Drunk, forbidden smartphone

Today, it is not uncommon to see groups of people gather in a restaurant or bar, but never talk about anything but glare at the screen of a smartphone.

There have been studies showing that using the phone is slowly becoming a chain reaction like yawning. When one of the group pulled the phone out, another person reached into his pocket to find his phone.

Recently, the Irish brewery Guinness has launched a new advertising, with images of the mobile stacked, placed on a table in the bar.

The message is written on Guinness advertising posters: Enjoy responsibly. Phones down, please. (Drink to consume.

Guinness wants to get strong, put your smartphone aside and drink a few beer with his friends. Of course, face-to-face, face-to-face, not through mobile screens.

Not long ago, director Miles Crawford's I forgot my phone tells the story of a girl just because she does not have a phone and completely loses touch with everyone, including her boyfriend. Recent videos have garnered over 36 million views on YouTube.

It lasts only 2 minutes but the video is enough to make viewers realize that they have accidentally lost their closeness to each other just because of the modern technology.

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Dropbox and journey become billion dollar

Dropbox, one of the leading data warehouse companies, is on track to become one of the most successful technology companies.

Many years ago, the name Dropbox was astonishing in the tech world when it dared to challenge big giants like Apple, Google ... At that time, Drew Houston, founder and CEO (CEO) of this company is not yet 30 years old.

Dropbox, now, continues its strong and steady strides along the 32-year-old boss's ambitious and entrepreneurial business strategy.

Dropbox, one of the leading data warehousing firms, is on the way to earning $ 300 million this year and becoming one of the most successful technology companies ever.

But when a company grows at super-fast speeds, other competitors are also trying to grab the market share of the technology market.

Dropbox is currently competing for storage with major technology giants such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon. Drew Houston - The CEO of Dropbox knows this and knows how to respond in this battle.

"We compete with every big company in the world and they all want to attack us," Drew Houston said.

Looking back over the past few years of Dropbox, many believe in the CEO's insistence and trust Dropbox will continue to embark on the technology market.

Drew Houston started his business from the age of 20. Currently, the Dropbox application is one of the best online storage providers in the world.

With just $ 15,000 in initial funding, Dropbox Technology is estimated to be worth nearly $ 10 billion after only eight years of operation.

Drew Houston, co-founder and current CEO of Dropbox, holds a 15% stake in the company.

Many argue that the field is in the race for zero when companies try to cut prices and provide larger data warehouses.

Forbes, for example, thinks Dropbox is growing healthy. In just two years, Dropbox has grown close to rivals such as Syncplicity and Egnyte.

The growth of Dropbox is impressive. Since its inception in 2007, the company has added 300 million new users across 200 different countries.

As a result, Dropbox became the "hot" start-up story in Silicon Valley.

In 2012, Dropbox reached 100 million users, an increase of 300 million in 2015. This is a rapid growth rate that no technology company has achieved.

Even so, Dropbox is in a great transition. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Dropbox has recruited about 200 new people, focusing on sales and opening more offices abroad.

New business strategies are applied with very high target set.

As a result, Dropbox has signed more contracts with major corporate clients such as Under Armor, News Corp, Hyatt and Yahoo.

In order to have enough power for the fierce competition in the field of technology, Dropbox decided to buy CloudOn, a provider of mobile document editing and editing solutions earlier this year.

The deal brings Dropbox to around 30 CloudOn engineers as well as a software research center in Herzliya, Israel. This is what the company needs in its expansion strategy to the whole world.

This move will also help streamline live documentation on Dropbox, which is similar to what you can do with OneDrive, iCloud or Google Drive. The value of the deal is not disclosed.

CloudOn previously provided an application that runs on the iPad to deliver a full Microsoft Office experience to users. The iPad only acts as an image receiver and interacts with the user, and the interface, processing, and so on are all done on the CloudOn server.

The company also has some other tools for editing and editing files online. The company currently has about 9 million users.

The simplest "fit for most people" philosophy is Dropbox's main development direction. Drew Houston is of the opinion that there should not be too much stuff, just focus on the core product that is syncing, automation, and easy sharing. That's the best spotlight on Dropbox for other cloud services. .

However, competition with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google is something Houston is concerned about. If Dropbox has 300 million customers, Apple has a significant number of users, all using Apple's iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Google is even more scary with 1 billion customers on Google each month and 190 million people own devices running Google's Android operating system.

With its business and development strategies, Drew Houston is confident that he will continue to win as he has achieved in the past.

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Apple is "dependent" on the iPhone than ever before

63.2% of Apple's revenue as of Q3 2015 derived from the iPhone ...

The technology world is gathering attention on the launch event Apple's next-generation iPhone (9/9).

On the Apple side, it must be anxious to see how the market reacts, in the context of Apple's revenue is dependent on the iPhone more than any time, since the launch of the phone. first iPhone in 2007.

Apple's revenue structure as of Q3 2015: 63.2% from the iPhone; 9.1% from the iPad; 12.2% from iPod; 10.1% came from the service segment and 5.3% came from other segments.

Meanwhile, the total number of devices sold by Apple as of Q3 2015 includes 75.1% of the iPhone; 17.3% iPad; 7.6% iPod.

In recent times, Apple is trying to diversify its product lines, but its dependence on the iPhone has increased over time. Many wait in the launch of the new iPhone, CEO Tim Cook will announce the latest updates on revenue details, sales of its products.

Along with the iPhone, Apple is expected to introduce a new version of the Apple TV with remote control, which runs applications from other software developers. IPad tablet with larger screen will also be introduced in this iPhone launch.

In recent months, Apple shares have been falling steadily as investors worried about the prospects for profitability, especially as iPhone sales in China dropped as the economy slumped.

As of July 21, 2015, when Apple posted iPhone sales in the second quarter, Apple shares fell more than 16%.

In the past fiscal year, the iPhone has brought Apple $ 102 billion in revenue, a figure similar to that of Google, Facebook and Twitter combined.

It would be easier to imagine the size of Apple's revenue if compared to the revenue of the world car industry. Benedict Evans, a market analyst at the Andreesen Horowitz fund, estimates that four luxury cars, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Lexus, generate sales of $ 220 billion a year. Apple's revenue from the iPhone in the past 12 months amounted to $ 146.6 billion.

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5 secrets to startup capital

In the tech world, startup businesses usually start out by setting up a company, expanding their business, and calling for capital to grow.

By contrast, a US entrepreneur began his career at Trellis Partners, a venture capital firm that financed IT startup projects, and then moved to run one. own startup company.

Moving from a venture capital firm to a new venture capital firm, Alex Broeker explored a unique business path and reaped successes based on the experience gained from the road to success. "There is no one" there.

Before becoming CEO of Tabbed Out, Alex Broeker worked in a venture capital firm specializing in startup financing. Alex called $ 23.5 million when it reached the Series C Call for Tabbed Out, an extension. It allows customers at restaurants or bars to pay and conveniently access the mobile.

Based on his experience of working at Trellis Partners and the duration of the call for his own business, Alex has found useful experience for any startup who is planning to call. Alex's secret is:

1 / Do not answer too much

A "reciprocal" dialogue will cause the investor to really focus on the topic being discussed, but if you answer too long, you will ruin the attention. If the investor feels he or she is part of the story, being asked questions, it will be a two-way conversation and will give you more chances to succeed. On the contrary, they would be afraid to ask the question that the potential CEO in front of him responded immediately to a few minutes to ask a question.

2 / Clearly number

Clarity of numbers will convey confidence. For example, if your expected year is $ 5 million, say exactly $ 5 million instead of "between four and six". And when the investor asks, "What is the cost of getting a new customer?", Answer "Two dollars," and stop there.

3 / Do not be too careful

Again, you have to show confidence. An adventurous investor is always thinking about possible risks, and if you are too cautious about everything, that shows your lack of confidence in your own business plan. lack of trust in the business model and staff.

4 / There are plans for the next three years

You have to talk about your current position and plan for the next 12, 24, and 36 months. Always keep this in mind as it is a factor that gives investors information about where you are at the moment and insists that you are always sure of what you are doing today, as well as your plans for the future. a few years to come.

5 / Selling passion

Today, the investment in the market is no longer based only on good ideas, but rather on the entrepreneurial passion. Passion is the most attractive thing for venture capitalists. So, in conversations with investors, show and "sell" your vision and enthusiasm.

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What did Mark Zuckerberg say when India stopped Facebook's free Internet?

Zuckerberg argues that the Free Basics platform is open to all programmers, without advertising, and will help troubled users get out of poverty.

Mark Zuckerberg, personally, responded to critics of "Free Basics," a Facebook effort to expand the reach of the Internet in India but is experiencing negative reactions. From those who want to protect the technology world.

"Free Basics," formerly Internet.org, offers a free and simplified version of the Internet for people who can not afford internet or smartphone downloads.

This service provides information on health, tourism, employment and local government. By providing only a limited number of websites and services, and the least amount of data transmission possible, the costs are reduced to a minimum.

Facebook is one of the applications in this service. Other applications include AccuWeather, Ask.com, Baby Center, Bing, Dictionary.com and Wikipedia, and countless other apps.

Opponents of Free Basics claim that the program violates Internet neutrality guidelines, whereby all content and Internet users must be treated fairly. They think that this program, despite being described for good purpose, reflects the commercial purposes of Facebook.

They ask, instead of just a few select pages, why Facebook does not provide access to all content on the Internet?

Zuckerberg responded to criticism this Monday in the Indian Times, stating that the Free Basics platform is open to all programmers, without advertising and that it will help troubled users escape poverty. .

"Instead of giving people access to basic internet services for free, people who oppose the program make false allegations - even if that means leaving behind." billions of people behind. Who can go against this? "

Zuckerberg's personal objections are part of a larger media effort. Facebook recently published full-page ads in Indian newspapers, asking readers to "support equality in the digital world."

The move came after Indian telecoms regulators demanded that Reliance Communications, one of India's largest telecom companies, stop providing Free Basics while managers are considering whether the service Is this case legal? Facebook has urged users to contact managers and voice their support.

However, those opposed to the program continue to make criticisms. Mahesh Murthy, a prominent Indian speculator, described the program as "imperialism and the East India Company as before", which was carried out under the guise of "justice in the digital world."

Amod Malviya, Flipkart's former chief technology officer, even went so far as to call the service "a modern conspiracy for what was in fact a burden for whites - that the poor in India They need Facebook's Free Basics service to free them. "

India has a technology platform in the top of the world, where trained engineers create cutting-edge applications and features. At the same time, hundreds of millions of Indians do not have access to the Internet, or even landlines. Helping these people access the Internet is a top priority for companies in Silicon Valley, who are always hoping that Indians will use their services on a large scale.

Google and other technology companies have agreed that Indians should have more access to the Internet, but they focus on providing services rather than building a new and limited ecosystem.

Earlier this month, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who was born in Chennai, said the company is committed to the principle of equality on the Internet. Google is trying to bring free Internet to 400 stations across India.

"The Internet is a balanced playground, and I do not think we are here today to provide access to a free, scalable, and scalable Internet network without any concern," he said. to the principle of fairness of the network. We are committed to this principle.

But Zuckerberg's advocates also have supporters in India.

"The criticism of the free Internet program for the poor in India is disguised by legitimate objections," wrote novelist Manu Joseph, who recently wrote in the New York Times. But the reality is that the Internet has to pay a lot of new fees because it blocks access to the Internet world of people who do not have the money to pay the Internet. "

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Chinese company profile has twice shaken the world in one day

In just one day, Leeteuk, this strange name has made the world of technology astonishing, up to twice.

In just one day, the technology world was shaken twice by LeCo as it unveiled its unmatched 3.5mm headset smartphone and self-driving electric car. If the iPhone 7 does not drop 3.5mm headphone jack is just rumors, LeEco has surpassed Apple for the first time to launch a smartphone.

Meanwhile, just three weeks after the launch of the Tesla Model 3, LeEco's LeSEE electric car showed automatic steering and voice parking control via the phone application. The question now is who is LEEco?

What is the company like?

If you are new to LeCoCo by introducing the two products, it may be a bit late. Leeteuk's predecessor, LeTV, was rebranded earlier this year. Not by chance, the company was dubbed China Netflix, when LeTV owned 400 million subscribers for its online video service. In addition, at the end of September 2015, the company launched six high-end Smart TVs, but at a lower cost than the cost of mass production.

"The reason for pricing lower than the cost of mass production is due to the multi-level, multi-level ecosystem model to subsidize hardware, marking the maturity of the Le ecosystem. "Said Liang Jun, president of Leshi Zhi Xin, LeTV's TV business.

Founded by Jia Yueting in 2004, it began by offering online video services via the letv.com website, a service similar to Youtube. In August 2010, LeTV set a milestone in its development by listing shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange. This is the world's first IPO of a company operating in this field.

Starting from now, the activities of the new company are gradually emerging in the eyes of investors and the world. The company invests in and distributes a Hollywood blockbuster "The Expendables 2." The company's revenue has also grown rapidly, from $ 181 million in 2012 to $ 1.6 billion in 2014. However, The company's profit is also extremely thin, with sales growing rapidly but the company's profits have even fallen. Leshi's net income in 2012 was $ 31 million, $ 38 million in 2013 and $ 7.5 million by 2014.

Since 2014, its headquarters have been relocated to Hong Kong, setting a new milestone for the development of the world market. Based on the combined ecosystem of "Platform + Content + Terminal + Application" (Platform + Content + Terminal + Application), the company launches many low-cost hardware products such as to support its video content platform.

LeTV has set a record of online sales, selling 1,000 Smart TVs in 10 minutes, 20,000 Le Smart smartphones in 21 seconds, and 50,000 Le1 smartphones in 53 seconds. Thanks to the support of the eco-system between this device and content, LeTV reports 2015 revenue growth of 90.89%, nearly double that of 2014, earnings per share also increased 55% over the year. 2014.

And the launch of LeEco's LeSEE electric car is not out of the ecosystem-based strategy. Through its subsidiary, Le Sports, in October 2015, Leeco spent $ 700 million to acquire 70% of Yidao Yongche, a travel sharing company similar to Uber. Surely their ambition will not just be to take advantage of the journeys to transport reporters or fans, or to show off the services during the trip.

"The starry sky has become a distant memory. We can not wait to clear the cloud from the Chinese sky. The integration of electricity, artificial intelligence, connectivity and social media into a system will break down all current car products. "LeEco President, Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting has said so much about its ambition to launch the FFZERO1 for the first time at CES 2016 in January this year.

Mr. Jia Yueting also demonstrates his ambition in the automotive sector by investing in many companies involved in the industry. The best known of these is Aston Martin, the British sports car brand, famously appearing regularly alongside James Bond in the character series. There is also Faraday Future, a startup in California that recently emerged as daring to challenge Tesla, the world's leading electric car company. Moreover, LeTV along with the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) also invested in another startup for the electric car, Atieva, which was founded by former Tesla Chairman Bernard Tse.

So far, the company has invested in a range of other fields, including agriculture, owning a wine brand, and is planning to grow grapes and vegetables. flowers and seedlings

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The vicious circle of the technology world and "iPhone curse"

You can not help but notice the inevitable trend: Any giant pioneering a wave of dominant technology will almost certainly fall on the next wave.

After a disappointing financial report last month with iPhone sales dropped by 10 million units compared to the same period last year, Apple shares are being punished by investors with continuous decline without signs. rehibilitate. The truth is, as long as there are still people using smartphones, Apple will still be good by virtue of mastering the premium segment, but that can not make anyone feel secure about Apple's future.

The reason is that no one can guess when someone will launch a product that can replace the smartphone as the smartphone has replaced the feature phone. And more worryingly, computer history shows that any big boss who comes to the fore and succeeds with a trend will fail on the next.The best example is Microsoft. The software giant has overwhelmed the operating system market and has had a near-monopoly browser. But then Google appears. Google represents a new vision, as users only need quality web-based data services - a platform that does not discriminate between operating systems and browsers. As a result, Microsoft has been continuously downplaying recent signs of recovery, and Google is still dominating the search market, web mail, online maps, online office applications.

However, Google also missed many new trends. Google's data service is good, but when the world of computing wants to bring not only SaaS, but also the (PaaS) and even the entire IT infrastructure (IaaS), Google is slow. One of the two leading contenders in the field, and overwhelmingly Google, is Microsoft, whose services have so far been poorly compared to Google like Bing and Bing Map.

But perhaps no more of Google's pain than social networking. Social revolution from the early 2000s before exploding with the rise of Facebook. While Facebook was born in 2005, Google waited until 2011 to launch a product that can compete with Facebook is Google+. Facebook's position has been confirmed so well and Google+ seems to be dead about four years later, when the father of the social network is forced to leave the search giant.The special feature of Facebook is that this social network is very strong for the new revolution. Facebook's largest, most talked-about deal is pre-emptive deals, such as the acquisition of Instagram to capture younger users who like to take photos or buy WhatsApp to block names. Age wants to rise in the revolution turning the chat application into a platform. Most importantly, Facebook acquired Oculus to go ahead in the field of virtual reality / support that is causing fever.

And in this area, Microsoft is one of the names with Facebook in the lead thanks to the impressive HoloLens glasses. The two losers have come back ahead of the two giants of the smartphone revolution, Apple and Google, which have little to no control over the field. Google has just launched the virtual reality project "half season" with carton, while Apple is completely absent. Apple Macs do not even have enough hardware power to seriously participate in VR / AR.

This is also the reason why people are concerned about Apple's sales of iPhone is still very high and Apple's revenue is still equal to Google, Microsoft and Facebook combined. The history of Apple in particular shows that almost after the "fruit bold" the company founded by Steve Jobs will be hidden. Macs have been one of the pioneers of the market as "computers" are something expensive and strange, but when desktop PCs and laptops are popular, Macs are less popular today. preferable. Apple later regained the mobile device revolution when it unveiled its iPod, iPhone and iPad.

But as mobile devices start to become boring, Apple is clearly lagging behind in the next revolution. If history repeats, the success of the iPhone can be considered a "curse" to ensure Apple fails on the new trend, whether it is smart home or VR.Not just Apple, all the competitors are. The "forefront of this step, stumbling step" has almost become an inevitable rule of the tech. The Nokia mobile phone king died after dominating the feature phone market, at the same time Intel gave way to ARM and Qualcomm. Sony represents the entire CRT TV market and begins to sink as popular LCDs. Nintendo dominates mobile game consoles and misses the storm of smartphone game billions of dollars.

Most recently, a series of "former kings" such as Cisco, Dell and Intel have begun fostering "cloud computing" efforts as "cloud computing" is out of date. The king of the cloud is Amazon is standing outside this trend. Nobody knows the "fog" has replaced the cloud or not, but it is clear that new revolutions often do not have room for the kings of the past.

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Meet the first guest of the billion dollar startup Airbnb

Amol Surve is the first of a total of 80 million guests to use Airbnb's service since its launch.

In October 2007, Amol graduated from the Arizona State University Design Department and was eagerly attending the upcoming Industrial Design Conference in San Francisco.Amol is looking for ways to get nearly $ 1,000 to buy a ticket. Therefore, he has no money to rent a room in expensive hotels.

"I only pay for tickets if I can find a place to stay." Every cheap hotel or motel I visit is full of visitors. "Amol said.

While wandering around design blogs, Amol found a link to a new website called Airbedandbreakfast.com, the predecessor of Airbnb.com.

"I clicked on it because I liked the logo," Amol said. He was born in India and went to the United States to attend college in 2004.

The site is rather sketchy, there is no link to the booking page and there is no contact information with the two hosts, Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky.Amol continued surfing the web and somehow he found Joe's phone number. Joe is also a designer. Amol called Joe and booked a night's sleep.

"I went to the apartment at Rausch Street and Joe greeted me in the pilot's hat, he had all the characteristics of a designer," Amol recalls.

The founders of Airbedandbreakfast.com no longer have enough money to pay for their three bedroom apartments so have figured out how to rent a cushion and serve breakfast to earn extra.

Design conference attendees pay $ 80 for each night at Joe's apartment. And that was just an early test of Joe and Brian.

Nine years later, Joe and Brian became billionaires while their company was worth over $ 25 billion.

"I got a mattress, and two other designers were sleeping on my cushion in the living room, but the best part was that Joe took the time to take us to San Francisco," Amol said."We are all designers and we are very compatible, it feels like we've known each other for so long."

The name of the site was later reduced to Airbnb.com and the startup group was added to Y-Combinator.

From night Amol sleeps flat so far Airbnb has attracted 80 million visitors. Currently the US $ 25.5 billion company has received funding from investment firms such as Sequoia Capital, Keith Rabois, Andreessen Horowitz, Ashton Kutcher, Founders Fund, and TPG Growth.

Life changes completely

Joe and Brian frequently invited Amol to meet the Silicon Valley tech community.

"Being the first guest of Airbnb has completely changed my life, and I have a place in the front row at events where American business people share the idea of ​​becoming startups. It changes the way I live and travel, "Amol said.

"It also made me a part of the technology world, before I did not care about technology blogs."

Since then, Amol has used only rental properties through Airbnb. He used to live in bamboo houses, dormitories, castles or even rent a private island.

Amol thinks that the design skills of Airbnb's founders help them a lot in the start-up process.

"Both Joe and Brian are surprised to lead a technology startup, but thanks to their design-based skills, they know how to meet the needs of their users," said Amol. Share.

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Huawei claims we will be able to text the dead

Over the next 25 years, poverty, illness, or even death will no longer be a problem for humanity and computing power will then be used to help people transition from the real world. this to the digital world.

Kevin Ho, president of Huawei's mobile platform, said that in the future we will be able to use messenger messaging applications to communicate with dead relatives. At first sight, it was very fiction, but once there was the device to upload human consciousness, this was possible, he shared with Bloomberg.

Necromancy opportunity for everyone

Kevin Ho noted that Huawei's predictions and business ideas are often based on films of the future, such as "The Matrix." According to Ho, 25 years later poverty, illness, or even death will not be a problem for humanity. Computational power will then be used to help people transition from the real world to the digital world.

The president offers a perspective in which messenger chat programs will be used extensively to communicate with our dead loved ones thanks to the transfer of human consciousness to the computer. Serving billions of people requires a gigantic data warehouse, and Huawei is confident enough to be involved in such projects.Storage capacity over the next 25 years may exceed 15,000. Zettabyte (15 * 10 ^ 24 bytes). The data can be loaded directly into / into the brain as in the movie "The Matrix".

Self-defense ability before artificial intelligence

"We now see in so many science fiction films and books that artificial intelligence will destroy humanity," said Huawei, "and it is possible that artificial intelligence was not originally intended. , but from the existing information that people imagine about the plots of artificial intelligence, they can learn the methods of human destruction themselves, so we need to apply measures immediately. to protect humanity against possible attacks in the near future. "

Ho stressed that Huawei had long been involved in this, but did not disclose details.

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Project Ara 2016 has killed the dream smartphone module

The technology world is flooded with good products at the level of ... ideas. But, when you look at the fact, Google's Project Ara smartphone project module can be considered dead.

If you want to say less, you can say that Google has stopped pursuing 100% of the impossible (modularization of the entire smartphone) to focus on bringing the possibility of replacing parts not part of the. The core of the handset (screen, chip and RAM).

But even new (and less impressive) scenarios can only happen when the current Ara model is finalized for release. All previous Ara releases, including one published in 2014 and one in 2015, have all died in the water.

At the recent I / O 2016 event, Google has confirmed that it will launch smartphone modules by 2017. Four years after its launch, the Ara smartphone will be available only with six expansion slots. in the back. The first alternative modules include cameras, speakers and electronic screen monitors. Google also confirmed that it will open the Ara platform for many developers involved in the development.Leaders of the ATAP Advanced Laboratory, a division of the Ara project at Google / Alphabet, predicted that hardware hackers would contribute to the construction of "crazy things" to connect to the six boxes above. Ara's body.

But no matter what Google says, the "crazy" here is that very few people are interested in the ability to customize their hardware. Not to mention a small group of technology enthusiasts who are willing to spend hours building the best PCs, the general consumer community will be less interested in the ability to customize hardware.

The view is full of contradictions

Even the leader of the Ara project at Google, Rafa Camargo, admits the same thing: "When we did the research, we found that most users were not interested in the modularity of the underlying components. Edition of smartphone. They think that these components must always be present, always operating in a stable way. "

"Always" and "stable" are two concepts that are completely opposed to the hardware modular philosophy. Still, Google continues to promote Ara.

At I / O 2015, the Ara project leader on the stage attached many unknown modules to a smartphone that apparently had a screen and chip. This year, the nature of Ara has been revealed.

At I / O 2015, the Ara project leader on the stage attached many unknown modules to a smartphone that apparently had a screen and chip. This year, the nature of Ara has been revealed.

One of the most interesting features selected for displaying Ara at I / O is the ability to disassemble the camera's voice module ("OK Google, unplug the camera"). Not to be outdone, software developers attending the event simultaneously applauded the feature.

When you think carefully, you will find this to be a feature that has no real meaning but is well suited to the intense PR events. And Google has ingeniously incorporated a core technology that is important to the company's future - voice recognition technology, an integral part of search and virtual assistants.

This is a good example of a well-intentioned advertising company that has already had great marketing campaigns such as StreetView offering mountain climbing two years ago.

And that is why Ara has been investing for a long time but still can not reach the consumer. Marketing does not always come with reality.

A vision full of holes

The distance from the dream module smartphone to the reality is a very long distance. Remember that the first time you stepped onto the stage, Google's Ara template could not even boot. But the technical difficulties do not penetrate where the difficulties due to the practicality of nearly 0 ... Ara cause. As a regular user, do you want to fall into such difficult situations as, "Did the sofa help you to see your sub-monitor drop down?"

The key to touchscreen smartphones is becoming the most popular electronic device in the world, not because they are smart or more, but because they are so easy to use. In 2007, compared to the Nokia N95, the iPhone is just a phone "stupid" true. Yet Steve Jobs's philosophy prevailed.

From the perspective of a consumer, do you really need a smartphone capable of taking better pictures than both the iPhone 6s and today's Galaxy S7? The essence of the Ara smartphone is a bit silly, because what Google really wants to say to consumers is "Buy this mundane phone and then spend a pile of money to turn it into a high-end phone. "

Contrary to what you think, smartphone modularization is not for the needs of the masses but for the needs of a very small number of users, such as those who need a 41MP camera. or blood glucose sensor, for example.

And why do you need to attach a glucose sensor to your smartphone? The Internet of Things promises to bring in hundreds of thousands, millions of accessories can be attached to the body easily and also does not require physical connection to the smartphone or tablet. When drawing scripts on sensor-based smartphone functionality, Google once again made a promising no sense of reality.

Finally, the idea is to make people excited: the extra screen (using electronic ink technology) is attached to the back of the phone. The Yota Phone has an extra e-ink screen that has been on the market for a long time, but it has never been on the list of smartphones sold. Is Yota Phone interesting? Have. Is the phone attractive? Absolutely not.

Price constraints

What is the selling price? At one time Google confirmed the price of "skeleton" Ara is only $ 50 (about 1.1 million). Now, the skeleton idea has been canceled and Google will sell a set of monitors that include monitors, chips and RAM. No one knows what the new Ara's price will be, and if you look at their post

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Lessons for businesses from Google's success stories and the disappearance of the Yahoo empire

Over the past decade, the technology world has witnessed countless changes, but the switch of the Internet giants Yahoo and Google has left the most emotional.

Yahoo from a 90-year-old Internet giant is now in the business of selling the core business to survive. Meanwhile, Google stepped up to become the largest company in the world market (Alphabet).It is ridiculous that in the heyday of Yahoo there is someone thinking of one day these two technology companies are swapping positions for one another today. But over the past few years, we have learned some lessons about the success of both, especially in the vital decisions of the business.

In 2003, Yahoo and Google entered the fierce competition to vie for market share in the wake of the Internet boom. There are many factors that affect the final appearance, but the most noticeable difference between the two technology giants lies in their core infrastructure approach. Strong opposition and results give us valuable lessons on business building, especially in the context of increasingly competitive markets.

Hot development and sustainable construction

In the midst of the Internet hurricane, Google and Yahoo are on the verge of extending their reach. Services such as search, email, or maps become prevalent. They posed the problem of server systems for storing user and corporate data.Yahoo is keen to hire NetApp's infrastructure, a company specializing in storage and data management solutions. As a result, the company quickly responds to market demand with most services running on NetApp servers.

On the other side, Google seems to go against the trend that is supposed to bring immediate effect at that time. The company built its own technical infrastructure known as the Google File System. It serves as a platform for serving a variety of Google services, aiming to build a future ecosystem.

The search giant uses commercial servers to create high flexibility. If you need to extend or recover the data later, it is also very convenient. In particular, the system helps simplify and speed up the use of cloud storage services that are expected to grow in later times.

The complexity is getting bigger

It took 4 years of continuous development with a strong technical team, Google has built a complete system to exploit the important items. Meanwhile, Yahoo has been able to deploy NetApp's attached storage network immediately, thus meeting the company's growing demand for services. As a result, Yahoo quickly rises in the race to dominate the Internet world.However, Yahoo's massively market-driven approach is slowly emerging. As the user demand grows and more services are available, the downside of the "leased" infrastructure is gradually exposed.

As a result, corporate services such as Yahoo Search and Mail operate on a variety of infrastructure systems. The fragmentation process raises the economic problem of resource utilization because each case requires a separate server that can not be shared across platforms. On top of that, operating costs from NetApp took Yahoo's large revenue base as the company began to expand.

On the other side, Google has anticipated these challenges, so right from the construction of the file system, they have allowed for the addition of services as well as easy fixes related to basic architecture. For example, after the acquisition of Youtube, the company just put it on the common ground. Engineers can upgrade the underlying architecture once they are applicable to all Google services, rather than individually.Finally, flexible platform allows maximum utilization of resources. As the server does not handle user searches, they can be turned on for e-mail access or any task. From there, Google saves significant costs despite the growing level of growth.

Importance of starting the system

The story of Google and Yahoo is a valuable lesson in building a sustainable business. It speaks to the importance of strategic vision for the infrastructure, ensuring a flexible architecture capable of meeting every change in the future. Google has shown us the need to understand the problem before offering solutions.

When starting to plan a project, whether you are an engineer or a business owner, do not look at existing solutions and activities, but instead create your own ideas. Once you do that, you'll be alert enough to see if the current solution is working and what needs to be added if the need for change arises.

This is the key to success for many startups. At the same time, technology giants such as Facebook are gradually realizing the importance of building their own infrastructure to maintain their position.Of course, starting from scratch does not require businesses to sacrifice immediate growth resources for long-term sustainability. It can be a difficult pill to swallow, especially in a competitive environment like Silicon Valley. However, the rush in the approach will bring great risk, making the situation more complex and ineffective when the scale of the company has reached a certain level.

Google builds a broad platform that spans multiple services. The company aims to simplify and enhance flexibility, while Yahoo's complex infrastructure makes it impossible for the company to "fly higher", even declining and ultimately losing market share. competitor.

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Two years after selling his company to Google for $ 3 billion, the "iPod father" gave up the game

Tony Fadell abandoned his smart home appliance maker just six years after revolutionizing the market ... the thermometer.

In an official blog post from Nest, a Google subsidiary specializing in smart home appliances, founder and CEO Tony Fadell has announced that he will leave his subsidiary. Fadell's article states:

"While this may have surprised many, this change began last year and while I will not be present at Nest, I will continue to act as an adviser to Alphabet and Larry Page. This will give me the time and ability to adapt to pursue new opportunities and change other careers - and to help those with the same goals - just like what we did at Nestle. "

Before leaving the Nest, Tony Fadell became famous for his role as manager of the creative process and production of the iPod. After leaving Apple, Fadell founded the Nest and succeeded with two products of thermometers and smoke detectors received enthusiastic reception. In 2014, Nest acquired by Google for $ 3.2 billion and Fadell once again became one of the most noted names in the tech world.However, the journey of Fadell at Google encountered many obstacles. Over the past three years, Nest has not been able to launch any successful product. The acquisition of Dropcam became a disaster as nearly all of the company's personnel left Nest for one year after the merger. Two months ago, the CEO of Dropcam even posted a counter-comment to Fadell's comment that "Dropcam's humanity is disappointing" with stories describing Fadell as a poor and authoritarian leader.

Contrary to Fadell's above statement, this transfer may have only begun recently under pressure from investors after Nest had caused a lot of disappointment.

Alongside Nest, Fadell was also tasked with developing the second generation Google Glass after the product failed miserably through a one-year trial program. Now, when leaving the Nest, Fadell legacy is still encapsulated in the iPod and all that Nest made before being sold to Google.

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Motorola aggressively hit both Apple and Samsung

The world of technology is always filled with as many variations as other fields.

Motorola in the hands of Lenovo recently engaged themselves in a stressful situation in their new business development strategy. After accusing Samsung of plagiarizing the "Always On" design concept with the aim of lowering the prestige of the Galaxy Note 7 series, Motorola continues to focus on the next "prey". : Apple's next generation iPhone.

The company posted a video for the "Skip The Sevens" campaign aimed at attacking the 7th generation of Samsung and Apple, in which a group of fans Apple has been jokingly set up by the members, cheating that its Moto Z is the prototype of Apple's next product. Let's take a look at the video below:The bottom line is that Apple does not really have much of a breakthrough in its lineup of smartphones, yet it's still a familiar chip configuration and upgrades to the learning curve following previous steps. other manufacturer. Meanwhile, Motorola has taken advantage of this to demonstrate the remarkable aspects of the Moto Z. In addition, Motorola also released a shared message with content about the current situation when Most tech manufacturers focus on improving the size of the screen and the camera, while new aspects are never seen. You know who it is aimed at!There is no denying the fact that the new version of the Moto Z is quite suitable and useful for the needs of small sections of consumers. But we also have to admit that many people do not want to pay attention to it but are attracted to other attractive accessories for their phones. And if you want to ignore the glamor of the "device number 7" that you choose a Moto Z or another option or not?

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$ 2.5 billion for a game - Microsoft's 100-year investment

With such a future and a long-term vision, the $ 2.5 billion invested in the deal is negligible.

In September of 2014, when Microsoft acquired Mojang, the company that created the minecraft game, at a price of $ 2.5 billion, no one knew what it was.

This game is very odd when it comes to Microsoft, which makes money mainly from the Windows operating system and software that supports the work. Therefore, millions of Minecraft fans are concerned that the game will be ruined at the hands of the parent company, or that Microsoft will restrict this game to the Xbox and Windows platforms.But two years later, Minecraft has become more and more popular and more widely supported than ever. Mojang said that since the beginning of this year, about 53,000 copies of Minecraft have been sold every day. More than 100 million copies have been sold through PCs, the iPhone, Android, Xbox, Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Wii U during the lifetime of the 5-year-old game.

Not only that, the first outlines for Microsoft's greater ambition as the acquisition of the game began to emerge.

Last week, while more than 10,000 Minecraft loyalists were excited about gathering at the Minecon conference in Anaheim, Matt Booty, Microsoft senior officer overseeing Minecraft, shared the reason why Microsoft believes This game is an important card to maintain its position when the world is moving to the smartphone as well as any new platform that appears next.As Booty told Business Insider, it is often mistaken for Microsoft to acquire Mojang to enhance its Xbox, or Windows, or certain business units.

Instead, Mojang is like toy companies, Mattel (founded in 1945) and Lego (founded in 1949), which has helped children and adults express their creativity for nearly a century. What Microsoft is doing is laying the foundation for turning Minecraft into a brand in the post-iPhone world, even in 100 years.

"There's no reason Minecraft can not be one of those brands," Booty said. "The decisions that are being made will remain in effect for five to 10 years."

Housekeeper of the future

When Booty, the former CEO of Midway Games and also Xbox official, took the lead in Microsoft's Minecraft division - he mentioned it as the role of "a housekeeper" - when it Followed by the credentials of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox head Phil Spencer: Go and learn as much from Mojang as possible.

"We could have more things to learn from Mojang, not vice versa," Booty said. Indeed, appearances on various platforms such as PCs, Macs, iPhones, Androids, virtual reality devices, etc. from Minecraft have inspired Microsoft. The software giant has taken steps to ensure that services like Microsoft Office 365 run well on the iPhone and Android.Looking farther into the future, it seems that Microsoft is betting on the notion that mice and keyboards will become obsolete and that computing will enter a new era where you control everything by combining sound. stick and gestures of hands.

Meanwhile, Minecraft, with its simple and easy-to-learn way of building three-dimensional designs, will be the only bridge to the future. A good example of this is the image of a player performing Minecraft operations through Microsoft's Hololens 3D glasses.In the near future, Minecraft can be the pioneer of the next generation of Microsoft Office and its similar tools, to help people accomplish everything in the virtual reality world, Hololens style and more. The interface may change, but the way things work is still a little changed.

That would be good not only for Minecraft but for Microsoft. And it is even more important in today's rapidly changing world of technology. The device comes and goes constantly, but Minecraft is a product capable of overcoming the changes in the platform.

A game that will last for 100 years

Microsoft and Minecraft also share another very important goal: to help people "do more."

"I think with my core values, Minecraft fits that vision," Booty said. He emphasized, as with Microsoft PowerPoint, a basic tool for creating presentations, Minecraft is a "platform for innovation" that encourages the creativity of every player.

From the first version of this game, players have used the simple materials of the famous Minecraft to build more sophisticated structures and structures than ever, or copy the famous buildings such as in the real world and even incredible items like a Nintendo Game Boy.And the company is committed to maintaining "mods": modifications that allow players to customize the game with everything from graphics improvements to racing cars to graphic simulations. The cow is being fed like in the real world.

Mojang provides innovative platform tools, basic gameplay mechanics, and online play so that they can all be connected. But just as Lego, what people do these tools is up to them. According to Mojang's CEO, Jonas Mårtensson, that openness will help Minecraft stand up to the times.

Microsoft is also using these creative incentives to bet on its long-term investment: a generation older with Minecraft will see it as a standard way to express ideas and concepts. In the world of three-dimensional, similar to the way Microsoft Word became the standard for writing papers and reports today.

"A lot of kids are growing up, and Minecraft is how these kids are describing the world to them," Booty said. We have also seen some things that can be used in other areas, not games. Minecraft, for example, is an ideal environment for testing artificial intelligence.

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Has Xiaomi been ahead of Apple iPhone 8 one step with Mi Mix?

Is Xiaomi Mi Mix the future of today's smartphones?

Xiaomi, the fourth-biggest maker of smartphones in the world, has recently launched a special "Mi" mobile phone. This 6.4 "monster attracts the attention of netizens because the bezel is rounded with rounded corners, combined with the most powerful configuration of the time and high-end ceramic, with 18 karat gold options for it.

All created a Mi Mix - smartphone is said to come from the future. However, in fact, when we really evaluate what is supposed to make Mi Mix different for the phones that are on the market, it's just a technique to remove the sensor and speakers. On the screen - the rest are already in the tech world, and are integrated into a device. And it makes many people not think, are we seeing a test version of what Apple is "pregnant" for iPhone 8?It has been known for months now, and it's clear that the iPhone 7 is just a "slight improvement" from the iPhone 6s, and Apple is keeping the new design for the iPhone's 10th anniversary. The 2017 marks the first anniversary of the iPhone, and Apple is intent on marking the event with its finest. And it started with the design of the iPhone 8, however, at the moment there is not much "land" for the design of the smartphone to take a new leap: they are equipped with metal design and glass, bezel touch screen and high quality, high resolution camera.

So what is Apple's choice? Thinner iPhone is not a breakthrough. Apple can "bend" the iPhone - just like Samsung did with its product Galaxy Round, or LG with G Flex - but this method has been proven to not achieve high efficiency. Apple is known to often incorporate changes along with convenience, at least in the way they advertise it. The only thing that can be upgraded or optimized for the iPhone's exterior design is the screen material and bezel.Along with HTC and Nokia, Apple has been at the forefront and making use of aluminum as the primary material has become more popular in the smartphone industry. That has helped the Cupertino firm stand firm for years, but there is always room for improvement, and now, owning the monolithic metal design is "everywhere", maybe now. It is appropriate for the US technology giant to continue the process of change again. Pottery is the material used to replace aluminum when companies decide to "lift" their devices - as OnePlus has done with their OnePlus X limited line.

Apple has also joined the "pottery club" after the company has equipped the Apple Watch with a white ceramic watch. And perhaps, they will be selling a limited edition 10th birthday for the next generation iPhone with ceramic cover, which will help them avoid having to produce a large amount of back cover. Ceramic in short time to sufficient number of machines meet the requirements of customers.

However, the advantages of ceramic versus aluminum are obvious. From experience with two versions of OnePlus X, I would say no. But then, the iPhone 7 Jet Black version reminded me that the company liked the glossy, glossy surface, and the strengths of the ceramic material, scratch resistance was a good example. Photos are things you can not feel just by touching it. One thing for sure: A ceramic iPhone would look like a sleek, less profitable masterpiece than the old-fashioned aluminum, and it would certainly be more suitable for the 10th anniversary. launches the first iPhone.Finally, let's look at the outline of the iPhone - the most outdated thing on the company's flagship. They are really huge. Removing them would probably be the biggest change ever made to the front of this "ten thousand mobile phone". Apple has taken a bold step to completely remove the physical key on the iPhone 7. The technology is now available to integrate fingerprint scanners on the display, along with the ultrasonic proximity sensor shown above. Mi Mix, Apple is likely to turn the iPhone 8 into a phone without the edge of the screen.But what's interesting about the high-tech industry is that we do not have to wait for the "virtual" iPhone 8. While I am confident that Apple will make at least some of the potential changes listed in this article, it would be great to see the technology rolled out right now. Xiaomi has launched a ceramic phone, and it will be on the shelves within eight days. Not only that, the Mi Mix also has a piezoelectric speaker system that uses its metal frame to create alternative sound for the speakers.Do you think Xiaomi has perfected every aspect of the "super phone" Mi Mix? Absolutely not. I think this is just an urgent effort from a company that is eagerly seeking the admiration of technology and the admiration of its users. However, I wholeheartedly agree that this phone is the embodiment of the future smartphone, whether it is from Xiaomi, Apple, or anyone else.

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