financial guidance for the final three months of the year.

☆ Amazon workers vote against forming union in upstate New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Amazon workers in upstate New York have voted against forming a union, dealing another blow to a grassroots labor group attempting to organize several of the tech giant’s US warehouses. Workers at the facility, called ALB1, were seeking to organize with the Amazon Labor Union, the same grassroots worker group that successfully formed the first-ever union at a US Amazon facility in Staten Island, New York, earlier this year. The Albany vote was the ALU’s third attempt to unionize an Amazon warehouse, after it fell short of securing a union win at a smaller Amazon facility also located in Staten Island. It also comes as Amazon has still not formally recognized the union in Staten Island or come to the bargaining table. But ahead of the Albany vote last week, Smalls appeared to play down the ramifications of the outcome, suggesting the organizing activity itself is a victory.

☆ The US is spending billions to boost chip manufacturing. Will it be enough?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

US-based fabs, or chip manufacturing plants, currently only account for 12% of the world’s modern semiconductor manufacturing capacity, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association trade group. Some 75% of the world’s modern chip manufacturing is now concentrated in East Asia – a majority of that in geopolitically-vulnerable Taiwan. Now, simply having the facilities already set up to produce or expand chip manufacturing gives Asia a big advantage. This is not yet the case in places like Arizona and Ohio, where plans to build massive chip manufacturing plants are already underway. If not, even the billions of dollars committed by the private and public sector may not be enough to reshore semiconductor manufacturing.

☆ What to do with your old phones, gadgets and other e-waste
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But in the process, these and other companies may also be adding to a growing problem: electronic waste. Friday marks International E-Waste Day, an annual opportunity to reflect on the impacts of electronic waste and do more to repair or recycle them. The e-Stewards group and Sustainable Electronics Recycling International each offer online tools to find recycling centers that they have certified. The collective impact of recycling e-waste can be staggering. But not all municipalities in the US offer infrastructure for e-waste recycling.

☆ Apple store workers in Oklahoma to vote on labor union
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Apple workers in Oklahoma City are set to vote this week on whether to form the second-ever labor union at one of the tech giant’s US stores. The Apple store workers in Oklahoma are seeking to gain representation with the Communication Workers of America union. Just under 100 employees at the Apple store in the Penn Square Mall are eligible to vote in this union election. Earlier this year, Apple store workers at a mall in Towson, Maryland, made history when they voted to become the first unionized Apple store in the United States. Patrick Hart, another worker at the Oklahoma City Apple store, echoed that sentiment.

☆ Amazon Labor Union faces next showdown in upstate New York
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The next month, that same group, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), fell short at a smaller facility across the street. On Wednesday, workers at an Amazon facility near Albany, New York, will begin voting on whether to join the ALU and become the second unionized Amazon warehouse in the United States. It also comes as Amazon has still not formally recognized the union in Staten Island or come to the bargaining table. Chris Smalls, a leader of the Amazon Labor Union, leads a march of Starbucks and Amazon workers and their allies to the homes of their CEOs to protest union busting on Labor Day, September 5, 2022, in New York City, New York. “I think they have an uphill battle ahead,” Kochan said of the union vote at the ALB1 facility.

☆ TikTok wants to open warehouses
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —While seemingly every social media app is copying TikTok, TikTok now appears to be copying Amazon’s playbook. Like other social networks, TikTok has expanded into e-commerce to add revenue opportunities. TikTok currently offers a shopping option called TikTok Shop in select markets, including the UK and Indonesia, which lets creators and merchants sell products through the platform. But with the latest job postings, which were first reported by Axios, TikTok seems to want to go even further. A TikTok spokesperson declined to elaborate on the latest roles.

☆ Amazon suspends 50 workers who refused to work after warehouse fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Amazon suspended dozens of workers at its only unionized warehouse on Tuesday, one day after they organized a work stoppage following a fire at the facility. About 50 workers at the facility in Staten Island, New York were suspended with pay, according to Connor Spence, one of the suspended workers. Spence is a picker at the warehouse, known as JFK8, and the secretary treasurer for the Amazon Labor Union, the grassroots workers group behind the successful union push. The incident in Staten Island also comes about a week ahead of a separate union election – also organized by the Amazon Labor Union – at an Amazon facility near Albany, New York. According to Spence, the roughly 50 workers at JFK8 have been suspended with pay until Amazon conducts an investigation into what happened.

☆ Google is shutting down its gaming service Stadia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Amazon pausing operations at some facilities as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Netflix is opening a video game studio in Finland as part of latest pivot into gaming
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The streaming giant is building its first in-house video game studio in Helsinki, Finland, as it expands its empire over mobile games, Netflix announced Monday. The new gaming studio will be helmed by Marko Lastikka, a veteran from gaming giants Zynga and Electronic Arts, Netflix VP of Game Studios Amir Rahimi said in a blog post. Rahimi said the new studio, however, will be built “from scratch.”Monday’s announcement brings Netflix’s total number of gaming studios up to four. Netflix’s Rahimi said each studio has “different strengths and focus areas” and together will develop a diverse suite of games for Netflix users. Netflix Games have been live for a little over a year now.

☆ Iran’s sweeping internet blackouts are a serious cause for concern
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN Business —When Iranian authorities pulled the plug on the internet in 2019 amid anti-government protests, the international community struggled to track the civilian carnage that followed. “Everything is a lie.”Mobile networks have been largely shut down, according to internet watchdog Netblocks. While it is not the total internet shutdown of 2019, tech experts say they are seeing a similar pattern. While the current internet blackout is “not as severe as November 2019,” Madory said, there are concerns it could eventually be. Despite the fear gripping his homeland right now amid the protests and internet blackouts, Rashidi does see reason for hope.

☆ Iran's sweeping internet blackouts can carry deadly consequences
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

☆ Larry Page’s electric air taxi startup is winding down
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Kittyhawk, the electric air taxi startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, announced Wednesday that it plans to “wind down” operations. Kittyhawk had the lofty mission of “building autonomous, affordable, ubiquitous and eco-conscious air taxis,” according to its website. The company launched other electric aircraft prototypes and announced a partnership with Boeing in 2019. In a tweet, Wisk said that it remains “in a strong financial position,” with both Boeing and Kittyhawk as investors. Like Kittyhawk, Wisk is developing an “all-electric, self-flying air taxi” that it says “rises like a helicopter and flies like a plane,” according to its website.

☆ What to know about the latest Windows 11 update
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Nearly one year after Microsoft launched its flagship Windows 11, the tech giant has officially rolled out its first major update to the operating system. The update, which is available for free for current Windows 11 users, was released in more than 190 countries on Tuesday. “Our work is never done to ensure Windows evolves and adapts to you.”Panay, who said Windows 11 is the most used version of Windows in its history, detailed how the latest update aims to make remote work on the PC even easier and more secure. Microsoft calls Windows 11 the most secure version of the operating system yet. Users with eligible devices can simply get the update by opening “Windows Update” in their settings.

☆ 'Grand Theft Auto' leaks emerge online after publisher hit by 'network intrusion'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

(CNN Business) Rockstar Games confirmed on Monday that hackers had leaked some unreleased footage from its next iteration of the wildly popular "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. The video gaming community was rocked by the emergence online of some screenshots and game-play videos purportedly from the highly-anticipated next installment of "Grand Theft Auto," an action-adventure game. On Monday morning, the video game publisher confirmed the footage was real and had been leaked as the result of a "network intrusion." "We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto," Rockstar Games announced in a statement posted to Twitter. The next "Grand Theft Auto" game does not yet have an official release date.

☆ ‘Grand Theft Auto’ leaks emerge online after publisher hit by ‘network intrusion’
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN Business —Rockstar Games confirmed on Monday that hackers had leaked some unreleased footage from its next iteration of the wildly popular “Grand Theft Auto” franchise. The video gaming community was rocked by the emergence online of some screenshots and game-play videos purportedly from the highly-anticipated next installment of “Grand Theft Auto,” an action-adventure game. On Monday morning, the video game publisher confirmed the footage was real and had been leaked as the result of a “network intrusion.”“We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto,” Rockstar Games announced in a statement posted to Twitter. In a blog post Monday, Uber (UBER) reported that its hacker was believed to be affiliated with the group Lapsus$, which has targeted a number of large businesses over the past year. “There are also reports over the weekend that this same actor breached video game maker Rockstar Games,” Uber’s statement on Monday added.

☆ Why deleting something from the internet is 'almost impossible'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

In his testimony and whistleblower disclosure, Zatko alleged Twitter does not reliably delete users' data, in some cases because it has lost track of the information. Twitter has broadly defended itself against Zatko's allegations, saying his disclosure paints a "false narrative" of the company. In response to questions from CNN, Twitter has previously said it has workflows in place to "begin a deletion process" but has not said whether it typically completes that process. Photo by Sarah Silbiger for CNNWhile Zatko's allegations are stunning, it also served as just another reminder to Sandra Matz of "how oftentimes mindless we are" in sharing our data online. "Retracting something from the internet, hitting the reset button — is almost impossible."

☆ Why wireless carriers are able to give out iPhone 14s for free
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-11 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —The unveiling of the latest iPhone 14 lineup earlier this week has already spurred a flurry of new promotions from wireless giants including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. AT&T and T-Mobile, for example, are both offering up to $1,000 credits, after trade-ins, for buying the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro. Verizon is offering up to an $800 credit after a trade-in for the iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, per some of the offers rounded up and touted by Apple. Meanwhile, the higher-end 14 Pro model starts at $999 and the 14 Pro Max at $1,099. The latest iPhone 14 lineup, in the United States at least, has also ditched the SIM card tray and gone entirely eSIM.

☆ Chatbots: A long and complicated history
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Nearly 60 years later, the market is flooded with chatbots of varying quality and use cases from tech companies, banks, airlines and more. Others, meanwhile, warn the technology behind AI-powered chatbots remains much more limited than some people wish it may be. While they used similar technology to the earlier, social chatbots, Khudanpur said, “you really couldn’t call them chatbots. )”Return to social chatbots, and social problemsIn the early 2000s, researchers began to revisit the development of social chatbots that could carry an extended conversation with humans. This refrain would be repeated by other tech giants that released public chatbots, including Meta’s BlenderBot3, released earlier this month.

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