Tim Cook asks employees to work together and move forward after surprise Trump victory

Image: Reuters.

By Aditya Madanapalle /  10 Nov 2016 , 17:28

Tim Cook sent a letter to Apple employees calling for unity, and quoting the advice of Martin Luther King Jr. “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” The letter does not mention Trump directly. Over the course of his campaign, Trump has directly threatened harsh measures on Apple, including forcing the company to manufacture the phones on American soil.

Speaking on Apple refusing to cooperate with law enforcement officials in unlocking a device, Trump called for a boycott of Apple products. “Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information. It just occurred to me” Trump had said during his campaign. Later on, Trump Tweeted that he would personally only use his Samsung device till Apple handed over the information.

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Donald J. Trump 

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I use both iPhone & Samsung. If Apple doesn't give info to authorities on the terrorists I'll only be using Samsung until they give info.

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The letter by Cook is an effort to ease the anxiety of employees, where he asks the employees to help each other out. Indirectly addressing the rhetoric used by Trump over the course of his presidential campaign, Cook wrote “Our company is open to all, and we celebrate the diversity of our team here in the United States and around the world — regardless of what they look like, where they come from, how they worship or who they love.” A copy of the letter is available with Buzzfeed.

The sentiments were echoed by Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, who responded to the Trump victory by saying “Our commitment to our mission and values are steadfast, and in particular fostering a diverse and inclusive culture.” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, had posted an open letter on Medium, that said “I firmly believe that whether you’re building a company or leading a country, a diverse mix of voices and backgrounds and experiences leads to better discussions, better decisions, and better outcomes for everyone.”

A Trump win could have serious repercussions on technology companies. Tim Cook had held a fundraiser to help support the Clinton campaign. Tim Cook seems to be more anti-Trump than pro-Hillary because he had earlier hosted a fundraiser for Republican candidate Bernie Sanders. Silicon Valley executives apparently had a secret meeting on an Island where they discussed plans to stop Trump from winning the presidency. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page, Sean Parker, and Elon Musk CEO of SpaceX and Tesla were at the meeting.

(Also Read: President Trump: What Microsoft, Facebook and other tech CEOs said)

Silicon Valley had collectively rolled its eyes after Trump warned of a bubble in the technology sector. Trump claims that the unicorn companies, startups with a valuation of over a billion dollars, are overvalued and are attracting investments while not being profitable. Silicon Valley collectively rejected this warning. Tech CEOs including Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Steve Wozniak, Pierre Omidyar, Meg Whitman and Marc Benioff all openly supported Clinton in the lead up to the election. Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and Palmer Luckey of Oculus stood out for their open support for Trump.

ZTE BV0800 phone running Android 7.0 Nougat spotted online

The ZTE company logo: Reuters

By tech2 News Staff /  11 Nov 2016 , 10:14

Chinese smartphone maker ZTE seems to be working on an Android 7.0 Nougat powered smartphone. In a GFXBench listing spotted online, a ZTE handset with the codename BV0800 has been spotted with Android 7.0 Nougat as the operating system.

The ZTE BV0800 handset is expected to come with a 5.2-inch FullHD display and will run on a Qualcomm chipset which has an octa-core Cortex A53 processor running at 1.4GHz, most likely the Snapdragon 430, paired with Adreno 505 GPU.

The phone is expected to have 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. On the camera front, you would most likely get a 12MP front-facing as well as rear camera. Both the front and rear cameras are capable of shooting in full HD resolution according to the listing. The phone would not have NFC.

There are on details as to when the device is expected to hit the markets. But expect a China launch soon. Going by the specs leaked, it would be safe to assume that this will be a budget Android 7.0 Nougat device.

ZTE has been launching its phones in India as well. Recently we had reviewed the ZTE Nubia Z11 mini.

Why I think Donald Trump could make Silicon Valley even greater

Image: Reuters

  11 Nov 2016 , 10:21

By Vishal Gondal

The improbable has truly happened. Donald Trump is going to be the President of the Unites States of America. I have never seen such widely divided opinions or stance against any elected representative in modern politics.

Although the world might truly be in a state of shock, if you ask people around me, they will tell you that I predicted the improbable way back when he was chosen as the Republican nominee. Well the thing is, coming from a startup background I have seen quite a few Davids vs Goliaths in my lifetime.

I have seen this in the Silicon Valley itself where the new innovators and thinkers have overthrown the established order against all odds.

We call this disruption. And when used in a very positive connotation, it is nothing but a byproduct of innovation. Trump said many things good and bad but in essence Trump spoke a lot about disrupting the established order – creating jobs, bringing back the industries and that has resonated with a lot of Americans.

They wanted change and Trump showed them a path towards it. While most failed to see or predict what the public wanted, this landmark judgement will force them to look inwards, ask questions and come up with answers. A lot of folks have started predicting doom for America and how it may lose its edge, talks of California separating from USA.

I have spent a lot of time Silicon Valley and I can tell you that this judgement will not be bad given how smart and resilient the people of America are. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and I see a lot of new startups focused on areas of healthcare, manufacturing, security, infrastructure, fin-tech getting a major boost from the Trump administration and its policies.

If there is anyone who has the license to distrust the system it’s Donald Trump. The same goes for India and Indians living in the United States. Indian software companies who have been traditionally focused on software services will be forced to look at products and IP based solution.

This shift from services to product will benefit both startup ecosystems of America & India and many of these companies will be looking at investments & acquisitions. I believe the trade relations between the two largest democracies will strengthen leading to a powerful alliance owing to the geopolitical scenarios and rapid industrialisation in India.

Most Indians living in the US are small business owners or white collar workers and they will have a greater role to play in this changing landscape as both of them will be focused on creating more jobs and more value. To conclude, while Trump may not be perfect, in his quest to make America great again a lot of that greatness will rub off on the people dealing with America.

The author is CEO, GOQii.

SonyLIV launches ‘LIV Kids’ app addressed at children; to be available on website and YouTube as well

  11 Nov 2016 , 09:56

SonyLIV, the digital platform of Sony Pictures Networks’ India, on Thursday launched “LIV Kids” that will feature content designed for children.

LIV Kids will feature popular nursery rhymes such as “Pop Goes the Weasel”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, “Humpty Dumpty” and “Wheels on the Bus”.

Produced by SonyLIV, the content on LIV Kids will be available on SonyLIV’s website and mobile application, as well as on its YouTube channel.

“With the category offering an exciting range of nursery rhymes which are both fun and informative, we are confident that our younger audience will enjoy our latest addition to the fullest,” said Uday Sodhi, executive vice-president and head (Digital Business), Sony LIV, in a statement.

SonyLIV is a premium video on demand (VOD) service by Sony Pictures Networks’ India (SPN) providing multi-screen engagement to users on all devices

The digital platform was launched in January 2013 and archives 20 years of content from the network channels of Sony Pictures Networks’.

IANS

Instagram update brings links, tagging friends and built-in Boomerang in stories

By tech2 News Staff /  11 Nov 2016 , 09:36

Facebook is known to constantly tweak features on its products, and the latest is Instagram that adds not one but three new features to Stories. So, users can add URL links to their Stories, add mentions ‘@name’ in a friend’s story and add a Boomerang directly without the need to create it separately on a Boomerang app. Boomerangs are short video clips that loop back and forth.

To begin with, the ability to add URL links would means with a single click you will navigate to the web page that has been linked. Users will find ‘See More’ links at the bottom of the stories, which will allow verified accounts to add links. Techcrunch explains that the’see More’ button instead of actually seeing links will keep the photo free of ugly links while still allowing one-click access to them. Moreover, Instagram will block inappropriate links. As aforementioned, Instagram is testing it with verified accounts and may later expand to others too.

The second feature Mentions will let you tag a friend in a story using @. So, you take a picture or video for a story add text and tag a friend using @name. Instagram will also autocomplete the user names. “You’ll receive a notification in Direct when you’re mentioned in someone else’s story. Just tap the preview to go straight to the story for as long as it’s live. If someone you don’t follow mentions you, you’ll see the notification in your message requests,” Instagram writes in a blogpost.

Finally, Instagram will let you take Boomerang directly inside Instagram. So, swipe from your feed to open stories camera and a new format picker under the record button will allow users to select Boomerang mode. Once users tap on record, the camera will stitch together a burst of photos into a mini video that will play forward and backward. Users can then share it to their stories.

Russia launches case against Microsoft over alleged violation of competition laws

Image Credits: Reuters

  11 Nov 2016 , 09:46

Russia has launched a case against US IT giant Microsoft over alleged violation of the country’s competition law, Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said on Thursday.

Anatoly Golomolzin, deputy head of the anti-monopoly watchdog, said Microsoft was suspected of violating the Russian law on the protection of competition for misusing its dominant position in the Russian software market, Xinhua news agency reported.

The investigation was prompted after Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab accused Microsoft of making the Russian anti-virus manufacturers unable to compete with Microsoft by reducing the adaptation time of Russian anti-virus software producers from two months to six days in its latest Windows 10 operating system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been urging state entities and local companies to use domestic software out of concerns over security and reliability.

According to Russia’s Minister of Communications Nikolay Nikiforov, the government has produced a list of nearly 2,000 Russian software products that state-run companies should use instead of foreign brands.

IANS

Russian court upholds decision to ban LinkedIn over data policy

Representational image

  11 Nov 2016 , 09:23

A Russian court on Thursday upheld a decision to block the website of social networking company LinkedIn Corp., Interfax news agency reported, setting a precedent for the way foreign internet firms operate in the country.

Russia’s Roskomnadzor communications watchdog has said LinkedIn, which has more than 6 million registered users in Russia, was violating a law requiring websites which store the personal data of Russian citizens to do so on Russian servers.

Moscow has said the law, introduced in 2014 but never previously enforced, is aimed at protecting Russians’ personal data. Critics see it as an attack on social networks in a country which has increasingly tightened control over the Internet in recent years.

Moscow’s Tagansky District Court ruled in August that LinkedIn’s site should be blocked, but the decision had not yet come into force pending a company appeal. “The decision of the Tagansky District Court has been upheld, the appeal by LinkedIn Corporation is unsatisfactory,” Interfax quoted a court decision as saying. Russia will take action to block LinkedIn’s website within the next week, RIA news agency cited a Roskomnadzor spokesman as saying.

“LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for the entire global workforce. The Russian court’s decision has the potential to deny access to LinkedIn for the millions of members we have in Russia and the companies that use LinkedIn to grow their businesses,” a LinkedIn’s spokesman told Reuters. “We remain interested in a meeting with Roskomnadzor to discuss their data localization request.”

Roskomnadzor did not immediately reply to a request for comment. While some companies such as online reservations site Booking.com have said they will transfer the necessary data to Russian servers, it is unclear whether others, including Facebook and Alphabet unit Google, will comply with the law.

Reuters

Ericsson keen to grow partnership with Cisco to combat weaker growth over next two years

Image Credits: REUTERS

  11 Nov 2016 , 09:21

Struggling telecoms equipment maker Ericsson is looking to expand the scope of its partnership with Cisco as it hunts for ways to offset weaker growth for the industry over the next two years. Ericsson shares, which have slumped 44 percent this year, rose 3.7 percent on Thursday after the Swedish firm gave a new outlook that was less bearish than some analysts had expected and said its Cisco partnership was gaining momentum.

Nonetheless, Ericsson’s acting CEO told investors in New York he was not satisfied with the company’s performance. “We have a tough market situation out there,” Jan Frykhammar said, pointing to weakness in emerging markets where its best hopes for more 4G mobile network upgrade contracts are located, as well as slower mobile network demand in Europe.

“We understand that we need to perform better but you also as investors need to give us some time,” Frykhammar said. The company is wrestling with a drop in spending by telecoms firms, with volume demand for next-generation, 5G technology still years away and amid stiff competition from China’s Huawei and Finland’s Nokia.

Ericsson said negative industry trends from the first half of 2016, when demand weakened for mobile broadband equipment across the industry, were expected to prevail for at least the next two or three quarters. It expects average annual growth of 1 percent to 3 percent from 2016 to 2018 for areas of the market where its provides products and services. In its previous market forecast, issued a year ago, Ericsson predicted 2 percent to 4 percent total market growth each year from 2014 to 2018.

“Ericsson is perhaps a bit more optimistic about 2017 and 2018 than the market,” Redeye analyst Greger Johansson said. Ericsson said its Cisco partnership, which was announced a year ago, got off to a slow start but was gaining traction with more than 60 joint customers and scope to collaborate in areas such as data centres, WiFi, security and the Internet of Things.

“The opportunities go beyond where we originally had been focusing, which is the core and IP networks,” said Rima Qureshi, Ericsson’s chief in North America. “As a consequence, we’re looking at expanding the scope.”

Hard Times

Ericsson has had a brutal year. Former CEO Hans Vestberg was ousted in July and the company shocked investors last month when it warned of a 93 percent plunge in operating profit for the third quarter and tumbling sales. The firm has been slashing jobs and last month appointed veteran board member Borje Ekholm to take over as CEO in January and steer the firm through its worst crisis in a decade.

It said on Thursday that its results would be weighed down by a 10 percent to 15 percent fall in the global mobile infrastructure market this year and a 2 percent to 6 percent decline in 2017.

That puts Ericsson roughly in line with Nokia, which warned last month its addressable market for mobile network equipment would likely decline by low single digits in 2017, after it announced a drop third-quarter sales.

Shares in Nokia rose 2 percent on Thursday and network equipment makers were among the top performers on the STOXX European tech index, which was down 0.9 percent overall. Still, Ericsson is more dependent on mobile broadband demand than its main rivals, as the Alcatel-Lucent merger gave Nokia a larger fixed-line networks business while Huawei has a broader telecom offering than Ericsson.

For its mainstay networks business which generates 75 percent of group sales, Ericsson cut its growth outlook, forecasting its market would be flat or shrink by as much as 2 percent between 2016 and 2018. Its new IT & Cloud division is expected to grow 5 percent to 7 percent in the same period and generate 20 percent of net sales.

Reuters

Investors believe that AI to take over millions of jobs and governments are not prepared

Image Credit: Reuters

  11 Nov 2016 , 09:03

Investors believe it is “inevitable” that artificial intelligence will destroy millions of jobs and that governments are unprepared for such an impact, according to a survey published on Thursday. Artificial intelligence (AI), or the process by which computers or robots take on tasks that need human intelligence, is one of the key themes of this week’s Web Summit in Lisbon.

The poll among 224 venture capitalists attending the conference showed 53 percent believed AI would destroy millions of jobs and 93 percent saw governments as unprepared for this. The survey also found that 83 percent of the investors canvassed expect Britain’s exit from the European Union to damage Europe’s economy and 77 percent believe it will damage British startups.

London is widely seen as the main tech startup hub in Europe, thanks to its large pool of talent and a much bigger pool of funding than in rival centres. Cities like Berlin, Amsterdam and Lisbon are eager to attract more tech startups.

The Web Summit, one of Europe’s biggest tech conferences, is being held for the first time in Lisbon, with 53,000 attendees, after moving from Dublin where it was first launched in 2010. The venture capitalists taking part have more than $100 billion of capital in total to invest. The Web Summit conducted the poll on Nov. 7.

Reuters

Symantec Corporation announces new AI-powered “Symantec Endpoint Protection 14”

Image Credit: Symantec

  10 Nov 2016 , 14:30

Leading cyber security company Symantec Corporation on Wednesday announced “Symantec Endpoint Protection 14” — powered by artificial intelligence (AI) on the endpoint and in the cloud for better security. The “Endpoint Protection 14” is the industry’s first solution to fuse essential endpoint technologies with advanced machine learning and memory exploit mitigation in a single agent, delivering a multi-layered solution to stop advanced threats, the company said in a statement.

The solution delivers protection in a lightweight package, building on industry-leading 99.9 percent efficacy, low false positives and a 70 percent reduced footprint over the previous generation through new advanced cloud lookup capabilities.  “Multi-layered protection, enabled by AI, backed by the world’s most powerful threat intelligence force and powered by the Cloud, this is literally the smartest choice in endpoint technologies,” Tarun Kaura, Director, Solution Product Management, Asia Pacific and Japan of Symantec, said in a statement.

This comes right after the company exceeded its revenue estimates in the earnings report released on November 3, 2016. According to the company, the acquisition of Blue Coat along with continued growth and expansion in enterprise security market has helped the company surpass the earning projections.

With inputs from IANS