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Showing posts from November, 2023

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy Turnaround work is often described as a crisis discipline: reduce costs, preserve cash, stabilize operations and buy time. Those moves matter, but they are not enough. A durable turnaround also needs leverage: better systems, clearer information flows and repeatable execution. For Livio Andrea Acerbo , AI automation is useful in turnaround strategy when it improves the operating rhythm of a company. The point is not to add tools. The point is to remove friction from decisions that must happen every week. From cost control to operating clarity Cost control can stop the bleeding, but operating clarity creates the next phase. Teams need to know which products are profitable, which customers deserve attention, where working capital is trapped and which workflows create avoidable delay. Automation helps when it turns scattered data into a management cadence. Dashboards, exception reports, document summaries, pipeline reviews and cash visibi...

Microsoft joins OpenAI board as Sam Altman returns as CEO

Following Sam Altman's rollercoaster of a return as OpenAI's CEO, the company announced that it will now include Microsoft as a non-voting observer on its board. The question remains as to why the firm's largest investor wasn't on its board in the first place, but this seems to be somewhat addressed for now, at least. Altman is joined by co-founder Greg Brockman who resumes his role as President, whereas Mira Murati, who very briefly served as interim CEO throughout the drama, will return to her role as CTO. The announcement also confirms a new board consisting of former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor (chair), former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and original member Adam D'Angelo, who is also Quora's co-founder and CEO. It was earlier rumored that Altman's exit was partly influenced by D'Angelo's seeming conflict of interest, as OpenAI was developing a potential competitor to Quora's Poe service — the latter offers OpenAI's ChatGPT an...

Ex-Xsolla exec files whistleblower lawsuit against payment firm over alleged financial crimes

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Global payments provider Xsolla has been sued by a former accounting vice president who alleges the company mishandled finances. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple and Google avoid naming ChatGPT as their ‘app of the year,’ picking AllTrails and Imprint instead

Both Apple and Google today announced their best apps and games of the year, with the hiking and biking companion AllTrails winning as Apple’s iPhone App of the Year in 2023, while the educational app Imprint: Learn Visually won as Google Play’s best app. Meanwhile, Apple and Google agreed on their Game of the Year, © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Games for Change unveils second summit in Abu Dhabi

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Games for Change and AD Gaming announced that the second Games for Change Middle East Summit will take place in Abu Dhabi. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Reddit refreshes its logo as IPO speculation swirls

If you weren’t already buying the Reddit IPO rumors, the internet’s beating heart of deeply niche microcultures just introduced a rebrand, refreshing its iconic logo and rolling out some new visual vibes. Reddit’s most obvious visual update is a new design for Snoo, the anthropomorphic red and white robot mascot synonymous with Reddit since its © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

London’s iconic black cabs can soon be hailed on Uber

Uber has secured another win over the struggling taxi industry. Soon, riders in London will be able to hail an iconic black cab in the city. London cabbies can now start signing up for Uber trip referrals, but the service won’t roll out until early 2024. Uber says some drivers have already begun showing interest © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Fearless Fund grant program was already ‘at risk’ before lawsuit

A leaked document shines new light on the fund's relationship with Mastercard and the embattled grant program. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Polestar’s climate-tweeting bot isn’t actually a bot, for good reason

“When is a bot a person?,” my colleague Kirsten asked after I learned that Polestar’s climate bot is more human than machine. Polestar launched its “Truth Bot” on X (formerly Twitter) ahead of COP28, the UN climate conference overseen by an oil executive. The Truth Bot replies to misleading tweets about the climate crisis and © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

HTC’s Vive Ultimate Trackers have cameras to improve full-body tracking

HTC released the Vive Ultimate Tracker, which when paired with one of the company’s virtual reality headsets, delivers multi-point body tracking for users for everything from first-person shooter gaming to soccer skills training. The new tracker follows HTC’s Vive Tracker 3.0 line and will cost $199 per unit. HTC is also selling a three-pack that comes with the required wireless dongle and other accessories for a bundle price of $599. You can use up to five “six degrees of freedom” (6DoF) Ultimate Trackers simultaneously and connect to a single headset to collectively support multi-point full-body tracking. Each tracker relies on two wide field-of-view cameras to precisely locate the wearer's motions in 3D spaces, which ultimately gives it those self-tracking capabilities. The Global Head of Product at HTC, Shen Ye, said the technology built into the Ultimate tracker will enhance the virtual reality experience, making sessions “a lot more realistic and immersive.” Previous models r...

Nvidia taps China talent for autonomous driving endeavors

Nvidia has long been involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, providing the industry with graphic processing units that can perform millions of calculations simultaneously. Now the semiconductor powerhouse is stepping up its AV game by seeking a talent boost in China. The firm is recruiting two dozen roles for an autonomous driving team © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Ayaneo’s Macintosh-inspired mini PC starts at $149 with internals to match

Ayaneo has been teasing its Macintosh-inspired PC for a few weeks. Now that the AM01 is available for pre-order, the company has revealed the prices and specs. While some had been hoping Ayaneo would use similar chipsets to those found in its powerful handheld gaming devices, it has opted to use older AMD APUs. On the plus side, the company has priced the various AM01 configurations pretty fairly. The mini PC starts at $149 for a configuration with an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That's an early bird price, and this version will later retail for $199. Configurations with a Ryzen 7 5700U APU start at an early bird price of $219 for a barebone unit and stretch up to $379 for a model with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Ayaneo notes that the AM01 is expandable up to 64GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM and 2TB of M.2 solid state storage. There's also a SATA 3.0 interface that supports a 2.5-inch SDD or HDD. The Ryzen 7 5700U variants have Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, comp...

Exclusive: Amazon AWS aims to outshine Microsoft with Gen AI offerings at Re:Invent

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Swami Sivasubramanian, Amazon AWS’s vice president of Data and AI, gave VentureBeat a preview of what to expect from AWS' keynotes, including building Bedrock apps in less than a minute, more LLM choice, vector database expansion, and more. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Rivian’s electric truck is available to lease in 14 US states

Rivian has started a leasing program in 14 US states. The EV maker added the new financing option to its website on Monday (via Electrek), allowing customers to lease R1T electric pickup trucks for estimated prices starting at around $770 monthly (depending on your region). Since vehicle leases are categorized differently from purchases under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), lessees qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles. The leasing program will be available to customers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. “We chose these launch states based on many factors including where our customers are located and where leasing is most popular,” a Rivian spokesperson wrote in an email to CNBC. Rivian told the outlet it plans to expand the program’s available states and vehicle models, but it didn’t offer a timeline or further details. It’s reportedly...

Apple partner Foxconn to invest $1.5 billion in India

Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, the latest in its growing expansion plan, following a surge in revenues in the South Asian market. Foxconn said in a stock exchange filing that the investment will help it fulfil “operational needs.” The investment comes two months after the Taiwanese firm said it plans to double © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

86 Best Cyber Monday Outdoor Deals (2023): Sleeping Bags, Tents, Solo Stoves

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It's cold outside, so you probably need new long underwear. Shop our favorite tents, backpacks, and other outdoor gear. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Best Cyber Monday TV deals 2023: Save hundreds on sets from Samsung, LG, Sony and more

It's Cyber Monday, and a deluge of TVs are on sale for the occasion. Many of the deals that were advertised on Black Friday are still available but, as always, not all of those discounts are truly worth it. So let us help: we've rounded up the best Cyber Monday TV deals we could find for 2023 below, with discounts on top-rated sets from Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL and Hisense. Though we don't formally review TVs at Engadget, we've thoroughly researched price histories and reviews from other sites we trust to ensure you get the right set for your needs — whether it's a premium OLED TV, a budget-friendly model or just any sort of mammoth 75-inch screen. If you don't need a new set, we've also included a few Cyber Monday deals on streaming services, media streamers and soundbars. Best Cyber Monday OLED TV deals 55-inch Samsung S90C OLED TV A 55-inch model of Samsung’s S90C OLED TV is available for $1,298 at Amazon, Walmart and B&H. Samsung itself has it for $2 ...

Cyber Monday deals: The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is $80 off at Amazon

The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro has dropped to a record low of $320 as part of a Cyber Monday sale that includes significant discounts on many of the company's appliances. The air fryer is typically available for $400. Breville's products tend to be on the pricier side and they don’t go on sale often. So, if you’re a Breville aficionado or haven’t been able to find an entry point into its wares until now, this looks like a good opportunity to snap up a device or two. This model is our pick for the best multi-purpose air fryer. Sure, it's a capable air fryer, but it's so much more than that. In a pinch, it can act as a second oven, which could be very useful if family and/or friends are coming to your place for the holidays. The appliance has a number of other functions, such as toasting, broiling, baking, pizza baking, dehydration, slow cooking and proofing. The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is large enough to accommodate a 14-pound turkey or a five-quart Dut...

The best Cyber Monday deals

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Illustration by Aaron Fernandez for The Verge The Monday after a long holiday weekend is no fun, unless you like to save money. If you missed out on all the great Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday offers one more chance to save some serious cash before the holidays. You can still, for example, score significant discounts on a number of popular gifts, ranging from Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Amazon’s Echo Pop to the Sonos Roam and Kindle Paperwhite. There are also a number of deals on other kinds of gadgets, including phones, smartwatches, headphones, chargers, toys, and all sorts of accessories. And not all the deals are Black Friday leftovers, either; other gadgets are even cheaper now, like the second-gen Apple Pencil, Yeedi Vac 2 Pro, and Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Contrary to reports, OpenAI probably isn’t building humanity-threatening AI

Has OpenAI invented an AI technology with the potential to “threaten humanity”? From some of the recent headlines, you might be inclined to think so. Reuters and The Information first reported last week that several OpenAI staff members had, in a letter to the AI startup’s board of directors, flagged the “prowess” and “potential danger” © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

After two ambitious years, TikTok parent ByteDance starts mass layoffs in gaming

ByteDance’s gaming ambition has been an expensive, short-lived pursuit. In late 2021, the TikTok parent’s plans for video games came into the spotlight after it became one of the firm’s six core business units, posing a new threat to incumbents such as Tencent and NetEase and rising star MiHoYo. Nonetheless, after two years of tepid © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

81 Affordable Cyber Monday Deals Under $50

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From PS5 controllers to amazing mugs, this WIRED-approved (and tested) gear is extra affordable today. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

OnePlus 12 with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will debut in China on December 5

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As OnePlus approaches its 10th anniversary in December, it's launching a new flagship phone in Shenzhen, China at 2:30PM on December 5 (local time) to mark the occasion. The brand's official China website revealed the upcoming OnePlus 12 with a striking resemblance to its predecessor, though the camera island's color now matches that of the body — much like the similar-looking Ace 2 Pro. In addition to the glossy white and classic matt black options, the updated green design will come in what appears to be a matt marble look, as opposed to the previous plain glossy finish.  According to our sister site Yahoo Tech HK, OnePlus has already shared some key specs over multiple Weibo posts earlier. These include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor (no surprises there), a new Sony LYT-808 sensor for the 50-megapixel main camera and a 64-megapixel, 3X periscopic telephoto camera — both with Hasselblad's magical touch, as usual. Other tidbits include a 2K display panel from ...

32 Best Coffee Deals for Cyber Monday—Makers, Grinders, Mugs

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Our favorite coffee machines, burr grinders, mugs, and accessories, and even coffee beans are on sale for Cyber Monday. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

India’s EMotorad rides high with $20M investment for global e-bike push

EMotorad, an Indian startup manufacturing electric bikes, raised $20 million in a Series B round as it aims to disrupt China’s market domination and expand its presence in global markets. The three-year-old startup has raised more than $22.5 million in total funding, with Singapore’s Panthera Growth Partners leading the latest round, along with participation from © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Solo Stove’s Pi Prime Pizza Oven is $50 off for Cyber Monday

Solo Stove’s gas-powered Pi Prime pizza oven is on sale for $300 for Cyber Monday, which is a discount of $50. The Pi Prime is the company’s second pizza oven and, unlike the original Pi, is completely self-contained with a built-in gas burner. This makes it a great option for those new to the world of pizza slinging, as there are fewer pieces to fiddle with.  The temperature maxes out at 950 degrees Fahrenheit, but the front-facing control dial lets you quickly lower this temperature when needed. It’s a thin line, after all, between a pleasantly charred crust and something resembling the surface of Mercury. The round shape recalls the company’s well-regarded fire pits and there’s plenty of room to maneuver and cook a 12-inch pizza, in addition to other items. Inside, there’s a two-piece cordierite pizza stone that can be easily removed for cleaning and transport. There’s also nothing stopping you from using the pizza stone in your home oven during the colder months (like now.) Speaki...

The 63 best Cyber Monday deals you can get right now from Amazon, Target and others

Cyber Monday is right around the corner and this year, much like year's past, we're seeing plenty of Black Friday deals bleed into the new week. If you didn't get the chance to shop on Friday, there's still time to snag a few good deals on all kinds of tech, including AirPods, tablets, TVs, streaming devices, robot vacuums and more. We expect there to be a few surprises among the Cyber Monday deals — there always are — but we think most of the best Black Friday deals will transition into being the best Cyber Monday deals once the day actually arrives. In the meantime, here are the best Cyber Monday deals you can shop right now. Best Cyber Monday Apple deals $100 Apple Gift Card + $15 Amazon credit If you purchase an Apple gift card totaling $100 or more from the retailer, you can get $15 in Amazon store credit for no extra cost. Just use the code APPLET5USA at checkout to see the offer. The deal applies to the digital version of the card; as of this writing, you can ge...

Cyber Monday deals include up to $300 off Shark robot vacuums on Amazon

The shopping event of the year isn’t over just yet, and if you’re looking for a robot vacuum to keep your home clean, one of Engadget’s favorites is on sale for a stellar price this Cyber Monday. Right now, you can get the Shark AI Ultra for half off, or $300 less than its $600 MSRP. For those in the market for a robot vacuum that can clean their floors too, Shark also offers a version of the AI Ultra with mop functionality built-in. After a 43 percent discount, that variant is currently $400, down from $700. Either way, those are excellent prices for a pair of robot vacuums that offer a compelling mix of features and cleaning performance. As mentioned above, we like the Shark AI Ultra a lot here at Engadget, with both the standard and 2-in-1 models appearing in our guide for the best robot vacuums. In fact, we consider the Shark AI Ultra to be the best midrange pick for most people. Setup is easy. All you need to do is take the vacuum out of the box, plug in the base and download Sha...

Sam Altman returns to OpenAI, Apple adopts RCS, and Binance’s CEO pleads guilty to charges

Hey, folks, welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular recap of the past few days in tech. The headlines have been dominated — nay, overwhelmed — by the drama unfolding at AI startup OpenAI, but plenty else happened in the half-week leading up to Thanksgiving. So much for a sleepy pre-holiday! In this edition © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Unsealed complaint says Meta ‘coveted’ under-13s and deceives the public about age enforcement

An unsealed complaint in a lawsuit filed against Meta by 33 states alleges the company is not only aware that children under the age of 13 use its platforms, but has also “coveted and pursued” this demographic for years on Instagram. The document, which was first spotted by The New York Times, claims that Meta has long been dishonest about how it handles underage users’ accounts when they’re discovered, often failing to disable them when reported and continuing to harvest their data. The newly unsealed complaint, filed on Wednesday, reveals arguments that were previously redacted when attorneys generals from across the US first hit Meta with the lawsuit last month in the California federal court. It alleges the presence of under-13s is an “open secret” at Meta. While the policies on Facebook and Instagram state a person must be at least 13 years old to sign up, children can easily lie about their age — something the lawsuit says Meta is well aware of, and has done little to stop. Inste...

30 Black Friday Kitchen Deals (2023): KitchenAid, Oxo, Ninja

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There's no better time to grab a new air fryer or kitchen mixer than during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

12 Best Black Friday Monitor Deals (2023): Portable, Vertical, Desktop

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You don't need a whole new computer—just a better monitor. Some of our favorites are on sale for Black Friday. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Exploring the Suzuki V-Strom 800 SE: A Blend of Power, Elegance, and Adventure

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Welcome to GreenGround, where we delve into the latest and greatest in movies, TV series, and tech. Today, we’re taking a special journey into the world of motorcycling with the... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Meta Quest 2 VR headset is still on sale in an Amazon Black Friday deal

Good things come to those who wait, and if you decided to hold off on buying the Meta Quest 2 when it was discounted by $50 as part of Amazon’s early Black Friday sale, your patience is about to be rewarded. Now that Black Friday has come and gone, not only is the headset still on sale for $249, but Amazon is also throwing in a $50 credit toward future purchases. To claim the credit, tap the “Redeem” button below the product price. Once you go to pay for the Quest 2, a message will appear explaining that the coupon will arrive in your email inbox within 24 hours of Amazon shipping the headset to you. Although the Quest 2 is a few years old now, it’s still one of the best VR headsets on the market, and for good reason. Although its successor, the Quest 3, arrived earlier this fall, the new model starts at $500. In fact, most other VR solutions cost about that much. What’s more, the Quest 2 remains capable, thanks to its 6GB of RAM and Snapdragon XR2 processor. And although it could off...