Monday, 10 February 2020

Editor's Pick: Rumblings in the Cloud

Editor's Pick
February 10, 2020
One of the old sayings is that there are "lies, damned lies and statistics," with the implication being you really can't trust most reported numbers. Still, we've often thought, at least with major vendors, that you could trust rankings. One current set of rankings involves cloud providers. 

Manufacturers and brands alike must formulate an effective Amazon strategy if they want to find e-commerce success. With that in mind, here are three Amazon trends to track in 2020.

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The augmented reality space continues to evolve. Device makers are introducing significantly smaller and more powerful smart glasses and AR headsets, such as those demonstrated last month at CES 2020. What is augmented reality exactly? There's not really an easy answer.

The hands on the iconic "Doomsday Clock" moved to just 100 seconds to midnight last month. That is the closest they have come to the final hour since its creation in 1947. The time displayed on the clock has moved closer to midnight in three of the last four years. The last time it moved was in 2018.

For most businesses, meeting target sales goals and key revenue metrics are top priorities. To avoid losing customers and to help increase customer retention, consider the following three ways companies can build positive relationships with B2B customers.

With large companies increasingly embracing open source, what does it mean to be a part of the free and open source software, or FOSS, "community"? Why have consumers been so slow to adopt open source software? Our roundtable of industry insiders tackled those questions during their lengthy virtual conversation on technology trends.

After a long delay, a new MakuluLinux LinDoz release is pending last-minute finishing touches and is a week -- if not days -- away, according to developer Jacque Montague Raymer. Recently, LinuxInsider's Jack Germain discussed with Raymer the trials and tribulations he faced in maintaining and advancing his Linux line of distros. 

If you roll your own with commercially available tools, you'll likely end up with a very serviceable CRM system suitable to the world of 10 or 15 years ago. So, like it or not, this puts the CRM vendors with good platforms in the catbird seat.

A vulnerability in Philips Hue smart lightbulbs and their controller bridges could allow intruders to infiltrate networks with a remote exploit, Check Point Software Technologies disclosed last week.

Consumers are on social media constantly, scrolling through posts from both friends and brands. Many have begun clicking on some of those brand posts and making purchases. As consumers become more comfortable with the idea of social commerce, social media platforms are adapting.

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Sony and Amazon skip MWC over coronavirus concerns

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It's Monday, February 10, 2020.

Hey, good morning! 

The future of MWC, the world’s biggest phone show, gets even murkier. It’s all due to the increased threat of the coronavirus. While the GSMA, the body that runs the event, says everything’s utterly fine and that it has a strategy about avoiding handshaking, LG is out, ZTE won’t have its press conference and Amazon announced that it was also dropping from the show. Xiaomi has shrunk its plans, while rumors swirl that other Chinese companies have sent their execs and staff to Europe early, ensuring a two-week (sort of) quarantine of their own before the show actually starts.

This week kicks off with Sony announcing it’s withdrawing from MWC 2020, too. It’ll make its announcements (presumably a new phone) in a YouTube stream from the safety of some studio somewhere.

--Mat

The Aqua offers luxury sea travel without the usual environmental guilt.
 

Bill Gates is the first to buy a hydrogen-powered 'superyacht'
 

Bill Gates is the first to buy a hydrogen-powered 'superyacht'<br />   

Bill Gates' investments in eco-friendly tech apparently include one of the more conspicuous symbols of his wealth. The former Microsoft chief has ordered the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-based "superyacht." The roughly $644-million, 370-foot boat has five decks, space for 14 guests and 31 crew members and even a gym, but it runs on two 1MW motors fuelled by supercooled hydrogen tanks.

Sinot even uses gel-based fire bowls to keep passengers warm outside instead of burning coal or wood. It won't be a fast mover with a 17-knot top speed (19.6MPH), but its 3,750-mile range should be enough for cross-ocean travel. Aqua isn't expected to reach the sea until 2024 -- hopefully in time for our Waterworld future.
 

The company scooped itself two days before its event.
 

Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Flip in an Oscars ad
 

Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Flip in an Oscars ad<br />    Nope, there really isn’t much more to say until we handle one ourselves. But if you like ads, here you go.
 

The event is still happening, but it's quickly losing companies.
 

Amazon is the latest to pull out of MWC over coronavirus worries
 

Amazon has withdrawn from the tech trade show over the "outbreak and continued concerns" around the virus. The company was going to the late-February event to push Amazon Web Services rather than anything consumer-facing, but it's still a big blow when MWC has already lost multiple companies. 
 

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These six essential auto accessories are all on sale

These six essential auto accessories are all on sale

Genetic defects might have played a part.
 

'Resurrected' mammoth DNA helps explain why the species went extinct
 

'Resurrected' mammoth DNA helps explain why the species went extinct<br />    Reviving the woolly mammoth is still a tall order. However, technology might be far enough along to help explain why the elephant precursor went extinct in the first place. Scientists have 'resurrected' genes from a population of mammoths that survived on a Siberian island until around 4,000 years ago to see what might have contributed to this relic herd dying out. They compared genetic material against both other mammoths and Asian elephants to look for problematic mutations based on known genetic behavior. There were issues with male fertility, neurological development, insulin signalling and even the ability to smell flowers. The study doesn't, however, provide a full explanation for why woolly mammoths finally died out. Most of them (along with other species) were wiped out by a changing climate that eliminated the tundra they needed to survive.
 

But wait, there's more...

1. This blood-drawing robot might be more accurate than humans

2. Netflix films won just two Oscars after 'Parasite' swept major awards

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