Dropbox is the latest San Francisco tech company to make remote work permanent
This machine takes office-air CO₂ and turns it into fuel
Disney is restructuring its media and entertainment divisions, as streaming becomes the most important facet of the company’s media business…Disney+, which said in August it had over 60 million subscribers world-wide, has been a big beneficiary of the pandemic’s streaming surge.
San Francisco Apartment Rents Crater Up to 31%, Most in U.S.
Germany drafting law to give people the legal right to work from home
EBay Goes Back to Basics“…He has distinguished eBay by focusing on “‘non-new in season”—the kind of merchandise you can’t generally find at the mall or on Amazon, including previous-season apparel, and used, vintage, and certified refurbished goods.”
Covid-19: China’s Qingdao to test nine million in five days.”..China said 11 million people in the city had been tested in 10 days earlier this year…In this process, a batch of between five and 10 samples was tested. Only if a sample tested positive would the team go back to carry out individual tests to see who was positive within thebatch…“
Amazon’s Prime Day Accelerates Shift to Online Shopping (WSJ)
Overall spending on Amazon’s site increased by 36% in the U.S. during the two-day event compared with Prime Day last year, according to research firm Edison Trends, though that was lower than the 42% increase the company saw in 2019. Before the event, research firm eMarketer projected that Amazon’s total U.S. Prime Day sales would reach $6.17 billion.
Amazon didn’t disclose detailed financial figures for the event, but the company said third-party businesses on its platform sold more than $3.5 billion during the event, a nearly 60% increase from last year. An iRobot Roomba vacuum and Kids Against Maturity card game were among the bestselling items in the U.S.
“…Capital markets think a new era is dawning: conventional banks now account for only 72% of the total market value of the global banking and payments industry, down from 81% at the start of the year…”
Owning an electric car really does save money, Consumer Reports finds…Most EVs are $6,000-$10,000 cheaper to operate than an equivalent vehicle.
A NASA mission is about to capture carbon-rich dust from a former water world
IBM to split into two companies by end of 2021…As-yet unnamed “NewCo” will handle IBM’s “managed infrastructure services.”
Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record
The future of the Belt has begun in first trailer for The Expanse S5
Amazon unveils its new electric delivery vans built by Rivian…
The delivery giant aims to have 10,000 vehicles on the road by 2022
Microsoft Edge gets free 24-hour video calls, screenshot tool, and shopping features
Pentagon wants SpaceX delivering cargo around the globe — and a live test could come next year
Microsoft Thinks You’ve Been Missing Your Commute in Lockdown (WSJ)”…‘Virtual commutes’ on Teams aim to rebuild the boundaries between work and home life, and signify the tech firm’s move into corporate well-being…”
“…The committee asserted repeatedly that Amazon dominates U.S. e-commerce. The company’s market share of U.S. online sales is often said to be about 39%, but the figure is as high as 74% across a range of product categories, according to the report, which also called out practices of other large tech companies…” WSJ
How 10 billion people could live well by 2050 – using as much energy as we did 60 years ago
On Oct. 1, AT&T stopped selling digital-subscriber-line connections
Amazon’s Growing Ad Business Could Forever Change Tech…
Apple TV now plays YouTube videos in 4K, with limits
The Boss Says It’s OK to Take a Break From Zoom. Why Are You Still on Video Calls?”…Employers are trying ‘quiet days’ to dial back the time remote workers spend on meetings; ‘Focused Wednesday Afternoons’…” (WSJ)
Amazon’s Alexa Boss on What Users Are Asking During Covid-19 (WSJ)
WSJ: As people stay home, which consumer habits evolved the fastest?
Ms. Reid: Meditation skills! We’ve seen an increase in things around cooking and recipes. You’re seeing people use reminders and timers to help them with home schooling.
Tesla delivers 139,300 vehicles in Q3, beating expectations
“…More than 150 million Americans have access to Amazon Prime, which promises a two-day turnaround on millions of items that can be dispatched to your home with literally one click…”
Electric car costs to remain higher than traditional engines (FT)
With no iPhone to launch, Apple turns to accessories and wearables (FT)“…For every 100 iPhones sold, Apple ships 49 pairs of AirPods and 14 Apple Watches, according to estimates from Canalys…”
Kenji Ekuan, Who Gave Soy Sauce Its Graceful Curves, Dies at 85“…It took him three years and 100 prototypes to come up with a final design for his dispenser, which combined a gracefully curving form with an innovative, dripless spout…”
iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 betas bypass Google Search on iPhones and iPads with Spotlight Search…Apple posting Search Jobs
The End of the Oil Age Is Upon Us…A new report suggests that over the next 30 years, at least 80 percent of the oil industry will be wiped out
Microsoft Flight Simulator players are flying into Hurricane Laura
TV watching and online streaming surge during lockdown in UK
A Good Life Doesn’t Mean an Easy One…A new study finds that for many, ‘psychological richness’ is more valuable than simple happiness (WSJ)
Bill Gates’ nuclear venture plans reactor to complement solar, wind power boom…The 345-megawatt plants would be cooled by liquid sodium and cost about $1 billion each.
“…The cost of batteries has long been the biggest obstacle to making electric cars affordable for the masses. As a result, electric vehicles still carry a hefty price premium compared with gas engine cars. McKinsey & Co. estimates that premium at $12,000 on average…” (WSJ)
Cities will transform and survive the pandemic (FT)
DARPA Progress With ‘Ocean Of Things’ All-Seeing Eye On The High Seas
Google Has a Plan to Disrupt the College Degree…Google’s new certificate program takes only six months to complete and will be a fraction of the cost of college
Google Pixel Buds tap AI to alert users to sirens, crying babies, and barking dogs
China is building a GitHub alternative called Gitee
The machine-learning model finds SARS-COV-2 growing more infectious
With Ultralight Lithium-Sulfur Batteries, Electric Airplanes Could Finally Take Off …Oxis Energy’s design promises outstanding energy density, manufacturability, and safety
AI player creates strikingly realistic virtual tennis matches based on real players
Panasonic’s new home cubicle is a disheartening glimpse at our work-from-home future
Apple quietly acquired Israel’s Camerai, formerly Tipit, a specialist in AR and camera tech
Nvidia CEO: We are expecting a really large second half for gaming
Sweden records highest death tally in 150 years in the first half of 2020
“…The company added 175,000 warehouse workers in March and April, 125,000 of which it said in May it would keep permanently. Amazon said this week it is in the process of adding 3,500 corporate workers at offices in New York, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Detroit and Dallas…”
“Remote Work Is Reshaping San Francisco, as Tech Workers Flee and Rents Fall…The social-media giant, which has 52,000 employees, expects to shift to a substantially remote workforce over the coming decade, and is now recruiting a director of remote work…”
Apple sued by Fortnite maker after kicking the game out of App Store for payment policy violations
Scribd acquires presentation-sharing service SlideShare from LinkedIn
Apple Readies Subscription Bundles to Boost Digital Services
Peloton shares slip premarket on news Apple is planning exercise video subscription service
SpaceX Starlink speeds revealed as beta users get downloads of 11 to 60Mbps
A 107-page safety manual details everything from infrared temperature scanners to vacuum-sealed meals that awaits the cast and crew of “Jurassic World: Dominion,” one of the first major Hollywood films to restart production since the coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/JGYqdj1BDg