Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft will collectively incur more than $10 billion in charges related to mass redundancies, real estate, and other cost-saving measures, as the Big Tech companies reveal the hefty price they incur to rein in spending. The US companies that have been implementing the largest job cuts in the tech sector disclosed the high costs related to their restructuring efforts in earnings statements released this week. The four groups had previously announced 50,000 job cuts to convince Wall Street they were heading into a “year of efficiency,” as Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg described it. This trend comes after more than a decade of heavy spending in a focus on aggressive top-line growth. Despite the companies’ high upfront costs such as severance payments, investors appear encouraged by the steps taken. Since formally announcing their cuts, the companies have together added more than $800 billion to their market capitalizations. Meta, the earliest … [Read more...] about Big Tech groups disclose $10 billion in charges from job culls and cost cuts
Adult swim
Man Gets 180 Days in Jail for Raping Girls Aged Between Four and Nine
A man from Rochester, Minnesota, will serve 180 days in jail in a case involving the rape of two little girls. On Monday, 20-year-old Mohamed Bakari Shei stood before Judge Jacob Allen for his sentencing , according to the Post Bulletin . Judge Allen was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in August 2018, per the Minnesota Judicial Branch’s website. Shei also faces up to 30 years on probation, the Bulletin report continued: Shei was facing three different felony first-degree criminal conduct charges in two separate cases. His plea deal called for no prison time, a stay of adjudication and the dismissal of two out of three charges. If Shei completes his probation, all charges against him will be dismissed and will not be on his criminal record. One of the victims was approximately nine years of age and the other child was between four and five when the assaults took place. What appears to be a mugshot was posted online Thursday: Ilhan Omar's Minnesota Muslim … [Read more...] about Man Gets 180 Days in Jail for Raping Girls Aged Between Four and Nine
Half of US twenty-somethings have no landline
The shift away from landlines continues, as 24.9 percent of all American adults now live in homes with wireless-only voice connections. Among younger adults aged 25 to 29, the numbers are twice as high; more than half have only a cell phone. Don't feel too bad for the phone companies. The largest wireline companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, are linked with wireless units that have cashed in on the switch to cell phones and now rake in huge profits. Running the numbers The FCC's 15th wireless communications report has all the numbers. Like the last report, this one refuses to reach any conclusion about "competition" in the industry (though it does show a "highly concentrated" industry under standard antitrust metrics). But if you want to know how many Americans have a cell phone and how much they pay for it, the report is a gold mine. Americans certainly love their cell phones. Of the 308 million people resident in the US, 274 million subscribed to wireless service at the … [Read more...] about Half of US twenty-somethings have no landline
Poll: Just 23 Percent Satisfied with the Current State of the Union
Less than a quarter of Americans are satisfied with the current state of the union, a Gallup survey released less than a week from President Biden’s scheduled State of the Union address found. According to the survey, 76 percent are dissatisfied with the state of the nation at this point in time. Of those, 48 percent identify themselves as “very” dissatisfied. Just 23 percent currently describe themselves as satisfied. Notably, a majority of Republicans, (94 percent), Democrats (64 percent), and independents (76 percent) describe themselves as dissatisfied. Three-quarters of Republicans describe themselves as “very” dissatisfied with the state of the nation, and 46 percent of independents and 28 percent of Democrats are also “very” dissatisfied. That particular survey was taken January 2022, 2023, among 1,011 U.S. adults, has a +/- 4 percent margin of error, and preceded another Gallup report released this week, which looked at U.S. satisfaction as it relates to … [Read more...] about Poll: Just 23 Percent Satisfied with the Current State of the Union
88% of American Parents Prioritize Money over Family for Their Children
American parents prioritize work and money far above marriage and parenthood for their children. A Pew Research Center report asked 3,757 parents of children below the age of 18 about goals for their children. Eighty-eight percent of parents thought an enjoyable career and financial independence was “very” or “extremely” important for their children, whereas only 21 percent thought getting married was important, and 20 percent believed having children was important. “It should trouble all of us that only a minority of parents would also see marriage and family life as central goals, and even more so that nearly 50 percent would say that marriage and parenthood are basically unimportant ,” University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox and Institute for Family Studies editor Alysse ElHage wrote . [Emphasis in original]. "A large majority of American parents are prioritizing work & money for their children over marriage and parenthood." That's a big mistake. … [Read more...] about 88% of American Parents Prioritize Money over Family for Their Children
Is there a way to get a Disney Plus free trial in 2023?
For those hoping to give Disney Plus a trial run before departing with your hard-earned dollars, for the most part your happy ending ends here. The official 7-day Disney Plus free trial quickly came to an end after its initial launches around the world, with no countries currently offering any kind of trial period. As it stands, for those looking to get a taste of of Walt Disney Studios wealth of content, you'll have to pay for the privilege. Still want to subscribe Disney Plus? Sign up now! (opens in new tab) However, all is not lost. Disney Plus revealed a whopping $1.1 billion in losses in August 2022, so something might need to be tweaked over at Mouse HQ to bring in new subscribers. A reintroduction of a trial period isn't completely off the cards, then. While it appears as though a Disney Plus free trial has disappeared to a land far, far away, there are still a few ways you can get one - namely if you happen to be in the market for a new phone contract. We've … [Read more...] about Is there a way to get a Disney Plus free trial in 2023?
NordVPN reveals the most dangerous sites for users’ privacy and security
Audio player loading… Browsing the web can be a quite dangerous affair when doing your everyday browsing, but even more so when you access certain types of sites. It should be no surprise that porn, streaming and video hosting websites have been found to top the list of the services posing the most risks to users' privacy and security. Such threats spanned from malware attacks to invasive ads and heavy web tracking. That's the exclusive data gathered by one of the best VPN services around, NordVPN . Thanks to its Threat Protection tool, the VPN provider managed to block over 344 million web trackers, 341 million intrusive ads, and 506,000 malware infections in December 2022 alone. (opens in new tab) Malware, intrusive ads and web trackers: today's biggest cyber threats "The online world is challenging people in every single move they make," said NordVPN cybersecurity advisor Adrianus Warmenhoven. "Want to read an article? Dozens of ads and … [Read more...] about NordVPN reveals the most dangerous sites for users’ privacy and security