Elon Musk declares end to remote working at Tesla | BBC News

June 3, 2022June 2, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tesla boss Elon Musk has ordered staff to return to the office full-time, declaring that working remotely is no longer acceptable.

The new policy was shared in emails that were leaked to social media.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the messages, one of which appeared to be addressed to executives.

People who are unwilling to abide by the new rules can “pretend to work somewhere else” Mr Musk said on Twitter, when asked about the policy.

“Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” he wrote in one of the emails. “If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.”

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Proton Adds Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, and Proton VPN Encrypted Features | WIRED

May 31, 2022May 30, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

SINCE ITS FOUNDING in 2014, ProtonMail has become synonymous with user-friendly encrypted email. Now the company is trying to be synonymous with a whole lot more. On Wednesday morning, it announced that it’s changing its name to, simply, Proton—a nod at its broader ambitions within the universe of online privacy. The company will now offer an “ecosystem” of linked products, all accessed via one paid subscription. Proton subscribers will have access not just to encrypted email, but also an encrypted calendar, file storage platform, and VPN.

Enormous asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) to fly by Earth on May 27 | Live Science

May 25, 2022May 24, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

An enormous asteroid four times the size of the Empire State Building will make a close approach to Earth on May 27, according to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Fear not: the asteroid, named 7335 (1989 JA), will soundly miss our planet by about 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometers) — or nearly 10 times the average distance between Earth and the moon. Still, given the space rock’s enormous size (1.1. miles, or 1.8 km, in diameter) and relatively close proximity to Earth, NASA has classified the asteroid as “potentially hazardous,” meaning it could do enormous damage to our planet if its orbit ever changes and the rock impacts Earth.

Netflix cuts 150 US-based jobs after losing subscribers | BBC News

May 20, 2022May 19, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Netflix has made about 150 staff redundant, a month after the streaming service said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the entertainment giant on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company’s revenue. The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year.

Sony confirms its new PlayStation Plus tiers will launch on June 13, reveals list of games | TechCrunch

May 19, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Sony announced today that its revamped PlayStation Plus gaming subscription tiers will launch in the United States on June 13th. The new PlayStation Plus tiers offer similar benefits to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, which gives users access to a library of rotating games for a monthly fee. Sony has also released a list of games that will be available during the launch time frame. It’s worth noting that Sony’s new subscription tiers won’t include new first-party games, such as “Horizon Zero Dawn and “Horizon Forbidden West,” at least not at launch.

The lowest tier of the subscription service is called “PlayStation Plus Essential” and comes with the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members have today and costs $9.99 per month. The middle tier, which is called “PlayStation Plus Extra,” comes with all the same perks as the Essential tier but includes a selection of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. Sony notes that games in the Extra tier can be downloaded for online play. The Extra tier costs $14.99 per month.

Twitter CEO Breaks Silence on Exodus of Execs, Hiring Freeze and Musk Bid: ‘We Need to Be Prepared for All Scenarios’ | Entrepreneur

May 17, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The transition from Twitter being a publicly traded company led by CEO Parag Agrawal to a privately-held company owned by billionaire Elon Musk has been anything but smooth and drama free.

Musk’s purchase, which is widely expected to close by the end of 2022, has been the cause of contention among shareholders Twitter employees who have been vocal about their concerns for the company moving forward.

It seems as though some of these concerns were well-founded last week when Agrawal told employees that two top Twitter execs — Kayvon Beykpour (general manager of consumer) and Bruce Falck (revenue product lead — would be leaving the company, shortly after Musk himself explained that his bid on the company was “on hold” pending an accurate report of what percentage of Twitter users are actually bots and spam accounts.

Agrawal did not publicly comment on the matter at the time but took to Twitter over the weekend to break his silence regarding Musk’s deal and the departure of the employees, noting that he does “expect the deal to close.”

Netflix is working on adding live streaming to its service, report claims | Mashable

May 17, 2022May 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Netflix wants to do it live.

So reports Deadline, which notes that the streaming giant is “exploring” bringing live streaming to its service. That’s right, live entertainment — presumably with none of the pausing, rewinding, or fast-forwarding we’ve all come to take for granted in our post cord-cutting world.

The move into live entertainment would follow on Netflix’s apparent plan to add an ad-supported tier to the subscription platform sometime this year, and would reportedly focus on stand-up specials and unscripted shows.

Stocks week ahead: How resilient is the US consumer? | CNN

May 16, 2022May 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Worries about an economic slowdown are running wild on Wall Street. Despite concerns about inflation, higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve, supply chain issues and geopolitical turmoil due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid outbreaks in China, American consumers continue to do what they do best: shop until they drop.

Retail sales rose at a healthy 0.5% clip in March when compared to February and were up 6.9% from March 2021. Economists are expecting that the strong trend for retail lasted into April as well. The government will report retail sales figures for April on Tuesday. Forecasts are calling for a 0.7% jump from March levels.

In other words, experts don’t think negative headlines and recent market turmoil slowed down consumer spending.

Next Motorola Razr could get rid of the offbeat chin design | Digital Trends

May 10, 2022May 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Motorola Razr devices have been known for their offbeat design language. The original Razr sold so well that Motorola retained the name for its first foldable smartphone lineup. Now, the company seems to be planning to get rid of the design that set the Razr apart from the plethora of smartphones on the market.

According to a new report by 91Mobiles, Motorola is all set to unveil the next-gen foldable Razr. It is said to be a big upgrade both in terms of design and internal hardware. Up until now, Motorola has stayed away from packing a flagship system on a chip in its foldable smartphone, but things are all set to change now. As per the report, the upcoming Motorola Razr will be offered in two variants: one powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the other by the yet-to-be-launched Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chipset.

Kentucky Derby: 80-1 outsider Rich Strike pulls off historic upset | BBC News

May 9, 2022May 8, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

An 80-1 outsider has won the Kentucky Derby, in one of the biggest upsets in the history of America’s most celebrated horse race.

Rich Strike – ridden by Sonny Leon – stormed to victory at Churchill Downs in Louisville despite having the longest odds among all 20 horses.

The horse was only brought in on Friday after another had to drop out.

It is the second-longest shot to win the Run for the Roses after Donerail won at 91-1 odds in 1913.

Rich Strike pulled ahead down the stretch to beat favorite Epicenter, who was second, and Zandon, who was third.