Twitter Job Cuts; Foxconn COVID Lockdown; Zillow Beats Expectations; Gmail Will Track Your Packages

Last report, I joked that lately the Week in Elon Musk could be turned to the day since he bought Twitter. In that regard, he hasn’t disappointed. Now, Reuters reports that Musk plans to cut about 3700 jobs there, or about half the head count. A couple weeks ago, he had threatened to cut 75%, but this was trimmed back to 25% a couple days later. Now, it’s grown again. Some will likely quit, adding to this number, as Elon is demanding everyone come into the office again…after Twitter announced earlier that they could work from home permanently. It’s worth noting that so far, employees have not heard a single thing from Musk…having to rely on his Tweets, the news, and private chats to try to figure out what’s going on. 

China continues to use draconian lockdowns to try to tamp down COVID. Now, they have imposed a 7 day lockdown on a huge Foxconn plant. According to appleinsider.com, substantial numbers of employees have been fleeing the area to avoid being trapped in the so-called ‘closed loop.’ Apparently food and medical supplies have been running low. Foxconn has increased daily bonuses from 100 yuan a day to 400 to try to stem the exodus. They say the lockdown will cut production of Apple products by 30%…but they intend to make up most of that at other plants. 

In spite of higher interest putting the brakes on home sales, Zillow Group managed to beat its 3rd quarter earnings. Geekwire.com says the real estate giant reported 3rd quarter revenue of $483 million, beating the expectation of $456 million. Their total revenue was down 12%, though, as mortgage rates rose past 7%. Zillow had shuttered their home flipping business last year and cut about 25% of their workforce then. As they are looking at the housing market to ‘remain challenged,’ they have cut another 550 employees…about 18% of the workforce there. 

The holiday season is upon us, and even more packages will be on the way. Now, Google is updating the Gmail app with simple package tracking. Engadget.com reports that if the order email has a supported tracking number, you will see the shipping status at the top of the message. The opt-in feature should be available in a couple weeks. Apple Mail has had a similar feature for several years, where you could tap on an arrow to the right of the tracking number, and a box pops up with the tracking details. 

Twitter Paywalled Videos; Sony PlayStation VR2, Google Street View App Goes Away; Amazon Out of Trillion Dollar Club

We used to do a feature called ‘The Week in Elon Musk.’ With his Twitter purchase, it has become the day in Elon Musk. Now, gizmodo.com reports that Twitter is considering a ‘paywalled video’ feature that would allow users to charge money for access to videos…which most Twitter watchers think would be immediately flooded with porn. Apparently, the prices would be preset by Twitter….at $1, $2, $5, or $10. Twitter would take a cut of the money, using Stripe. It sounds like a Twitter version of Only Fans! Right now, it’s unclear if this idea was already in the works, or is one of Musk’s ideas to monetize Twitter. Musk is apparently still working on a process to bring banned accounts back to Twitter, too. While he is pitching it as an online town square, it sounds a bit more like a town back alley in these cases. 

Sony will roll out the PlayStation VR2 headset on February 22nd. According to theverge.com, it will set you back $549.99. That will include Sense controllers and stereo headphones, however a Sense controller charging station is priced separately at $49.99…so you are really going to be out $600! Preorders are opening on November 15th, and limited to through the PlayStation online store in a lot of markets, including the US, UK, France, and Germany. Games…including “Horizon Call of the Mountain,’ will also be open for preorder this month. The new headset has an OLED screen, 110 degree field of view, and has 4 cams built into the display. Oh…and original PlayStation VR games are not compatible with it, either. 

Google is pulling the standalone Street View app in the next few weeks from both Android and iOS. 9to5google.com says they will also kill off support for the app by next March. The street view with 360 degree views will still be available in Google Maps. Just a couple weeks ago, Google teased that they are going to make the Maps app more immersive with the addition of 3D aerial views and details for some spots like weather and traffic. 

Shares of online giant Amazon dropped 5.9% Tuesday, falling for the 5th straight day. Amazon’s market cap is now below a trillion dollars. According to cnbc.com, the stock price is now down to the level of April 2020. This is all mainly due to the company’s 4th quarter forecast…Amazon is predicting the holiday quarter will grow by 2% to 8%, which is noticeably lower than analysts’ estimates. Amazon now has the dubious honor of being the 2nd worst performer in the Big Tech stock group…down 42%…but worst stock Meta has dropped 72%, and Meta has warned that 4th quarter revenue will likely decline for a third straight period. 

Amazon Prime Gets Full Music Catalog; New Google Shopping Features; Tesla Still Needs TX Gigafactory Boss; TikTok Creators Now See When You Favorite Their Video

Amazon has added a nice new benefit to Amazon Prime. While you used to have about 2 million songs to choose from, the online giant now has a full music catalog of over 100 million songs. Techcrunch.com notes that it remains to be seen if this will pull subscribers away from Apple Music or Spotify, but it certainly puts them in a place to be able to do that. In addition to bulking up the music catalog, Amazon Prime will now make most of their top podcasts available without ads. You can access the expanded music catalog through the main Amazon Music app. The added music is a nice bonus that they hope will soften the blow of increasing the annual fee for Prime from $119 to $139. 

Just in time for the holidays…of course…Google has bowed some new shopping features that make it easier to find deals directly from your search results. Theverge.com reports that any products with a coupon available will now have a new ‘Special Offer’ badge in the top left corner of the thumbnail. Besides digitally clippable coupons in Search, google is introducing a way to compare deals side by side on mobile. That feature will be live later this month. 

Tesla has had great plans for the new Gigafactory in Texas…a plant that will ultimately employ some 10,000 workers. Now, all they need is a leader…usually known as a plant director. Electrek.co says that the plant is cranking out vehicles (although Tesla hasn’t specified numbers), but after a year and a half remains leaderless. It is worth noting that they do have a director of manufacturing. Jason Shawhan took that role last year, moving over from a Ford plant in Kansas City. He had been assistant plant manager at that facility for about 20 years. 

No lurking for you, TikToker. While you used to be able to favorite a video anonymously, with the creator only able to see the total count…the platform now enables them to see who you are. According to mashable.com, most other platforms…like  Twitter’s Bookmarks and Instagram’s Saved, don’t let the creators see who has favorited their videos. While creators will hail the new feature, there are a lot of lurkers on TikTok and really all platforms who prefer to remain anonymous. This feature follows one TikTok released in June that lets users see who viewed their profile. 

Twitter Blue Plans $20 a Month Verification Charge; Europe to Ban Gas & Diesel Cars from 2035; No More Mac Product Releases This Year; Samsung & AT&T Launch Kids Tablet

In a move that would definitely verify that you have $20 a month to burn, Twitter is planning to charge that fee for Twitter Blue, the optional service that has been $4.99 which unlocks some Twitter features. More importantly, the Blue checkmark comes with it, which is Twitter’s way of verifying users. Under the new regime, verified users you have 90 days to subscribe, or lose the blue checkmark. This really is a sure fire way to verify that you are willing to pay the $19.99, but could open things up to numerous accounts spreading false information who appear more legit because they sport the blue checkmark. 

**Update Tuesday morning. Now, Elon Musk is saying he will raise Twitter Blue to $8 a month, not the almost $20. He also called the present checkmark system bullish*t, but hasn’t fleshed out how it might be changed. He said fixing it is essential to control spam and ‘bots. Musk also again asserted that the platform can’t rely just on advertising revenue to pay the bills.

Following California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas or diesel cars by 2035, now the European Union has joined the party…banning combustion engine cars and vehicles from 2035 on. According to mashable.com, this agreement…which still has to be formally adopted….would have the intended effect of a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars and 50% for new vans by 2030…then achieving a 100% reduction in those emissions from both new cars and vans by 2035. Very low volume vehicle makers, like sports car companies, would get to skip the 2030 reductions, but still would have to comply by 2035. 

Despite lots of earlier rumors that there would be new MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and other devices released in November, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says it’s not happening. Apple has decided to with until next year to drop those upgrades…according to Gurman’s Power On newsletter, we can expect them in the first quarter of 2023. The Mac Pro had already been reportedly delayed until summer…now it appears the other M-2 powered Macs will join it as 2023 models. 

It’s a bit pricey for a kid gift, but not bad for a tablet. Samsung and AT&T have partnered on the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite Kids Edition tablet. Androidcentral.com reports that the tab has an 8.7 inch screen, and importantly…a wrap around ruggedized case that really protects said screen. The tablet is $250, but you can get it for junior for just $7 a month on a payment plan. It has a kickstand to make watching videos easier, and has LTE connectivity so can work during those car trips. The Galaxy tablet is available starting November 4th. 

Musk Says on Track to Buy Twitter; PlayStation 5 Could Get Discord Voice Chat; Google Revenue Grows-Profit Not So Much; EV Sales Continue to Heat Up

Elon Musk confirmed in a video call with advisers that he intends to close the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Friday. Arstechnica.com also reports that Musk’s lawyers at Skadden, Arps sent paperwork to equity investors in the deal, according to two investors and a person close to the Tesla boss. One person familiar with Twitter’s thinking said the company also expected the deal to close on Friday. If all goes as expected, it will be interesting to see if there is the kind of exodus of users from Twitter that some believe will happen.

Xbox owners just got voice chat features via Discord, now it’s the PlayStation 5’s turn. According to mashable.com, the voice chat features should hit the PS5 before long…probably by March2023. Unfortunately, if you don’t have the latest and greatest, no Discord chat for you. PS4 users will have to continue to use the console’s built-in party chat system. For a lot of gamers, it’s about time…Sony had announced a partnership with Discord back in 2021!

Google parent Alphabet released earnings this week. Revenue grew, but profits have slipped. In this immediately past quarter, they had $69 billion in revenue and $13.9 billion in profit. The previous year was exceptional, but that quarter brought in $65.1 billion in revenue and almost $19 billion in profit. Theverge.com says both the ad business and the cloud business saw increases. CEO Pichai said that they recently logged the ‘highest selling week ever for Pixel’, after introducing the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and the Pixel Watch. 

As EV sales heat up, Tesla’s market share is dropping. Marketwatch.com notes that a year ago, Tesla had 70% share, but is now down to 64%. This is not surprising, even as Teslas sales are growing…more competitors selling more cars cuts your share. Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are still the 2 top selling EV models. In third is The Chevy Bolt, with the Ford Mustang Mach-E 4th. Tesla’s Model S was 5th in sales. Toyota continues to lead in hybrid sales, with 47% market share. The RAV4 Hybrid is the top selling US hybrid.

Amazon Starts Taking Venmo; Comcast-Higher Upload Speeds Require $ xFi Add-On; Rent-Setting Software Co Sued for Collusion; Toyota Switching EV Tech-Delays EV Changeover

Amazon will now let customers use Venmo to make payments on its platform. This is rolling out now, and should be available to all US customers by Black Friday. TechCrunch.com reports that you just choose ‘Select a payment method,’ then ‘add a Venmo account’. Users will be able to use their Venmo balance, linked bank account, or eligible debit card. It appears that Amazon is adding Venmo after a recent study showed that Venmo users shop twice as frequently as the average shopper. 

Comcast is offering upload speeds of up to 100Mbps from 10…sounds great, right? Well, it is if you need that kind of upload speed. The catch? Yeah, there’s always a catch. According to slashdot, you have to buy a $25 a month xFi Complete add-on. Comcast does say that faster upload speeds will come to customer-owned modems ‘later next year.’ Hey, you want a break? Comcast will let you have the service for $20 a month for the 1st year if you sign up before December 31st!

Renters sued a company this week that makes price-setting software for apartments used by nine of the nation’s biggest property managers. Arstechinca.com says the suit against RealPage has enabled a cartel to artificially inflate rents in violation of federal law. The company strongly denies the allegations, and the nine property managers named in the suit didn’t respond to requests for comment. RealPage’s software uses an algorithm to churn through a trove of data each night to suggest daily prices for available rental units. The software uses not only information about the apartment being priced and the property where it is located, but also private data on what nearby competitors are charging in rents. RealPage brags that clients—who agree to provide RealPage real-time access to sensitive and nonpublic data—experience “rental rate improvements, year over year, between 5% and 12% in every market,” according to the lawsuit.

Although Toyota announced an EV strategy last year, it now looks like they may be hitting the brakes to switch to a different EV architecture. Theverge.com reports that they had planned to use their e-TNGA flex EV platform…which is the setup in the bZ4X crossover and had been planned for the ’23 Lexus RZ 450e. Apparently, Toyota isn’t feeling secure about 30 new EVs by 2030, and is looking to switch to a manufacturing process that is quicker and less expensive to build. The Prius hybrids continue to be a hit, but Toyota has fallen behind the curve when it comes to EV production. 

YouTube Freshen Eases Use; Upcoming from Apple-Gurman; Facebook & TikTok Approve Ads With ‘Blatant’ Election Mis-Info; Free Netflix Password Sharing Doomed

YouTube is rolling out an update that makes use easier. All users will get pinch-to-zoom, and they are adding precise seeking…which should help you to rewind or fast forward videos to an exact location (this feature has been available on Premium already). Theverge.com reports that while you are scrolling through a video, YouTube will open a frame-by-frame view, so you can lock in to the exact spot you want to watch. Another feature is ambient mode, which adapts colors in the video you are watching, which should look better if you use dark mode. Oh…and dark mode is now even darker, which YouTube says should make “colors truly pop on your screen,” whether you’re watching videos on your phone, computer, or smart TV.

Faster silicon is on the way from Apple, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The next few months, look for a freshened MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and a new beast of a Mac Pro. The latter will have a model available with 24 CPU cores, a whopping 76 graphics cores, and 192 Gigs of memory. The 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro models will come with M2 Pro and M2 Max internals. The Max is not shabby in its performance, rocking 12 CPU cores, 38 GPU cores, and 64 Gigs of memory. The Mini will run an M2 chip like the MacBook Air and 13 inch MacBook Pro. All should be out in the coming months…with the Mac Pro hitting the market more like mid-2023. 

Facebook and TikTok have failed to block ads with ‘blatant’ misinformation about when and how to vote in the US midterms, and also about the integrity of the voting process. CNN says this is the finding of a new report from human rights watchdog Global Witness and The Cybersecurity Democracy Team at New Yom University. Researchers sent in 20 ads with inaccurate info to Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. YouTube spotted and rejected every single test submission and suspended the channel used to post them. TikTok approved 90% of them, while researchers said Facebook approved a ‘significant number.’ 

Yes, its been rumored for a while now, but it looks like your Netflix Password sharing is gonna cost you soon. Cnet.com reports that they have started testing in a few countries. What would it mean? Each extra member ‘sub-account’ in the US would tack on an extra $3.50 or $4 a month! It looks like they will only be allowing the account sharing on the $15.50 a month Standard and $20 a month Premium accounts, too (as both those allow simultaneous streams.) Another day, another shakedown for more money.

Apple Moving Production from China; TikTok Eyes Amazon; Microsoft Shows New Surface Laptops; Drivers Wildly Overestimate Hands Free Assistance

Apple continues to reduce its reliance on China. 9to5mac.com reports that noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released new predictions regarding their moves include shifting more iPhone production to India, and more MacBook production and assembly to Thailand. Kuo thinks the US market might be 100% supplied by non-China locations in the next 3 to 5 years. For years, Apple’s outsized reliance on China has been seen as a major weak spot in its supply chain, especially through all the Chinese shutdowns due to COVID. 

As they move into e-commerce, TikTok is now hiring in not only LA, but also in Amazon’s back yard of Seattle. According to geekwire.com, the social video phenom currently has e-commerce capabilities in the UK and Southeast Asia. Job postings point to the Chinese ByteDance owned platform working to become a major player in online shopping and e-commerce logistics here in the US, too. TikTok has already tried to push back on privacy concerns over their connection to China…this move will certainly add to that. They do seem determined to become a real competitor to Amazon..which owns 37.8% of the US e-commerce market. 

Microsoft is freshening up their Surface 5 laptops after a year and a half on the market. It is a modest update. The 13.5 inch model starts at $1000 and the 15 inch one at $1200. Engadget.com says they get a bump in processing power with 12 generation Intel Evo processors, and add support for Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6. A better display has Dolby Vision IQ support, and you can load up with up to 32 Gigs of RAM and a terabyte of storage. Both models are available for preorder now, and they go on sale October 25th.

From Cadillac’s Super Cruise to Tesla’s Autopilot, and all the rest, drivers overestimate the abilities of driver assist systems. Arstechnica.com reports that a study just done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that ‘large percentages of users’ of both Super Cruise and Autopilot ‘were comfortable treating their systems as self-driving.’ Most ADAS, or advanced driver assistance systems, are really just safety oriented helpers that provide blind spot monitoring or automatic emergency braking. The SAE calls these systems ‘Level 2,’ and they are a long way from from self driving. Users of such systems are likely to eat while driving (65% of Super Cruise users, 46% of Autopilot). They are also likely to take hands off the wheel while driving ( 40% Autopilot, 44% Super Cruise.) 

Meta- Quest Pro; Twitter Fights Screenshotting Tweets; Lufthansa is NOT Banning Air Tags; YouTube-Better Support for Username ‘Handles’

Mark Zuckerberg has announced the latest VR headset at Meta Connect. It’s called the Quest Pro, and will be a princely $1499. TechCrunch.com reports that Meta will keep selling the more mass-market geared Quest. The Pro unit is being pitched as a productivity device. It features full color passthrough, and uses 4 cams outside to capture and display the space. New ‘pancake’ lenses reduce size with a 40% thinner display stack than the Quest 2. A down side? Battery life will only be 1-2 hours (really, 1 probably.) That’s a tough sell. The Quest Pro is available for preorder now, and ships October 25th.

We got editing Tweets, but as Twitter gives, they try to take away. When you try to take a screen shot, you may get a popup saying ‘Share Tweet instead?’ There are buttons for copy link and share Tweet below. According to Mashable.com, the prompt stays up for several seconds, delaying your screen shot of the Tweet. They really want you to share Tweets, and especially don’t want them posted on another social media platform…since they don’t get any money from that. Do what you like, but I’m going to keep screenshooting whenever I need to.

In spite of Tweets saying it was banning Apple AirTags from checked luggage, Lufthansa now says that’s not so. 9to5mac.com notes that the Twitter account had called the trackers ‘dangerous goods!’ They are apparently thinking of lithium ion batteries that are in phones, tablets, & laptops. the AirTag just uses those CR2032 batteries…about the size of a quarter. The REAL reason they probably wanted to ban AirTags is that you can use them to track your checked bag…like when the airline loses it! I have flown internationally on other airlines, and no one has ever asked me to turn off or remove the AirTag.

YouTube is making it easier to direct users to their channels to watch videos. According to techcrunch.com, they have announced ‘handles,’ which let you identify your channel with an @username format. The feature will be available to everyone on YouTube….you don’t have to be a creator of a certain size, or subscriber count to claim your own unique @handle. Handles have been in common use on numerous social media platforms…sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and others. YouTube says the handles will show up on both channel pages and Shorts. It’s a gradual rollout, so be patient!

Amazon Can Make $ on Non-Amazon Purchases; Boston Dynamics-Don’t Weaponize Robots; Apple Sticks with Qualcomm Modems  for Now; ICYMI-Kanye Bounced from Twitter Again

Amazon offers pretty much anything you can think of online to lure your dollars into their coffers. But what about the bucks you spend elsewhere? Apparently in some cases, they are getting a taste of that cash, too! Cnet.com reports that while Amazon claimed more than 37% of US e-commerce last year, it has started dipping into some of your other buying. In April, the online giant rolled out ‘Buy with Prime,’ a program that lets sellers add a button on their websites that lets users buy from them, but with Amazon handling the payment and shipping. Amazon also has Local Shopping, which lets a third party seller offer curbside pickup from their storefronts on Amazon’s online marketplace. Their Amazon Pay and Multi-Channel Fulfillment programs are a couple other ways Amazon leverages their massive logistics operation to pickup extra cash from the sales of others. Although they claim not to sell user data, Amazon also has a treasure trove of that on you and everyone else who’s ever gotten a box with the smiley arrow on it!

Boston Dynamics, which makes Spot the robot dog, and some humanoid robots, has put out a pledge vowing to counter attempts by buyers to weaponize its products. According to zdnet.com, the formerly Google owned firm has been concerned about recent ‘makeshift efforts’ to weaponize its robots. Several other robotics firms, including Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree Robotics, have also signed the commitment. “Robots should be used to help, not harm. We prohibit weaponization, while supporting the safe, ethical, and effective use of robots in public safety,” Boston Dynamics said in a blog post.

Although Apple is alleged to be developing its own 5G chip for future iPhones, word is they will stick with Qualcomm modems for all iPhones though the iPhone 16 model. Macrumors.com notes that Apple probably won’t roll out its own chip until at least 2025. All of the iPhone 15 models will use the Snapdragon X70, which was announced this past February. They will have a theoretical download speed of 10 gigs per second, with artificial intelligence allowing for even faster average speeds. 

Kanye West was back on Twitter for the first time since 2020 on Friday night, but apparently got his account locked later in the weekend for posting anti-Jewish stereotypes often spouted by white supremacists. Techcrunch.com says the lockdown was “due to a violation of Twitter’s policies.” He also had content removed from Instagram, and that account also is under restriction for repeated policy violations.