TECH

Jeff Bezos Steps Down As Amazon CEO

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Jeff Bezos has announced his departure from his position as CEO of Amazon where he founded the company 27 years ago.

In a memo to employees, Bezos states that the transition will give him “the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.”

Bezos will now take on the role of executive chair and will hand the CEO keys over to chief executive of Amazon Web Services, Andy Jassy. Bezos plans to transition to executive chair in the third quarter (July 1).

Sony’s 2021 PlayStation 5 Restock Has Already Sold out

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2021 is already heading for a rough start as the restock for Sony’s next-gen PS5 has instantly sold out.

On January 14, one of Sony’s Twitter handles @SonyRewards announced that a limited run of PS5 would be available. Much like the initial PS5 launch date, buyers had to be ready and waiting for the go-ahead which would lead to numerous salty and frustrated consumers.

As part of the restock through @SonyRewards, the PlayStation 5 consoles could only be acquired by exchanging Sony Rewards points. Judging by the hype that’s been given for Sony’s “next big thing,” getting a PS5 in 2021 will be somewhat of a task that potential buyers seem up for.

The Last of Us Part II Gets Game of the Year 2020

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This past week, The Game Awards announced their list of winners for 2020. Taking home the prestigious game of the year award was none other than The Last of Us Part II.

In addition to Game of the Year, the Naughty Dog game also took home the title for Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, Best Audio Design, and Innovation for Accessibility. Thanks to Laura Bailey’s portrayal of Abby, The Last of Us Part II also received the award for Best Performance.

Also of note, Ghost of Tsushima won for Best Art Direction and Final Fantasy VII Remake took home the awards for Best Role-Playing, Best Score and Music. Popular mobile game Among Us won Best Multiplayer as well as Best Mobile Game.

Apple Introduces The ‘AirPods Max’ Over-Ear Headphones

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Apple continues to revolutionize its AirPods lineup with the introduction of the all-new AirPods Max. The new wireless headphones will now have the over-ear design with the functionality of its predecessors.

Standout features of the AirPods Max include Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode and spatial audio. The headphones are composed of a knit mesh that distributes weight evenly, thus reducing the pressure that the user would normally feel.

Another stand-out is the battery life of the AirPods Max as these headphones will be able to hold 20 hours of audio which can be applied to movie playback or talk time. A Smart Case is included with the device which will be able to preserve the battery by putting them in an ultralow power state. Consumers will have their choice of five distinct colors including the ever-popular “Space Gray,” “Silver,” “Sky Blue,” “Green” and “Pink.”

The all-new Apple AirPods Max headphones can now be ordered from Apple at a price of $549 USD and will release on December 15.

Pharrell Williams Launches Black Ambition Initiative To Help Black and Latinx Start-Ups

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Super producer Pharrell Williams has launched Black Ambition, an initiative to help Black and Latinx entrepreneurs. The main goal of this non-profit venture is to provide entrepreneurs of color with the right tools to succeed in the world of tech, design, healthcare, and consumer products/services start-ups.

Accompanying the announcement of Black Ambition, comes the addition of two prize competitions with the first being The Black Ambition HBCU Prize and the second being The Black Ambition Prize. Overall, the competitions will have an end result that will be revealed in one major national event.

A grand prize of $1 million in funding will be awarded as well as nine additional teams will receive other awards for The Black Ambition Prize. Find more information at the Black Ambition website.

All PlayStation 5s Have Been Sold According To Sony CEO Jim Ryan

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It seems Sony has underestimated the demand for PlayStation 5s as the company is finding it hard to meet consumer wants on a global scale. The overall disaster from pre-order sales should’ve have been a clear indicator of the chaos that would ensue.

More and more people are adhering to social distancing measures and staying home which greatly impacted the sell of Sony’s next-gen console in terms of customer demand. Speaking to Russian news agency TASS, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has now confirmed a gamer’s worst fears that all PlayStation 5s produced so far have already been sold.

“Everything is sold. Absolutely everything is sold… I’ve spent much of the last year trying to be sure that we can generate enough demand for the product. And now in terms of my executive bandwidth, I’m spending a lot more time on trying to increase supply to meet that demand.”

Jim Ryan on PS5 availability

Ryan also discussed the difficulties of releasing a next-gen console in the middle of a pandemic.

“Of all the things that I’ve learned this year, one is that I wouldn’t plan on doing another big console launch in the midst of a global pandemic, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody else. It’s been difficult, it’s been challenging from the production side, not being able to get anybody into the factories in Asia… Before we started production, we had to do all the manufacturing preparation by camera remotely. I mean, just imagine that for a precision device like the PlayStation 5.”

Porsche Design Creates A Wireless Speaker Made From A Single Block of Aluminum

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Porsche Design has created an aesthetically pleasing wireless speaker that is made of aluminum. The PDS50 wireless speaker even keeps a charge for up to 20 hours.

Composed of a solid block of aluminum, this wireless speaker keeps the minimal feel in tow but still adds a bit of high-end luxury to any setting. An LED strip compliments the subtle high-gloss detailing, accompanied by an all matte finish on the overall body.

The Porsche Design Wireless Speaker PDS50 retails for €399 EUR or $474 USD and can be purchased on Porsche Design’s website.

Twitter Board Keeps Jack Dorsey as CEO

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The Twitter board committee has elected to keep Jack Dorsey as its CEO after reviewing the social media company’s management. According to Bloomberg, the review’s results show the support for Dorsey in the CEO position as he is also the CEO of Square, Inc. which is a payment company he co-founded.

Dorsey faced criticism for his management style, encouraging employees to work remotely from home even before the pandemic began. Unlike other tech CEO’s, Dorsey has encouraged social justice and actually held culprits responsible for posting fake news and has started to flag those responsible.

Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. and private equity consultancy Silver Lake has chosen to stand by Dorsey after their respective reviews. The two companies began to review Twitter’s management practices after becoming investors.

“The committee expressed its confidence in management and recommended that the current structure remain in place. The board will continue to evaluate company and management performance according to a range of factors, including the company’s operating plan and established milestones.”

company filing

Apple Ordered to Pay $502M USD to VirnetX for Patent Violations

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According to reports, Apple has been ordered to pay $502.8 million USD to VirnetX, a Nevada-based internet security software company. The ongoing legal battle between the two companies has been going on for roughly 10 years in which VirnetX has been filing continuous suits against Apple for patent infringements, including FaceTime and iMessage.

Details of the lawsuit states that the Apple feature VPN on Demand violates VirtnetX’s patents that they originally developed for the CIA. VirtnetX originally asked for $700 million USD but was quickly countered by Apple’s claim that they only owed $113 million USD but the jury had the final say, ruling $502.8 million USD in royalties as the amount. Subsequently, Apple was also ordered to pay $450 million USD to VirnetX, stemming from a separate lawsuit.

NASA Discovers Water On The Sunlit Surface Of The Moon

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A huge achievement has been made as NASA has discovered water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. Making the observation from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the groundbreaking discovery has confirmed what the agency has always suspected.

The Clavius Crater, which is one of the largest observable craters on the Moon’s surface, was where the water was discovered. About 12-ounces of water was trapped inside a cubic meter of soil. Per NASA, the Sahara desert has 100 times more water than what SOFIA found.

We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon. Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.

Paul Hertz, NASA director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate in Washington

Water is a valuable resource, for both scientific purposes and for use by our explorers. If we can use the resources at the Moon, then we can carry less water and more equipment to help enable new scientific discoveries.

Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate