Category: Technology

Apple Supplier Found Using Slaves from Xinjiang

Headlines shocked the tech market on December 30th, with reports indicating a prominent & prolonged supplier of Apple has enforced the labour of Uighur Muslims from Xinjiang, China. It’s a despicable act that’s being denied by Apple & it’s subsequent supplier, Lens Technology. Reports issued to “The Verge” from Tech Transparency Project indicates otherwise & suggests enslavement camps in China are being used to benefit delayed manufacturing.

The Apple Company isn’t the exclusive corporation with prominent ties to Lens Technology. Tesla & Amazon have employed the Chinese firms’ services for years. Specialized glass seen with smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, and numerous other devices are manufactured by Lens Technology. After manufacturing was delayed tenfold by Covid-19, this corporate entity illegally forced Uighur Works from enslavement-labour camps to increase production. Reports suggest that refusal has resulted in torture, sexual abuse, and death.

Investigations were sustained by the Tech Transparency Project, which located media reports & Chinese government records that undoubtedly proved Lens Technology has used thousands of Uighur Muslims from Xinjiang, China to work in their factories without any compensation. Living conditions for those enslaved employees hasn’t been details, with government records blacklisting any discussions pertaining to housing. If anything, similar to the Uighur enslavement camps in Xinjiang, hundreds of Uighur Muslims are likely being forced into unsanitary conditions. The available food is likely bread & water, nothing else.

CCP Continues to Lie

The Chinese Communist Party & Lens Technology knew government reports couldn’t be denied. Footage was released hours later to the international community, which shows “Lens Technology Uighur Employees” celebrating on Chinese National Day. Those individuals were dawning banners showcasing Xinjiang origin & pride. Reports from Uighurs that escaped enslavement notified the international community that education was being forced onto their Muslim brothers & sisters. This education included learning the Mandarin Language, while renouncing their Islam religion & love for the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP believe Chinese civilian should regard them as gods, not religious icons like Allah.

SIMC Added to US Entity List

Restrictions from the Trump Administration haven’t stopped towards the end of Donald’s presidency, with Chinese corporations being informed they’re unable to purchase American-made products any longer. Multiple companies are blacklisted after POTUS implemented new tariffs regarding technology suppliers, eliminating Chinese companies from purchasing American-developed chipsets. Considering that 15% of total imports into China are chipsets from the United States, this tariff is unlike any other introduced under Trump’s leadership.

The Commerce Department Entity List added dozens of Chinese companies onto their blacklist, with “Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation” and “DJI” being added. Blacklisting SMIC will have long-standing implications onto the global technology market, with the company acquiring semiconductors made in the United States to power products like smartphones & tablets. Without semiconductors from America, China cannot continue development of their 5G Infrastructure by Huawei. Governments worldwide have worked diligently towards eliminating Huawei’s 5G Infrastructure, with evidence from the United Kingdom that China’s communist party was spying on foreign civilians via this 5G Infrastructure.

Corporations wanting to provide their products to SMIC must apply for specialized licenses, with “Presumption of Denial” being announced for all applicants. It means that most won’t receive commissions. Evidence indicates that semiconductors are being used for various military projects, including cybernetic attacks on North American & European services. Those include the electric grid & military network.

CEO Resigning

This isn’t the first problem to arrive for SMIC in December 2020. Several days before learning imports from America had been restricted, reports across Chinese State Media noted that CEO Liang Ming is resigning from his position. That brought prominent concerns for investors, with stock market valuations for SMIC dropping by substantial volumes in 24 hours. Technological ambitions for China have virtually been halted by introducing these restrictions & tariffs. It’ll become nearly impossible for Chinese corporations like SCIM to continue their technical projects until restrictions are lifted, which could be years. President-Elect Joe Biden hasn’t any plans to remove regulations implemented under the Trump Administration.

EU Begins Regulating Social Media Firms

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and numerous other social media platforms that dominated consumer control are being regulated in the European Union. Announcements were issued that after 2020, largescale corporations operating in the technology marketplace will receive yearly reviews. The European Parliament has begun tackling harmful & illegal content that’s listed on platforms like Facebook.

Implemented restrictions eliminate these social media services from governing over consumer data, which prevents largescale corporations from promoting their services over competing firms. Evidence indicates that Apple & Google have purposely eliminated applications from the App Store, then months later release an application with evident similarities.

The European Parliament won’t tolerate Non-Compliance. Social media platforms have received warnings that refusing to co-operate will prompt millions in fines. EUROPA threatened to terminate those platforms all together if compliance isn’t achieved. The harsh stance seen by EUROPA initiated after evidence indicated all largescale corporations operating social media channels being guilty. Proposals by EUROPA Politicians wanted 10% of these companies European Turnover awarded to government agencies. That proposal was accepted & marked the moment where companies like Google began taking EUROPA seriously.

EUROPA named this legislation the “Digital Services & Digital Markets Act”, which comes into effect on January 1st. Agents from the European Parliament sent this legislation to the United Kingdom & requested its consideration. Brexit transitioning guaranteed this legislation wouldn’t be approved. However, announcements were issued from the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) in Great Britain. Details noted that legislation is being written now, with hopes to have ministers review governance measures for these companies by December 31st. It means that EUROPAs legislation is denied.

Before the European Parliament made their formal announcement regarding the “Digital Services & Digital Markets Act”, largescale corporations were informed of the press conference date and time. Multiple leaders in America like Tim Cook & Mark Zuckerberg didn’t react positively to learning they’ll be governed to extremes. Members in Europe’s Parliament were considerably happier, as sentiments mentioning how the golden age of digital growth is about to begin. It’ll be interesting to see how these largescale firms respond to EUROPA.

Apple Unveil the AirPods Max

Noise-cancelling headphones have become a leading product with largescale technology firms. Corporations like Sony & Bose compete for market growth, releasing products that are meant to incite excitement amongst customers. Few corporations manage to garner fanfare behind upcoming products, with the exception being Apple. For years, it hasn’t mattered what the Apple Company is releasing to consumers. Those individuals are likely to purchase upgraded phones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, chargers, laptops, and computers. Apple wants acquisition of another marketplace & to obtain higher margins in customer acquisition. This prompted the Apple Company into unveiling their latest product, the “AirPods Max”. Consumers can purchase these $550.00 headphones on December 15th or preorder your headset today.

Five colours are being supported with the AirPods Max. Those include:

  • Space Gray.
  • Sky Blue.
  • Silver.
  • Green.
  • Pink.

Apple is touting that the AirPods Max support customized acoustic designs better than any headset for consumer purchase, which is possible via 40mm drivers. Music enthusiasts known those advertisement claims from Apple are falsified that $550.00 could never compete against prominent models from Sennheiser or AKG. Those headsets standardly cost upwards of one thousand, providing listening capabilities that lovers of music exclusively understand.

Integration between other Apple products was confirmed at-launch. The Digital Crown seen on Apple Watches is activated as “Volume Control Trackpads” for owners. It’ll give users precise control of their volume while supporting capabilities to pause & play audio tracks. Phone calls can be answered & ended via the Digital Crown, with Siri support any initiated.

The Competition

Announcing the AirPods Max will likely become a financial failure for Apple. These headphones don’t support unique features similar to standard AirPods. Multiple headsets provide identical capabilities with enhanced sound compared to Apple’s AirPods Max & for lower costs. Consumers are recommended to consider these listed headsets manufactured by the following companies:

  • AKG K240 s – $109.99.
  • Bose Sound Link – $270.00
  • Sony WH-1000XM – $350.00
  • Bowers & Wilkens PX5 – $380.00
  • Sennheiser HD 600 – $400.00.

Most headsets above provide similar features to Apple’s AirPods Max, including support for Siri & trackpads that allows access to headset controls. Consumers are recommended to save their finances while receiving higher-quality sound from their headphones with the list as mentioned earlier.

Pfizer Releasing Covid Vaccine to American Healthcare Works

Individuals employed in the American healthcare sector will likely receive the Covid-19 vaccine by December 2020. This marks the fastest turnaround for vaccination manufacturing in history, with development beginning in March 2020. Nine months to develop a vaccine is astonishing but has prompted concerns for generational side affects. Improperly manufactured vaccines are known to create adverse side effects, with one such instance being the vaccination for polio in 1995, which caused paralysis in numerous children & few adults. It’d take fourteen years for scientists to design & manufacturer a reliable vaccine for polio, which still sustained horrendous side effects.

Large percentages of the population have expressed concern with administering the Covid-19 vaccination after learning this information. Ten months is drastically different than fifteen years. However, concerned citizens wanting to get vaccinated should understand that laboratory conditions & technologies have drastically changed since scientists began testing for the polio vaccine in 1936.

Healthcare worked throughout the United States likely have their rightful concerns regarding the Covid-19 vaccine, with those individuals sustaining extensive knowledge in the medical field. That hasn’t stopped Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company from applying for approval to enable healthcare works free vaccination by December 2020. It’s suspected that the “American Food & Drug Administration” won’t give immediate consent to Pfizer Pharmaceutical. The FDA will likely complete their respective tests to guarantee the 95% vaccination rating that Pfizer has announced is accurate. It should be clarified that both Pfizer & Moderna Pharmaceutical have confirmed their vaccinations for Covid-19 are completed.

FDA testing won’t take months, with the Health & Human Services Secretary of America confirming that advisement of Moderna & Pfizer’s vaccinations will take two weeks. An advisory committee of educated healthcare professionals is meeting in by December 5th to compile their findings. An objective mind will question how both these Pharmaceutical Corporations completed their record-breaking timeframes of ten months. Distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine will be sustained in phases. Those phases include:

  • Phase One – Distribution to Healthcare & Vulnerable Americans.
  • Phase Two – Distribution to Essential Workers, Teachers, and Homeless Civilians.
  • Phase Three – Distribution to Prison Inmates and Psychiatric Patients.
  • Phase Four – Distribution to American Men, Women, and Children.

ICO Fines Ticketmaster £1.25 Million for Data Breach

The Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom confirmed that after a thorough assessment, Ticketmaster UK had been fined £1.25 Million for negligence in securing customer data. An assessment period was conducted over two years, with ICO receiving information that a cyber-attack was sustained on Ticketmaster’s UK servers. Examinations over these servers saw more than nine million customers across the European Union affected by the data breach. What’s resulted since ICO fined £1.25 to Ticketmaster UK has been an onslaught of legal proceedings.

Ticketmaster UK confirmed that they’d appeal against the ruling & whatever information found by the Information Commissioner’s Office is being glorified. The appeal process for Ticketmaster UK will ensue numerous challenges, with the online retailer hoping to combat a government association that likely will receive backing from parliament. It should be clarified that the investigation into these servers details the reasoning for Ticketmaster’s breach.

Ticketmaster UK maintained a third-party chatbot. This chatbot was developed by “Inbenta Technologies” and would prove to be a substantial downfall for Ticketmaster, who is suffering significant losses during the coronavirus pandemic. Cyber attackers engaged with this chatbot, falsifying themselves as an AI program. Hackers acquired millions of payment details via this method. Ticketmaster has continuously denied that the cyber attack ever occurred. However, those affected have been questioned & have proven that an unknown source stole their banking details.

The Proof

Ticketmaster’s breach implicated entire industries, including banking & finance. It’s known that 24 to 48 hours after the attack, sixty thousand customers of Barclays Bank experienced fraud. An additional six thousand were affected with Monzo Online Bank, with their payment cards flagged for fraud. This unequivocally proves that Ticketmaster UK was breached on a massive scale. Whenever representatives of the online firm have been asked to discuss this issue, genuine responses are avoided & media personnel respond by stating user data privacy is taken seriously at Ticketmaster.

It’s expected that competing online retailers selling tickets for music & entertainment venues will obtain a large percentage of market share from Ticketmaster’s failures. Likely, consumers won’t trust Ticketmaster any longer & avoid any potential of being flagged for fraud during Covid-19.

Netflix Increases US Pricing

Millions of consumers across the United States of America are seeing prices of Netflix subscriptions increase before November 29th. The announcement was made privately by Netflix Incorporated, which updated its pricing for new customers. It means any new subscriptions for the international streaming service will cost $14.00 to $18.00 depending on which plan is selected.

Consumers maintaining the standard subscription for Netflix are paying an additional dollar. However, premier subscribers see an increase of two dollars. This is minimal when considering what Netflix offers over cable television, which often costs $40.00 to $50.00 for basic packages. Older subscribers won’t be introduced to the updated pricing until their current month is over. It should be noted that Netflix isn’t prompting any notification with their streaming platform to inform customers of the price increase. This means unknown consumers will unknowingly see the increased cost on their bank statements at the latest of November 29th.

Inside sources close with Netflix Incorporated have suggested that an increase in cost would be sustained. It’s been nearly two years since Netflix’s last inflation on pricing for Americans. However, their northern brothers of Canada saw an incremental rise for subscriptions in January 2020. Netflix Inc has determined that consumers are initially opting to leave their platform returned in one or two months. Subsequently, another inflation of cost for Americans has been introduced.

Netflix Incorporated noted that they’re not increasing subscription prices worldwide, that North America is receiving particular notice because of an influx of premium content to sustain customers. There’s an opportune moment for Netflix to introduce new subscription costs internationally, with consumers worldwide being forced into limited options for entertainment. Similar has been seen throughout America & Canada, with Netflix believing their services are more valued than competing streaming platforms. Multiple platforms have been introduced throughout 2019 & 2020. Those include YouTube Premium, NBC Peacock, Disney Plus, and HBO Max.

Bang for your Buck

Those complaining that the increase is too much aren’t considering the value of their money. Netflix regularly introduces new films & series to their lineup, increasing a growing library filled with 1500+ original titles. No other streaming service has come close to obtaining a similar library of valued content. $18.00 maximum for 1500+ original titles, plus hundreds of 3rd party content, makes Netflix the most valued streaming service.

Quibi Shutting Down After Less Than One Year

December 1st marks the moment when Quibi will terminate their streaming services. There hasn’t been any other streaming platform that’s struggled to ascertain a customer base, which follows after Quibi implemented a unique & undesirable format for watching content. Similarly, to Snapchat & TikTok, consumers could stream shows in portrait or landscape mode on their mobile devices. The concept wasn’t remotely adopted by North Americans, prompting Quibi’s shutdown several months after launching.

Content made exclusively under Quibi’s ownership will be sold to third-party corporations, likely Amazon Prime Video or Netflix. The Co-Founder of Quibi has recommended that the few thousand supporters of their platform follow the companies Twitter Hashtag. Updates regarding their library catalogue will be released via Twitter. It should be noted that negotiations regarding ownership of their library catalogue begun before a formal announcement of their closure was made. Details regarding potential buyers haven’t been detailed, but Co-Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg believes that two parties are interested, and a possible bidding war could unfold.

Executives employed with Quibi are working towards the closure of their streaming services while ascertaining funds needed to pay back investors that’ve seen zero returns on their investment. Additionally, Quibi has to defend themselves through the American Court System financially. Eko Interactive Video claims that Quibi stole their “Turn Style Streaming Technology”. EIV Incorporated confirmed that they’d continue the lawsuit, not considering Quibi’s closure.

Inevitable Failure

Since August 2020, it seemed failure was inevitable for Quibi & that the company would likely become a discontinued streaming service before reaching critical success. Co-Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg defended criticism against their inevitable failure until October 15th. His arguments against their eventual success ended after the Hollywood Executive realized financial losses couldn’t be sustained any longer. Considering that $2 Billion was raised before Quibi launched in April & that the company announced their closure several months later, this streaming service is regarded as a critical failure.

Quibi is the perfect example of how Netflix and Amazon Prime Video hold the collective market share associated with streaming in North America. Services like HBO+, Disney+, and Hulu+ have struggled to ascertain similar customer bases. Nobody ever will reach equal volumes to Netflix or APV.

iPhone 12 Announced by Apple on October 13th

The Apple Company made an anticipated announcement on October 13th, revealing the iPhone 12 Series. Three models were introduced this Tuesday & showcased the first design alterations since 2017. Multiple colour options are supported with the updated models and included 5G Wireless Connectivity.

This will allow Apple enthusiasts to enter the modern age of communication. These handsets weren’t the exclusive announcements made by Apple on October 13th. Apple introduced the HomePod Mini & MagSafe Wireless Charging System, which are meant to support all three models with the iPhone 12 Series. It should be noted that $50.00 wireless headphones named Beats Flex are another accessory supported for the iPhone 12 Series.

The Apple Company has struggled with its wireless charging technologies, often failing to provide reliable charges to users. It prompted Apple Designers to introduce “MagSafe for iPhone”, which supports an enhanced charging coin design & magnet connector. This enables third-party accessories to work coherently with MagSafe.

Physical Concerns for the iPhone 12 Series

Technology analysts have criticized Apple for not introducing 5G Connectivity years ago. It’s been available on Android since 2018, and their delayed response is likely to generate technical issues for unsuspecting iPhone Users. Features like iMessage & FaceTime could experience latency errors when between the 5G to LTE Wireless Connectivity Services. Analysts have also expressed concerns regarding repairability with the iPhone 12 Series.

Apple has infamously made it challenging for their smartphones to be repaired by third-party companies. It appears that with the iPhone 12 Series, that concept is being fully adopted. Analysts suspect that third-party repair companies won’t find useful options to resolve technical issues. This means consumers must have their iPhone 12s repaired at an Apple Store, which for some is hours or countries away.

Special Features

Consumers have three options with the iPhone 12 Series. Premium models are named the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. The two latter options are providing consumers with depth mapping for low light autofocus capabilities & AR Support. New camera sensors have been introduced to better image stabilization and improve sharpening when processing each photo. Synthesized computational photography is implemented into the parameters of Apple’s processing application, and work’s better than any other iPhone before. For photographers, this is the best smartphone available to date.

IBM Announces Legacy Company

The stock market was shocked to learn that International Business Machines, more commonly known as IBM, is splitting into two corporations. It means that a corporation with more than 100+ years in its respective industry is changing tenfold over the coming years. Executives made this decision in hopes to create higher-margin businesses with a focus on artificial intelligence & cloud computing. Mid-2021 is revealing the official name and date of launch. After this announcing, shares for IBM grew by 6% in response to the stock markets shock & excitement.

Announcing that diversification of corporate services & assets is substantial for the technology computer. It marks the 1st significant computing firm for announcing their departure from standard business models. It’s expected that other companies will follow suit after profit margins for IBMs newest company is revealed at 2021 fiscal year-end. In response to this announcement, the chief executive officer of International Business Machines clarified that IBM has divested networking since the 1990s & followed suit with PCs in the 2000s. Their 3rd phase of networking revolved around cloud computing to artificial intelligence, which Arvind Krishna requires an upgrade of a separate corporation.

CEO Arvind Krishna was a prominent architect in acquiring “Red Hat Cloud Computer”, which cost IBM $34 Billion. It’s the largest acquisition that International Business Machines have accomplished in their 109-years of operation. Arvind clarified that purchasing Red Hat marked the first step towards their diversification of corporate services & assets. Announcing this new company means IBM will compete directly against Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services for cloud computing market share. It’ll be challenging for IBM to overtake these three tech conglomerates, who maintain millions of customers worldwide.

Transfer of Workforce

International Business Machines (IBM) has a workforce of 352+ thousand employees, with the separation of this employed personnel not being known. However, IBMs Arvind Krishna revealed that transferring a percentage of their workforce will cost $5 Billion. Details regarding the name of this corporation haven’t been announced, with most naming it NewCo. It’s known that IBM is encompassing its “Manager Infrastructure Services Division” into this new corporation. Additional details won’t be revealed for likely several months.