Four Reasons the Stay-at-Home Economy Is Here to Stay (WSJ:Paywall) “…First, companies have made huge investments in the infrastructure needed to deliver goods and services to our homes quickly and efficiently, which means those products are now easier to use and often less expensive. Second, families have also invested in the services and gadgets to keep their members safe and sated while sheltering in place. Third, our habits have changed: Many people have gotten over the “hump” of adopting new technologies earlier than they otherwise might have. And finally, hundreds of thousands of Americans who lost traditional jobs in retail and service—on showroom floors and inside restaurants—have found new ones working in online order fulfillment and delivery. Even those who retained their jobs are seeing their roles shift to address these new conduits for economic activity...”
During the pandemic, 10 years of consumer adoption of e-commerce was compressed into three months, according to a recent survey by McKinsey
Who should get a covid-19 vaccine first?…Mathematicians are faced with two conflicting priorities when modeling for vaccines: Should they prevent deaths or slow transmission?
Rocket Lab has successfully recovered a booster for the first time
“…That’s a remarkable thing. It’s the first time you’ve ever been able to decide exactly when and where you want to watch a big, would-be-blockbuster Hollywood movie on opening day…“
Google Chrome is available as an Apple M1 native app today
Stadia game streaming will come to iOS via Web browser
Google revamps its strategy towards banking (FT:Paywall)
Google Pay gets a major redesign with a new emphasis on personal finance
Google Pay now has about 150 million users in 30 countries
Google is also partnering with 11 banks to launch a new kind of bank account in 2021. Called Plex, these mobile-first bank accounts will have no monthly fees, overdraft charges or minimum balances. The banks will own the accounts but the Google Pay app will be the main conduit for managing these accounts
…combining three things into one,”
One is the ability to pay friends and businesses really fast.
Explore offers and rewards, so you can save money at shops.
Getting insights about your spending so you can stay on top of your money.”
Apple drops its cut of App Store revenues from 30% to 15% for some developers…The cut benefits only developers who pull in less than $1 million annually.
Thanks to SpaceX, NASA regains a capability it lost for a decade
Windows Turn 35: A Visual History…The PC revolution started off life 35 years ago this week. Microsoft launched its first version of Windows on November 20th, 1985
Microsoft and Apple working on Xbox Series X controller support for iPhones and iPads
Eero’s security subscription now lets parents block sites at the router level
OneWeb emerges from bankruptcy, aims to begin launching satellites again on December 17
LidarPhone attack converts smart vacuums into microphones
Japan Inc to begin experiments issuing digital yen
