Streaming Giants Such As Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) Budget And Spend Millions Of Dollars At Sundance 2017

The once traditional Sundance Film Festival has been transformed into a shopping center of sorts for media-entertainment giants such as Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) or the company’s largest competitor Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Originally the Sundance film festival was for movie buffs and a select group of individuals who wished to be the first to see some of the newest films before they were officially released. The festival itself takes place in Utah.

More details regarding the total spending budget Netflix and Amazon spent at the festival

The festival is seemingly an expensive buffet for media-entertainment giants. Both of which, were classified as the biggest money spenders throughout the event. However, those familiar with the matter did state that all of the resources spent are aimed at driving up subscriber and viewer basis.

An example, which emphasizes the insane budgets that large-brand rivals have at this festival, comes in the form of nominee film, Manchester By The Sea. This film was first purchased by Netflix, at the Sundance Festival last year, for a total of $10 million.

However, this is just the start, the companies are also able to purchase certain films, based on the pre-buzz about a select film, when the event is initially announced, leaving the possibility of millions of dollars being invested into various filming opportunities.

Which company took the triumph when it came to budget allocation this year

Once again, Netflix is the prime winner, for the number one spender at this year’s film festival. The company invested in a romantic comedy, which is called The Big Stick and features Kumail Nanjiani. According to those familiar with the matter, the company invested a total of $12 million for this film.

Prior to the event, a top-executive, responsible for purchasing films for a traditional distribution company predicted the budget of Amazon and Netflix, through stating, “Don’t be surprised if Amazon and Netflix pay over $10 million and walk away with several of the top titles”.

Netflix stock closed the trading session on Monday at $141.22, after witnessing a decline of $1.23 or 0.86%

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Brazil Country Manager Is Being Sought Out By Social Media Giant Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB)

Following the announcement that the companies former Brazil Country Manager, Marcos Angelini is stepping down from his position, which was announced earlier this month. The social-media giant has announced that they are currently on the search for a new talented individual to take up the position.

According to various news reports in Brazil, the decision made by Angelini was based on personal matters, and he gave in his resignation papers, shortly after returning home from a holiday, last week.

Potential Variables That Facebook Will Be Considering For Future Candidates

The social-media giant has not been overly open about what they are looking for in various individuals who apply for the position of Country Manager, in Brazil. However, following the traits, which the company announced It was satisfied with upon the hiring of Angelini, it can be surmised that a few of the same qualities will be expected in any future candidates for the position.

One of the main characteristics, which is sure to be in Facebook’s line of sight, is experience when it comes to sales and marketing. This was one of the key features of Facebook’s appointment of Angelini as the company believed that he could have an impact on the companies Facebook, and Instagram platforms.

The Latin American Head for Facebook, Diego Dzodan said the following, upon the release of Angelini from his position, “We’d like to thank Marcos for his contribution to the business and wish him luck in future endeavors. We remain focused on adding value and delivering real business results to our clients and have already started the search for a new leader in Brazil.”

Where Angelini is heading on his path away from the social-media giant

According to various remarks made by those familiar with the matter, it has been revealed that the former Country Manager will be striking up a new path with a social-networking website, which goes by the name of Unilever.

This is a workplace, where Angelini has already served as the Vice President for Home Care Products in Latin America. He served this position ending May last year. Therefore, he has experience with the new entity.

Facebook stock closed at $130.98, after witnessing a decline of $1.20 or 0.91%

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The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) MacBook Pro Touch Bar Is Banned From The Exam Rooms Of North Carolina

One of the key features on the latest Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices have been prohibited from exams for Law students, in North Carolina. Students have been informed that prior to entering the exam room, they are required to disable the touch bar for their Apple MacBook Pro models.

Furthermore, it was also established that once in the exam room, all students will be requested to ask for a technician, or fellow proctor ensure that their device has been disabled, regarding the MacBook Pro feature.

The reason behind the barring of the MacBook Pro TouchPad

Although, further details regarding the ban of MacBook Pro touchpads in bar exams have not been established by the school. It is safe to assume that the reason behind this new exam legislature, is to infer the possibility of cheating throughout key exams.

The touch bar itself, will not be able to provide cheating material, as it is designed to replace physical function keys, with more useful shortcut keys. However, it has been made possible, with a programmer’s help, to ensure that answers are displayed on the touch bar area.

Furthermore, it has been made aware, regardless of the practicality that various games can indeed be configured to run on the touch bar area, even including the likes of Doom. Although this may not be practical to play, it can still provide a distraction not only to the individual but also to the peers around them.

Consequences of removing this technology and statements regarding the new exam rules

However, at the same time that it is true, removing the risk of cheating is essential, certainly more so in exams such as the Bar exam. It can also limit the use of the laptop, causing exam partakers to take more time in their work. This is because, without the touch bar they will be forced to take longer methods, in order to do the same tasks, which were present on the previously enabled touch bar.

However, the examiners were helpful in aiding students to disable this feature, through releasing instructions, which stated, “The feature can be disabled by going into the keyboard menu under System Preferences, Clicking the drop-down for ‘Touch Bar Shows’, then picking the Expanded Control Strip.”

Apple stock closed Monday’s trading session on $121.63, after witnessing a decline of $0.32 or 0.26%

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Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR) May Be The New Generation Application For ISIS Activity As Man Pleads Guilty To Aiding The Terrorist Organisation

Twitter was the platform used for ISIS intelligence gathering on Monday. This was confirmed when a Pennsylvania man, who is at the age of 20, pleaded guilty to sharing over 100 U.S military members online, and coercing Twitter followers, to kill said members named.

The man in question is Jalil Aziz, who has been sentenced to 25-years in prison. This is due to his plea guilty in two cases of terrorism, both of which, were taken to the judge at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Further Islamic cases discovered recently

This man is not the first, nor the last to have a case or tie in with Islamic extremists, such as the ISIS terrorist group. In the previous two years alone, United States authorities have been responsible for apprehending over 100-individuals with ties to terrorism, or similar crimes.

This is not the first time that Aziz has been arrested. In addition to this, the man was apprehended in December 2015. The reason behind his jailing was due to aid citizens the ability to travel to the Middle East, in order to fight for Islamic State.

Prior to this case, the most recent arrest made by officials, was the arrest of an Arizona-based citizen. This man was also found guilty at trial on Monday. His case was that of aiding a college student, who lived in New York City travel to Syria, where she died fighting for an Islamic state.

 More details about the case against Aziz

The most recent case against Aziz however, is pretty solid, with evidence collected from his possessions, which indicate harmful intentions. Included in the evidence, was a ‘go bag’, which allegedly contained ammunition, a knife, as well as a black mask.

According to the prosecutors, who served against Aziz, in the tweet Aziz stated, “Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes,  stab them to death as they walk on the street thinking they are safe.”

Twitter stock closed on Monday at $16.94, after rising by $0.37 or 2.23%

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Dropbox Has Announced A Line Of Projects Being Manufactured To Directly Contend With Microsoft Corporation (NSADAQ:MSFT) Amongst Others

Workplace software has become somewhat of a diluted market with large brand-name competitors, such as Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, and so forth consistently releasing a flux of their already somewhat monopolized software for business benefits.

However, despite the competition in the industry, Dropbox has announced new projects, which are going to be implemented to take on their rival’s head on, and they expect to triumph in market penetration, due to the innovation of their new projects.

More details about the new projects being launched by Dropbox

The first of the projects, which the company recently debuted, was a new online document storage service, or more specifically new features and enhancements to make their old platform shine over competitors.

This, however, is not a new initiative. According to those familiar with the matter, the company has been designing, developing and inducing new features over the past years, in order to better the benefit of business driven services, rather than placing a focus on consumer-driven services.

Furthermore, it was disclosed that the current market standing, leaves the valuation of the entity responsible for the development of the key features on the upcoming release and enhancement on Dropbox’s storage services is at $10 billion.

The reason behind the new focus of Dropbox regarding business initiative’s

Dropbox is not by any means suffering when it comes to the potential target market, It was recently illustrated that the company is privy to over 500 million users. However, this is not as lucrative as the company has hoped, due to many of its services being free.

This is the primary driver between the new and enhanced platform update, as it is believed that the business services market will be more lucrative for this particular platform, despite the stiff competition that the company faces.

Microsoft stock closed on Monday at $65.13, after witnessing a decline of $0.65 or 0.99%. Furthermore, Google stock settled down at $823.83, after witnessing a decline of $21.20 or 2.51%

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Rumors Say – BlackBerry Ltd’s (NASDAQ:BBRY) BBC-100-1 To Be Manufactured By Local Joint Venture In Indonesia

All of market’s predictions about BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) exiting the smartphone segment were wrong. The company is preparing to release yet another smartphone at upcoming Mobile World Congress 2017. While the expectations are to see the BlackBerry Mercury launch in this conference, it seems as another device release can prop up as surprise. Market has been hearing rumors of new smartphone called “BBC-100-1,” and it can possibly get a check of it at Mobile World Congress.

How the new smartphone could be?

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) user Roland Quandt has hinted what could be the specifications of the new model, indicating that it will probably be an entry-level device. According to Quandt, the smartphone will boast a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 5.5-inch 720p display, a 13MP rear-facing camera, an 8MP front-facing camera and 32GB of storage. The device will have a 3,000mAh battery.

As noted, the phone is obviously an entry-level device, so the focus will be more on pricing when determining if it’s a good deal. BlackBerry appears to be attracting users with its latest wave of Android-powered smartphones.

While BlackBerry has been engaged with TCL for manufacturing of its recent devices, it was recently known that the latest model will be manufactured by local joint venture in Indonesia. Not to forget, it is the same region where the smartphone intends to go on sale. Not much is known about the manufacturer of the new BlackBerry device, but it will be exciting to see how the phone fares design-wise with previous models of BlackBerry. The company has teased BlackBerry Mercury announcement date to be February 25, 2017.

On Friday, the stock of BlackBerry declined 1.64% to close the week at $7.19. The 52 week range for the stock stands at 6.23 – 8.46, while the market cap is at $3.77 billion.

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Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) – Charter Deal Can Lead To Biggest Corporate Borrower

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is reported to have given thought to acquiring Charter Communications Inc., an acquisition that would result in the biggest wireless and internet provider in the United States.

However, many in the finance industry are focused on another unmatched a Charter tie-up could result in: the biggest corporate debtor across the world. And that’s leading some credit analysts to contemplate how Verizon could finance this deal, while also achieving its objective of lessening debt, let alone evading a blow to its credit metrics.

What is into the deal?

Market analysts consider that the company is getting into massive number. It is not an unbeatable challenge, however it would be in contrast to their stated objective to reduce leverage and having an effect on its ratings and bond prices.

Verizon’s CEO Lowell McAdam approached the Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Broadband, Charter’s major shareholder, about a likely combination. The company hasn’t directly contacted Charter, and as of now there are no discussions between the two firms. Both the companies declined to comment.

Already one of the leading corporate bond borrowers internationally, Verizon would have no other option but to take even more debt to close this merger. Verizon recorded cash of less than $3 billion on its books as of the close of last year, and it is evident that the company may require far more than what it available to close Charter acquisition deal.

Borrowing more could be tough for both Verizon and Charter because of the large quantum of debt already recorded on books. Verizon posted debt of around $116 billion as of the close of 2016. Add on Charter’s additional borrowings and debt to fund this deal, and the figure could increase to $200 billion.

Verizon had a market cap of over $204 billion as of Friday’s close, while Charter was valued at around $84 billion. If the shares price of Verizon declines further, it would be not far away from hitting its 52-week low of 46.01.

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Files A Patent For Vaporizer

The USPTO released a patent application by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) that details an unusual vaporizer technology. The application, filed last year, depicts plans for a setup that can control temperature to release heat from an element within a canister. It can even keep air out of the space of the material being vaporized.

Is iVape around the corner?

That little nugget of data might lead market to consider that Apple is innovating some kind of iVape, but it is too early to reach that conclusion. The patent submission doesn’t note anything about what material the device is intended to be used with, or if it’s a standalone offering planned intended for recreational application. The filing fails to mention a human end user.

So while an e-cigarette can be in the horizon, a vaporizer could indicate a number of things, such as an air freshener! What is known so far is that Apple is working on some type of car technology, and therefore this patent could be part of that. Even automaker Mercedes-Benz has sought custom automotive scent for the automobile, possibly an Apple smellorator can be the preference. Or maybe it’s an attempt to make all stores of Apple smell the same.

Recent know-how has also made it feasible to create interactive holograms utilizing vapor. There also exists a smartphone that users can smoke. The point is, it can take long before it is known that what Apple is trying to get with this patent. After all, the firm also has patents for few other wacky technologies such as a translucent phone, a paper bag and an iPad cover with a supple display. In any case, an iVape can turn to the most interesting offering, but for now it’s only speculation period.

After hitting a session high of $122.35, Apple traded up 0.01% at $121.95, giving the firm a market capitalization of $640.03 billion.

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Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) Cuts Down Its Unlimited Data Plan Tariff In View Of Competition

After Verizon’s announcement of new 5GB data plan at $55 (exclusive of fees and taxes), mobile carrier Sprint Corp (NYSE:S), on Friday, has also come up with its new pricing of the unlimited data plan at $50 per month. Noticeably, it has slashed down the price by $10 which was $60 earlier.

Plan offerings

Sprint has introduced this data plan offer with limited time validity only. The offer is valid till 30 January, 2017 and will get back to the old rate after 30 March 2018. Sprint has put on certain limits on resolution with this new tariff such as video streaming for 480p, games for 2Mbps while speed for streaming music has also been capped. However, there is no change in additional lines costing which stands at $40 for 1 additional line and $30 for further additions. It is expected to degrade the streaming qualities even more after 23GB of data consumption in a particular billing cycle.

Expected benefits to Sprint

Cutting down rates is expected to add new customers in Sprint’s customer base on a high rate. Although Sprint is yet to top the chart for network strength, it is already on a verge to make network improvements and this move is being assumed to be one of the crucial steps in the carrier’s growth. With the saving of $5 as compared to Verizon’s $55 plan, customer would be able to save up to $120 in the year. Seeing the trends of discount offering by Verizon and T mobile, Sprint is surely trying to come up to join the other top carriers’ race.

Increased competition in the market

With discounted plan tariffs been offered by the carrier companies, healthy competition in the market is getting promoted along. It surely brings the bunch of happiness for the customers of these companies at competitively high discounts. However, customer need to understand the network stability and other differences while switching to other networks basis on offered plans.

On 27 January 2017, Sprint’s stock price remained 9.22USD, down by 2.23%.

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Big Up To Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google And Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) For Their Collaboration To Speed Up Web Browsing

An efficient browser will not only drain a device’s battery, but it can also easily cause clog storage.  These are some of the concerns that Facebook Inc’s (NASDAQ:FB) cooperation with browser vendors Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have been seeking to solve in an effort to enhance its browser’s performance. This comes at a time when many browser makers are paying little or no attention to increasing speed for loading websites. Apparently, close to 20 page views on Chrome are as a result of reloading, which explains the need for a speedup.

According to Google’s senior software engineer Takashi Toyoshima, the likes of page validation requests between browsers and web servers are a risk to devices.  The change of websites is a greater risk, but Toyoshima says, “We hope this faster reload will come in handy whenever you want to get the latest content on your favorite website or quickly recover from a flaky connection in the subway.”

Browser makers and web developers often communicate

Making browsers faster should perhaps be a never-ending job given that millions of people spend their day browsing for all sorts of things. Thousands of them are also doing online transactions. It is a norm for browser makers and web developers to communicate but the Facebook’s latest teamwork with other tech giants is somewhat unique. It expected to result into new standards of technology. It’s a big up for Google and Facebook because faster page-load times means people can do much more on the internet.

Other developers are adopting the feature

Google and Facebook’s teamwork seems to have opened the eyes of many other developers. This is according to the principal engineer at Mozilla Firefox Patrick McManus who says that the change cut page reloading times in half. Another is BBC, which has also revealed that page refresh times have improved by 50%.  The new refinements are plus because browsers don’t need to waste resources trying to download stuff again and again. Meanwhile, Alphabets stock closed at $845.03 a fall of $11.95 or1.39% while Facebook was trading at $132.18 a decline of $0.60 or 0.45%

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Alphabet Inc (NSADAQ:GOOGL) Is Currently Looking Towards Its Subsidiaries For The Future Beyond The Web

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), most commonly known for being the parent company of Google, has stated that they are currently focusing on all the other child companies, which they are in possession of, to derive a vision, from beyond the web.

This includes a diverse range of products, from Artificial Intelligence units to the new pixel smartphone. The company stated that all projects, made by Google, or any other child company, will be carefully focused on in order to maximize the potential that such projects can yield.

What this may mean for Google

Despite many believing that this is due to the lack of performance that Google has shown in the last while, this could not be further from the truth, according to those who are well-versed in the matter. In fact, Google is one of the largest money makings operates under the control of Alphabet, which has allowed them a great deal of expansion.

It was recently evaluated that in the last quarter alone, the triple bottom line revenue growth for google, scaled by almost 25 percent, which in market terms, is a substantial sum of money. This is despite the fluctuating web-development market, which has caused many web-based companies to lose a fair amount of profit.

However, despite the success, and money-making capabilities of Google, due to the consistently rising operation costs for the company, the expected profit yield remains below what Alphabet extended to the company, which may be the reason that other bets, will now be put in a prioritized category.

Other child projects which Alphabet will be placing a focus on

When Alphabet refers to the other options, to which a higher value focus will be placed. The company is referring to projects such as Nest, Google Fiber, and Verily. These projects have climbed a whopping 82% yield, to a value of $809 million.

At a conference call on Thursday, the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, stated, “The key to the future is machine learning and artificial intelligence, which the company hopes will drive everything from home automation platforms like Nest and Google Home to mobile assistants.”

Alphabet stock closed at $856.98 on Thursday, after witnessing a decline of $1.47 or 0.17%

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E-Commerce Division Of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) Officially Being Put Through The Process Of Layoffs

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) has been making fundamental changes to its e-commerce division. However, with great change, comes sacrifice. This sacrifice is in the form of the layoffs, which the company announced would be initiated into their E-commerce division.

The reason behind these layoffs, have yet to be fully determined. However, one can assume that they are due to the recent purchase that the company made of ShoeBuy, and the new proposed leadership team for the retail giant’s e-commerce division.

More details about the plans for Walmart E-commerce division layoffs

CEO of Walmart, Marc Lore announced that the company will be going through a phase, which will incorporate of 200 layoffs in the company’s e-commerce division. This was first announced on Tuesday by Lore.

In the same statement, where Lore explained that the company would be initiating layoffs, he also stated, “While some roles are going away today, we’ll be investing in our business and adding new skill sets during the year.”

However, the 200 positions that Lore announced, are just a small scale on the bigger picture. The company-wide reorganization process began this month. According to people, who are familiar with the matter, there are a planned 1,000 layoffs, which will be incurred through all of Walmart’s e-commerce divisions.

The plans Walmart has for its e-commerce division

In the layoffs, it was announced that two of the executives in the e-commerce division will be leaving. These are namely Michael Bender, as well as Neil Ashe. However, in the announcement of them leaving, it was also revealed that Jet.com, as well as various other Walmart executives, will be reorganized to be responsible for different roles within the organization.

Lore also announced that the company may be performing layoffs now, in order to better organize the retail giant’s hierarchy. Once the dust settles, the company will be investigating various options, to which it may explore new skill sets, which can be applied to its workforce.

Walmart stock closed on Thursday at $66.73, after witnessing a decline of $0.16 or 0.24%

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Free Hulu Option By T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) To Rival AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Users With DirectTV

T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) continues to push against its competitors, through offering absurd specials, which are aimed to attract customers away from that of the competitor’s customer base. The latest proof of this comes in the form of the free Hulu special that the company is offering.

This is a move, directly against one of T-Mobile’s largest competitor, which is AT&T Inc (NYSE:T). The deal is specifically orientated to users who make use of AT&T’s DirectTV as an entertainment platform.

Eligibility Criteria For The Free Hulu Discount And What It Entails

Much to the dismay of AT&T, T-Mobile is offering all users, who switch up from AT&T to themselves, not only a free year of DirectTV but also a free year of Hulu. This is extreme, for any entertainment giant, considering the duration of the deal.

However, the fact that customers are privy to a free year of DirectTV, if they switch from AT&T to T-Mobile is rather strange, as the DirectTV platform is operated by their rival AT&T, however, T-Mobile is known for being unique in the specials to which the company offers to its customers.

To better attract customers, T-Mobile also released a statement, relating to the DirectTV platform, in this statement, a company spokesman, stated, “The problem with the DirectTV platform is that it is known for being sluggish, buggy, and sometimes broken.”

How much money will this save potential customers who switch from the rival to T-Mobile

However, as absurd as this special, being offered by T-Mobile may be, it is no hidden fact, that this special is simply to economic, to completely ignore. Considering the price range of both Hulu, and DirectTV subscriptions, potential customers, will be eligible to save a substantial sum of money from the special.

T-Mobile stock closed on Thursday at $63.37, after rising by $2.63 or 4.33%

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Developers Set To Benefit As Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)Google Takes On Providing Them With The Daydream VR Platform

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google has announced its new move to Open Up Daydream App Development to All. Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Major League Baseball and CNN were among the first companies to release the Daydream apps. Huawei’s Mate 9 lineup, ZTE’s Axon 7 and Asus’ Zenfone AR have accepted to incorporate the Google VR Platform as well which makes it clear that the app is really taking root.

Google Developers website comes as good news to a lot of people worldwide. In one of the pages, the readers learnt much regarding the creation of high end VR applications. Asides from that, the webpage also helped the developers understand the strategies for getting their VR applications published.

One thing that comes out clearly and also which a lot of developers need to remember is that the strict criterion is absolutely necessary and must be adhered to. Failure to do that will definitely make it impossible for the app to be discovered by other developers through the Daydream VR app finder.

Poorly-made apps never find a place especially among the serious service providers. The user experience needs to be given a major boost. That sends out the question –how? The Daydream controller is the answer since it makes that possible and in great style.

Google is receiving the whole thing about the world market embracing virtual reality (VR) with great humility and gratitude at the same time. By Google opening up its portal, it goes without saying that indeed developers across the divide will be able to access more VR apps and content as well.

With the portal opened, it is easy to speculate the situation. Obviously, there is going to be a wild rush for new apps as well as content .However, everyone interested needs to remember that this will only be possible for those whose devices are already fitted with Daydream. Looking at these changes which of course are happening so fast, it is easy to tell that the technological dynamics are promising so much in terms of enhancing virtual reality.

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Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Woos Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s Tech Wiz

Xiaomi will miss the services of Hugo Barra, after Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) managed to woo the tech wiz. Xiaomi is one of China’s top smartphone manufacturers and what will happen to the company in terms of virtual reality development is something we just have to wait and see after the head’s departure from the company.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg supported the move to pull in the services of Hugo Barra and was delighted as he made the announcement. The CEO expressed great optimism that the move would see Facebook’s virtual reality jump to new heights.

Why settle for Hugo Barra?

There is no doubt that Hugo is one of the finest brains worldwide and that can be judged from the good work he has done over the years. It caused a great stir for instance after he bid Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google goodbye to be the new vice president at Xiaomi.

At the moment this company was welcoming his services, it was marginally known and wasn’t doing as good as it is doing today. It was the way he managed the company’s international activities that helped propel it to the great heights it has reached today.

Hugo Barra may have more to do for Zuckerberg

Facebook has spent about $2 Billion in the acquisition of Oculus. That was three years back but this shouldn’t be seen as unfruitful since Zuckerberg sees virtual reality as the perfect move to take Facebook to greater heights.

As a matter of fact, getting virtual reality moving at a top pace is something that is quite demanding. However, Facebook’s CEO is still willing to invest $3 billion more towards boosting content as well as towards overseeing development in the sector. This inspires much hope that indeed virtual reality will take off in good fashion.

Facebook is known to perform quite well when it comes to accumulating profits from mobile advertising. However, some stones still need to be unturned considering the virtual reality headsets are expensive and that high quality computers must be in place to provide them with support.

Developers are still a little shy to invest their resources into the manufacturing of breakout applications such as video games. They have fears on investing in a market which they dub as uncertain. This of course weighs down Facebook’s efforts. However, with Hugo Barra’s services, there is a glimmer of hope that some important developments might take place.

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Is leading The Wearable Technology Market

The numbers are in after the 2016 holiday sales and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the leading brand in wearable technologies. Apple had a 50% market share in the smart watch category with the second best selling brand, Samsung, coming in at 17.6%. Apple doubled its market share owing to its revamped strategy to focus on the basic health and fitness category with the introduction of its second generation smart watches, released in September.

The data shows that wearables have not caught the attention of the population as much as smart phones and tablets did in the past. The market grew to 15.6%, up from 12.2% of consumers who owned a wearable last year.  Of consumers in the US, only 8% has plans of acquiring a smart wearable gadget this year. This is according to market tracker Kantar World panel Tracker Com Tech.

The market Tracker cited various reasons for the lack of enthusiasm for the products mentioning that 46% consumers saying the prices was a major hindrance to their acquiring wearable technology. People think the price is too high. 33% of consumers do not see the functionality of a wearable technology gadget and therefore see no need to buy one while 30% would not love to wear a watch and so wouldn’t buy the technology. The consumer insight director at Kantar, Lauren Guenver noted that manufactures were struggling to convince consumers’ purchase wearable technology gadgets.

Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), took second place in the holiday sales market and it was due to their emphasis on products that are focused on a healthy lifestyle. It dominated the fitness brand market by capturing 75% of sales. This was amidst disappointment by investors over slowing sales growth. Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) followed Fitbit by taking 12.5% of the market share. Fitbit owes its success to promotional deals that slashed up to $20 to $30 off the price of bands for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The US has the largest demand for wearable technology especially in the field of health and wellness monitoring application. However wearables also have a strong niche in the entertainment/gaming category that is on the rise and is seen as the source for the next explosion in the wearable market.

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Readies Blue Print To Manufacture In India

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reportedly has a blue print and is ready to produce gadgets in India. Apple executives were in the country this week to articulate a deal to make their gadgets in India. The executives were in talks with Indian government officials to set the terms that would involve Apple setting up a plant in the country to make their products.

The company is seeking for up to 15-year tax holiday on all imports into the country such as components and other requirements it might need to set up the manufacturing plant. Indian government officials in a bid to lure the giant Tech firm to home turf have said that most of the concessions are taken care of by the budget.

This deal would have several benefits such as the employment of thousands of local workers and the easier access to Apple products. Furthermore, it would help with the hitherto unsuccessful bid by Apple to open up retail stores in the country. Indian government policy stipulates that for a company to open retail stores in the country, it must have their products built in India.

On top of the 15 year tax concessions on imports, Apple is seeking relaxed labeling norms and exemption from domestic sourcing for up to a third of the inputs used in the manufacturing. The government of India in trying to accommodate Apple will likely reduce the excise duty from 12.5% and apparently these excise duties have already been set up in the budget. However, the tax burden will be picked up by the final consumer, as the tax on the finished product will likely be raised from the normal 11% -15%. A zero duty might be levied on some components and this is in a bid to help domestic manufactures and assemblers.

Ministries in the government of India have opposed approval to sell refurbished phones in the country, pushing manufactures to make new products for sale. The government policy on companies selling gods manufactured outside India has a three year waiver but from the look of things, Apple’s ambitions in India far exceed the three year mark.

Apple stock closed at $121.88 after increasing $1.91 or 1.59%.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Launches Subscription Box To Help Kids Learn Through Toys

The launch of the new subscription service by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) comes as good news to a lot of parents with kids wired to science. The company has set out to deliver different types of toys every month to help engage kids in science as well as improve their skills.

What to expect?

Over the years, there has been a misconception that the girl child is not fit to study subjects such as engineering, technology, science and mathematics. STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is a club under Amazon which will ensure kids receive the different toys every moth to boost the learning of science. The toys will be going for $19.99.

The major problem that has been ailing the education sector worldwide is the teaching of irrelevant or inappropriate materials to learners. This needs to stop and it is one of the reasons STEM has seen it proper to pay attention to this problem.

The club is set on producing toys that will cater for instilling a wide range of knowledge in learners. Among things learners are expected to learn are robotics and natural sciences.

STEM has also understood the great need to make the toys age-appropriate and has thus engaged in producing the toys in categories that align to the different ages of learners.

The good part is that learners will be able to obtain relevant skills. That will play a major role towards making them independent and responsible adults in future.

The truth about picking toys for kids

Most of the parents who in the past tried or made purchase for their kids agree on one painful reality. In as much as they all longed to see their children grow to become great scientists, the tasks of picking the right toys was a challenge. STEM is giving priority to the idea making it simpler for parents to get the right science toys for their kids.

Its new strategy which embarks on delivering the toys to houses comes as good news to most of the parents. The world needs modern scientists and the only way is to boost the learning of sciences by all means, no matter what it takes.

Amazon stock closed at $ 836.52 after jumping $ 14.08 or 1.71%.

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Chinese Smartphones Companies Proving A Threat To Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

The smartphone business will take to a new level after the four major smartphone producing companies in China proved to be quite a threat to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the rest of the smartphone producers worldwide. Among the companies are Samsung, Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi.

The strength of these Chinese companies has been attributed to their production of Smartphone’s going at relatively lower prices. Apple and Samsung for a long time have commanded the greatest number of sales.

However, the penetration of the four Chinese competitors in the market and their making of great sales come as news at this period in time. They have bagged a huge market share coming very close to the two leading rivals.

The Smartphone business climate in china

IDC, a research firm, has acknowledged the quick rise of the China companies to the top positions in terms of grasping the larger market shares. One thing that has been brought to the limelight is that getting to lead as a business in China should be no major cause for alarm. This is because there are a number of business rivals who would do anything to see to it that they propel their market shares to the pinnacle.

New market trends

The current times have witnessed Huawei make tremendous steps in Smartphone manufacturing. The company now stands at position 3 among the many Smartphone manufacturers worldwide. This is a great improvement and is putting pressure on the top rivals. This is expected to impact the Smartphone prices in one way or the other.

The rise of Huawei

The rise of Huawei according to a new feature article, Fortune shows has been steady. The article takes a trip to showcase the aspects that make Huawei the company it is today. The company has been operating for many years which ahs earned it sufficient experience to manufacture better phones.

Its move to trade off telecom networking equipment has seen it tailor better market relations around the globe. Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are the other business rivals in China that have put China on the map as a major competitor.

This competition builds optimism among customers across the divide. They hope they the future has a promise of high quality smart phones for them and affordable ones at the same time.

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Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Will Soon Be Introducing A New Advertisement System On Its Social Messaging Application

Despite the well-known fact that many users on a global scale despite advertisements, the social-media giant Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) announced that they would be running platform tests, on the integration of advertisements, into a popular social messaging application, Messenger.

However, as the company is currently only in the testing phase, to establish the viability of the advertisement on Messenger idea, the company illustrated that during this testing phase, only a select group of users based in both Thailand and Australia will have the advertisement experience.

More details about Facebook advertisements on Messenger

It seems, that Facebook is partially aware of some of the pain, which advertisements can cause users. The company calmed the throngs of users who hate adverts, by explaining that they have designed the adverts to be placed in such a way, that they are easy to access, yet not intrusive.

It was also illustrated, like on the main social media platform of Facebook that users will have a partial degree of control over the content of advertisements that are shown on their application. If select users do not like a certain type of advert, they will be able to use the filters, to remove said content from the list.

Facebook answered many questions, through a statement in their blog, “We believe this new test for the very small group of people in Thailand and Australia reflects a lightweight, relevant, and useful approach to helping people and businesses connect on Messenger.”

How the Messenger advertisements work

Allegedly, according to various information, which the social-media giant has released on the matter, the advert location will not hinder the user’s experience, as they are somewhat out of the way. It was illustrated that below the recent conversations, where a user would normally get personalised messages from Facebook, that will be the location of the new adverts.

Furthermore, for convenience, the adverts will not be over-sized videos, and all those other annoying adverts that can frustrate users, but instead it will be in a newsfeed business style format, to which the user will be able to surf the ads, by making use of the swipeable interface.

Facebook stock closed the Tuesday trading session at $131.48, after rising by $2.11 or 1.63%

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Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) Continues To Ship Chips For Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone Despite The $1 Billion Lawsuit

When it comes to complex business relations, it seems that both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), as well as Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), are the leaders. Qualcomm has announced that it will be continuing to ship out chip supplies for iPhones, despite the current legal war, which involves a lawsuit of $1 billion.

This bodes well for Apple, however, as in locations, such as the United States, often rivals are unable to support the technologies, which is integrated into iPhones, at least none do it as efficiently as Qualcomm.

More details about Qualcomm lawsuits

However, despite the companies continued partnership with Apple, when it comes to chips, the troubles are far from over. The original $1 billion lawsuits, was launched against Qualcomm by Apple on Friday. This is following a separate anti-trust investigation, placed on Qualcomm by the Fair Trade Commission.

However, despite the various claims that Qualcomm is currently aggravated with, the company is taking it all in stride. Those familiar with the matter have claimed that Qualcomm is considering filing a suit back at Apple, as well as diligently working on extracting a method to get the Apple case dismissed.

The lawsuit against Qualcomm is due to the company using misappropriate methods to gain and retain customers. Additionally, the suit claimed that Qualcomm was involved in extortion, price gouging, as well as a few other unsavory business practices.

The reason why Qualcomm won’t drop Apple and why Apple won’t drop Qualcomm

Although for some, it may make no sense, that while a legal war is in full force, with these two entities at the opposite side of the table, they sit the same side in daily operations, it is important to remember the positions of the company’s.

Apple won’t is able to drop Qualcomm easily, due to the necessity that the company has as a supplier over the tech giant. However, at the same time, Apple is one of the biggest clients for Qualcomm, and therefore losing them would be a significant hit on the company’s triple bottom line.

However, Qualcomm did retort to Apple’s claims, stating, “Apple is trying to turn a contract issue into a regulatory issue.”

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Tel Aviv Is Home To The Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) BlueHat Cyber Security Event

The upcoming Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bluehat cyber security event, will be the first of its kind launched by the company, outside the borders of the United States. According to the company’s blog post, the event will be held in Tel Aviv, which is based in Israel.

The event itself is an investigation into some of the latest innovations and breakthroughs when it comes to cyber security. The reason behind this investigation is to better educate members who attend on cyber security related matters.

More details about the upcoming Bluehat event

However, this conference is based on an invite-only policy. Therefore, only Israeli Microsoft employees, or individuals, who have been invited to the conference will be eligible to enter the premises.

Although this event may be the first-time-ever for Israel, it certainly is not close to the first time for Microsoft, the company has had 16 previous events, such as this one. However, the key difference is that these events were all situated in one location, namely Washington.

However, this event will allegedly be slightly more unique than that of the previous events by Microsoft, as the company wishes to bring more locals into the educational era of cyber security. This seemingly was the reason for the company choosing Tel Aviv, which is known to be rich in high-tech ventures, and start-ups.

Comments on what can be expected at the Bluehat event

When questioned on how the event will be in Israel, Merav Bahat, who serves as the Chief Marketing Officer and Business Strategy Director at Microsoft stated, “We thought, we want to do it here but we want to do it differently.”

In addition to the Cyber Security conference, BlueHat will also be the host of a creativity hub, which is located in Israel R&D Centre, which is called Microsoft Garage. This facility, according to those familiar with the matter allows participants to enjoy drone races and similar projects.

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Paid Search May Be The Next Big Thing For Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa

During the Industry Preview, which took place last week, it was disclosed that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) would be launching a paid search product, in order to expand its current platform and better position the company’s position of relevance when it comes to voice searching functions.

This is considered a wise move, by various critics, due to the abundance of success that paid search is privy to on mobile devices, as well as on computers. Many who are familiar claim that this was the next logical step for the e-commerce giant.

The impact that this project may have on Amazon

It is already no secret that Amazon Alexa projects, such as Amazon Echo, and Amazon Dot, have been steadily growing in terms of popularity. Therefore, through Amazon introducing the potential of voice controlled systems, into the current Alexa projects platform, it is believed that consumer interest will skyrocket.

Competitors may be disheartened at the news of Amazon Voice, however, various start-ups may gain a lot of knowledge, as Amazon paves a path for them, competitors, such as Alphabet Inc (NADAQ:GOOGL) have been searching for ways to monotonize their voice search features, ever since the company released it.

The success of Amazon devices before voice search

Following market analytics, and the current capabilities of Alexa projects, it is clear that the market is primed for the release of more diverse Voice features. This is further emphasized by the record-breaking sales of Echo devices in the recent year.

Consumer intelligence, stated, “It is estimated that Amazon had sold over 5 million echo devices, since the launch of the project, which was in 2014.”

Amazon does, however, have an advantage over Google when it comes to variables such as voice search. The reason behind this is the diversity of possible commands that a user can issue. In the case of Amazon, the number of commands is limited by the number of products available (with a specific variable in the mind of the user). However, Google’s voice search platform, requires a much wider and more diverse range of acceptable variables, to work efficiently.

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Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) Is Diving Into The Pool Of Virtual Reality Filmmaking

It’s been recently illustrated that media-entertainment giant Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) will be opening up a subsidiary, which will be responsible for the development of virtual reality filmmaking

The subsidiary in question, has already been opened, and operates by the name of FoxNet, and is responsible not only for virtual reality filmmaking but also for virtual reality gaming capabilities. The former film executive for Twenty-First Century Fox, Salil Mehta, will be responsible for the operations of this subsidiary.

What FoxNet Could Mean For The Media-Entertainment Giant

The future prospects of the Virtual Reality industry market are quite substantial. However, this market forecast is only applicable, when Virtual Technology has been developed far enough, to be relevant. This essentially means that although companies such as Twenty-First Century Fox investing into Virtual Reality may not receive short-term benefits, through being set up for when the market is ready, there will be long-term growth benefits.

Another benefit of launching an entity, which is responsible for the development of Virtual Reality, is that FoxNet eventually will be able to release original virtual reality content, somewhat similar to that of the content which can be found on Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) Oculus Rift.

Other companies moving in early on virtual reality

However, FoxNet is not without competition, as another large brand-player has repeatedly contested their interest in virtual, and augmented reality technology. This rivalry is the spawn of Facebook, and produces various VR projects, under the title of Oculus.

Fox is not as far behind to competitors such as these, despite what many believe. Although it is not a commonly known factor, Fox has been releasing various virtual reality projects over the last few years. These projects include the like of the most recent, Martian VR.

More examples of Fox virtual reality projects, which have been released recently, includes the likes of an interactive virtual reality film, based on the Wild. Another successful project launched by fox was the virtual reality version of Assassins Creed, which was released in Cinemas.

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Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) Digital Comics Will Debut In February

For the first time ever, Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) has orchestrated it, so that well-known Disney Comic book titles, will become available digitally, for use over smartphones, tablets and similar devices.

The array of comic books will be substantial to start, however, Disney did state that depending on the success of the venture, the company would work on getting more digitally published comic books out. The titles currently available, all previously were unavailable digitally.

More details about the comics that will be available digitally

Comic book lovers understand how difficult it can be to not only acquire rare comic books, but also the struggle of maintaining a pristine collection. However, with this new move, comic book collections will become second nature, for enthusiasts.

A vast variety of comic books were listed under the first-released comic book titles. However, to name a few of the popular ones, a reader can delve into the world of Donald And Mickey: The Magic Kingdom Collection, or Walt Disney Comics And Stories #721-736.

Although these are only two of the premier titles which Disney will be releasing digitally, there is a host of others. According to the listing, which was supplied by the media giant itself, there will be over 17 titles available, with a number of comic editions per title.

Executive comments on the new Disney comic book initiative

The publishing firm, which is responsible for ensuring top-notch digital copies of Disney classic comic books, is IDW publishing.

When questioned on this initiative, Rebekah Cahalin, stated, “I’m thrilled to be a part of bringing IDW’s line of Disney comics to digital. The fan demand has run high for some time and we’re very excited to bring these titles to the passionate Disney fans who love these comics as much as we do.”

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The Last Jedi Is The Next Chapter Of The Skywalker Saga, Says Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)

The Lucasfilm unit of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) announced recently that the official title of Episode VIII or the next chapter of most-anticipated Star Wars would be THE LAST JEDI.

On the official site of Star Wars, it is announced, “We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy. In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga: STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI.”

Rian Johnson is the writer and director of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, which will be released on 15 December 2017.

The weight of 11 months

Will the Star Wars fans be able to carry the wait and weight of 11 months for the next chapter of Skywalker saga, the famous sci-fi? Well, the window period before Luke Skywalker appears from the faraway galaxy on the silver screen is long, but the excitement has been upped by announcing the name of the next movie.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI takes the baton from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a franchise’s release of 2015, which marked a bumper opening and record box office collection. Hauling $936 million in North America, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a film that established a high benchmark for the domestic box office record. The film had a worldwide collection of over $2 billion.

This would be the second chapter of Star Wars saga, which has a total of three instalments. The film by Disney and Lucasfilm is much awaited among the fans. The third chapter of this film will appear in 2019.

So, who is this mysterious character- “The Last Jedi?”

The fans who have seen Star Wars closely know that perhaps The Last Jedi is some mysterious character. But, of course, the answer is the film’s “hero”- Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill. He shall be perhaps, the last Jedi in this whole wide universe, and we say so from the hints of its predecessor.

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Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) May Bring Out Car Revisions In Every 12 To 18 Months

Elon Musk, the Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) took to Twitter to say that “Tesla will never stop innovating. People are buying the wrong car if they expect this. There will be major revs every 12 to 18 months.” So, the tweet of the Tesla founder means that your self- driving vehicles from the company will keep going for “major revisions” almost annually.

Tesla commits to innovation

The Tesla consumers need not be shocked with the revelation since the company vouches for better products through innovations. In fact, it would be wrong to say that Tesla works and acts more like a technology based company than an automobile company. Its adjustments to the “products” and likeness for beta tests are something very evident.

Is it good or bad for the consumers?

Well, we’d say that it’s both. Why? If Tesla commits to these “major revisions every 12 to 18 months” on the banks of innovations, there is no denying the fact that the consumers will get the latest cars with cutting-edge technology in place. But, the same technology can become outdated almost sooner. A consumer may become hesitant to think that perhaps, an older version of the car would be outdated.

About 12-18 months of revision would mean that this is rather aggressive upgrade speed. For that matter, Toyota, GM and Ford do not go by “revision” so sooner. The point here is that if Tesla can go for innovation at that speed, wouldn’t it die out of newness?

We can most likely compare this with the smartphones. The technology changes so rapidly that the consumers like to switch to the newer ones as soon as possible. But with cars, that may not happen. So, it is possible for a consumer to feel “outdated” in his own vehicle, if they are not getting these revisions faster.

All in all, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Tesla stands in a completely different league of a car company.

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